The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) announced Brian Wood has
been named Editorial Director of their in-house publication, DRM.

Wood
will report directly to Managing Editor Pam Marchyshyn and be
responsible for the editorial and photo content of DRM and assisting
with the integration of IHRA print, internet and public relations
interests. 

“I’m pleased to announce the addition of Brian to
the DRM team,” stated Marchyshyn. “Brian is well respected in the drag
racing industry and the perfect person to lead DRM’s editorial
direction.   

“His appointment allows me to focus on the
production and financial aspects of DRM, areas that demand my full
attention. Brian’s addition is about growth and expansion,” Marchyshyn
added. 

DRM recently went to full-color printing and changed format to a newsstand size periodical.

“I’m
looking forward to the challenges and rewards of working with the
entire DRM team,” stated Wood. “Editorially and graphically, they have
taken the magazine to new levels and there are big plans ahead.  I’m
proud to be part of the energetic IHRA, DRM and Live Nation team.”

Maybe losing is just the
motivation he needs.

 

Three-time NHRA POWERade
Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Andrew Hines finished in second place this season
and it was the first time he's finished outside the No. 1 position since 2003.
He's certain it will keep him motivated throughout the offseason.

"Going through this
entire situation, starting the season and being as

low as 13th in the points
and working our way up only to lose the championship in the final race of the
season has given me a taste of defeat I have not had for a while," said
Hines, rider of the Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Motorsports
Harley-Davidson. "It makes me even hungrier to go out and win a fourth
championship next year. It would mean so much to me and the team if we can use
this season as the learning experience we need to go out there and do our best
to compete for the championship again next year."

His Screamin' Eagle/Vance
& Hines Motorsports teammate, Eddie Krawiec, shares the sentiment. The team
wants to get ready for the 2008 NHRA season opener in March and they couldn't
be more anxious to get started on the work.

After a tremendously successful
35-plus-year driving career that netted 50 NHRA national event wins and
11 divisional championships, Alcohol Funny Car icon Bob Newberry has
decided its time to turn in his driving gloves.

Considered among Sportsman racing's elite, Newberry is part of
an ever-dwindling fraternity of competitors who still works on the car,
tunes the engine and drives, which ultimately led to his decision to
make a change. Nick Bastiao, owner of Stealth Motorsports, has
purchased Newberry's turnkey race team operation and will not only
retain Newberry as his crew chief and mentor, but also re-signed
Valvoline to a multi-year agreement.

“I have been extremely fortunate throughout my career to have
a strong network of supporters,” said Newberry. “From a number of
tremendous sponsors such as Valvoline, to countless friends and family,
their help has allowed me race at a high level whether in Competition
Eliminator or Alcohol Funny Car.

John Force Racing will
host their 10^th annual Holiday Car Show benefiting the CHPS for Kids
program on December 2, 2007 from 10 AM to 4 PM. CHPS is a community program of
the

California Highway

program.

This year’s theme will be Those Fabulous Fifty Sevens -- featuring
1957 Fords and Chevrolets.

Last year’s event
reportedly attracted a considerable contingent of visitors and the 2007 event
promises to be just as popular – considering there will be over 850 cars on
display.

Evan Knoll’s
Torco ATV rider Dalton Millican attended the ATV ITP Moose Racing National Motocross Series Awards Banquet in Pigeon
Forge TN. 

Dalton, son of
multi-time Top Fuel champion Clay Millican, placed 5^th in the
Production C class in his first season racing the National Motocross S

The hot rodders are coming back to Bowling Green. The 6th annual Holley NHRA
National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by SoffSeal, returns to Beech Bend Raceway
on Father’s Day weekend, June 13-15, 2008. Four of the five previous Reunions
had been held at Beech Bend. Upgrades in traffic patterns and infrastructure led
the non-profit Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum to bring the Reunion back to
its original home.

“We’re glad to be back,” said Tony Thacker, executive
director of the Parks Museum. “We listened to our core customers and this is
where they wanted to be. Bowling Green is a historic place for many hot rodders,
and Beech Bend Raceway’s covered grandstands and verdant background make a great
venue for our event.”

The Museum and Beech Bend have signed a five-year
contract to bring long-term stability to the event.

“We are so excited
about it,” said Dallas Jones, owner of Beech Bend Raceway Park. “I’m just
tickled to death that we have the Hot Rod Reunion back, and it’ll be a happy
reunion for us and the community. It’ll be wide open arms and great for
everybody.”

Chip Ellis might compare notes with Tony Dungy.

Dungy, a former head coach with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers was
relieved of his duties as head coach on November 14, 2002 despite
taking the franchise to the playoffs in four of his six seasons.

A half decade later, Chip Ellis lost his driving job with the G2
Motorsports team on the same date after losing the final round at the
NHRA Finals in Pomona, Ca. In a season of 18 races, Ellis’s employment
came down to .068 of a second – the holeshot he gave up to Matt Smith
in that championship-deciding race.

Team owners George Smith and George Bryce opted to not renew the Ellis contract Wednesday afternoon.

"My agreement with Chip for 2007 was that we would put forth a maximum
effort and do our best to perform at the highest level," Smith said in
a prepared statement. "And with Ken Johnson, Dale Ellis, the guys back
at S&S and the whole crew here at G2 in Americus, we did just that.
I challenged Chip to be able to surge hard and cut good lights on
Sunday. That was part of the deal. Had we won either of the final
rounds we were in at Pomona or Las Vegas, we would have won a
championship.

Brian Wood is a special
person who easily throws his heart into his passion. He joined the Torco’s
CompetitionPlus.com team 139 issues ago and the impact he made on our team went
well beyond just putting words and photos on a computer screen. Brian has been
more than a team player. He was a spirit – a spirit of someone who desperately
wanted to find a place in the drag racing world.

I can speak on behalf of
the staff of Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com when I say that we’re glad that he
found a place with us. He worked long and tireless hours in the formative years
of this magazine and worked many seasons for little or no pay just like the
rest of us. Brian always had his eye on a brighter day, which eventually came
when we signed a title rights program with Torco Race Fuels.

Three-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock world champion Jeg
Coughlin has filed an entry for The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Nov.
22-25 Bracket Nationals. Jegs, a leading high-performance parts distributor
(www.jegs.com) founded by Coughlin’s father, Jeg Sr., will contribute gift
certificates for the event.

"I will be driving two dragsters -- my
brother John’s Division 3 Top Sportsman-winning car and my 2006 Mullis dragster
that I raced in 2006 while not in the POWERade Drag Racing Series," Coughlin
said. "I entered the race because I haven’t bracket raced all season due to the
POWERade schedule, and I was unable to make the trip to Florida after the season
finale due to work. I found that LVMS was putting on a host of big-money races,
including what could be a $64,000 race [Saturday’s winner-take-all Ultimate
Gambler], throughout the holiday weekend and decided to come try my
luck."