:::::: News ::::::

BERNER SIGNS QUARTER-MAX, PONTIAC

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After finishing second in a closely contested battle toward winning his
second IHRA Championship, Pete Berner is looking forward to the 2008
season. Pete Berner Racing is welcoming Quarter-Max.com as the primary
sponsor for the 2008 and 2009 seasons with Pontiac Motorsports joining
as the associate sponsor.   Berner is excited about these additions to
his Pro Stock operation:

"It is quite an honor to be chosen to represent Quarter-Max.com and
Pontiac Motorsports. I truly have to thank Rick Jones at Quarter-Max
and Fred Simmonds at General Motors for this wonderful opportunity.  
John Waldie, president of Stratford Motor Products, was also
instrumental in bringing about this partnership.  I really appreciate
his wisdom in helping us put this together.

PARTSOURCE REACHES AGREEMENT WITH IHRA

PartSource, the Canadian Auto Parts chain, one of the leading and
fastest-growing retail auto parts companies in Canada, has entered into
an agreement with IHRA and Live Nation – Motorsports to sponsor
“Championship Sunday” at the three 2008 Knoll Gas Nitro Jam national
events to he held in Canada. The races at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton,
Grand Bend Motorplex in Ontario and Cayuga, also in Ontario, will all
feature PartSource on the day their championships are determined.

“As one of the leading national specialty destinations for automotive
parts, PartSource caters to the auto enthusiast,” said PartSource vice
president Bruce Allen. “We also share our customer’s passion for
racing, which is why it makes perfect sense for PartSource and the
International Hot Rod Association series to come together to bring this
exciting sport to Canadian racing fans.”

PartSource has retail locations all across Canada, including Calgary,
Edmonton, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Winnipeg, Guelph, Waterloo, Kitchener,
Cambridge, Brantford, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Oshawa, Windsor,
Barrie, Sarnia, London and Ottawa. Allen looked at the Canadian Knoll
Gas Nitro Jam events as the perfect platform to connect with car
enthusiasts.

THE NEW PONTIAC GXP

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The 2008 NHRA POWERade season will see the introduction of the Pontiac GXP in
Pro Stock competition, and drag racing enthusiasts will get their first look of
the new GXP in action at the third annual Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown at The
Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Feb. 1 -2, and then a week later at the
48th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., on Feb. 7-10.
Designing and constructing the new GXP involved an enormous investment in time
and resources on behalf of Pontiac and GM Racing, and the final racing product
combines sleek, sporty, aerodynamic features that closely resemble the race
car's Pontiac G6 GXP showroom counterpart.

Initial plans to design and
build the new GXP began approximately 17 months ago when GM Racing Group Manager
Dan Engel met with NHRA tech officials (Danny Gracia, Bob Blackwell and Don
Taylor) at the 2006 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. A white Pontiac G6
was delivered to the grounds at O'Reilly Raceway Park by a local Indianapolis
dealer, and the group from GM and NHRA began the process of marking and taping
off key areas of the production car that would be crucial to the development of
the new GXP Pro Stock Car, going over some basic styling features and getting a
rough idea of just how the race car should look. With the long wheelbase and
other inherent features of the production car, detailed planning, styling and
designing a preliminary blueprint for the Pro Stock GXP were
crucial.

HEALTHY FULLER RETURNS

R_Fuller.jpgRod Fuller likes the desert, particularly the Southwest. Fuller, who
resides in Las Vegas, is the two-time defending event champion of the
Phoenix race at Firebird International Raceway. That is where Fuller
and his David Powers-owned Caterpillar team will launch their 2008
season during the National Time Trials at F.I.R.
 
Similar to spring training for Major League Baseball, Fuller and his
Rob Flynn-led crew will assault the F.I.R. quarter mile for six days of
preparation for the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season, which
begins at Pomona, Calif., Feb. 7-10, with the 48th annual CARQUEST Auto
Part Winternationals. It will be the first time that Fuller will return
to the seat of the Caterpillar rail since undergoing major
reconstructive knee surgery on Nov. 9, 2007, just five days after the
completion of the ’07 NHRA season.

