It's almost completed, but what that means is if you have a nickel tour
of the Gainesville Raceway's huge new tower, you need to wear a hard
hat and be careful where you step inside.
   
And oh yeah, the elevator hasn't been installed yet, so for all three
floors, my guide, Executive General Manager Don Robertson, and myself
had to hoof it up those nearly 50 feet to top level of the $2 million
plus edifice.
   
Three stories?
   
Yeah, right.
   
First story of the new building, which will be dedicated before the Pro
runs at Friday's upcoming ACDelco Gatornationals, is given over to
track offices. Yeah, there are no luxury suites in the new tower, just
those rooms to house persons responsible for the conduct of races and
everyday business.

As testing wound down for the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona,
Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock driver Jason Line rocked the drag racing world
with a couple of stunning 800-plus mile-per-hour passes.

Line reached the
Mach 1.2 speeds strapped in a United States Air Force Thunderbirds F-16 Fighting
Falcon. The 2006 Pro Stock champion was invited to take a break from testing at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway and take a spin with the USAF Thunderbirds at Nellis
Air Force Base on February 5. As a former Senior Airman in the United States Air
Force, Line jumped at the chance.

"That was the ride of my life," Line
said. "That's something I've always wanted to do, and even when I was in the Air
Force, I never had the opportunity to go up in a fighter jet. That was
incredible. When it was over I was ready to go again."

On Tuesday morning
Line met with medical officials at the Air Force base for a pre-flight medical
exam of his heart and lungs to ensure that he was physically able to handle the
stress of a combat aircraft capable of flying at Mach 2 and maneuvering turns at
9 Gs. He then was briefed on what to expect during the flight at an orientation
with his pilot, Lt. Col. Rob Skelton. "They fit you up for a flight suit, get
you the right gear, and give you a rundown of what to expect," Line said. "It
takes a couple of hours."

The International Hot Rod Association has joined with Fast Track
Medical Response Systems, LLC in implementing a new program that will
greatly enhance the medical services provided to competitors, teammates
and employees at Knoll Gas Nitro Jam National Events in 2008. IHRA is
the first drag racing sanctioning body to implement the Fast Track
Medical Response System. 

Fast Track Medical Response Systems, LLC is a company that has
introduced computer chip technology into the medical response arena in
the auto racing community. The system consists of a computer chip worn
in a small and comfortable bracelet. The chip, which has information
loaded on it by the user via the internet, will provide an immediate
medical history of a patient for first responders. This concept has
been enthusiastically embraced and tested by the circle track
community.

The concept is simple and the implementation of the program is almost
effortless. The user will be asked to complete an online form
containing pertinent information and the person’s medical history. This
information will be ‘burned’ into a tiny chip and the chip will then be
inserted into a light, compact wrist band which will be worn by the
driver, crew, official, etc. Should anyone wearing such a bracelet need
medical attention, a quick scan of the bracelet will instantly provide
first responders with information that will allow them to provide
better care. Should the patient need hospital treatment, that
information will be provided directly to the medical staff at the
receiving hospital.

The 2008 NHRA season will mark Hillary Will’s third full-time season in the sport’s
quickest and fastest class. The semi-seasoned veteran is just as eager to get
behind the wheel of her KB Racing, LLC dragster now as she was to take the
controls of a drag racing car for the first time at age 16.

“During our pre-season test session last week, I went the fastest I have ever
gone in my 12 years of racing,” Will, a 27-year old native of Fortuna, Calif.,
said. “It gives me a lot of confidence to know that we have a great-running car.
We posted some awesome numbers. That will be a lot more significant once we make
that translate into round wins on race day. I look forward to doing that this
weekend.

“I know my whole KB Racing, LLC team is ready to race. It was a long
off-season, and I just can’t wait to get back in the car and get some wins.”

