Former Funny Car racer Ray "R.C."
Sherman, who piloted a long line of entries including the Black Magic
and Raybestos machines, died Dec. 18 of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease). He was 64.

He is survived by his wife Ginger and mother Alise.

Six-time NHRA Champion tells Speedfreaks.tv why he stepped away from driving again …

Kenny Bernstein said it was a personal thought process that inspired
him to step away from driving his Monster Energy drink Funny Car and
subsequently hiring veteran Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson, Jr.

That’s what the six-time NHRA POWERade World Champion told the
Speedfreaks in a recent interview. The full interview can be heard on
the Speedfreaks.tv website. Click HERE to listen to the full interview.

Even though Bernstein adamantly states in the interview that his
decision is not a retirement, he does add that the facts are the facts.

“We eliminated the word from our press release - retirement,” Bernstein
said. “We knew no one would believe it any way. I do feel that way this
minute and I don’t think that will change. There’s a big difference in
that feeling this time and that it has never been there before. There’s
that feeling and I’m going to be real frank about it, it’s kind of hard
to say it, but it’s the facts of life.

If you're a fan of the classic nitro burnouts then you will appreciate
this compilation on YouTube from 1975 and 1976 from Santa Pod in
England. This four minute video also features fire burnout footage.

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.

If you had the opportunity
to attend the PRI show in Orlando,
then you probably heard the buzz in the drag racing community: mountain motors
will be bigger and badder than ever in 2008.

Leading the charge will be
the new 5.3000 bore spacing engine that Sonny’s Racing Engines spent much of
2007 developing. With displacements of 864, 904 and a whopping 940 cubic
inches, this new breed of mountain motor will feature bores of 5.000 to 5.0800
and strokes of 5.500 to 5.750 inches, these engines should produce 2,000 raw
horsepower and more.

Mountain motors, once
found only in Pro Stock & Pro Mod, have become commonplace in many
different classes going all the way down to Super Comp and Super Gas. Their use
continues to rise in proportion with the influx of centrifugal blowers and
turbochargers in various heads up classes.

During this off-season, YouTube.com generally draws a lot of
entertainment time from bored drag racing fans. We found two drag
racing related videos that ought to warm your heart when you take into
account just how far the sport has progressed. The first video is circa
1974 with Top Fuel dragster footage reportedly shot at the legendary
Orange County International Raceway. The second features more modern
day footage.

Patrick Heywang, a valued
member of the Wilson Manifolds team, lost his life on Saturday, December 15,
the end result of a fatal automobile accident on December 9.

Heywang underwent several
surgeries during the past week and remained on life support.

“We considered Pat a
family member rather than a 15 year employee at Wilson Manifolds,” said Billy
Carroll of Wilson Manifolds. “His dedication, work ethic and input have been
instrumental to the success Wilson Manifolds has experienced since he joined
the company.  Although Pat’s primary function was in the porting room, his
contributions were felt in every service we offer.  Keith often had Pat
work on special projects because he knew Pat wouldn’t sign off on a project
that was anything less than the best in quality and performance.  Pat’s input was invaluable in our New Product
Development Engineering meetings including our nitrous products.

“Pat was one of our top
airflow engineers and he played a large part in the manifold development for manufacturers
and teams in all forms of professional motorsports. (John Force Racing, Kalitta
Racing, Dodge and Toyota
just to name a few of them)  Keith often
chose Pat to travel with him to the Talladega
test sessions with Joe Gibbs Racing to help with their restrictor plate
program, to Mooresville to assist with the Ken Black Racing Team of Greg
Anderson and Jason Line, and other private test sessions.  In addition to
the high profile teams Pat often worked with, he always enjoyed working with
the weekend racers.

BRISTOL DRAGWAY’S 2008 SCHEDULE FEATURES SEVERAL NEW
EVENTS

With the addition of a number of thrilling new events and the
return of many popular favorites, Bristol Dragway’s action-packed schedule will
keep the strip rocking in 2008 from March through September.

Bristol Dragway’s signature event, the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder
Valley Nationals presented by Q, brings the cars and stars of NHRA to town May
16-18 for one of the most anticipated races of the season.  Those in attendance
will be treated to high-speed action in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock, as
well as many exhibition and Sportsman classes.  Among the drivers fans can
expect to see are five-time and defending Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher,
defending event champion Brandon Bernstein, and Funny Car star and 2007
Rookie-of-the-Year, Ashley Force. 

The Bristol Dragway Street Fights series returns for its
eighth year and will feature 23 events.  The Street Fights schedule changes
slightly with eight races slated for Saturdays, and the remaining events running
on Thursday evenings.  Street Fights raises the curtain on the 2008 Bristol
Dragway calendar with the season opener on Saturday, March 22.  The final Street
Fights will take place Saturday, September 11.  During the warmer months,
special summer hours at the Saturday events will give drivers the chance to race
longer into the evening. 

In 2002 a tradition began with the presentation of the first Musclecar
Madness at the York Reunion at the York Expo Center, York Fairgrounds
the second weekend of July.  The event has become a tradition, an
annual reunion for the Legends of Drag Racing and for the staff and
management of York DragOWay. The Seventh Annual York Reunion and
Nostalgia Nationals will be presented on July 11-12, 2008 with some
exciting additions of personalities, Legends of Drag Racing, legendary
race cars and participating sponsors. 
 
Joining the lineup of legends to attend the event will be Arnie
"Farmer" Beswick with one of his legendary GTO race cars, Arlen Vanke,
Herb McCandless, Sam Auxier, Jr., Bud Faubel, Ken Montgomery, Jon
Lundberg "The Voice of Drag Racing", Linda Vaughn "Miss Hurst Golden
Shifter", Jungle Pam Hardy, Joe Jacono, Jim & Alison Lee, Jack
Werst, Tom Sneden, Bob Harrop, Dave Reitz, Ed Hedrick,,Jere Stahl,
Wally Bell, Tom Raley, Ed Miller, and the list goes on and on.
 
The show will feature a special "Tribute to Oldsmobile" and an outside
display by the Ford Fairlane Club of America on Friday. A special cameo
Tribute to Elvis will also be presented on Friday evening.

Roy Johnson, engine builder and co-owner of J&J Racing, which
fields the Mopar-powered NHRA POWERade Pro Stock car driven by Roy's
son, Allen Johnson, was recently voted into the NHRA's Southeast
Division 2 Hall of Fame. [Roy] Johnson will be inducted along with
driver Billy Jacobs and veteran motorsports writer Norm Froscher in a
ceremony scheduled for Jan. 5 at Orlando's Florida Hotel and Conference
Center.

[Roy] Johnson bounced back from a heart attack suffered at a NHRA
POWERade event in February and returned at the very next race, tuning
the HEMI engines of his son Allen's Mopar J&J Racing Dodge Stratus
R/T throughout the 2007 campaign. He helped Allen qualify for the new
NHRA Countdown to 1 playoff and post a career best fourth-place finish
in the final NHRA Pro Stock standings. When Allen scored a win at the
Mopar Mile-High Nationals in July, [Roy] Johnson earned his fifth
career NHRA Pro Stock victory as a car owner.