According to a close associate of Bruton Smith, who requested
anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the subject, a new drag strip
is going to be built across the street from Lowe’s Motor Speedway next to the
currently-in-operation dirt track.  However, this will apparently be anything
but a slam dunk for Smith because he has yet to secure zoning approval, and may
face opposition from a large housing tract and golf course that are already
under construction.  Our source described the situation as “Englishtown-like,”
in that it may take some serious effort to convince the neighbors that another
motorsports facility is in their best interests.  If things go as planned the
facility should be ready for action by September, but that’s a pretty big “if.”

Litton Maintains Top Fuel No. 1 In
Milan

Brand Sets Alcohol Funny Car ET World
Record

Bruce Litton, Indianapolis, covered
the Milan Dragway quarter-mile in 4.581-seconds at 323.50 mph to maintain the
Top Fuel No. 1 qualifying position for this weekend’s Suzuki Motor City
Nationals presented by GM Performance Division and Heritage
Newspapers.

Other No. 1 qualifiers include Dale Creasy Jr. (Nitro Funny Car), Kenny
Lang (Pro Modified), Dale Brand (Alcohol Funny Car) and Pete Berner (Pro
Stock).

Litton established a new track ET record en route to his
Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier, but wasn’t able to earn the Last Man Standing bonus
for the evening. That accolade went to Scotty Cannon, 4.642, 296.50, who ended
up crossing the finish line during the final pass of the night before Litton.
Cannon ended up No. 2, followed by Litton teammate Jeff O’Neill, Todd Paton,
Bobby Lagana Jr. and points leader T.J. Zizzo. Mitch King and Kevin Jones ended
up seventh and eighth. Terry McMillen, who won the last Knoll Gas Nitro Jam
event in Cayuga, Ontario, failed to make the field.

Funny Car points leader Robert Hight entered this weekend's 22nd annual O'Reilly
NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec hoping to lock-up a spot in the
Countdown to Four championship field. Now the John Force Racing professional is
hoping to remain relevant after a shocking failure to qualify on the hottest
racetrack the series has encountered all season.

Top Fuel's Cinderella story Doug
Herbert also suffered a DNQ, all but extinguishing his title hopes
outright.

Three of Friday's four
qualifying leaders remained intact with J.R. Todd leading Top Fuel with a 4.541
seconds, Tim Wilkerson topping Funny Car with a 4.787 seconds, and Greg Anderson
fronting Pro Stock with a 6.668 seconds. The only change among the frontrunners
was Chip Ellis sneaking around Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a
double-track-record pass of 6.976 seconds at 191.32 mph

Despite his DNQ, Hight remains
in the points lead for the time being, but could certainly suffer if "Fast Jack"
Beckman, Ron Capps, or Gary Scelzi have big Sundays. Second in the points,
Beckman could do the most damage. He starts qualifying in the No. 7 spot. Scelzi
is 10th, while Capps is 12th.

Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com has confirmed that Mike Neff will test at
Virginia Motorsports Park as he prepares for his Funny Car debut as a
driver. He will also put the highly-anticipated Ford nitromethane
engine through its initial paces during the test.

This news comes directly from John Force, who had originally planned to
begin testing in Memphis. Delays pushed the initial test session back
until this week. Force said he doesn’t handle the day to day human
resources responsibilities but is certain that a crew is already in
place for the Richmond test.

“My team does the hiring and firing,” Force said. “We have some people
that we don’t get until next year. We’ll go into Richmond and test. I
have no doubt that Mike Neff will fall right in place.

Force said he has equal anticipation of making runs with the new Ford nitromethane engine.

“We are going to run the Ford engine and unveil it at SEMA,” Force
revealed. “We haven’t tested it yet but we know ahead of time that it
is going to require testing. It is going to take some time to develop.
We’re happy and so is Ford. The proof is in the pudding.”

“I don’t have a dragster yet, so we’re going to run it in the Funny Car.”

Litton Top Fuel No. 1 Qualifier at
Milan

Bruce Litton, Indianapolis, jumped to the provisional No. 1 qualifying
position in Knoll Gas Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Top Fuel Friday
during the Suzuki Motor City Nationals presented by GM Performance
Division and Heritage Newspapers. Litton covered the quarter-mile in a
career-best 4.604 seconds at 316.82 mph.

