The NAPA AUTO PARTS
fire suit worn by NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driver
Ron Capps in early-season promotional shoots and also during the first
several 2008 NHRA events will be up for live auction at the Don
Schumacher Racing Open House in Brownsburg, Ind., on Friday, Aug. 29.

Also included in the live auction, which begins at 12:40 p.m., and
whose proceeds will benefit the Riley Hospital for Children, will be a
Valvoline helmet signed by all 2007 and 2008 DSR drivers.

After three months of excited anticipation, Ford Customer Service
Division (FCSD) will unveil the winning, JDRF-inspired paint scheme
that will adorn the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang Funny Car for
this weekend’s NHRA U.S. Nationals.

The official unveiling of the new scheme, and the announcement of the
winning JDRF child designer, will come in a special ceremony in
Indianapolis’ downtown Monument Circle at noon, Thursday, Aug. 28.

The unveiling will cap a three-month, on-line contest, sponsored by
FCSD that raised more than $84,000 for Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation, and which featured more than 300 paint scheme entries from
JDRF kids around the country.

CompetitionPlus.com has learned the ever-expanding Awesome/Al-Anabi
Motorsports operation will expand again in the weeks to come. A source
close to the situation has confirmed the Marc Dantoni 1968 Camaro was
purchased and will soon be outfitted with an engine from Awesome's
Reher-Morrison arsenal. Nitrous diehard Burton Auxier will drive the
car in IHRA competition.

Awesome/Al-Anabi Motorsports already has
three nitrous cars, driven by the trio of Mike Castellana, Shannon
Jenkins and Rickie Smith. Von Smith will debut the team's first
supercharged car, a 1957 Chevy formerly campaigned by Glen Kerunsky. 

XXX Racing Fuels has added another Pro Stock Motorcycle to its sponsorship line-up.

The Bolingbroke, Georgia based XXX Racing Fuels will join Angelle
Sampey’s primary marketing partner Rush Racing and fellow associate
Doc’s Harley-Davidson for the remainder of the 2008 season.

Crew chief George Bryce was instrumental in procuring the agreement.

“XXX CEO Thomas ‘Tog’ Goss has been one of my friends for 25 years,”
said Bryce. “I was one of the first ones to teach him how to drag race.
He’s been the ultimate under-the-radar drag racer for those 25 years
and now he’s all grown up. But most importantly, he’s come up with a
new invention. He’s invented a racing gasoline that is three times
better, and that’s why we affectionately refer to it as XXX.”

“I met George and Jackie Bryce in 1982,” added Goss. “I was 12 and my
dad bought me a GS1100 Suzuki. I was about 85 pounds on that big bike,
and George came over and gave us advice on wheelie bar height and
such.”

In looking at his stat sheet, Gary Scelzi appears to have earned more than his fair share of drag racing accolades.

Consider this. The Four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion
holds an impressive list of accomplishments which includes  37 national
events in 58 final rounds, was the first Funny Car driver to break the
330-mph barrier, won his first Top Fuel crown as a rookie, and is the
only NHRA driver to have won in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol
Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Yet there’s one simple tidbit that sticks in his craw.

Scelzi has not won the prestigious U.S. Nationals in the Funny Car
class. His solo victory at this event came in Top Fuel, in 1998.

"It's time," Scelzi admitted.

DataDot USA has been named an associate racing partner of David Powers
Motorsports, team owner David Powers announced today. The DataDot logo
will be placed on the Antron Brown-driven Matco Tools dragster
beginning at the prestigious U.S Nationals.

The partnership between David Powers Motorsports and DataDot USA
delivers retail distribution opportunities with Matco Tools, America’s
No. 1 tool franchise. DataDots are a state of the art microdot
identification technology used to mark a wide range of assets with its
own “unique DNA.” The dots are laser-etched with multiple lines of
information and registered into a secure national data base. About the
size of a grain of sand, the dots can be read with a 30x magnifier and
prove true ownership of an asset.  DataDots cutting-edge technology
covers a wide range of applications and was recently featured in two
episodes of CSI.  The 1,500 Matco Tools distributors in North America
and Puerto Rico will now offer DataDots on their tool trucks. The
partnership between DPM and DataDot USA was consummated by Forward
Sports Marketing, the agency of record of DPM.

The professional drivers who make up the top two classes on the
National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) POWERade tour, have established a
new Drivers' Safety Committee, which will analyze key safety issues
that confront the teams participating in the Top Fuel and Nitro Funny
Car classes.  The committee plans to work closely with the Professional
Racers/Owners Organization (PRO) and its President, Kenny Bernstein, to
maintain an on-going focus on driver safety and an open dialogue with
NHRA regarding the possible implementation of new policies.

As part of the committee's formation, the professional nitro class
drivers have elected Bob Vandergriff Jr. to the position of Chairman,
while also naming Larry Dixon as the Top Fuel representative, and Ron
Capps as the representative for the Funny Car drivers.   Dixon and
Capps are charged with gathering input from the drivers in their
respective groups, while the committee as a whole will prioritize the
various issues facing the 300-mph, nitro-fueled classes.

It has been four years since Kenny Koretsky made his first NHRA Pro
Stock final-round appearance at the 50th U.S. Nationals and finished a
close second to Greg Anderson.

“I was probably the happiest loser that day just because my first final
came in NHRA’s premier event,” Koretsky said at the time.  He kept
trying for that first victory and now it’s certain he won’t be in
contention for this weekend’s 54th Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly
Motorsports Park because he will be watching his cars run.

Richie Stevens will be at the controls of Koretsky’s Nitro Fish/Indicom
Electric Pontiac GXP when qualifying gets underway Friday night.

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider in top ten but not clinched …

Pro
Stock Motorcycle rider Steve Johnson left on Matt Smith and led him the
entire length of the quarter-mile, but a timing malfunction handed the
coveted Indy victory to Smith. The NHRA overturned the victory days
later.

NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson is well practiced in
the grueling five-day adventure known as the NHRA U.S. Nationals in
Indianapolis. The veteran rider from Irondale, Ala., knows how to win
the marquee event, then have it mistakenly taken away only to be
returned days later in a hailstorm of controversy.

A glitch in
the timing system first gave the victory to his opponent in a race that
Johnson was confident he’d won. As he turned off the track, he turned
to the assembled media and plaintively asked, “I lost?” It was a bitter
pill to swallow, but less than 24 hours later, after careful
examination of the race video it was apparent to all that Johnson had
won by almost a wheel width.

Renowned hot rod designer, builder, and restorer Christopher Sondles of
Woody's Hot Rodz in Bright, Ind., will be on hand at various times
during the 54th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals to sign autographs and
answer questions at the JEGS/Speedco trailer on Manufacturer's Midway.