This is a letter received from Lee McKinney, who is based in Iraq
guarding the U.S. Embassy. McKinney is a huge fan of NHRA Funny Car
driver Mike Ashley. Ashley forwarded this letter to us and we thought
it was neat.

John
Force kept his NHRA record qualifying streak alive at 393 races, while
his daughter Ashley qualified for her first NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series event Saturday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Drama was high as the elder Force needed his best run of the weekend to
make the starting lineup at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA
Winternationals. He produced a miracle run and in the process bumped
his rookie daughter from the 16-car order. However, on her final
qualifying attempt she also powered her Castrol/Auto Club Ford Mustang
to acareer-best performance and earned her first starting position.

Tony Schumacher, Gary Scelzi and Greg Anderson were the No. 1
qualifiers in their respective categories at the season-opening event,
the first of23 races in the NHRA POWERade Countdown to the
Championship.

"Fast" Jack Beckman, driver of the Mail
Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, and his wife Jenna hosted 18
second-graders from the local Heritage Elementary School, of Phelan, Calif.,
on Friday at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
The students were on a field trip with their teacher and local drag racer
Joy Linehan. In preparation for their first visit to an NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series national event (this weekend's CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA
Winternationals), they were asked by Ms. Linehan to provide questions for
2003 Super Comp champion Beckman and his wife Jenna, also a Super Comp racer
who is expecting the couple's first child on March 28.
Beckman, the quickest and fastest Funny Car pilot on the planet after
posting national-track records of 4.662 seconds and 333.66 mph at last
year's finale here in Pomona, is also an instructor at Frank Hawley's Drag
Racing School at the Auto Club Raceway, a cancer survivor, and former Air
Force sergeant.

Tommy Johnson, Jr., sent us this shot provided by a race fan during Friday's qualifying. Tony Pedregon crossed the center-line and barely missed Johnson.

Kenny Koretsky’s life has changed dramatically since he sold all of his various
race teams to others.  Now “just a driver,” in his words, Koretsky is happy
handling a GTO for owner Greg Hill.  “This has taken a huge load off my mind,”
said the man known far and wide as Caption Chaos. 

Alcohol dragster driver Jim Whiteley
crashed into both retaining walls during Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying tonight
at the 47th CARQUEST Winternationals today at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona,
Calif. The Idaho resident was not hurt during the incident that saw his dragster
get loose, cross the centerline before ricocheted off both walls and errupting
into flames.

Jerry Toliver announced his new sponsorship for the 2007 season and beyond with Rock Star Energy drink.

This afternoon Jerry Tolliver will announce his full time
return to NHRA Funny Car competition.

Del Worsham had a forgettable 2006 season, and then had his reputation
besmirched by an errant report on another website that “accused” him of
summarily dumping team driver Phil Burkhart at the last second without
sufficient notice.  On the contrary, Burkhart’s responsibilities to the team
included the acquisition of additional sponsorship, which he was apparently
unable to secure.  When he asked Del and his father, Chuck, near the end of the
season – well in advance of the Auto Club Finals – if he was all set for ’07 he
was told that he wasn’t, that without the additional funding he was charged with
delivering they would seek a driver capable of delivering what they needed. 
Jeff Arend got the nod when he was able to secure the funding the Worsham’s
needed to be competitive.

Two-time winner Melanie Troxel is
sporting a new look this season, and not just the Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA paint scheme
of her Skull Gear/Torco Racing Fuels dragster. Gone is her shoulder-length air
in favor of the short-and-sassy look. "For many years I've thought about cutting
my hair short," Troxel said. "I was always just too chicken to do it. But I
decided I was going to do it over the winter and I went out and did it. It was
time for a change to do something different."