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.

After a whirlwind month of personnel changes in the Pro Stock
Motorcycle division, Angelle Sampey will fill the position recently
vacated by Peggy Lewellyn when team owners Karl and Kim Klement
announced they would not renew her contract in 2008. The three-time
NHRA POWERade champ Sampey will pilot their Rush Racing Products Buell
in 2008.
 
Klement Racing
signed major sponsor Rush just in time for the 2007 Countdown to the
Championship. The addition was almost in unison with the U.S. Army's
decision to abandon their Pro Stock Motorcycle marketing effort.

The timing was perfect for Rush president Lou Pringle. 

I never thought the Army would give us
such a golden opportunity." lsaid Pringle. "Given Angelle's popularity, she's
a perfect marketing tool for our products. We're very excited."
 

After three days of solid "story-telling," the readers of Torco's
CompetitionPlus.com are casting their votes for the best war stories in
the inaugural WAR STORIES Showdown presented by Mach Series
Accelerator. Later today, we will present the final two pair of the
first round. Some of these veterans are coming to the first round
loaded for bear.

The competition began on Monday and today at 5
PM, voting will end for the first two pairs of competitors. If you
haven't voted yet go to WAR STORIES Showdown . This page will have a rundown of all the match-ups, as well as links to the respective pages.

So far, here are the unofficial results -

POWERade Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. isn't wasting any time to return to
racing in 2008 as the 51-time national event winner was chosen to be a part of
Team NHRA at the third annual Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, Jan. 3-5, in Lake
Placid, N.Y. Coughlin and four fellow drag racers will take on Team NASCAR in
the fundraising event, which raises money for the United States Olympic
Bobsledding Team.

"I'm as excited as a kid on that
first day of snow," said Coughlin, who lives in Delaware, Ohio. "I've done my fair share of sledding
over the years, even recently with my son Jeggie III, but this is a considerable
step up in equipment."

Coughlin was asked to participate by
defending event runner-up Morgan Lucas, a Top Fuel driver on the POWERade Drag
Racing Series. Sponsored in part my Lucas Oil, the Bodine Bobsled Challenge
supports Bo-Dyn Bobsleds, which has designed and built American-made bobsleds
for the U.S. Olympic Bobsled team since 1992.

If you're a fan of the classic drags, check out this 1971 footage we
found on YouTube.com from Broadway Bob Metzler's Great Lakes Dragway.
There are the heavy-hitters from back in the day including Don Garlits,
Tom McEwen, Tommy Ivo and Dick LaHaie just to name a few. 

Also, within this seven minute video, there's a great complilation of wheelstander drag races that includes one serious crash.

“Ohio Crankshaft No Box Nationals” has now become the official name of
the big money no box race in Kokomo, Indiana that is scheduled to take
place May 3rd and 4th 2008.

The agreement between Ohio Crankshaft and Triple O Promotions became
official at the beginning of December.  Scott Ray, from Ohio
Crankshaft, said, “We are happy to show our support for the grass roots
racers.”  Both companies are very excited to have the opportunity to
support such a great race.

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.