NHRA Top Fuel points leader and Las Vegas resident Rod Fuller will join 14-time
NHRA Funny Car champion John Force in an autograph session at the Bullring at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Wednesday (Aug. 8) evening from 6-7 p.m.

Fuller, who has five Top Fuel wins to his
credit, will join Force at the Bullring’s autograph table beneath the main
grandstands before they head to the next NHRA event in Brainerd, Minn., Aug. 9-12.

“It’s the old bull joined by the new
bull,” Fuller joked. “I told John (Force) it’s the changing of the guard in the
staging lanes at Sonoma (Calif.). It’s my hometown
and I’ve been to the bull ring a few times. I enjoy going out there. It’s always
good to see the Las
Vegas race fans on a non-race weekend.”

Nitro Funny Car racer Paul Lee announced that he would no longer drive the Nitro
Funny Car of Jeff and Bonnie McGaffic.  Lee, who has driven for the J&B
Motorsports team since 2003, won 3 NHRA national events in the alcohol Funny Car
class with them and moved up to the nitro class with the team in 2005.

Monday's final results from the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals
at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at US 131.  The race is the sixth of 11
in the $19.5 million 2007 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series:

Final round-by-round results from the Torco Racing Fuels
Northern Nationals at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at US 131, the sixth
of 11 events in the $19.5 million 2007 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing
Series:
 
TOP FUEL:
 
ROUND ONE -- Bobby Lagana Jr., 13.712, 62.80 def. Clay Millican, foul;
Melanie Troxel, 4.662, 326.71 def. Scotty Cannon, 4.795, 271.24; J.R.
Todd, 4.595, 314.97 def. T.J. Zizzo, 12.160, 74.85; Bruce Litton,
4.695, 299.26 def. Doug Foley, 10.873, 87.46;

SEMIFINALS -- Litton, 4.671, 322.34 def. Troxel, 4.664, 321.58; Todd, 4.632, 311.13 def. Lagana Jr., 11.611, 83.10;

FINAL -- Litton, 4.707, 287.72 def. Todd, 11.254, 80.71.

Point standings (top 10) for IHRA professional categories following
the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park
at US 131, the sixth of 11 events in the $19.5 million 2007 Knoll-Gas
Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series -
 

Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com has learned that Melanie Troxel will make
test runs in a Funny Car owned by Mike Ashley during the upcoming PRO
test session prior to the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. He's got the
blessings from sponsor Evan Knoll and Torco Race Fuels to make it
happen.

“We’ve had Melanie fitted for a Funny Car,” Ashley said. “I’m all for
doing this as long as it doesn’t interfere with our Countdown to the
Championship. We have to make sure our car is ready for that. We will
do it at the Indianapolis test session coming up.”

Ashley is aware that such a move will create a plethora of speculation.
While expansion of his Torco Race Fuels-sponsored team is clearly
something he has publicly admitted, he’ll admit that adding Troxel to
his team would clearly be an asset.

“Evan is really happy with our program and we are seriously looking at
the prospects of running a multi-car team,” Ashley said. “Melanie
Troxel has expressed an interest in driving a Funny Car. I think she
would be a great spokesperson for the class but most of all I think she
would be a top-notch driver.

“From a media standpoint, I think she would be great and really it
would be neat to see a husband and wife racing against each other in
the class. I would be very interested in putting together a team one
day with Melanie and I have spoken together with Evan. If it’s going to
happen, it’s going to happen. It will be under my umbrella if it
happens.”

Litton Defeats Todd to Take Top Fuel Points Lead
Ashley, Hamstra, Noakes and Gugliotta Also Visit Winner’s Circle

Bruce Litton defeated J.R. Todd in the Top Fuel final of the Torco
Racing Fuels Northern Nationals. Litton, of Indianapolis, covered the
quarter-mile in 4.707 seconds, 287.72 mph, to take the win and the
Knoll Gas Nitro Jam points lead.

Take a close look at this picture snapped during the second round of
Torco's CompetitionPlus.com Pro Modified during the IHRA Torco Northern Nationals in Martin, Michigan. Quain Stott gets out of shape
and strikes the wall but that's not the focus of this picture. If you
look inside the red circle, you will see a race official standing
alongside the wall as Stott makes contact. In the next pair of cars,
the obviously unrattled race official was in the same spot for the next
pair and beyond. (Frank Ranney pic).