The Pro Top Outlaw Series is set to begin their
6th season of competition this weekend in Farmington, North Carolina
at the first ever Tar Heel Nationals.  The series, which is a step up from Top
Dragster and not quite Top Alcohol, is comprised of dragsters, altereds, and
funny cars, either blower or nitrous, all racing heads-up against one another. 
This event will mark the beginning of the 2007 points chase and last year’s
champion Phil Esz and runner-up Brandon Booher will both be in attendance to see
if they can rise to the occasion once again.

The 2007 inaugural event will be held on April 13th
and 14th beginning with the ever popular “Night of Fire”
qualifying at 7:30 PM on Friday.  The event is yet another milestone for the
series as they hit the quarter-mile for the first time ever at Farmington
Dragway.  The event will feature a 16 car field with The Pro Top Outlaws
(qualifiers 1 thru 8) and the Pro Top Bandits (qualifiers 9 thru 16) each racing
for their respective trophies during eliminations on
Saturday.

A free NHRA driver
autograph session at the ESPN Zone will kick off the April 12-15
SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The
autograph session will be held at the ESPN Zone inside the New York New York
Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 12, from 7-8 p.m. Racers
planning to attend the event include: Jack Beckman, Jeff Arend, Del Worsham, Jon
Capps, Rod Fuller, Hillary Will, Jason Line, Greg Anderson, J.R. Todd, Cory
McClenathan, Clay Millican, Dave Connolly, Jeg Coughlin, Kenny Koretsky, Justin
Humphrey, Jerry Toliver, Bill Windham, and this list is still
growing.

After grinding his way through the 2006 NHRA schedule, a season in which Jason
Line won his first POWERade Pro Stock championship, the 37-year-old Summit
Racing Pontiac driver made a personal commitment to try and have a little bit
more fun this year. While still putting in long hours with his teammates at the
KB Racing Shop in Mooresville, N.C., early success on the track, including a win
at the tour's last stop in Houston, and a runner-up at Phoenix, would indicate
that Line's more relaxed approach may be paying off.

"One of my goals for
the year was to enjoy what's going on around me a little more," said Line. "And
I'll be honest, winning makes it a little easier. Drag racing is supposed to be
about fun, but sometimes you're reminded that there are more important things
than racing, or just winning for that matter. If I'm not going to have fun doing
this then I'm not going to do it. As far as less stress on the race team, that's
always a good thing. If one of us is in a bad mood then that tends to spill over
onto everyone else, and again, that takes some of the fun out of it. That's not
what this sport is about. We work hard, no question about that, but we need to
step back sometimes, take a look at what we've accomplished, and maybe enjoy it
a little bit, too."

Nitro Funny Car racer Bob Gilbertson has elected to skip the next race
on the NHRA schedule, this weekend's Summitracing.com Nationals in Las
Vegas.

Date of
birth:  March 12, 1963

Age:
44

Birthplace:
New
York

Residence:
Indianapolis

High
school:  North Fulton
High School, Atlanta

Q&A with Mike Ashley, driver of the Torco Race Fuels, Inc. Dodge Charger and
vice president of Lend America, the Official Mortgage Source of NHRA. Mike
Ashley talks about his red light in Houston, the current status of the mortgage
business and Lend America, his feelings about mourning Eric Medlen, and the
importance of Passover to him.
 
Q: Mike, your weekend in Houston was
up and down, and it ended with an un-characteristic red light foul start. What
was going on that lead up to that?

Basically, it's two things. First
of all, I'm not the first person to red light, and I won't be the last. Ron
Capps already redlit this year, John Force has redlit, Gary Densham just redlit.
 So -- the question is really why -- Why do you red light.
 
I've had a
lot of time to think about it, and the reality is, I did have a good car that
weekend, a car that can win. In fact, we had the quickest and fastest car of the
weekend.

The NHRA Sportsman Spotlight which includes features on drivers in the
NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as spotlights on NHRA’s
member track network, is part of the debut of the popular show Inside
Drag Racing, Friday, April 6 at 8 p.m. (ET) on The Outdoor Channel.

George Maskin, Richard’s Maskin's father, passed away Friday night in Detroit.  “He
had a good life,” his son said.  “He was a sportswriter and was the public
relations director for the Detroit Pistons for 15 years.”

Noted chassis builder Don Ness is nearing completion on a machine that
will quickly “scuff” up a brand new set of Goodyear Eagle Pro Stock
slicks.