In his short time competing in the JEGS ProMod Challenge, Raymond Commisso
already has proven to be a contender for every race title. His four runner-up
finishes in 12 race-day starts has helped him establish an enviable 64-percent
winning ratio in eliminations and his 21 round wins rank him 10th on the
all-time list.

Currently third in the JEGS points, the driver of the
ProCare Rx Pontiac Firebird is considered by many to be a bona fide threat for
the 2008 Pro Mod title. With former driver Al Billes tuning his 526 Hemi and
crew chief Ralph Andreacchi calling the shots, this could very well be
Commisso's breakout year.

The Canadian restaurateur had his first victory
in hand at the 2008 season-opening Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. After a
first-round bye, the 37-year-old Commisso recorded both his career-best elapsed
time (5.935) and top speed (247.34 mph) in consecutive wins over top guns Tony
Pontieri and Jay Payne.

At times, students can say the darndest things and for Charles Womack,
Automotive Instructor at Union County Career & Technology Center
[Union, SC] one suggestion made all the sense in the world.

Womack, an instructor for the last six years with the vocational
school, was bringing a group of students back from the NHRA Southern
Nationals in Commerce, Ga., when one posed a question; could the class
build a car of their own?

“We’ve had the idea for a while and after a couple of years of rolling
around with administration, the idea is a reality,” Womack said. “We
finally got the blessing.”

The blessing for Womack and his students is nothing more than a beat
up, rusted 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass they plan to drag race in foot brake
competition against other school programs. The car will be powered by a
big block Chevrolet also built by the students.

Scotty and Scott Cannon
turned in an impressive performance at the IHRA season-opener in San Antonio, Texas.
Pending a new sponsorship program, the team will be parked after this weekend’s
IHRA event in Rockingham.

“We already have our cars
ready and since Rockingham is so close to home we will still run this race,”
said the six-time World Champion Cannon. “But you can bet your bottom dollar
that after this event we will be parked until a new marketing partner is found or
until Torco Race Fuels resumes its sponsorship with our team. We have worked
with Evan for a long time and hope to continue our business relationship. Our
friendship will always be intact.”

Strange occurrences happen when a driver feels loved. When Cory Mac started feeling the love, he

Cory McClenathan's victory represents his first since Richmond 2006. (Roger Richards Photos)

started
winning rounds. On a day when the track was ugly, 30-time NHRA national
event winner Cory McClenathan pieced together four consecutive round
wins for this first triumph since Richmond 2006.

"To say the least, it's about time. That's all I can say," said
McClenathan. "It's been a couple of years since we've even had a
competitive car and to win Richmond a couple of years ago was great.
That was my 29th victory, but to come here exactly 30 races later and
win my 30th Top Fuel event is incredible.

Many
know the name Gene Fulton for his prowess in building ultra-fast,
nitrous-injected engines for Pro Modifieds and other kinds of outlaw
doorslammer competition. In the previous chapter of his racing life,
Spartanburg, South Carolina's Fulton was a very successful class racer
and won five world championships to prove it.

The NHRA O’Reilly Jr. Drag Racing League Eastern and Western conference
finals will be featured during two episodes of Inside Drag Racing on
ION TV. Inside Drag Racing is produced by Masters Entertainment Group,
producers of NHRA drag racing programming for more than a decade.

The Eastern Conference Finals will air at 4:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday, Aug.
9.  The event is being contested July 10-12 at Bristol Dragway in
Bristol, Tenn.

The Western Conference Finals will air at 4:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday, Aug.
23.  The event is being contested July 24-26 at Bandimere Speedway near
Denver.

The NHRA has entered into a strategic alliance with global sports and
entertainment company IMG to serve as its exclusive outside sponsorship
marketing agent.   IMG will work alongside the current sales team at
NHRA, led by senior vice president of sales & marketing, Gary Darcy.

 “IMG brings with it more than 50 years of leadership and innovation in
the world of sports,” said Darcy.  “With strong relationships within
corporate America, and abroad, we believe IMG will be able to help
deliver NHRA’s unique attributes to key decision makers in the sports
sponsorship arena.”

IMG will be charged with business development and securing non-endemic
sponsorship to NHRA, which continues to offer the best value in terms
of sports sponsorship according to a leading sports business
publication.  The team will be led by George Pyne, president of IMG
Sports & Entertainment.   Much of the initiative will be driven out
of the New York and Charlotte offices of IMG, giving NHRA a presence in
both the business and motorsports capitals of the world for the first
time in its 50-plus year history.

Clay Millican confirmed today he is a free agent in the drag racing world again.

Millican, a veteran driver for Evan Knoll’s Top Fuel team, confirmed he
and the rest of his team was informed they “should start exploring
other opportunities” in drag racing.

“I was told by Torco they weren’t sure what was going to happen with
the race teams at this time,” Millican confirmed. “The whole team was
instructed to explore other opportunities.”

Reigning European Top Fuel champion Urs Erbacher of Switzerland completed his
early season tour of the United States with a computer full of data that the FIA
titleholder is convinced will help him defend his crown this
summer.

Racing at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend,
Erbacher successfully qualified for his fourth event in as many tries on this
year's POWERade Drag Racing Series. The four-time European champion has proven
he can run well at the sport's elite level and should now be an even bigger
force on the 2008 FIA tour.

"The experience we gained here this spring
has made us stronger," Erbacher said. "It was an expensive expedition,
especially without the primary sponsorship we continue to need, but the
dividends it will pay should make it all worthwhile. I'm not sure if our
European counterparts have found time to test for the upcoming season but even
if they have, it would be hard to compare with the experience of racing
NHRA.

The recently-completed NHRA Summit Nationals in Las Vegas marked the
second time that Bob Tasca III advanced to the quarter-finals in 2008,
his

Sunday’s race marked the second time that Bob Tasca III advanced to the quarter-finals in 2008, his rookie season.

rookie season.

“The car got real loose on me and came sideways,” said Tasca, following
his second run of the day. “I stepped off it and I pedaled it once just
in case Ron may have smoked the tires, but then I saw him out in front
of me. The car came around towards the cone as I lifted, and when I
lifted, I hit the cone. But that’s the difference between racing and
qualifying. On Sunday, within reason you do whatever you can to get to
the finish line and unfortunately for us we lost a little bit of
traction and the car came around pretty hard. But Capps made a real
good run down that left lane.”