Other provisional No. 1 qualifiers include Terry Haddock (Nitro Funny
Car), Mike Janis (Pro Modified), Terry Munroe (Alcohol Funny Car) and
John Montecalvo (Pro Stock).

In Top Fuel, Litton’s 4.604 was also good enough to earn him the Last
Man Standing, giving him five bonus points to cut into the 54
separating him and leader T.J. Zizzo. Zizzo currently sits outside the
field, putting on some pressure to put down a good run Saturday. Todd
Paton sits second, 4.712, Bobby Lagana Jr. third, 4.781, Jeff O’Neill
fourth, 4.918.

JR TODD LEADS FRIDAY TOP FUEL QUALIFYING

Reigning
Rookie of the Year J.R. Todd knows he needs a big weekend to keep his
championship hopes alive and he responded with a top-qualifying effort
of 4.541 seconds at 318.47 mph Friday night at the 22nd annual O'Reilly
Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec.

The Top Fuel racer joined surprise Funny Car leader Tim Wilkerson, Pro
Stock stalwart Greg Anderson, and Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader
Andrew Hines on the provisional low qualifier's podium.

Currently 77 points behind the fourth and final spot in the Countdown
to Four, Todd has two races to make up the deficit. He's off to a good
start with a quick 4.541 seconds at 318.47 mph in his Skull Gear
dragster.

"Last week we missed a perfect opportunity to make up some ground on
the guys in front of us but, it is what it is, and now we've got our
work cut out for us this weekend," Todd said. "Hopefully now can go
some rounds, pick up some points, and go into Richmond and get in that
top four. This is a good morale booster for us because we've all been
down in the dumps. Right now everyone is pumped up."

The IHRA’s decision to hold racer parking until Friday has drawn the
ire of several racers that opted to return for the rescheduled IHRA
Motor City Nationals at Milan Dragway in Milan Michigan.

According to the professional racers who discussed the issue with
Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com, they are saddled with six hours worth of
set-up time leaving little time to prepare their cars for Friday’s 6:30
PM qualifying session. Sportsman racing begins at 3 PM.

IHRA President Aaron Polburn said the issue shouldn’t be that much of a
big deal.With many of sportsman cars having been eliminated and because
those cars are no longer a factor in this weekend, the lines to get in
should move quicker. He said when you have to credential all of the
professional and sportsman cars, that in itself is a time-consuming
affair that requires the extra day.

Rising drag racing star Darrell Russell lost his life at the height of his professional career in an on-track accident at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis in the summer of 2004. During his all-too-brief three-and-a-half-year stint as the driver of legend Joe Amato's 330-mph dragster, no one was closer to Russell than NHRA.com Senior Editor Rob Geiger.

In Darrell Russell: Broad Smiles, Quarter-Miles, Geiger memorializes his best friend and fellow Texan by exploring the person he was, from his boyhood years in Houston to his life in the fast lane of NHRA Championship Drag Racing.

Filled with stories of Russell's early days with his beloved family on through to his numerous successes on the racetrack that made him one of the most sought-after racers on the circuit, Geiger's book already has garnered some high praise in media circles.

Patty Bradford, mother of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Tom Bradford, passed
away just before the Memphis race weekend. Tom sat that one out, but resumes his
race schedule this weekend in Dallas. "It's what she would have wanted us to
do," said Tom, driving to the Texas Motorplex with his father Lloyd "Brad"
Bradford. "For my first ten years of racing, she was a big factor in my team.
Driving to and from races, videotaping the passes, and holding it all together.
It was all about everybody else more than it was for her. She was a great woman.
Very loving and caring, and it didn't matter who you were, she'd welcome you
into the home."
 
Patty was raised as a North Dakota farm girl before her
family moved to Milwaukee when farming got tough. "Her dad got a job at American
Motors," said Tom. "My was dad stationed in the Navy down at Great Lakes near
Chicago. He'd come up to Milwaukee on leave, and that's how he met my mom. They
were married for 44 years, and had me and my sister Christine Wallis. Mom was a
grandmother of four.

Former two time NSCA World
Champion Randy Jewell returns to the NSCA this weekend for the series finale,
the BES Racing Engines World Finals presented by RPM Magazine.

Jewell will be at the
wheel of the Jewell, Falco and Mars twin turbo Camaro that was built during the
off hours at Pro Car Performance in Rochester,
NY.