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.”

Eight of the nation’s top hot rod builders will select exclusive “Pro’s Pick”
awards at select 2008 Goodguys National events. In addition to the long standing
tradition of the Boyd Coddington Pro’s Picks, seven other elite rod shops around
the country, including America’s premier hot rod designer Chip Foose will
present Pro’s Picks this year. In addition to Boyd and Foose, Rad Rides by
Troy, Pinkees
Rod Shop, Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop, Art Morrison Performance, Roger Burman’s
Lakeside Rods and Alloway’s Rod Shop have stepped forward to join the Pro’s Pick
arena. All of these elite builders will create hand crafted Pro’s Pick awards to
be given to those rodders lucky enough to have their ride selected.

“Last
year’s Pro’s Picks program was outstanding. With the new shops coming on board
this year it will be over the top,” said Goodguys President Marc Meadors. “Our
event participants deserve the industry’s top awards from the world’s top hot
rod builders. It’s an unprecedented program.”

Mike Neff, who won his first NHRA Funny Car championship from
outside the cockpit, hopes to win his next one from the inside as a
member of John Force Racing’s Next Generation of professional drivers.

A native of Hemet, Calif., where he grew up racing dirt bikes and
off-road trucks, Neff will contest the 2008 NHRA POWERade Championship
in a brand new John Medlen-tuned Ford Mustang Funny Car.

The Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the
National Guard has announced a restructuring of ADRL national event
payouts to increase the amounts paid to racers that qualify or reach
the second round of eliminations.

“I saw a real need with the additional travel in our schedule this year
and ever-rising fuel costs to restructure our payouts to benefit more
of our racers,” ADRL President Kenny Nowling said.  

Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous racers eliminated in round one will now
receive $1,000 and those eliminated in round two will now receive
$1,500.  Extreme 10.5 racers eliminated in round one will now receive
$500 and those eliminated in round two will now receive $750 each. Pro
Extreme Motorcycle racers eliminated in round one will now receive $125
and $250 apiece will now go to those eliminated in round two.

Bruton Smith, founder and chief executive officer of Lowe's Motor
Speedway, Concord Mayor Scott Padgett and Jay White, chairman of the
Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners, broke ground today for The
Dragway @ Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The quarter-mile drag strip will join Lowe's Motor Speedway's legendary
1.5-mile superspeedway and four-tenths-mile dirt track in presenting
America's most popular auto racing series to fans from around the world.

On Tuesday, February 5th,
Joe Castello, host of "Power Shift" on XM Satellite Radio's XM Sports
Nation, channel 144 will preview the 2008 NHRA season. Drivers
currently scheduled to appear on the nationwide motor sports talk
show include, "Hot Rod" Fuller, Tommy Johnson Jr., Ron Capps and Kurt
Johnson. The NHRA's Alan Reinhart will also give his opinions on the
2008 season to be.

With the opening of the 2008 NHRA POWERade season just days away, David
Powers Motorsports will roll into Pomona loaded for bear. Rod Fuller
and Anton Brown, Powers' powerhouse combination in the Top Fuel ranks
will be gunning for victory in the 48th annual Carquest Auto Parts
Winternationals.

Fuller, following a solid test at Phoenix, hopes to finally crack into
the winner's circle at the storied facility. Teammate Antron Brown will
be making his Top Fuel debut and his first run at Pomona in something
with more than two wheels.

“I have a bad taste in my mouth from the Finals last fall, so I want to
go in and win this race,” remarked Fuller. “I feel very confident going
in. We had the quickest time in testing. We have a fast car and that’s
exciting.”

Last
year, Melanie Troxel successfully scored two wins in four final-round
appearances in Top Fuel and finished in the top ten in NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing. This weekend, in Pomona, Calif., she will embark on a new
chapter of her storied, record-setting career as she begins her season
behind the wheel of the ProCare Rx Dodge Charger R/T nitro Funny Car at
the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals.
 
"It's been a lot of hard work getting to this point, and now that it’s
here, I think everyone on our team is anxious to watch this car go down
the track and get this season started," Troxel said.
 
Aside from the obvious changes from Dragster to Funny Car, Troxel and
her entire Gotham City Racing team have ridden a roller coaster of news
events, with the loss of their longtime team sponsor in early January
to the addition of ProCare Rx less than 48 hours later.

In the so-called
off-season, four-time NHRA world champion Gary Scelzi spent much of his
time helping run Scelzi Enterprises, competing at the Chili Bowl and
racing with sons Dominic and Giovanni. But it's time to get down to the
business of Funny Car competition, he says, as the 24-event 2008 NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series opens this weekend at the CARQUEST Auto
Parts Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.

"I'm really excited about getting the 2008 POWERade season started this
year," said the defending event champion, "after running the midget at
the Chili Bowl, racing with the kids and getting back involved with
Scelzi Enterprises. Coincidentally, I mixed in some company business
with the Phoenix testing by visiting dealerships down there with some
of my sales staff, so that was very productive.

"Now it's time to get down to NHRA drag racing. We're going into Pomona
with a lot of rule changes, a lot of variables right now. Everybody is
trying to build new, stiffer cars. We're running the same car as last
year, but we have a new Brad Hadman chassis. With the bad weather at
preseason testing in Phoenix, however, we weren't able to run it.

Mike Ashley, the fastest Funny Car driver in history, will open the
2008 NHRA POWERade season in Pomona, Calif. this weekend at the
CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals behind the wheel of the
ProCare Rx Dodge Charger R/T nitro Funny Car.

After previously announcing he would not be racing Funny Car this
season, Ashley changed his decision in order to track-prove a new
prototype chassis fabricated by Chuck Hase. This car is a heavy
frame-rail chassis assembled with normalized tubing, in conformance to
NHRA's mandated specifications.

"We broke the chassis I drove in the end of last year during testing in
Phoenix, and we need to get solid data on the new design from Hase
before we move forward on ordering more cars. After talking with my new
partner, Roger Burgess, we both felt that racing in Pomona would be the
right opportunity to prove out this new car as well as debut our new
team look," Ashley said.