Richard Hogan had a lot on his mind Thursday evening when he was
contacted by Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com to discuss his dismissal from
Morgan Lucas Racing. His concerns weren’t centered on himself and his
future. They were about his crew members, who he said, moved to work
with him.

Hogan said they are now left without their crew chief.

“They decided to fire me and that’s always an owner’s decision,” Hogan
said. “What I really had a problem with is the crew guys that I had are
still there that have been with me for two to three years. They
relocated from different areas of the country to come race on the team
with me. They moved their families and left Schumacher’s with me also.

“We moved under the faith that we’d have a good program with Lucas. They fired me and never thought anything about them.”

One of
the more intriguing story lines arising from the Pro Stock pit area following
the first three races of the 2008 POWERade Drag Racing season concerns the
return to prominence of two of the category’s perennial contenders, the father
and son duo of Warren and Kurt Johnson.  After combining to post a total of five
Top Four starts in all of 2007, the talented tandem have already scored six such
qualifying positions in 2008, highlighted by their charge to the first and
second starting spots at the recently completed ACDelco Gatornationals in
Gainesville, FL. 

Although there is certainly reason
for cautious optimism at the ACDelco Cobalt and GM Performance Parts GXP teams’
Sugar Hill, GA
headquarters as they prepare for next weekend’s O’Reilly Spring Nationals in
Houston, TX, both drivers admitted they would only
consider their efforts successful once they translate this improvement into
return trips to the winner’s circle.

“It’s all coming together nicely,”
said Kurt.  “I believe both Dad and I are in a better position at this point in
the season than we have been for several years, and that’s the result of a lot
of hard work by everyone at the shop.  There’s been a lot of trial and error and
experimenting with different combinations. We’ve had good and bad days and we’ve
burnt our share of midnight oil, but the results are starting to
show.

The annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals holds special significance for the entire
JEGS Racing team, and not just because this is one of the biggest races in the
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Five years ago, the entire Coughlin family
used this high-profile race to launch the JEGS Foundation "Racing for Cancer
Research" program, which has since raised millions of dollars for the Arthur G. James
Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research
Institute at The Ohio State University.

It was at Gainesville Raceway
that JEGS first rolled out a mobile cancer screening center that tested fans,
racers, and crew personnel free-of-charge with an emphasis on the fact that
early detection of all forms of cancer is the best pathway to surviving the
disease.

A free NHRA driver autograph session will kick off
the annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.  The event will take place from 7-8 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, at The
Palms Resort Casino at 4321 W. Flamingo Road in Las Vegas.

In anticipation of his dream flight with the world-renowned
Thunderbirds, the fabled Air Demonstration Squadron of the United
States Air Force, reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Jeg
Coughlin Jr. sent along a coveted "Pro Stock Champion" hat from his
personal collection to Maj. (Ret.) Brian "Bear' Lihani of NORAD.

Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has learned that former NHRA POWERade Funny
Car driver and multi-time national event winner Al Hofmann died today
from a massive heart attack while at his Eustis, Florida home. 

Top Australian drag racer Brett
Stevens Racing team has made an unprecedented announcement that it currently has
a once in a lifetime opportunity to ‘live the dream’ as a professional
motorsports superstar.

A dominating force in the ANDRA
Championship Drag Racing series, the team has advertised that it is seeking both
a Top Doorslammer driver and Nitro Harley Top Bike pilot to join what is already
the largest professional motorsport team in Australia.

“As well as
someone that has all of the obvious mechanical and driving skills, I am also
looking for someone that will be able to gel well and be a team
player.”

When IHRA Pro Stock driver Carl Baker traveled the roads winning round
after round in his Summit Racing Equipment-sponsored mountain motor
entry, he never envisioned the experience to be one of preparation for
a time when he would hang up the helmet to become a crew chief. Baker’s
career yielded a career six national event victories in ten finals.

Trevor Eman was a young student in his native homeland of Aruba during
Baker’s heyday. He’s since worked his way up the ladder driving quick
doorslammers on the island.

IHRA Pro Stock is his next conquest.

This is where their lives will cross next month when the IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro Jam Series kicks off in San Antonio, Texas.

Top Fuel Icons Chris Karamesines and Fred Farndon, with a combined 110
years of racing experience, to square off Friday, April 4 at Amalie Oil
Texas Nationals

Chris Karamesines and Fred Farndon have seen everything there is to see
when it comes to Top Fuel racing. In fact, they have been through every
technological advance the class has ever gone through. They have been
there from the beginning and continue to drive in the class, getting
behind the wheel of the most powerful vehicles in competitive motor
sports.

They have taken much different paths during their Top Fuel careers, but
it will all come full-circle Friday at the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals
when the two legends will go head-to-head during the evening qualifying
session.

Farndon, born in Toronto Sept. 4, 1938, has been driving a Nitro car
since the late 1950’s. Karamesines, who broke the 200 mph barrier at
Alton Dragway on April 4, 1960, will turn 80 years old this season. The
Chicago-based driver is a member of the Professional Motorsports Hall
of Fame.

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Funny Car world champ Tony Pedregon and fellow NHRA racers Whit
Bazemore and Marty Nothstein will join an eclectic roster of stars of
film, television, and sports when they strap into brand-new, race-ready
Scion tCs to vie for the checkered flag in the world's longest-running,
most successful celebrity racing event: the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race Saturday, April 19, part of the 34th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The field of 18 is revved up for competition in this historic,
10-lap race for charity on a 1.97-mile street circuit through the
downtown streets of Long Beach in Southern California. The
Pro/Celebrity race, one of six featured events during race weekend,
gives fans a chance to see their favorite stars duke it out on the
track during exciting action-packed competition.

This year's field includes the following group of fiercely competitive entertainment personalities, sports stars, and media personalities: