:::::: News ::::::

CHEW ON THIS

With 15 of 36-races completed, 38 drivers competing in the NASCAR
Nextel Cup Series have already earned in excess of  $1,000,000.  Kevin
Harvick leads the way with $4,462,037 in earnings,  with current points
leader Jeff Gordon second at $3,496,991.  Dale  Jarrett, who has DNQ’d
three times in his new Toyota, is at the bottom of the millionaire’s
list with “only” $1,114,852 to his credit.  Poor guy!  Johnny Benson,
who has but one start this season, is at the very bottom of the money
list with $64,875.  That’s $24,875 more than the Top Fuel or Funny Car
winner at a POWERade Series event  takes home.

After 16-races in the Busch Series, which is the support series and not
the main event, 17 drivers have earned in excess of $400,000 – the
equivalent of a T/F or F/C driver having won 10 POWERade races –
something only Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson has even come close to,
and he’s won five times in 2007.

TANKING IT WITH TEAM CSK

Team CSK team member John Fink has purchased a 22-year old British
Chieftan Mark-V Battle Tank, and he has been awaiting its arrival in
Auburn, Ind. since then. 
  
With much of Team CSK in attendance, at the team's midwestern shop, the
55-ton machine arrived today on a special flat-bed hauler. Perhaps it
is needless to report that most of the actual work that had
been going on at the shop ceased when the behemoth arrived.

TODD WINS SCELZI & FRIENDS CHALLENGE

J.R. Todd added another accomplishment to his racing resume Saturday night,
albeit for bragging rights only.
 
Todd was the first NHRA driver to take
the checkered flag in the Gary Scelzi & Friends All-Star Challenge at Plaza
Park Raceway in Visalia, Calif.  The 25-lap main event on the fifth-mile clay
oval featured Todd, Scelzi, Del Worsham, Morgan Lucas, Ron Capps and Cory
McClenathan and was a fundraiser for the track.
 
The drivers competed in
600cc Mini-Sprints before what Todd said was a “good crowd.  We signed
autographs for about two hours.

GREAT COUGHLIN FATHER'S DAY GIFT

Jeg Coughlin, Jr. was busy serving as Grand Marshall for the NHRA
National Hot Rod Reunion in Columbus. His sons were busy winning drag
races in Illinois.

Mike Coughlin won the Top Sportsman title at the NHRA Division 3  Lucas
Oil Series event at Route 66 Nationals and a few minutes later he
watched as his brother John joined him in the winner’s circle by
claiming a victory in the Top Dragster class.
 
In the Top Sportsman final, Mike drove his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt to a
win over current points leader Billy Vaughn. Mike gained the reaction
time advantage at the start and then finished the nearly flawless run
by running right on his 7.02 dial in while Vaughn broke out, running
under his 7.11 dial with a 7.09.
           
Watching his brother turn on the win light only helped to motivate John
Coughlin, who claimed his second Top Dragster title of the season with
a slowing 7.86 after his final round opponent, Brian Folk, red-lighted
at the start. John has now won two of the three Top Dragster races he
has entered with his new Undercover Chassis dragster and he has built a
sizable lead in the Division 3 points standings.

ANDREACCHI WINS PMRA CAYUGA

For the 11th time in as many races, a new team captured a Pro Modified Racing Association event.
 
Sam Andreacchi of Toronto, Ontario took out Mike Stawicki of Medina,
New York in the final to win the Third Annual KC Auto Family Day
Spectacular - PMRA Challenge presented by Paul Wolf Electric &
Lighting Supply Inc., Sylvania, and Independent Electrical Distributors
at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario. It was the team’s first
PMRA win.
 
“This is just fantastic,” said an excited Andreacchi after the final.
“We really had our car running well, and we were on our game plan. And
with our main sponsor Wolf Electric taking part in the event, we could
not have asked for anything better.”
 
The one-day event, which saw a record number of 16 Pro Modifieds vie
for the eight spots in the show, was the second stop in the 2007 Pro
Modified Racing Association Tour.

UPDATED: DRAG RACING EXHIBITION TURNS DEADLY

An exhibition of drag racing machinery at the Cars for Kids charity
event turned deadly as a Pro Modified car doing a burnout lost control,
struck a utility pole and careened into a group of onlookers, killing
six and injuring 18 others in Selmer, Tenn.

Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Browning said the six deaths
included two 15-year-old girls and a 17-year-old girl. Eighteen others
were injured including a 5-year-old boy. The injured were taken to
hospitals in Tennessee and Mississippi.

The Highway Patrol said Raven Griswell, 15, of Finger; and Sean Michael
Driskill, 22, of Adamsville, died at the scene. Four others -- Brook L. Pope,
20, of Selmer; Scarlett Replogle, 15, of Selmer; Kimberly A. Barfield, 17, of
Adamsville; and Nicole Griswell, no age or hometown given -- died later in area
hospitals.

DRAMATIC SAVE AT NHRR

Larry Shawberry and his 68 mini Charger (3/4 scale) got out of shape in his
first run Saturday morning and did everything he could to crash but saved it and
settled back down to earth right side up and no additional scratches.
.

 WATCH FULL PHOTO SEQUENCE

KID CHAOS ON THE MOVE

Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has learned that Kyle Koretsky (a.k.a. Kid
Chaos) along with father Kenny Koretsky have purchased Ray
Connelly's (Pro Stock driver Dave Connelly's father) complete multi
national event winner Super Comp car. Reportedly Ray will campaign and
drive one last time at E-Town all the while providing
assistance/instruction to Kyle.

JEG SR. HAVING A BLAST

Grand Marshall Jeg Coughlin Sr. is having a grand time at the fifth annual
Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion presented by SoffSeal, which takes place
this weekend at Coughlin's home track of National Trail Raceway in nearby
Kirkersville.

Coughlin's already been busy with his official duties,
cutting the ribbon to open the race weekend in Columbus at the Airport Marriott
Hotel, leading a hot rod cruise through the streets of his hometown, and hosting
a huge party at the expansive JEGS Mail Order compound in Delaware.

"The
ribbon-cutting ceremony was great," said Coughlin, who started JEGS in 1960 with
a small speed shop on 11th Avenue. "They fired-up the Jade Grenade Nostalgia Top
Fuel dragster and got everyone excited. Then we all loaded up into some old
street rods and drove through the back roads over to our shop. There must have
been 100 or more cars. It was really something to see."

ADRL ON TV

The Flowmaster American Drag Racing League's spectacular AMS Staff
Leasing Summer Drags, held June 1 at 2 at Huntsville Dragway, will be
broadcast tonight and Saturday on TheOutdoor Channel's Inside Drag
Racing program.

The first showing of results and highlights from the Summer Drags will
be tonight at 8 p.m. EDT, with replays scheduled for at 11 p.m. tonight
and 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Each of the remaining ADRL events on
the 2007 schedule will be shown on Inside Drag Racing following the same schedule format.

The Outdoor Channel can be found on many cable systems (check local
listings) and is also available through DIRECTV (channel 606) and DISH
Network (channel 153). For additional information, visit
www.outdoorchannel.com.

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