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

EDWARDS STILL SENDING KIDS TO CAMP

When Mike Edwards and his Young Life team developed “A Team on a
Mission” and “Sending A Kid To Camp” program for the 2005 season, none
of them knew how far it would reach into the racing community. Now
entering its third year, the program has sent nearly 300 kids to a
Young Life camp, and for 2007 Edwards and his team hopes the program
far exceeds that number.

“We knew the racing community was a giving bunch that would do almost
anything to give those not as fortunate as us a chance at something
better,” Edwards said. “That is why we started this program and now it
is accomplishing just that, giving kids some hope for the future.”

COMP CAMS® HOT RODS ON BEALE

The Hot Rod Power Tour is a great place to meet new people, see new
products, and simply have fun. To keep this tradition rolling we have
planned three entertaining events for 2007. COMP Cams® will host the
first ever Hot Rods on Beale event on June 7. Power Tour participants
and spectators will cruise from the Hot Rod Power Tour stop at Memphis
Motorsports Park to the legendary home of the blues, Beale Street in
downtown Memphis. Entertaining the crowd from 8 until 11 p.m. that
night will be the blues band, Delta Highway. A special collection of
high performance cars will be on display on Beale Street and
limited-edition COMP Cams® Hot Rods on Beale t-shirts will be available
for sale at the COMP Cams® booth throughout the Power Tour.

FRIDAY TOPEKA QUALIFYING

HARTLEY, HIGHT, ANDERSON SITTING NO. 1 AT HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA
0722-00731.jpg

Little known part-time racer Joe Hartley is the surprise Top Fuel leader at
Heartland Park Topeka Friday after one round of qualifying with a stunning 4.518
seconds at 323.12 mph.

 

0722-00824.jpgIn his first time as the No.1 qualifier in the Top
Fuel category, Hartley is joined by Funny Car heavyweight Robert Hight and Pro
Stock points leader Greg Anderson on the leader board..

 

Friday's action of the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA
Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX was trimmed by on-and-off rain
showers. Only one round of nitro and about a round and a half of Pro Stock made
it into the books.

 

Blowing past the likes of four-time champion Tony
Schumacher, current points leader "Hot Rod" Fuller, and the rest of a stout Top
Fuel field, Hartley was the talk of the pits after what was easily the best run
of his career. Even Hartley was surprised when he climbed from his rail at the
top end of the racetrack.

 

"I can't believe it," the 30-year-old Hartley
said. "We were hoping for a low 4.60 so to go almost a tenth of a second quicker
is really exciting. It snapped the front end up right away and just went
straight down the track nice and easy. The smooth ones are definitely the
quickest ones and that one was very smooth."

 

GRIFFIN COMPLETES CARRIER PURCHASE

Scott Griffin Motorsports has completed the purchase of the Cory
McClenathan driven, Honeywell/Fram sponsored Top Fuel dragster from
Carrier Boyz Racing.

McClenathan and Griffin, good friends and fierce competitors in both
the IHRA and NHRA, will now join forces in the NHRA Countdown to the
Championship with what fans and observers believe to be an odds - on
chance to finish high in the money. For Cory Mac, one of the most
accomplished, celebrated  and respected  drivers in NHRA history (No. 3
among active drivers with 29 event wins) it marks the start of a march
to the coveted POWERade Series championship that has eluded him, albeit
by the smallest of margins, so far.

NITRO HARLEYS RETURN TO NHRA

NHRA has announced the continuation of the Screamin' Eagle NHRA Nitro
Harley-Davidson exhibition tour to be held at three national events in
conjunction with the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

The three NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events in 2007 that will
showcase the NHRA Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley-Davidson exhibitions will be the
O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka (Kan.), June 1-3; the
O'Reilly Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway, July 6-8; and
the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park near
Richmond, Va., Oct. 5-7.

ENDERS CLOSE TO TOP EIGHT

Call it youthful exuberance. While many of her peers are lamenting the upcoming
stretch of eight races in nine weeks, including an unprecedented six races in a
row, 23-year-old Pro Stock driver Erica Enders is excited about an endless
summer on the strip.

Well rested after nearly a month on the sidelines
and wheeling a brand-new Dodge Stratus R/T from chassis builder Jerry Haas,
Enders sees the next two-plus months of non-stop racing as the perfect chance to
secure her place in the Countdown to the Championship. Just 44 points out of the
field of eight that will fight for this year's championship, Enders is ready to
make her mark beginning this weekend in Topeka. 

RUSSO LEADS PMRA POINTS

When the first of five Pro Modified Racing Association events for 2007
was completed at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario May 20,
the win by John Russo was the tenth in as many PMRA races.
 
And with his win, the Camaro Pro Modified driver from Massachusetts
presently leads the PMRA Point Series sponsored by Wix Filtration
Products, Valvoline, a division of Ashland Inc., Uni-Select, and Moen
Incorporated with 351 points.
 
Another new PMRA team for 2007 is Ike Maier of Tottenham, Ontario and
Maier with his Camaro is in second place with 332 points. Driving the
Kirk Silbermann 1957 Chevy Pro Modified out of Ajax, Ontario, is Scotty
Wildgust, who is third in the standings with 330 points.

TOYOTA PARTNERS WITH PEDREGON RACING FOR TEAM SUPPORT

Today, Pedregon Racing announced a partnership with Toyota for team
support including supply of transportation vehicles for the 2007 NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing season.
 
Cruz Pedregon, driver of the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car, and
Tony Pedregon, pilot of the Q Power Nitro Funny Car, will each receive
team support vehicles from Toyota.
 
Toyota will support each team with key product for use throughout the
remainder of the 2007 season. This product support includes the Sequoia
Full Size SUV and the all-new Tundra CrewMax pick-up truck. The Tundra
Full Size CrewMax pick-up is equipped with a 5.7 liter V8 engine which
will provide a towing capacity of over 10,000 pounds. While providing a
functional addition to the Pedregon Racing teams, this product support
will also offer tremendous exposure for the Toyota Tundra and Sequoia
models.

SKULL SHINE SOONER NATIONALS EVENT SCHEDULE RELEASED

Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam officials have announced the schedule for the
postponed Skull Shine Sooner Nationals presented by Wolverine and
Academy Sports + Outdoors.
 
The event, rescheduled for Saturday, June 23, will kick-off
professional racing at 12 noon with a time trial for all qualified
cars. Qualifying was completed prior to postponement, so the
professional category fields are locked. The professional classes are
Top Fuel, Nitro Funny Car, Pro Modified, Alcohol Funny Car and Pro
Stock.
 
Professional eliminations will begin at 4:30 p.m. Second round is scheduled for 6 p.m., third round 8 p.m. and finals at 10 p.m.

CAGNAZZI TALKS PRO STOCK

6-4-07cagnazzi.jpgPro Stock team owner
Victor Cagnazzi says that he used the same principles to build a successful
drag racing operation that he did to develop a high-tech business that netted
in excess of $70-million dollars worth of sales annually.

Cagnazzi quickly points
out that it’s just a matter of applying the right people, resources, and
technology to a clearly defined goal. Then you supplement it with hard work and
the rest falls into place.

A New York Institute of
Technology graduate, Cagnazzi made a career out of building small companies
into large ones. The same could be said for his drag racing endeavors. It all
began with an amateur start that eventually graduated to professional status.

Cagnazzi took a single Pro
Stock team and built the program into one of the forerunners of the class with
drivers Dave Connolly and Jeg Coughlin Jr.

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