The
votes are in, and after five weeks of online voting for the JDRF-themed
design that will appear on Bob Tasca III’s Shelby Mustang Funny Car
during the NHRA U.S Nationals, a total of $84,542 was raised for
research for type 1 diabetes.

Over 300 designs were submitted for the online contest, and the top six
donation-earning designs have been submitted to the Ford judging table
for final selection. The winning design will be unveiled on Tasca’s
race car in downtown Indianapolis on August 28.

“The goal of this design contest was to help raise awareness for JDRF,
and with over $84,000 in donations from people from all across the
country, I think we accomplished that goal,” said Al Giombetti, Ford
Customer Service Division executive director. “We’re very excited to
have one of the top six designs on our car during the U.S. Nationals in
Indy, and look forward to continuing our partnership with JDRF.”

Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher was listed No. 1 in this week’s National
Speed Sport News Driver Power Rankings,

Tony Schumacher needs only three national event victories to tie Joe Amato's career victory mark. (Bob Pellegrini)

just ahead of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.
Schumacher has eight wins in 15 races this season and clinched a spot in the
Countdown to 1 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, seven
races before the cutoff point.

Schumacher is just three races away from notching yet another item in drag racing history.

After
completing a sweep of the NHRA’s “Western Swing” two weeks ago,
Schumacher is now just three wins short of tying Joe Amato’s Top Fuel
career victory mark, which stands at 52.

“Man, it’s hard to comprehend that we’re approaching that kind of a
record,” said the five-time world champion. “To be in the position that
we’re in right now really proves that the U.S. Army team is clearly one
of the best teams that’s ever been assembled in the history of the
sport.”

The realization she won’t be among the 10 Funny Car drivers competing
for the 2008 POWERade Series championship didn’t find Melanie Troxel
gnashing her teeth in disgust or stomping around in a sullen mood.

Nope, that’s not her style.  She approaches it as an opportunity to continue to improve instead of an opportunity lost.

“It’s interesting,” said Troxel.  “People almost feel like it’s a
wasted season if you don’t make the top 10.  But, in reality, if you
don’t finish in the top three or four, then I’m not sure it matters if
you finish fifth or 15th.

“I would rather go out and win a couple of races this year than be able
to make the top 10 but finish 10th and not win any races.  It’s more
important to me to have race wins. Nobody’s going to remember who
finished fifth or 10th come five years from now.  But if you were able
to go out and win several races and be a dominant team in the last part
of the season, that’s something I think our Gotham City Racing team
would definitely be proud of.”

Greg Weld, founder of Kansas City, Mo.-based Weld Wheels, died of a heart attack this morning. He was 64.

Weld
was known as both a driver and a racing entrepreneur. As a driver, he
was a successful competitor in the USAC Series. In 1963, he won
sprint-car racing’s big race, the Knoxville Nationals in Knoxville, Iowa. Weld was the 1967 USAC sprint-car champion. He also drove in the Indianapolis 500 in 1970, where he started 28th and finished 32nd. He was voted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville.

One of the more interested spectators during the recently completed
IHRA Torco Northern Nationals in Martin, Mich., was two-time IHRA Funny
Car champion

Dale Creasy Jr. enjoyed his first weekend back at the races since his Edmonton accident. (Roger Richards)

Dale Creasy, Jr., who was injured in a driveline explosion in July during the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Alb.

Creasy suffered serious injuries to his legs when a driveline failure
exposed his legs to rotating metal parts which left him with broken
bones and lacerations. He’s since underwent a pair of surgical
procedures to repair the damage.

The upbeat Creasy has a long recovery procedure ahead, but his determination to return to driving has never been stronger.

Tommy Franklin realizes that luck can play a major role in drag racing.
Good fortunes can mean the difference between a win or a loss.

However, to Franklin, luck could have easily meant the difference between life and death.

Franklin competes in the American Drag Racing League’s Pro Nitrous
division and during the recently completed event in Budds Creek, Md.,
the Fredericksburg, Va.-based driver suffered one of the more
devastating crashes in the history of the racing series.

He was uninjured  in the crash and by his assessment, lucky.

Roger Richards Photo

Terry Haddock spent much of his Friday evening and the wee hours of
Saturday during the recently completed IHRA Torco Nothern Nationals pinpointing a cause for his massive engine explosion on the
starting line. He had the answer his was looking for by the time he
made Saturday’s first run.

Chris Rivas has quickly learned that riding for the G2 Motorsports
team, which is sponsored by aftermarket V-twin giants Drag Specialties
and S&S Cycle has more than its fair share of perks.

Rivas has experienced one of those perks in visiting this weeks Sturgis
Motorcycle rally  in Sturgis, S.D. He’ll be mingling with the thousands
of riders at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for the first time Monday and
Tuesday, but he won’t be riding his motorcycle.

Troy Williams, Jr. had to win a race for a fallen friend and it’s
fitting he attained the feat at a track he’s experienced much success.
He scored a Top Dragster win at the annual Lucas Oil Division 3 event
at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio.
Last season, Williams left the Columbus with a pair of NHRA “Wally”
trophies, as he was triumphant in both Super Comp and Top Dragster at
the annual Lucas Oil Division Race Series at National Trails.

This one was special, though.

Remember in grade school when you were assigned the traditional “what I did last summer” essay?

Frank Gugliotta admits to using the experience of crew chief on an NHRA team to improve his IHRA Pro Stock effort. (Roger Richards)

If IHRA Pro Stock racer Frank Gugliotta were presented with the same
task, he’d fill the pages with details of working on the NHRA 500-inch
scene as a crew chief for friend Justin Humphreys; a position which
became available when previous tuner Bob Glidden retired.

Make no bones about it Gugliotta is having as much fun turning the
wrenches  on an NHRA Pro Stock as he is driving on the IHRA circuit.
And, what he is learning as a crew chief is being applied to his IHRA
effort.

Never mind the fact Gugliotta’s IHRA engine displaces 300-inches more
than Humphreys’ car, with each outing he gathers that much more
information he can use in both types of racing.