Former gymnast’s worlds
intersect this weekend in Commerce …

Hillary Will may be known as the fastest female
driver (334.65 mph, Feb., 2008 – Pomona, Calif.) in drag racing but
growing up she was an accomplished gymnast. The vastly different worlds
will intersect for her during the NHRA Southern Nationals weekend in
Commerce, Ga.

This weekend the NCAA Gymnastics championships will take place in nearby Athens, Ga.

Officials with the JEGS ProMod Challenge have announced a list of
invitees for the upcoming 12th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals,
which run May 2-4 at Gateway International Raceway in the St. Louis
suburb of Madison, Ill. The 24 racers on the list must accept their
invitations by the close of business Monday, April 28, or risk losing
their spot.

The invited racers, listed in alphabetical order, are Mike Ashley, Joe
Baker, Roger Burgess, Raymond Commisso, Troy Coughlin, Steve Engel, Tom
Gray, Josh Hernandez, Chip King, Mike Knowles, Kirk Kuhns, Harold
Laird, Taylor Lastor, Thomas Patterson, Jay Payne, Shelly Payne, Brad
Personett, Tony Pontieri, Scott Ray, Danny Rowe, John Russo, Rick
Stivers, Tim Tindle, and Eddie Ware.

John Zappia has been
declared the 2007/2008 Top Doorslammer Champion by ANDRA after completing
enough rounds at the Tin Tops run last weekend to achieve an unbeatable lead in
the points with one event to go.

“It’s a huge weight off my
shoulders”, said Zap after the event, “We started this process towards a
Championship in 2003, and a lot of work has gone in by the crew and supporters
in that time. But most of all, it has been our sponsors that have helped us win
this Championship.”

“A loyal set of local
Western Australian sponsors started us off in the early testing, which was
enough to allow the larger sponsors to enter the national series chase. Rentco
Transport Equipment Rentals Pty Ltd was the first to come on board, then Striker
Screening and Crushing, who have added considerable support and infrastructure
to our team.”

The first-quarter segment of the
NHRA Fantasy Drag Racing game presented by Checker Schuck's Kragen ends
after this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in
Atlanta,
and almost 500 players are within 200 points of the leaders. Because a
player's team of eight starting racers can theoretically earn more than
800 points this weekend, the first-quarter championship – including the
official NHRA merchandise and CSK gift cards that go to the top three
players --  is still wide open.

“When the Atlanta results are
final we will reward and recognize our NHRA fantasy game champions,”
said Jim Schoenberger, vice president of marketing for CSK Auto, Inc.
“But then it's on to Madison for the O'Reilly Midwest Nationals, and the beginning of our second quarter game.  NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series fans who didn't register before now have
three more quarterly games to win some pretty great championship
prizes, and 12 more races to qualify for the big Chase for the
Countdown game.”

Special non-qualifiers race at PMRA Pro Modified events
 
The Pro Modified Racing Association Presented by Torco Racing Fuels
Ontario is pleased to announce that Ajax Engines will sponsor a Chicago
Style Shootout for all non-qualifiers at the four Canadian events  for
2008.
 
“The PMRA series has been growing each year and Ajax Engines wanted to
support the teams in the series,” explained Kirk Silbermann of Ajax
Engines. “Everyone has an off day from time to time and that’s why we
decided to support those guys with a non-qualifiers race.”

Eaton Corporation’s Electrical Business (Canadian Operations) to sponsor Eaton PMRA Challenge at Quebec facility
 

As part of its commitment to customer loyalty and appreciation along
with presenting the best in Pro Modified drag racing, the Canadian
electrical group of Eaton Corporation will once again be host for the
Eaton Presents the Third Annual PMRA Challenge at the Sanair drag strip.
 
Situated just outside of St-Pie, Quebec, the Sanair track is just south
of Montreal. This year’s race will be the fifth on the 2008 Pro
Modified Racing Association Tour.
 
“Hosting this event in previous years has been a terrific way for us to
reward those who remain loyal to the Cutler-Hammer® and Powerware®
brands of Eaton products,” said Paul Tlustos, Marketing Communications
Manager, Eaton (Canada). “The PMRA teams offer an outstanding day of
racing for our guests, and everyone was thrilled to watch these 200-mph
plus doorslammers put on a terrific show.”

Royal Purple Synthetic Lubricants announced today its’ title
sponsorship of the 3rd Annual Powder Puff Race for the Cure, created by
M.O.R.E (Mohave Off-Road Enthusiast) & DAMZL Inc. Benefits and
donations acquired from this year’s event will support Cedar Sinai
Women’s’ Breast Cancer Research Center.  This year’s event will take
place in Barstow California October 10th – 11th 2008.

Jerry Eckman raced many years in NHRA POWERade Pro Stock and the
experience has never come in handy more than it has the last two
seasons.

Eckman, who serves as crew chief for Tom Hammonds, is regularly dipping
into the log books as he tries to find the right combinations for what
can be sometimes unpredictable racing surfaces. He heads into the NHRA
Southern Nationals in Commerce, Georgia this weekend with a past win
under his belt at the established facility.
 
Five races into the season Team Hammonds has qualified only once.
Eckman explains that the team has been working with new set-ups and
trying out new things to find the right combination which has not
always presented the result for which they were working toward – a win.

Chassis fabricator Tommy Mauney, who won IHRA world championships in
both Pro Stock (1990) and Pro Modified (1995), is among the headliners
descending this week on Steve Earwood’s Rockingham Dragway to compete
in the annual Holcomb Motorsports Spring Civil Wars presented by TCI.

Mauney will race in the Carolina Outlaw Pro Mod Shootout contested for
the first time in conjunction with the Civil Wars.  Sharing center
stage will be eighth-mile racing in Outlaw Pro 10.5 Shootout that pays
$7,500 to the winer and competition in the PTRA/TCI Super Series
featuring Real Street, True Street and Top Street.

Pro qualifying will begin with a single session at 8 p.m. Friday and
continue at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday.  Single elimination
finals in the pro categories will begin at 12 noon on Sunday. 
Saturday’s show also will crown champions in three PTRA index classes –
5.30 seconds, 6.0 seconds and 7.0 seconds.

Racing NHRA Top Fuel is
nothing new for Elkhart, Indiana’s Terry McMillen. What will be new
for the IHRA regular is racing with the dual role of driver and car owner.

"We're excited about
being in Atlanta,"
McMillen said. "We planned on running several of the NHRA races this
season; Atlanta
wasn't really one of them, but our crew chief, John Smith, has done a great job
of getting a handle on this car and getting our crew to jell in a short amount
of time. We've got 10 laps on this new chassis and combination, and John
already has us in the .60s."

McMillen operates under
the Hoosier Thunder Motorsports moniker and will compete this weekend with
additional backing from Ole Country Smokehouse of Anderson, S.C. Primary
sponsorship comes from Torco Race Fuels and Amalie Oil.