Forty lucky race fans not only got to mingle with top stars from the
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series on Saturday, but they also supported a
great cause at the sold-out 6th annual NHRA Tour de Charity at the
Infineon Raceway Karting Center.

The event, which coupled race fans with top NHRA drivers for a day of
karting on the raceway’s challenging course, raised $14,000 for
Speedway Children’s Charities, bringing the six-year total for the
event to more than $64,000. More than 200 people overall attended the
event.

Speedway Children’s Charities is the charitable arm of Infineon
Raceway, with all proceeds raised during the year benefiting qualified
youth organizations in Sonoma County.  The charity has distributed more
than $2.6 million since 2002.

The third day at the 9th annual Eastern Spring
Test Nationals presented by Torco's CompetitionPlus.com brings another
good news -bad news situation.

Good news, the rain stopped and the track is dry. Several
more rigs rolled in yesterday and the Schumacher and Gotham City Racing trailers are among the recent arrivals. 

The bad news - it is chilly and there are strong, gusty
winds blowing across the track today. Just driving up I-75 was sporty and there's no way to safely race at 200 mph-plus with these
crosswinds and a cold race track.

All Saturday activities have been cancelled. However, the
weather forecast for Sunday is great - sunny and mid-sixties.

Today's classic You Tube video moment features Sportsman final rounds from the 1979 NHRA World Finals at the now defunct Ontario Motor Speedway. Check out some of the winning names like Amy Faulk, Bob Newberry and Billy Williams.

All competitors attending the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals should be
aware that Florida is requiring anyone
with semitrailers longer than 53 feet and/or those with a kingpin measurement
longer than 46 feet to purchase a Special Road Use Permit to enter and to leave
Florida.

Twenty-three year old phenom Lindsey Wood added to her impressive
racing resume last weekend with a Super Comp victory at the NHRA LODRS
event at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, LA. For Wood, it was her
second consecutive LODRS win at the Louisiana facility, as she captured
the event title last season in Top Alcohol Dragster. A final round
triumph over former NHRA World Champion Tommy Costales marked Wood’s
ninth consecutive round win at the facility between the two classes.

Lindsey Wood, a young woman from McAlpin, FL, started her racing career
in the Junior Dragster ranks thirteen years ago. In her tenure in
junior dragster competition, she amassed one of the most impressive
records in the history of the class, including 57 bracket and index
wins and 17 heads-up triumphs. In 2003 she made the move to Super Comp
competition, and continued her success and growth as a competitor over
the next three seasons. In the 8.90 class, she captured a Gator
Nationals title, a handful of divisional victories, and earned a top
ten national finish in the ultra-competitive NHRA Super Comp ranks.
Last season, Wood jumped at the opportunity to team with the Darien
& Meadows A/Fuel Dragster team and ran a full Top Alcohol Dragster
schedule. While Lindsey and the team enjoyed flashes of brilliance,
including the ‘07 No Problem LODRS victory, the team struggled for much
of the season, and the partnership dissolved.

They’d
always start with a cruise toward Washington D.C. to V Street. Cars
lined both sides of the road. Then the bragging began. Stakes on the
illegal street races were raised as high as $5,000 to $10,000. Justin
Humphreys’ 1989 Mustang GT 5.0 could run a high 10 on the street, he
said.

“It had nitrous and all that good stuff,” Humphreys said. “Back when I
was young, I had 15-20 friends that all had them (Mustangs) and would
all go down there and goof off.”

Eventually police would show up and the hundreds in attendance – male
and female, of all ages – would scatter, only to reassemble down the
road.

“They’d drive five miles to Metro, and race there until the cops showed
up,” he said. “Then they’d go back to V Street and race until 1 or 2
a.m.”

NHRA has announced that three affiliated events will be added to an
already impressive 2008 Hot Rod Heritage Series schedule, increasing
the schedule from seven to 10 events.

The events to be added include the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion,
June 13-15 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky.; the
ACDelco NostalgiaFest presented by RM Distributing, June 20-21 at
Cordova Dragway Park, Cordova, Ill.; and Geezer’s at the Grove, Sept.
5-6 at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa.

Though the events will be affiliated with the series they will not
count as points-earning events toward the 2008 championships.

Race officials for the 9^th annual CSR
Eastern Spring Test Nationals presented by Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com decided
Friday’s poor weather forecast warranted extending the first day testing by
three hours. Several racers were pleased but none more than two-time NHRA Pro
Stock Motorcycle champion Andrew Hines.

Hines blasted out a South Georgia Motorsports Park
[SGMP] track record 6.889 elapsed time at 193.13 miles per hour. This run
marked the first time Hines had been into the 6.80s with his Screamin’
Eagle-sponsored Harley-Davidson.

“We didn’t change a thing
from our earlier run,” said Hines, who previously belted out a 6.94. “I knew it
was a great run going down the track because when you don’t have to correct it,
you get the big numbers. I saw our earlier runs and figured I’d run a 6.90. I
was just hoping to run quicker than Angelle.”

Coming off a strong performance at Phoenix, Tommy Johnson and the
Monster Energy Funny Car team are excited about their prospects for the
ACDelco Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida next weekend.

“Gainesville is one of my favorite tracks on the tour,” said Johnson. 
“This track has a special place in my heart because the Gatornationals
was the first event I ever raced in.  It was 1984 and I was running
Super Gas.  There were 128 cars in the class, and we were down to six
cars, and mine broke!  I’ve been chasing a victory at this track ever
since, and this year I truly feel we have a talented team and a car
that will be right in the hunt.

“At Phoenix, I think we showed what the team was capable of.  We were
strong in qualifying and we had three very competitive runs on race
day.  I no longer have concerns about qualifying.  Now we just want to
go out and win a race.

“At the beginning of the season we set goals.  I’d like to get a win
for Kenny (Bernstein, team owner) and for Monster this season. The
sooner the better.  This team was awful close to winning more than once
last year and I’d like to help them get over the hump.  I’d like to be
in the top five at the end of the year.”