“My knee feels great,” Fuller said. “I’ve had a pretty boring off
season. I had a great visit to Caterpillar’s corporate headquarters in
Peoria (Ill.) in December and went home to Arkansas for Christmas, but
otherwise I stayed at home and rehabbed my knee. It was a lot of
intense training, but it really paid off.”

CHARLOTTE DRAG STRIP ANNOUNCEMENT

The National Hot Rod Association will bring their brand of championship
drag racing to the Carolinas with a "national event" at the drag strip
currently under construction on Lowe's Motor Speedway property,
according to a track press release. An announcement of the event, set
for the Sept. 11-14 slot listed as "TBA" on the NHRA schedule, is
slated for Thursday at 11 a.m.

PARTS PRO RETURNS WITH PMRA

Parts Pro Performance Centers will be returning as the sponsor of the
Crew Chief of the Race Award at each Pro Modified Racing Association
series event for 2008.
 
“The Parts Pro Performance Centers Crew Chief of the Race Award will be
presented to the Crew Chief and the team of individuals that did an
outstanding job throughout the course of the weekend based on their
strategic planning and race day calls,” explained Kevin Dundas, General
Manager of Karbelt Speed & Custom, the Eastern Canadian Parts Pro
Distribution center. “This award is designed to bring recognition to
the hard work and dedication that crew chiefs display, whether they
made it into victory lane or simply finished strong.”
 
With "A Passion for Performance", Parts Pro Performance Centers, the
fastest-growing automotive performance parts distribution network in
North America, continues to provide the hottest products in the high
performance industry.

CIFCA AWARDS BANQUET

CIFCA completed its 23rd
season with it 2007 Awards Banquet held at the Boulder Station Hotel &
Casino. Over 100 people representing 15 teams were in attendance.

In total 18 awards were
handed out. The awards were for the CIFCA top 10 in points for the 2007 Season,
Bonus Program Awards, and awards for Outstanding Club Member Achievements. The
Award winners were:

SCHUMACHER PREPARES FOR 2008

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With the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series campaign less than a month away, U.S. Army Top Fuel driver
Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher is already figuring on another
edge-of-your-seat type of season.

After securing two straight world
championships at the last race and in the final round each time,
Schumacher assumes the script will remain the same for some fortunate
Top Fuel team.

“There’s no reason to think
anything will change given the Countdown to the Championship format,”
he offered. “Frankly, I hope we do have a finish like we’ve had
the last two years. It’s really terrific for the fans.”

Of course, Schumacher will be counting
on his U.S. Army team to be right in the middle of the action leading
up to the season finale in November. But, between now and then,
there’s plenty of work to do beginning with this weekend’s
National Time Trials at Firebird International Raceway outside of
Phoenix.

 

WILL TO APPEAR AT AUTO EDUCATION DAY

H_Will.jpgFor
the second consecutive year, Hillary Will, driver of the
8,000-horsepower, 330-mph KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series, will attend Auto Education Day during the
North American International Auto Show, Wednesday, Jan. 23, in downtown
Detroit at the COBO Center.

Will, a 27-year old native of Fortuna, Calif., and current resident of
Ypsilanti, Mich., will be interacting with local students and signing
autographs at the annual event that draws media attention from over
6,000 outlets throughout the world.

 

A NIGHT WITH THE SNAKE AND MONGOOSE

Legendary drag racers Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen and Don "The Snake" Prudhomme
will host a night of bench racing and tall tales at the Wally Parks NHRA
Motorsports Museum , presented by the Automobile Club of Southern
California
 on Thursday, Feb 7 at 6:30 pm—right before the CARQUEST Auto
Parts Winternationals.

The two will show highlights from Once Upon
A Wheel: Match Race
, their new DVD.  Tom and Don will also be joined by
some special guests who raced alongside them over the years.  All the proceeds
from the event, which will include a full dinner and memorabilia auction, will
go directly to support the Museum.

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