When the 2008 POWERade title is handed out at the end of the season, this Sunday's race at the Texas Motorplex could very well be the one defending series champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. points to as the most critical of them all.

After watching championship contenders Greg Anderson and Jason Line
inexplicably bow out in the first round of the 23rd annual Super Start
Batteries NHRA Nationals -- Anderson on a rare red-light and Line on a
tragically late light -- Coughlin knew he had a chance to do something
special. That thought was extended one round later when former point
leader Kurt Johnson also was eliminated earlier than expected.

Tim Wilkerson and Ron Capps came up to the starting line for their first-round Funny Car match-up in eliminations at the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas,
performed their burnouts and began to stage for their race when a
glitch in the starting-light system forced them to shut down and
restart again several minutes later.

When the two finally squared off, Wilkerson took the win with a
4.120-second elapsed time at 298.34 mph. Capps, in the NAPA AUTO PARTS
Dodge Charger R/T in the other lane, was credited with what would have
been a remarkable .003 reaction time (.000 is perfect) and a losing
finish of 4.289, 295.14. It was clear that Wilkerson had crossed the
finish line first, but Capps questioned the numbers in his lane.

"Usually a light like that is just a bad red light," he said, "and I'll
be the first to admit it. But something was obviously wrong with the
clocks. The NAPA Dodge didn't run that slow either. We are trying to
figure out what was wrong because I left on the amber light and, by the
way it looks on the computer, it looks like the car ran way better than
that.

A week ago Chris Rivas and his Drag Specialties/G2 crew couldn’t get their potent S&S-powered Buell started.

At the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas, Tex., they couldn’t get it to stop – winning that is.

It’s not like they tried either.

Rivas scored his second career victory and second of 2008 by outrunning
former employer Matt Smith in the final round. The victory vaulted him
all the way to the third place position, just one point behind last
week’s winner Steve Johnson.

“This is a huge jump for us in the points,” Rivas said. “We didn’t know
if we were still going to be in the hunt after the no-start in
Charlotte.”

Tony Schumacher accounted for the greatest streak of fortunes in the Top Fuel division by carrying an undefeated streak which began in early-July during the NHRA Mile High Nationals in Denver, Co. going into the finals.

The U.S. Army-sponsored driver figured there would be a day when the streak would be halted.

That regretful day transpired in the final round of the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas, Tex.

“It had to end some time,” said Schumacher of his win streak. “You have
to tip your hat to J.R. and his team. They did what they had to do.”

You can’t convince either Todd or Brandon Bernstein that a side-bet hasn't
been the source of their failure to secure a victory this year.

The longtime friends on and off of the track made a deal with Oakley’s
Todd Hayes that the first one of them to win a national event would
take home a $3,000 diamond watch.

Clay Millican wasn’t given any orders but felt a hometown obligation
when he squared off against Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the first round of
Top Fuel eliminations at the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas, Tex.

Vandergriff drives the UPS-sponsored dragster.

Millican lives in Memphis, Tenn., the headquarters from rival shipping company Federal Express.

The extremely popular Outlaw Mad Dawg series rolled into O’Reilly Farmington Dragway on Saturday, September 20, and was greeted
with weather fit for a king. Race fans enjoyed a huge field of fast
doorslammers, 18 in all that were trying to bust their way into a tough
Quick-8 field to compete in the main event.

Statesville, NC’s Joel Douglas overcame a boat load of adversity just
to squeeze into the show. Douglas drove an amazing tree-trimming race,
eventually putting his 2007 Chevy Cobalt in the winner’s circle, his
first main event final of the season in any series.

Reaching the semi-finals at the Texas Motorplex brought forth a better experience this year for the 14-time Funny Car champion John Force.

Sure, his day ended premature of the NHRA Fallnationals final round.

At least this time he exited under his own power in a rental car as
opposed to last season’s helicopter ride after his car broke apart just
past the finish line and collided with Kenny Bernstein’s car.

“This year I’m leaving the track in a Ford Flex instead of the Air Evac
helicopter,” Force said. “How is that for sneaking a sponsor in there?
I guess it had to come back to here. My crew chief (Austin Coil) kept
picking that left lane every run. (Now) it’s time to put it behind us.

Defending series champion Josh Hernandez ended a week he'd just as soon forget with a memorable
win over championship rival Tony Pontieri at the 23rd annual Super
Start Batteries NHRA Nationals to pad his lead in the JEGS ProMod
Challenge points to 59 with two races left on the 2008 schedule.

A resident of the Houston suburb of Conroe, Texas, Hernandez spent the
first half of the week digging out from the widespread damage caused by
Hurricane Ike.

He managed to make it to the race on time and didn't miss a beat once
he got here, qualifying No. 1 and marching through the field to win
with a 6.036 at 237.21 mph in his Team Rage '68 Camaro to Pontieri's
6.245 at 234.82 mph in his Quality Plus Compressors '57 Bel Air.

Champions were crowned in eight Lucas Oil sportsman categories during
this weekend’s highly successful fourth annual JEGS NHRA Northern
SPORTSnationals at National Trail Raceway. Emerging from a field of
more than 500 competitors, Robert Bailey of Wabash, Ind., claimed the
title in Comp Eliminator while former NHRA national champion Jeff
Taylor claimed his second Northern SPORTSnationals title in Super
Stock. Katie Sepanek of Moosic, Pa., added her name to the list of
women who have won an NHRA national event when she claimed the Stock
eliminator title over former champion Kevin Helms. The state of Ohio
was well represented as Buckeye racers combined to make seven final
rounds. Other winners crowned on Sunday afternoon were Don Trasin of
Pickerington, Ohio (Super Comp), Gary Linkhorn of Cumberland, Ohio
(Super Gas), Don Moyer of Pickerington, Ohio (Super Street), Ronnie
Davis of Suwanee, Ga. (Top Sportsman), and Bill Webb of Centerburg,
Ohio (Top Dragster).
          
Bailed drove his dragster to a time of 7.24-seconds to beat Greg
Kamplain of Brownsburg, Ind., in the final round of Comp Eliminator.
Taylor, a three-time NHRA champion who has also raced in Pro Stock,
drove his ’95 Olds Achieva to a final round victory against Rich South
of Pickerington in the Super Stock final and Sepanek downed Helms in
the Stock final with a run of 11.77-seconds in her ’72 Chevelle.