VIP Event at zMAX Dragway Will Showcase Program

B.R.A.K.E.S., the charity organization founded by NHRA drag racer Doug
Herbert in memory of his two sons, will hold its first Teen Pro-Active
Driving School on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008, at zMAX Dragway.  The VIP,
invite-only event is intended to showcase the program to members of the
media and influential Charlotte-area residents.

The school’s first public session will be held on Nov. 8, 2008, at zMAX
Dragway.  In 2009 the school will be taken nationwide and sessions will
be hosted at tracks across the United States.  Each four-hour session
is designed for 50 teenagers and their parent/guardian to attend
together.

“When we first formed B.R.A.K.E.S. after the accident in January, we
wanted to help teach teenagers how to be safer on the roads,” said
Herbert.  “We’ve gotten a lot of exposure for the charity and we’ve
raised a lot of money, but now we’re ready to give something back.  I
couldn’t be more excited about Saturday.  I think the teens that go
through the school will definitely be safer drivers because of it, and
I really believe that this program has the potential to help save some
teenager’s lives.”

In an effort to give its competitors ample time to prepare for the
season-ending eighth annual ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, officials
with the JEGS ProMod Challenge have released the official list of
invitees for the final event of their 10-race schedule, which will
conclude with an awards party Sunday night at Treasure Island Hotel and
Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Headlined by JEGS ProMod Challenge championship contenders Josh
Hernandez, Tony Pontieri, Jay Payne, Danny Rowe, Kirk Kuhns, and Joe
Baker, the list of racers that will vie for the last trophy of the year
also includes IHRA regulars Kenny Lang, Mike Castellana, Tommy
D'Aprile, and Mike Janis.

As usual, the regular stalwarts from the JEGS ProMod Challenge will be
looking to protect their turf. Former series winners Troy Coughlin,
Rick Stivers, Harold Laird, and Von Smith will be joined by hopefuls
Roger Burgess, Ray Commisso, Rick DiStefano, Tommy Gray, Mike Knowles,
Taylor Lastor, Steve Matusek, Mike Moran, Scott Ray, and Tim Tindle.

Auto Club Dragway at Fontana will become a battleground for the
nation’s best amateur drag racers when the third annual JEGS NHRA
Pacific SPORTSnationals takes center stage this weekend. Several
hundred racers are expected to attend the event, which showcases racers
in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. The racers who attend the
SPORTSnationals will be competing for a share of more than $65,000 in
cash and an additional $400,000 in posted contingency awards. Several
high profile contestants are also hoping to earn valuable points that
could ultimately lead to an NHRA national or divisional championship.
 
The field in Competition Eliminator figures to be loaded with such
talent as four drivers currently ranked in the top ten are expected to
attend including current points leader Dan Fletcher of Churchville,
N.Y. Driving for the Fontana based Braun Racing team, Fletcher has won
five events this year in his 170-mph Chevy Cobalt. Other top contenders
include Jim Cowan of Dewey, Ariz., who is currently ranked third; Doug
Lambeck of Corona Del Mar, Calif., who sits fourth, and former national
champion Dean Carter of Glendale, Ariz., who is seventh.

With only three races remaining in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, both Tony Schumacher and Tim Wilkerson have slowly
pulled away from the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes after both picked
up wins at last week’s O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals in Memphis.
Both drivers entered the Countdown to 1 playoffs in Charlotte leading
their respective categories and though Schumacher’s 53rd career win at
the event, followed by a runner-up finish in Dallas and win in Memphis
helped build upon his lead in the Top Fuel category, Wilkerson’s first
round loss in Charlotte bumped him from first to fifth in the Funny Car
standings. Two races and two wins later (Dallas, Memphis), Wilkerson
has regained the top spot with a 72 point lead over second place Jack
Beckman heading into Richmond.

JEGS TAPS RIPES AT GRAND MARSHAL/HONORARY STARTER FOR PACIFIC SPORTSNATIONALS

Marv
Ripes, founder of A-1 Automatic Transmissions, has been selected for
the dual role of Grand Marshal and Honorary Starter for the NHRA Jegs
Pacific SPORTSnationals.
          
Ripes founded A-1 in 1959 as a 24-year-old racer and is credited with
many innovations in racing transmission technology.  All these years
later, with a new partner on board, Marv is looking to the future of
A-1 Automatic Transmissions.  He continues to be involved in the
company and together with Adam Bowdish is ushering in a new era for A-1.

Direct hit from Hurricane Ike adversely affects Top Fuel racer Mitch King

For
as long as Mitch King has been drag racing, he’s been bringing his
fellow racers candy, most notably taffy, to the drag races as a
goodwill gesture. That practice has been temporarily halted as King was
one of those displaced by Hurricane Ike.

King, who operates La King’s Confectionary in Galveston, Texas, rode
out the devastating storm in the third floor of his three-story store.

“We got a lot of water,” King said. “We lost everything on the first
floor at the candy factory and everything on the first floor of my
house. There was six feet of ocean water at the candy story and seven
feet at my home. Both buildings are still standing and we are all
okay.”

It’s the fall and veteran nitro tuner Lee Beard has been in the game long enough to know it is silly season time.

Will he be here? Will he be there?

Beard has heard it all over the years.

“I’m still here wearing this Matco Tools uniform; that rumor mill can
stir up a lot of stuff,” Beard said. “I don’t know where a lot of this
stuff comes from but it’s that time of the year.”

Look out Top Fuel, former model turned drag racer Malinda Bertozzi has
a Top Alcohol Dragster license with a hankering to upgrade to Top Fuel.

Bertozzi earned her A/Fuel Dragster license recently at Doug Foley’s Drag Racing School.

The boys weren’t paying nice with Angie McBride on Sunday.

McBride has been a strong player of late, most recently scoring a semi-final finish at the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas, Texas.

Those kinds of performances will make the competition take notice.

Building quality and performance since 1938, this year marks
Edelbrock's 70th Anniversary. Edelbrock started its humble beginnings
when the late Vic Edelbrock Sr., a talented young auto technician who
owned a repair shop in Los Angeles, purchased a 1932 Ford Roadster as
the family's daily driver and personal project car. This car inspired
Vic Sr. to design, engineer and produce Edelbrock's first performance
product - the Slingshot intake manifold for the flathead Ford engine.
With much success in the dry lake racing with the Southern California
Timing Association, Edelbrock's reputation and demand grew into more
products and the release of the first Edelbrock catalog in 1946.
Flash-forward 70 years and Edelbrock has grown from a small grass roots
business to the performance aftermarket's premier manufacturers of
performance parts and accessories.