Following online polling, the NHRA Sportsman Racer Advisory
Council (SRAC) members have been selected. Announced earlier, the SRAC
is designed to maintain the level of communications between race
officials and participants. The purpose of the SRAC is to provide a
means for discussing and evaluating rules and race policies
and procedures pertaining to Sportsman racing at NHRA events.

The advisory council will consist of subcommittees
representing groups of categories within the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing
Series along with Top Sportsman and Top Dragster. One representative
per category group has been selected through online balloting from each
NHRA division.

The latest addition to the growing catalog of retro-style clothing and products
from the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is a new, limited edition, 10th
Anniversary leather jacket designed to commemorate NHRA founder Wally
Parks.

Based on an original bomber jacket design, the new jacket features
the Museum's 10th anniversary logo embroidered across the back in fine detail.
The logo is also embroidered on the left chest while the right chest bears
Wally's signature, along with the year of his birth and passing.  All jackets
are embroidered in the U.S.

Two of North America’s most
prominent all drag racing websites have joined forces.

Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com, a leader for American drag
racing and DragRaceCanada.com, Canada’s most visited all drag racing website,
have reached an agreement to share both editorial and photographic services.

The two high traffic websites, which in fact were founded
during the same year (1999), have proven their longevity and have remained at
the cusp for the sport of drag racing in both countries since that time. 

Renowned fabricator, designer and painter Rich Evans returns to the
NHRA Manufacturer’s Midway again in 2008 to represent sponsor Chicago
Pneumatic at a select number of POWERade Drag Racing Series events.

Since 2006, Evans’ custom airbrushed Ford F-150, known as the Skull
King, has made a number of appearances at the Chicago Pneumatic Tool
Box display trailer on the circuit. This year Evans’ newest project,
the Hardcore Knight, will adorn CP’s display area at the first Pomona
event, February 7-10; Phoenix, February 22-24; Las Vegas, April 10-13;
Sonoma, July 25-27; the second Las Vegas event, October 30 through
November 2 and the final event of the season at Pomona, November 13-16.

The Hardcore Knight is a 2007 Ford Mustang GT custom designed and built
from the ground up by Evans and his team at Huntington Beach Bodyworks.
The body kit on the car took three and a half months to build, but only
seven days to assemble and put on the vehicle. The completed Hardcore
Knight features custom wheels, a painted fiberglass headliner, steering
wheels, hood scoop, rear wing, rocker panels and stainless steel grill
all specially designed by Evans himself.

NHRA announced today that it has signed a marketing partnership with Wyndham
Vacation Ownership, the world's largest vacation ownership company and a member
of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE; WYN). 
     
As part
of the agreement, the company, through its Wyndham Vacation Resorts brand, will
have a major presence at all NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events in 2008
with an on-site promotional display in the NHRA Manufacturers Midway.
     

"We are pleased to welcome Wyndham Vacation Ownership into the NHRA family
of sponsors," said Gary Darcy, senior vice president of sales and marketing,
NHRA. "We look forward to working with Wyndham to help them identify new
customers by providing access to the fans that attend NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series events each year."  

Thanks for the March Meet memories.

For the past 50
years, the March Meet has highlighted the lives of racers and race fans alike.
Now the legendary race, held at Auto Club Famoso
Raceway Mar. 7-10, has an online forum where March Meet patrons can tell their
favorite stories.

“I remember Jeb Allen
– getting to help with his car when I was 16 and working at the Shell on
White
Lane. They rebuilt it at the station and won on
Sunday,” reminisced “Dragster” Jeff of Bakersfield.
Stories like these can be shared and read by going to BAKERSFIELD MEMORIES ,
or clicking on the forum section of www.famosoraceway.com.

“People are always
telling me about their first time at the March Meet, racing a car they built
with their dad or watching a win they’ll never forget,” said Blake Bowser, vice
president and general manager of the Kern County Racing Association. “Stories
like these are such an integral part of March Meet heritage and the city of
Bakersfield.
This is an opportunity for fans to share these stories, connect with people from
the past, and add to the nostalgia that makes the March Meet so special.”