During his qualifying run, Rick Stivers wrecked several times -- he just didn't hit anything. (Roger Richards)

When Pro Mod driver Rick Stivers said he was looking to “get lucky” in Atlanta
at this weekend's JEGS Pro Mod Challenge event at the Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Southern Nationals, he didn't think he would be talking about the kind of
luck he had today. It wasn't "bad" luck— far from it. It was the kind of luck
that kept him from hitting the walls and  barrel rolling sideways down the
quarter-mile at Atlanta Dragway.
 
In his first qualifying attempt, the
Lexington, Ky.-resident delivered a white-knuckle, breath-holding performance,
characteristic of the thrills common to the Pro Modified class. From the left
lane, his '67 Shelby Mustang GT took a hard left after Stivers pushed the car
into second gear, and the veteran driver held on and corrected, narrowly missing
the left wall only to turn and head for the right wall traveling nearly 100 mph.
Holding on for dear life, Stivers recovered from the car jumping up on just one
wheel and kept from barrel-rolling down the track. He ended the run back in his
lane, looking around the cockpit for the divine helper that got him through the
run unscathed.

WILKERSON, McCLENATHAN, KRISHER, HINES CLAIM PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFYING SPOTS

Tim Wilkerson followed up his Vegas win with the provisional low qualifying effort in Commerce, Ga.

Tim Wilkerson looked to continue his qualifying domination as he took
the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car Friday at the 28th annual
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

Wilkerson drove his Levi Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS to a
4.774-second pass at 325.92 mph to become the provisional top
qualifier. It will be his 13th career No. 1 and second in Commerce.

In the world of heads-up professional drag racing, perhaps nothing
exemplifies the dog-eat-dog nature of the sport better than words, “Go
Full Throttle or Go Home!”

Beginning in 2009, that’s exactly how NHRA’s top professional series
will be branded, as Coca-Cola North America’s Full Throttle energy
drink succeeds POWERade as the title sponsor of NHRA’s premier
professional drag racing series.  It’s the first major sports marketing
play for the beverage Company’s lead energy drink.

The association between NHRA and Coca-Cola North America, with support
from Coca-Cola Enterprises, includes a two-year partnership extension
through the 2013 season, representing one of the longest running series
sponsorships in motorsports. The new series will be called the NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Before heading to Atlanta to compete in the sixth race of the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series, Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III made a stop
in Dearborn, Mich. to participate in Ford Customer Service Division’s
“Bring Your Child To Work Day” activities.

“I was really excited when FCSD asked me to be a part of this day,”
said Tasca. “One of the best things of being an NHRA driver is talking
with kids at and away from the track about the sport.”

Josh Hernandez, the defending NHRA Jegs ProMod Series champion, will
not be competing in this weekend's NHRA Southern Nationals. He was
originally invited to participate but was forced to withdraw when
sponsor commitments required his presence in Tulsa, Oklahome at an ADRL
event. The Tulsa event was cancelled and when Hernandez re-applied, he
was declined entry.

Hernandez released a statement regarding the situation today.

"We had planned to be at the ADRL event in Tulsa this weekend to represent the
Guard, and because the schedule conflicted with the JEGS Pro Mod event, we had
to decline their invitation to race. It killed me, but, it was the right thing,
and it's what I had to do. I had held out hope that there was a way to make
things work out, but, at the time JEGS required confirmation of attendance, I
couldn't commit," Hernandez said.
 
Because of excessive rain in the Tulsa
area, it was officially announced on April 18 that the ADRL Shelor.com Spring
Drags had been re-scheduled, thus freeing Hernandez to compete at the NHRA event
April 24-27 -- or so he hoped.

 
Dave Connolly will compete in this weekend's NHRA Southern Nationals in
Commerce. Ga., with primary sponsorship from Charter Communications.
The backing will reportedly enable Connolly through Cagnazzi Racing to
compete in the balance of the 2008 NHRA tour and beyond.

“Everything seems to be
going too smoothly and that makes you wonder,” Connolly said in jest, when
speaking with Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com. “Victor Cagnazzi and Steve Barnes
did a great job putting this program together.”

Chris Rivas spent most of his time between events testing at SGMP. (Roger Richards Photo)

Chris Rivas had admittedly not gotten off the kind of start he’d
preferred for 2008. The rider for G2 Racing Team spent much of the
off-team between NHRA events testing their Buell at South Georgia
Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga.

"As long as we can apply the things we learned last week, we will be
dangerous," said the 41-year-old Fresno, Calif., native.  "We should be
a top-five motorcycle again, thanks to the work done by the guys from
G2 Motorsports.

"And we want to do well here because it is the team's 'hometown' race."

Rivas enters the Atlanta race tied for eighth place in the 2008 NHRA POWERade PSM championship battle.

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.