In 1979, Jeg Coughlin Sr. was riding high in the drag racing world. He had a
top-10 race car and was vying for the trophy at every event he attended. But the
founder of JEGS High Performance hit a big hurdle, literally, at his home
racetrack of National Trail Raceway in Columbus,
Ohio, when his parachutes failed to deploy
after a 250-mph pass and he ended up crashing into the top-end catch net. It was
a harrowing accident, but one Coughlin immediately emerged from completely
unscathed.

His JEGS racer wasn't so
fortunate, however, as the severe damage caused by the incident reduced his car
to a twisted bit of wreckage that was deemed undrivable by Coughlin and
crew.

Brandon Bernstein and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team have won the
O’Reilly Spring Nationals twice, 2004 and 2006.  The only Top Fuel
driver to be a three-peat winner of the event is team owner and father,
Kenny.

When the Bernsteins return to their home state of Texas March 28-30,
they will be looking to collect career trophy No. 18 for Brandon.

“We have a new chassis that we debuted at the last race at Gainesville,
Fla.,” said the second-generation driver.  “We were runner-up at that
event and ran good, competitive numbers.  We are coming into this event
with some momentum, and hopefully we will have a strong showing.”

Momentum is very important to Tony Schumacher right now. Off to his
best start since the 2004 season, he’s looking to maintain the edge
this weekend during the O’Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway
Park.

Schumacher leads second-place Larry Dixon by 52 points thanks to two victories out of three events thus far in 2008.

“We’re pleased that we’ve started off the way we have,” said the
five-time world champion. “This is so different than in recent years
when we’ve struggled early but rallied late.”

Laurie Cannister, driver of the Kalbones Grill’n Sauce IHRA Alcohol
Funny Car will shake down the team’s plans for the 2008 IHRA Drag
Racing season with Stagin’ Stevie LeTempt tonight (Wednesday, March 26
at 8PM Eastern).

Classic Instruments, based in Boyne City, Michigan, has created a
one-of-a-kind collectible gauge set to honor Eric Medlen, former driver
of the John Force Racing Castrol Syntec Funny Car. In conjunction with
John Force Racing this complete set of gauges is currently up for
auction on eBay with all proceeds going to one of Eric Medlen’s
favorite charities, Racers For Christ.

This unique set includes the Speedometer and Tach (3” dia.) both carry
the official Eric Medlen # 4 Memorial logo, and the Fuel – Oil – Volt
& Temperature gauges (2” dia.) also featuring the Eric Medlen #4
Memorial logo. Only one set of these gauges was produced and they will
never be duplicated. The complete package comes with all sending units
and is ready to install in any hot rod, muscle car or classic vehicle.
Classic Instruments is responsible for all warranties and guarantees.

The NHRA POWERade Series has three of 24 races completed heading into this
weekend's 21st annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park, so
it's still early in the 2008 championship campaign, but early returns show a
promising future for Team Chevy's Funny Car contingent.

After defending
NHRA POWERade Funny Car champ Tony Pedregon drove past Gary Densham in an
all-Chevy final round at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., two weeks ago,
the Funny Car points standings saw four drivers behind the wheel of a Chevy
Impala SS Funny Car sitting in the top seven in drivers points. Brothers and
teammates Cruz and Tony Pedregon lead the way for Team Chevy in third and
fourth, respectively, followed by Gary Densham in the Racebricks Chevy Impala SS
in fifth and Tim Wilkerson in the Levi, Ray, &Shoup Chevy Impala SS in
seventh.

"If you look at the quality of teams that are in the top 15, you
start wondering who's going to get bumped out (for the Countdown)," Tony
Pedregon said. "When I think in those terms, I know the importance of every race
and I know the importance of every qualifying position because it may come down
to that.

The city of La Porte, Texas, is honoring the Don Schumacher Racing team for the
second consecutive year during its annual Motorhead Maniacs event, held downtown
on Thursday, March 27, from 6 p.m to 9 p.m., in advance of the weekend's NHRA
Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

The highlight of the event is
a free autograph session featuring Don Schumacher Racing team drivers Jack
Beckman (Valvoline/MTS Dodge Funny Car), Cory McClenathan (FRAM Top Fuel
dragster), Chip Ellis (Schumacher Electric Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle) and
Jerry Toliver (Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge Funny Car), as well as classic rock
music from JJ Dynomite, moonwalks for the kids, food and drinks and an auto show
displaying classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, dragsters, oval-track
racing cars, other unique vehicles, as well as the U.S. Army Top Fuel
dragster.

ANDRA and Western Sydney International Dragway (WSID) have announced
the New South Wales venue has been awarded the rights to run drag
racing's most prestigious event, the annual Australian Nationals, for
the next three years.

The event was first staged in 1965, bringing drag racers together from
all over the country to find who was best on the day. From there the
Australian Nationals circulated around Australia's best tracks on an
annual basis, until being "taken off the road" in the early nineties
and given a long term home in Melbourne. The event flourished there
before Willowbank Raceway, with backing from Queensland Events
Corporation won the rights to stage the "Big Go" in Ipswich, Queensland
from 2001.

After six years, Western Sydney International Dragway has been
successful in taking the event to New South Wales, where it will open
the 2008/2009 Australian Group One Championships and the Rocket
Allstars Racing Series on Friday, September 5th and Saturday, September
6th, 2008.

Chris Rivas qualified for his first event of 2008 in the same position he ended the 2007 season,  ninth. That’s

Chris Rivas has a channge of scenery driving for the G2 Motorsports team. (Roger Richards Photo)

where the similarities end for the Fresno, California-based rider.

Last year, Rivas was dismissed in mid-race during the NHRA AAA Finals
in Pomona, California following a dispute with his team owner. He was
ninth. A 7.041, 190.27 was enough to send him into the first round of
the Gatornationals as the ninth seeded entry.

A lot has transpired since 2007 for Rivas. The talented Rivas was named
rider for George Smith and George Bryce’s G2 Motorsports. For the first
time in his career, he’s got a budget to compete alongside the upper
echelon teams.

Don Schumacher Racing introduces two exciting new features to its shoeracing.com
website, "Ask us Anything" and "In the News," which will further enhance driver
accessibility to fans of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

DSR brings
its all-star lineup of drivers and crew chiefs to the table for "Ask us
Anything," where fans will be able to submit questions online to team owner Don
Schumacher's "cast of characters": Tony Schumacher, Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps, Jack
Beckman, Cory McClenathan, Jerry Toliver, and Chip Ellis. Crew Chiefs Ed "Ace"
McCulloch, Todd Okuhara, Steve Tartaglia and Mike Green will also participate to
give insight on the mechanics of a Top Fuel Dragster, Nitro Funny Car, and a Pro
Stock Motorcycle.