Hillary Will finishes a career-best fourth in NHRA points

Hillary
Will, driver of the Palm Beach Int’l Raceway/KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel
dragster, finished her third season as a professional drag racer in
fourth place in POWERade championship points Sunday during eliminations
of the season-ending Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.).

Will and her team began the final day of racing in the 2008 POWERade
Drag Racing Series in second place in points, but a first round loss to
Troy Buff, 3.887 sec., 313.44 mph to 3.840 sec., 309.27 mph, slid the
world’s fastest female back to No. 4 in the points tally.

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FEEDBACK FRIDAY - NOVEMBER 21, 2008

Seven-time IHRA TAFC world champion Mark Thomas said his decision to walk away from drag racing in 2009 was nothing more than a means to spend more time with his family and farming business.

The Louisville, Ohio-based farmer believes a year without racing will
leave him wondering how he managed to have time for racing anyway.
Thomas has not missed an IHRA national event since the fall of 1988.

“It’s all my own doing,” Thomas said. “I have not missed a rodeo in
twenty years. I just want time with my wife and kids. I really want to
see what normal life is like.

DSR Touts The Suzuki of the Future …

Remember
all the talk by Suzuki riders of the American-made Harley-Davidson and
Buell teams having a distinct performance advantage? That banter may be
a thing of the past if what translates to performance on paper becomes
reality.

Noted Suzuki specialist and Don Schumacher Racing crew chief Steve
Tartaglia has heard the talk of this latest in Suzuki technology being
the savior for his brand. The nicknames of V-Rod Destroyer and Buell
Killer elicits a smile from Tartaglia, who quickly notes, “Those
nicknames came from elsewhere than here.”

NHRA Funny Car owner/driver Tim Wilkerson announced the addition of
three experienced staff members to his Levi, Ray & Shoup-sponsored
Funny Car organization, after the recent conclusion of the 2008 NHRA
season.  The '08 campaign saw Wilkerson finish a career-best 2nd in
points on the strength of six race wins and a 42-18 round record, while
it also marked career highs for Wilkerson in terms of final points
position, races won, and rounds won.

Making the announcement from the team's Springfield, Ill. headquarters,
Wilkerson named Bob Wilber as the organization's new Team Manager,
David Jacobsen as Team Wilkerson's new Marketing Director, and Annette
Schendel as the team's new Hospitality Coordinator.

Wilber comes to Team Wilkerson after having spent the last 12 years as
Team Manager for Del Worsham and his NHRA Funny Car organization; a
program which came to a conclusion after the 2008 season when primary
sponsor CSK Auto was acquired by another auto parts company.  Prior to
taking on his role with Worsham in 1997, Wilber spent 13 years in
international sports marketing, working with a variety of USA Olympic
teams, Converse Shoes, and other global marketing clients, including
IBM, Chrysler, and Black & Decker.  He also served as Vice
President or General Manager for three different professional indoor
soccer franchises, and spent six years in professional baseball as a
player, coach, and scout.  Wilber will handle Team Wilkerson's public
relations, media relations, and sponsor relations, while he also
assists with organizational management and personal representation for
Wilkerson, who owns, tunes, and drives the Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny
Car.

Infineon Raceway has reaffirmed its position as the recycling leader in
the motor-sports industry, collecting more than 17 tons of recyclable
materials at its major events during the 2008 racing season.

In all, the raceway collected 34,568 pounds of materials at its NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series, NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, IndyCar® Series
and AMA Superbike Series event weekends. That brings the total to more
than 73 tons (147,524 pounds) of recyclable materials since the
inception of the program in 2004. The tonnage equates to slightly more
than the total weight of a full NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starting field
– 43 stock cars.

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will kick off the Thanksgiving
holiday weekend with the inaugural Turkey Thaw Thrill Show on
Wednesday, Nov. 26.  While your turkey thaws in the ‘fridge, bring the
family out for a night of fast fun and fireworks.

While waiting for the team transporter to arrive home from Perth. Team
Bray this week has lent a hand to help Brisbane repair damage from one
of the biggest storms to hit the city in two decades.

The severe storm battered Brisbane on Sunday doing more damage than
cyclone Larry as it hit highly populated areas, tearing off roofs,
bringing down trees and power lines, leaving many without livable homes
and a repair bill that is expected to be around 1.5 billion dollars.

Many of today’s top professional drivers have one thing in common on
their racing resume, they are graduates of Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing
School.
   
In 2009, as the school celebrates their 24th year of training drivers,
Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School will be offering even more
opportunities for those seeking to obtain their dream of becoming the
next “Force”, “Dixon” or “Schumacher”. Not only can drivers obtain
their Alcohol License in either a dragster or a funny car at the world
renowned school but now they will also be able to take it to the next
step – competition.

Voting has begun among more than 300 members of the motorsports press to select the 2008 Auto Racing All-America team.
  
The annual vote is conducted among the membership of the American Auto
Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association. Two nominees from each of
seven categories will be named to the first team, to be honored at the
annual AARWBA banquet Jan. 10 in Ontario, Calif.. The winner of the
Jerry Titus Award will also be announced at the banquet. The Titus
Award honors the team's top driver -- the one earning the most votes in
the balloting regardless of category.
  
Among those on the ballot are former Jerry Titus Award winners Tony
Schumacher (2006), Dan Wheldon (2005) and Tony Kannan (2004). The
ballot also includes a driver who is among the top-10 with the most
All-America first-team honors -- Scott Pruett (nine times), and the
only driver ever earning more than honorable mention from write-in
votes -- Danica Patrick (second team 2005).