While still conducting its investigation into the details of last
week’s tragic accident that took the life of driver Scott Kalitta, NHRA
announced today some of its initial findings and subsequent steps being
taken to continue its efforts to make the sport safer.

The loss of Scott Kalitta, a passionate champion driver and devoted
family man, still weighs heavy on the hearts of everyone at NHRA, as we
reflect on his many accomplishments and pass along our deepest
condolences to his wife Kathy, his sons Corey and Colin, his father
Connie, his cousin Doug, the entire Kalitta family and team, and all
those he left behind.

It has been determined that a tragic series of events took place that
fateful afternoon.  An engine explosion near the end of the run
resulted in separating most of the car’s body from the chassis.  The
car’s parachutes did not blossom, and the vehicle continued down the
right side of the shut down area at a high rate of speed.  It went off
the top end of the track, up into the right catch net pole, and hit the
television camera boom beyond the end of the sand trap before coming to
a rest. 

Dan Davis, Ford Motorsports director for the past eleven years, will
retire on August 1. Davis had been with the company for 32 years.

Brian Wolfe, a 26-year Ford veteran who has held a series of management
positions within Ford’s powertrain operations, has been named the new
director of Ford Racing Technology, the company announced today.

“Dan has done a great job for the company and its racing program, and
he’s going to be a tough act to follow,” said Wolfe.   “I look forward
to the challenge of taking the program forward and continuing the
record of success he brought to us.”

Wolfe, 47, has been director, Powertrain Calibration and Controls, Product Development, since 2002.

In his most recent job, Wolfe had global responsibility for all
powertrain computer control software applications and powertrain
calibration, including drivability and emissions.

World Champion Robert Patrick is making the drag racing rounds this
season. He recently won the Fun Ford Weekend event at Virginia
Motorsports Park. (Roger Richards)

When you’re an IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock racer your racing options are limited.

A driver can only race the current ten-race schedule and that’s it, outside of countless test sessions.

That’s what IHRA world champion Robert Patrick used to think.

The Purvis Ford-sponsored driver from Fredericksburg, Va., has found an
alternative for the off weekends. He can now race the Pro 5.0 division
on the Fun Ford Weekend tour.

Recently Patrick won the Fun Ford Weekend event at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va., less than 100 miles from home.

On Saturday, July 12, Pine
Valley Raceway just outside of Lufkin,
Texas, will host the Outlaw Pro
Mod Top Gun Shootout, paying out over $12,500 in purse money and $5,000 to the
winner.  The race will be run on the 1/8
mile and will be an eight car field.

Pine Valley
Raceway is quickly losing its title as East Texas
“Best Kept Secret.”  The state of the art
facility features a 330’ concrete launch pad, concrete walls, lengthy shutdown
(the track is ¼ mile), great lighting and a large paved pit area.  The track is conveniently located four miles
off of US
59 on FM 2497.

Angelle Sampey is still pushing for her first win aboard a Buell.

Making their third
consecutive appearance in as many events, Angelle Sampey is ready for a good
finish on a track she has only seen once before in her career in Pro Stock
Motorcycle.

"We have room to
improve and are on the right track of doing that," crew chief Bryce said
after the team's second round loss to former champ Andrew Hines. "We're
gonna go to Norwalk
and keep improving."

"This is only our
second year racing at Norwalk,
so this is a very new track to us," said Angelle. "Anytime we go to a
new track it takes some getting used to. I'm still not really familiar with the
surface of the track or how we need to run there. Especially being with a new
team, we're gonna have to figure that out together. We're gonna have to figure
out what it takes to get the bike as straight as possible down the lanes. From
what I remember it's a very good track, both lanes, so I don't think we'll have
any issues.

Melanie Troxel has a full plate at this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

As the lead-driver for the Gotham City Racing team, she is tasked with
defending team co-owner Mike Ashley's 2007 victory, and at the same
time, she is working to break into the top-ten to make the Countdown to
One playoffs.
 
In addition, this will be a difficult weekend in drag racing, the first
event since the tragic death of veteran champion Scott Kalitta last
weekend, and Troxel will join her colleagues as they all work to focus
on their jobs wile trying to make personal peace with the tragic loss.
 
"It's like a family out here, so when something like this happens, it
affects everybody and we all feel it. We all know, however, that we are
out here to do a job, something that we all have chosen to do," Troxel
said.

KP Components, a leading
manufacturer of sport-truck suspensions, has been acquired by Chris Alston’s
Chassisworks.  Founded in 2000,

With three decades of drag racing experience, a Funny Car world
championship, and 27 national event victories to his credit, Cruz
Pedregon certainly knows how to be successful at the top level of the
sport. That's why it's so easy for him to get excited about this
weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Norwalk Raceway
Park.

"We're right where we want to be," Pedregon said. "We've gone back to
basics and we're ready to make some serious moves in Norwalk."

Pedregon attributes his upbeat mood directly to his decorated crew
chief, Rahn Tobler, who calls the shots on his Advance Auto Parts
Toyota Solara.

It's understandable why three-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson has
this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing
Equipment Motorsports Park circled on his calendar.

As they do for each of the NHRA POWERade Series' 24 races, Anderson and
KB Racing teammate Jason Line will each be strapping themselves into
Summit Racing Pontiac GXP team cars, so a win here would obviously hold
significant meaning. Anderson enters the Buckeye state coming off of an
impressive performance last weekend at Englishtown, capturing both his
64th career No. 1 qualifier and 54th career win. 

"Summit Racing Equipment has been terrific to this team," Anderson
said. "This week, we'll be competing at the Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, so you kind
of get an idea why this race is so important to everyone on our race
team.  With this event being right in Summit Racing's backyard, just a
few miles down the road from their headquarters in Tallmadge, Ohio,
this race has become the biggest race of the year to us.  They bring
their employees over to the event, they take a lot of pride in the
facility and in the way the event runs.  Doing well there makes it very
important to us.

Three-time IHRA Funny Car world champion Rob Atchison will begin the search today for a new major sponsor for 2009 and beyond.

Erickson Manufacturing notified Atchison notified the Canadian drag
racing icon they will not renew sponsorship of his team past 2008.