Troy Coughlin was surprisingly upbeat after missing the 16-car
elimination field of the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. The
driver of the JEGS.com Pontiac GTO was forced to shut-off very early in
both of his qualifying attempts, surrendering his chance at big numbers
when his racecar made wild moves to the left as soon as he let out the
clutch in both sessions.

"We're not sure why it did that," Coughlin said. "Fortunately, our car
builder, Jerry Haas, is here at this event and he's going over the car
from front to back to see if it's a chassis issue. We've already made
arrangements to stay and test Monday and Tuesday so we'll figure this
thing out and get back after it in Houston.

PEDREGON, BRADSHAW, JOHNSON AND GUIDERA EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT
ACDELCO NHRA GATORNATIONALS

More than a month after suffering one of the most spectacular Funny Car explosions in NHRA history, Tony Pedregon raced

Former Top Alcohol Dragster champion Alan Bradshaw claimed his first top qualifier in Top Fuel.

to the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.

Alan Bradshaw, Warren Johnson and Matt Guidera also were No. 1
qualifiers and will lead their respective categories into Sunday’s 11
a.m. eliminations at the third of 24 NHRA POWERade Series events in
2008.

Former champ Ashley shines in return to JEGS ProMod
Challenge
 

Mike Ashley may have spent the last two years in a nitro Funny Car since winning
back-to-back Pro Mod titles in 2004-2005,

A two year layoff had no ill-affects on two-time world champion Mike Ashley as he drove to the top spot in Pro Modified.

but he certainly hasn't forgotten how
to drive the 2,500-horsepower hot rods.

Ashley opened the 10-race 2008
JEGS ProMod Challenge with a stellar 5.945 at 239.61 mph in his ProCare Rx
Chevrolet Camaro Saturday evening to lead the field into Sunday's elimination
action at the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. It was the only
five-second run of the weekend and places him a full seven-hundredths of a
second ahead of the chase pack.

Some team owners carry the hope of qualifying for an NHRA POWERade
proffesional event. Then there's John Force who qualified all four
drivers for the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville. John Force Racing
drivers Robert Hight, John Force, Ashley Force and Mike Neff all made
the show.

Hight drove the Auto Club Ford Mustang to the top of the field
in the first session and that early success was key considering in the
second round he dropped a cylinder two seconds into the run and was
able to lift knowing that he was solidly in the field.

“We are still just a hair off. For whatever reason the engine is
putting cylinders out and it is just not happy,” said the current Funny
Car points leader. “We have to keep working on it but luckily we were
qualified because that would have been really ugly if I’d have driven
it to the finish line on the second run to try and get in the show.”

(Marvin Smith photo)

Angelle is a changed lady aside from her conversion from a Suzuki to running a Buell V-twin motorcycle.

Let the record reflect, the three-time NHRA world champion has no
problem letting the world know her gender. She’ll quickly testify her
preference was to be known as a good motorcycle racer who just happened
to be a female.

“That’s the way it was in the beginning of my career because I didn’t
want anyone looking at me differently,” Sampey said. “I just wanted to
be one of the guys because I didn't want any special favoritism.  I
didn't want the comments or the things that were happening like, ‘Oh
the girl, the girl- I just wanted to be one of the guys.” 

Today's classic You Tube video moment features the legendary 1984 NHRA
Cajun Nationals crash between Funny Car drivers Ed "Ace" McCulloch and
John Collins. The safety procedures weren't as advanced as today but
even we're wondering about the horse rider coming to the rescue.

Ashley
Force, Jeg Coughlin, Chef Nicky Morse, Larry Dixon, Cruz Pedregon, and
Alan Bradshaw will be guests tonight on Joe Castello’s Power Shift
program on XM Satellite Radio, channel 144, from 8-10 p.m. Eastern.
NHRA announcer Alan Reinhart will be the co-host on the popular
motorsports-theme show.

The first day of qualifying for the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA
Gatornationals, the third of 24 races in the NHRA POWERade Series, was
cancelled after persistent rain Friday at Gainesville Raceway.

Action will resume on Saturday with professional qualifying rounds scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m.

Two sons react to having Dads inducted into the Drag Racing Hall of Fame …

Up until the 2008 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame ceremony, Mike
Bucher and Todd Veney had little in common except their dads drag raced
quick, fast and successfully. During the annual gala gathering at the
Paradise Resort, the two added one more common denominator.

The late Jim Bucher and legendary Pro Comp icon and noted nitro tuner
Ken Veney were among the 2008 inductees for the International Drag
Racing Hall of Fame hosted by the Don Garlits Drag Racing Museum. Their
sons basked in the glow of their respective dad's accomplishments.

Jim Bucher was lauded for his efficiency in campaigning a
Chevrolet-powered Top Fuel dragster following his storied graduation
into Top Fuel after a successful stint in the Top Gas ranks. His finest
hour would later prove to be his final as he rose as high as the No. 1
position in the NHRA Top Fuel ranks at mid-season 1975 but later
forfeited the ranking when he was weakened with cancer.

Charles Carpenter's new Terry Murphy-built 1955 Chevy will soon hit the track and when it does, the classic shoebox will retain a look similar to last season's. The rendering comes from Eddie Hollon.