On Monday, September 22, at 12:00 noon, the online registration
process for the K&N Worlds Best Air Filter 35th Annual Halloween
Classic presented by Harland Sharp will start. At that time, any racer wishing
to compete at the Classic simply has to log on to the Summit Motorsports Park
website (www.summitmotorsportspark.com) and
register for the event. If you don’t happen to own a computer, you probably have
a friend or family member that does, and they can help walk you through the
registration process. Open registration will last for 12 hours, from 12:00 noon
until 12:00 midnight. At 12:01am on September 23, the process will be over, and
there will not be another opportunity to register. After that time, you will be
a spectator.

Police are investigating what track official deems as isolated incident …

At least one drag racing fan won’t likely forget the time they walked
near Kurt Johnson’s Pro Stocker during the inaugural NHRA Carolinas
Nationals in Concord, N.C.

The unsuspecting race attendee was struck by a golf ball as they walked
through the pits on Sunday, the fourth day of the national event.

ZMAX Dragway publicist Adrian Parker confirmed the incident took place,
but said the incident was isolated. He declined to provide the name of
the victim.

The following are the funeral arrangements for Pro Modified racer Steve
Engel who passed on Sunday, the result of injuries sustained in a
racing accident during the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Calling him “one of my honest-to-God heroes,” American Drag Racing League (ADRL) President Kenny Nowling vowed to honor
the memory of race driver Steve Engel, 49, who died Sep. 14, at
Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Engel succumbed to complications
from severe back injuries sustained in a high-speed crash Aug. 30,
while competing in an NHRA Pro Modified race at O’Reilly Raceway Park
in Clermont, Indiana.

“Any time we lose a member of the drag racing community it’s very
difficult; however, this is especially tough since Steve was not only a
member of and competitor with the ADRL, but also someone I had known
for several years and considered a personal friend,” Nowling said.
Engel last raced with the ADRL in August 2007, at Norwalk, Ohio, in the
eighth-mile series’ Pro Extreme class. “My heart goes out to Steve’s
wife, Tonya, and his young sons, Stevie and Michael, at this obviously
difficult time.”

Coverage of this Sunday’s O’Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall Nationals, the second race in the six-race Countdown to 1 NHRA Playoffs, will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET (on ESPN2HD).

A pair of southern gents named Gustav and Ike have delayed the debut of
the new Kent Services and Trucking Pro Stock team scheduled for this
weekend’s NHRA event at the Texas Motorplex, and with those delays the
team is now looking for a late season debut at either Richmond, VA or
Las Vegas NV.

In the days just prior to hurricane Gustav making landfall in southern
Louisiana, the team had completed construction of their new race shop
on the grounds of No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose. Little did anyone
know that the eye of Gustav would pass directly over the new race shop
and that electrical service would be lost for days at the new facility.
While the shop survived the storm, the loss of electricity and the
combined effects of localized flooding and storm damage forced the team
to concentrate on personal safety and matters other than engine
development and race car preparation in the days following the storms
hit.

The Pro Modified Racing Association will finish its 2008 schedule this coming Saturday and Sunday, and the PMRA Pro Modifieds
will be part of an exciting weekend of drag racing to be held in
conjunction with the OSCA’s (Ontario Street Car Association) 2008
McIntyre Automotive Championship Finals and the Canadian SRT Nationals.
 
“We should have a terrific weekend,” said PMRA Director of Operations
Bruce Mehlenbacher. “The OSCA is a great series with a group of very
dedicated and extremely serious competitors. The 2008 PMRA champion
will be decided at this event.”
 
OSCA Race Director Mike Bennett said he is expecting up to 150 cars for
the finish of the series’ eighth season, and there are some tight
battles in several of the 11 classes.

The Bernstein name is well-known in Texas racing circles.  Each year
when the NHRA circuit makes it annual stop at the Texas Motorplex, it’s
as if Kenny and Brandon Bernstein journey back to their roots.

When six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein and his son Brandon get to
the Motorplex for O’Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall Nationals Sept.
19-21, they will see many familiar faces.

Kenny started his racing career in and around the Dallas area.  Some of
the car owners that he originally drove for in the early days of his
career, Mitchell and Donald Anderson, Vance Hunt, along with Bobby
Langley, are annual guests in the Bernstein pit area.  They still bench
race and tell tales of the early days of racing.  The only one missing
from the familiar confines of the pit area is Kenny’s father Bert, who
succumbed to cancer in 2005 shortly after watching his grandson Brandon
win in St. Louis.

Brandon’s mother and many Texas A & M college friends are always
on-site to cheer the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team.  Brandon won the Dallas
event in 2006 with family and friends helping to celebrate the team’s
victory.

Aaron Brooks, crew chief of R2B2 Racing's Funny Car driven by Frank
Hawley is leaving the team at the end of this month for a similar
position with renowned Top Fuel tuner Alan Johnson’s new two-car team
that will debut in 2009.

The Brooks-Hawley combination has been very impressive this season
despite competing in just six of the first 19 races.  They earned a No.
1 qualifying position at last weekend’s Carolinas Nationals in
Charlotte with one of the quickest 1000-foot elapsed times of the
season, 4.072 seconds.  They also had a final-round appearance at
Reading, Pa., last month.