Native Australian and Top Fuel driver Dave Grubnic is anxious to get back out on
the track for the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series that begins in Pomona,
Calif., in early February. However when his quest for the 2008 POWERade Top Fuel
title commences it will be without last season’s primary sponsor Zantrex-3.

Despite the unexpected setback, Grubnic and his team will continue to compete
out of drag racing legend Connie Kalitta’s multi-car racing operation Kalitta
Motorsports, based in Ypsilanti, Mich.

“First off, I want to thank everyone at Zantrex-3 for everything that they
did to support our team both on the track and off,” Grubnic, a 45-year old
resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “Certainly, this is a disappointing turn of
events, but we’re not going to let this hold us back from going back out there
to race as hard as we can for the 2008 championship.

Doug Herbert, owner and driver for the Snap-on Tools Top Fuel team, announced
changes today within his organization.

Effective immediately, Kevin Poynter
will serve as crew chief of the Snap-on Tools Top Fuel dragster, and Keith
Stewart will join the team as co-crew chief.

“I can’t begin to explain how
excited I am about having Kevin and Keith come on board,” said Herbert. “Jim
Brissette has been with me since 1991 and tuned us to a pretty good season last
year with the huge win in Reading to make the final eight and several other
final rounds, but these guys bring something different to the table. I am
completely confident that Kevin and Keith will help take us to the next level
and beyond, and Brissette will still be around as a consultant to help out if we
need him. We are looking to the future with this change.”

Poynter, who currently resides in
Mission Viejo, Calif., with his wife Terri and daughter Sonja, will be
transplanting to North Carolina to work full time with the Snap-on team. He most
recently served as crew chief for J.R. Todd's Top Fuel dragster, and has worked
for several other top tier teams in the past, including John Force Racing and
David Baca.

It's the time of the season when drag racers and fans wax nostalgic and
thumb through the old magazines. We couldn't ignore this classic drag
racing documentary that had previously aired on Speedvision and is now
in rotation on YouTube.com. Enjoy the footage from Green Valley and
Dallas International Motor Speedway from 1969.

CRAWFORD AND
JOLLIE EARN AUTUMN CLASSIC TITLES

Kevin Crawford
and Larry Jollie took home the champion titles in their respective divisions for
the first annual Darlington Autumn Classic at the historic Darlington Dragway in South Carolina during Thanksgiving weekend.

Crawford of Pageland, SC earned the Top Eliminator title over Doug
McNeese of Hartsville, SC.

Jollie, the 2006 track champion who hails from Loris, SC, emerged
as the champion in the Foot Brake division when he defeated Aaron Brock of Pageland, SC

Charles Carpenter made quite an impression on the drag racing world with a
resurgent 2007 season, taking home two wins in the American Drag Racing League’s
ultra-competitive Pro Nitrous category. But it’s the impression he made long
before there was even a Pro Modified class that has earned him one of the most
prestigious honors of his racing career.

Funny Car driver “Fast Jack” Beckman hit the jackpot on the third day
of racing and claimed the $5,000 Super Pro finale at the Las Vegas
Bracket Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Beckman, of
North Hills, Calif., drove his Land Shark dragster past Russell Prater
of Universal City, Texas, for the win.

Bob Moudree of Las Vegas
defeated Jeff Farrar for Pro honors. Jon Irving defeated his father,
John, for the Sportsman win. Both hail from Boulder City. Kyle Seipel
of San Leandro, Calif., defeated Pete Biondo of Maspeth, N.Y., to claim
the winner-take-all $45,000 Ultimate Gambler. Both drivers posted
reaction times of .008.

Former Torco’s
CompetitionPlus.com Senior Editor and current IHRA announcer Brian Lohnes has
met a lot of great personalities in drag racing throughout his involvement.

Lohnes had befriended Jet
Funny Car racer Chris Gould, the Maine-based driver who lost his life last
weekend at Moroso
Motorsports Park.

This is Lohnes’ tribute to
Gould.

“Chris was a 100% first
class guy with a thirst and passion to entertain fans and run hard. I was not a
close friend of Chris or his family. My experiences with him were always based
around the race track. He often appeared at New England Dragway, in Epping, NH
as part of a match race or testing his car when he made changes or
improvements.

Clay Millican cannot
grind, slide or go vertical on a skateboard, but his sons can. That’s why he
went to bat for a skateboard park in his hometown of Drummonds, Tenn.

Last weekend, the Munford Skate
Park opened to the joy of 50 children
including Millican’s sons Cale and Dalton.
The grand opening was the result of a campaign that began when a child sent
Munford Mayor Dwayne Cole an e-mail asking why the town didn’t have one.

A jet car racer was killed in a wreck during last weekend's Citrus
Nationals at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office identified the driver as Christopher Gould, of Bowdoin, Maine.

If
you're a member of Mike Ashley's Torco Race Fuels team, you're headed
to the shop on Monday a little more tanned than usual. That's because
Ashley, in recognition of his team reaching the NHRA POWERade Countdown
to Four, treated his team and their families to a Thanksgiving Week
cruise through the Carribean.

The Gotham City Racing team visited such countries as Aruba, Caracco, St. Maartin and St. Thomas.