Roger Gustin, President of AutoStar Productions, Inc. announced recently that JEGS
has retained the Title Sponsorship of the JEGS Bracket Two Battle at all Super
Chevy Show events in 2008.  JEGS has also
been named presenting sponsor of events in Tucson and Atlanta, as well as the
sponsor of the Monte Carlo Car Class within the TREMEC Transmission Car Show
Series.

Since 1999, Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has offered the spirit of
friendly competition amongst the racing community in a "Best of"
competition. Our readers have assisted us in voting on everything from
the best drag racers to their favorite drag strip to the presigious
Person of the Year. There are also a few new categories. Please cast your vote in this annual tradition.

DOT COM AWARDS BALLOT 

Speaking from the airport in Houston, Texas, Whit Bazemore revealed that he will not be competing on the NHRA circuit in 2008.

“Nothing, actually,” Bazemore said in his standard straight from the
hip style when asked what he might have in the hopper for the coming
season. “It's doesn't look like I will race next year.

“I guess you could say I am taking a sabbatical.”

No tears. No sound of depression. If anything, Whit expressed a feeling
of relief knowing he isn't facing the issues confronting the sport in
2008 that his fellow competitors will not be able to avoid.

Today's classic video on YouTube.com carries us to the
1963 Smokers Fuel & Gas Championships at Bakersfield. This is two minutes of video guaranteed to make you smile.

Former IHRA Pro Stock
racer Carl Baker and his wife Donna were uninjured in an accident involving a
deer according to the Chronicle-Telegram newspaper in Ohio.

According to the newspaper
report, a deer crossed into the path of the minivan driven by Carl.

The resulting impact sent
the deer into the opposite lane of traffic where it went through the windshield
of any oncoming Jeep.

Only one vote per IP address. Polls close January 4, 2008 at 12:01 AM.

For the next three weeks, Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com will conduct
its inaugural War Stories Showdown presented by Mach Series
Accelerator. The veterans of yarn spinning are paired for what promises
to be a series destined to produce the finest behind-the-scenes
stories.

We thought we'd seen it all and then came across this. Apparently,
we've been missing the boat with power tool drag racing. There are some
events staged in Europe, but this one took place last year in San
Francisco, Ca. Maybe this could be the NHRA's replacement for the
ill-fated Sport Compact series?

Jack Beckman, driver of the Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
for Don Schumacher Racing in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, will
make a special appearance at the Los Angeles Shriners Hospital for Children on
Friday, Dec. 21, 2007, at 1:30 P.M., on behalf of the Racers Who Care
program.
 
Beckman, of North Hills, Calif., finished fifth in the 2007
NHRA Funny Car standings with back-to-back national-event victories during the
season. He has also won four championships and over 50 events at the NHRA
Sportsman level during his drag-racing career. But his racing accomplishments
are overshadowed by the fact that he is a survivor of lymphoma, a form of cancer
which he successfully battled and overcame in 2004 after enduring six months of
chemotherapy.
 
The 41-year-old father and husband will be visiting the
top-notch Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles in an effort to provide
companionship, inspiration and a distraction to the children who are in the same
situation he was in not long ago. Beckman has visited similar facilities in the
past in an effort to show his love and caring to those who are facing the same
situation and challenges that he has experienced.  

How ironic it is in the same week that former U.S.
Army-sponsored teammate Angelle Sampey landed a new Pro Stock
Motorcycle ride, Antron Brown pulled within two passes of earning his
crossoverTop Fuel license. Brown completed three days of testing at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway on Wednesday making eight tries at the
historic Gainesville quarter mile behind the wheel of the Lee Beard-tuned Matco Tools dragster.

The
team battled cooler than normal temperatures during the first two days in
Florida,
limiting Brown to just four tries at the quarter mile on Monday and Tuesday. The
low 50-degree temperatures created tricky track conditions causing tire-shake
during the run. Wednesday’s warmer temperatures allowed the team to make four
passes.