Dan Wilkerson Claims Provisional #1 Qualifier Spot at First Career National Event

Son of current NHRA points leader Tim Wilkerson scores impressive debut at IHRA Motor City Nationals

In his professional debut, Tim Wilkerson raced to the No. 1 spot.

Dan Wilkerson has big shoes to fill. The son of current NHRA Nitro
Funny Car points leader Tim Wilkerson took a huge step towards filling
those shoes at the IHRA Motor City Nationals at Milan Dragway.

Wilkerson, from Springfield, Ill., made the best of his first-ever
Nitro Funny Car competitive pass by carding a 4.831 at 316.01 mph to
move to the head of the Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro qualifying list
Friday night. Though Dan Wilkerson has made a name for himself in the
Alcohol Funny Car ranks, winning the NHRA Division 3 title last season,
he has always wanted to move into the nitro ranks. Though he earned his
license last season,the Motor City Nationals were the first chance he
had to show what he could do behind the wheel of the ’07 Impala his
father has put in the Winner’s Circle on the NHRA tour twice this
season.

Thanks to the amazing stories of Ashley
Force's first win, the inspiring comeback of her legendary father,
John, and the growing popularity of both, images of the John Force
Racing team have been showing up far and wide.

A CNN special produced by Ray D'Alessio that focuses specifically
on John's comeback from career-threatening injuries incurred in the
crash of his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car last September at Texas
Motorplex in Dallas will air this weekend on CNN Headline News.

The piece, developed from an interview last month in Atlanta
before the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals where Force
was runner-up to Ashley, will air twice an hour between 1 and 4 p.m. ET
Sunday, May 25.

A monumental icon of drag racing history now crowns the all-new Hot
Rodz Diner at Maryland Int’l Raceway. Graciously donated by Bunny
Burkett, the championship winning 1985 Chrysler Laser Top Alcohol Funny
Car adds soul, spirit & celebration to the new landmark.

In the 60’s, Bunny worked in a Baltimore Playboy Club to earn money to
purchase a 1967 Ford Mustang. Shortly after, “Lead Foot Bunny” was
painted on the car and a nickname was born. In 1973, Bunny started on
her way to become a professional driver as she got behind the wheel of
a nine-second Pinto Pro Stocker. She later traded it for her first
Funny Car, and a star was born. Being the first woman to ever win an
IHRA World Championship, her fame and fan-appeal follows her from coast
to coast with one exciting chapter after another. However, it was her
passion for racing that opened up a daunting new chapter in her life…
the fight for her life following a horrific accident in 1995.

Warren Johnson has reached the “seasoned” point in his career and
proudly proclaims on a regular basis that old age and treachery will
whip youth and enthusiasm every day.

Twice in 2008, the GM Performance Parts-sponsored Johnson has qualified
on the pole position in the highly competitive NHRA Pro Stock division.
In the recently completed NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, he qualified
on the pole for the second time in 2008.

“I love what I am doing and when you do that, you gain a job you don’t
count the hours of work you put in,” Johnson said. “I’ve been blessed
with good health and that’s enabled me to do this for this long.”

Pro Stock points leader John Montecalvo admitted the shelf-life on bragging rights from winning a national

The shelf-life for a national event victory and the point lead bragging right lasts a few days. (Roger Richards)

event and gaining the points lead can be short. He's reached the final round in both IHRA events in 2008.

“That lasts until Monday afternoon, after that it's all over,” said
Montecalvo. “You get back to work and get back on your normal life, and
you try to enjoy it for the weekend. Certainly got a lot of calls to
the office on Monday and Tuesday, lot of congratulations, but I would
say by Wednesday night it was all over.”

One thing which hasn’t subsided for Montecalvo is the belief this season will be the quickest-ever for the class.

Those seeking an immediate resolution to the NHRA’s fine of Don
Schumacher Racing shouldn’t expect the issue to be resolved in the
immediate. The NHRA’s appeal process can take up to 90 days. There are
three steps to the process and each takes 30 days to complete.

Maple Grove Raceway outside of Reading, Pennsylvania holds special
meaning for the Follow A Dream (“FAD”) Top Alcohol Funny Car race
team.   Maple Grove is where FAD team owner and crew chief Jay Blake,
who is the only blind crew chief in motorsports, decided to follow his
dream of owning his own drag race team.

Blake brings his Permatex/Wynn’s/Texas Roadhouse 2008 Chevrolet Impala
SS Top Alcohol Funny Car to Maple Grove this weekend (May 23-24, 2008)
for the second stop on the 2008 NHRA Northeast Division 1 race schedule.

“Every race is special, but this one this year is a little more so, 
because it comes one day after the anniversary of my accident,” said
Blake, who was left without sight, taste and smell following the May
22, 1997 industrial accident that left him clinging to life.  “It’s
amazing how far this team has come over the years, and it would be
great if we put it all together this weekend at Maple Grove.”

Pontiac and GMC will fill the  role as the official vehicles of
Heartland Park Topeka. The multi-purpose racing facility located five
miles south of downtown Topeka is celebrating its 20th anniversary in
2008 and will join Bristol Dragway, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway, Houston Raceway Park and Virginia Motorsports Park as venues
where Pontiac and GMC are the official vehicles. Pontiac and GMC also
serve as the official car and truck of the NHRA and are the official
vehicles at all NHRA-owned facilities including Gainesville Raceway,
Atlanta Dragway, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis and Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona.

"Heartland Park Topeka is one of this country's premier racing
facilities," said Fred Simmonds, GM drag racing marketing manager.
"Track officials and the management have done a wonderful job in making
improvements to the facility that will continue to benefit race fans
and competitors for years to come. Pontiac and GMC are proud to serve
as the official vehicles of Heartland Park Topeka."

Second-year NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Sean O'Bannon and the
Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV's team will debut their new '08 Monte
Carlo body during this weekend's Division 6 Lucas Oil Drag Racing
Series event in Mission, B.C.  The team hopes the lower-profile Monte
Carlo body will enable the team to run better speeds.
 
O'Bannon, who helps run the family business, Fontana Wood Products, in
Fontana, Calif., is excited about returning to the track after
qualifying No. 2 at his last event, the SummitRacing.com Nationals in
Las Vegas.

Roger Richards Photo

Chip Ellis, rider of the Schumacher Electric Suzuki Pro Stock
Motorcycle in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, made a special
“V.I.P.” visit to Van Buren Technology Center in Lawrence, Mich., on
Tuesday, May 20. Ellis toured the technical facility, met with hundreds
of students and enjoyed a luncheon with members of the faculty. The
NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car was also on display during
the visit.
 
"It was a very interesting day," said Ellis, who is currently third in
the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle point standings. "It is a technical
school for high-school kids who go there half-days. There are a variety
of programs available for the students, including everything from
welding classes and automobile repair to law enforcement and finance
and computer classes. It was a pretty cool day.