Things got a little warm from Brady Kalivoda during Las Vegas eliminations. (ESPN2/Motel 6 Vision)

Former Australian Pro Stock Champion Peter Ridgeway will make his official return to
ANDRA Championship Drag Racing competition later this year.

Ridgeway has partnered with former on-track rival John O’Kearney for his comeback, with the
pair expecting delivery of a state-of-the-art 2006 Holden Monaro, built by legendary US
chassis builder Don Ness, next month.

Powering the car will be a Ridgeway Motorsports designed and developed 400 cubic inch (6.5
litre) small block Chevrolet, which produces in-excess of 1,000bhp (750kW) and can rev to
over 10,000rpm. Standing quarter-mile performances will be in the 7.1 second range with
terminal speeds topping 190mph (305km/h).

Monday testing is the perfect time to catch the latest innovations.
Gary Densham joins the Impala fraternity and tested the new shell
during Monday's Vegas session.

It’s been six long years since Dale
Armstrong hung up his wrenches, and frankly, we never thought we’d see the day
that the man who helped guide Kenny Bernstein to the sport’s first 300 MPH
clocking (with some important help from Ray Alley and Wes Cerny, we might add)
would return trackside, but he’s back in action with Funny Car driver Jerry
Tolliver.          
Armstrong’s list of quarter mile accomplishments is more
than impressive,  it’s legendary.  Along with having guided Bernstein to all of
those NHRA championships, he was also the winner of the prestigious Ollie Award
as part of the All-Star Drag Racing Team program that was once sponsored by  Car
Craft Magazine.  The award is emblematic of one’s career-long contributions to
the sport, with other winners including the likes of Don Garlits, Mickey
Thompson, Wally Parks and Don Prudhomme, to name just a few of them.

When Armstrong decided to call it a day few thought he’d ever
return to action, but when he got the call from Tolliver he just couldn’t resist
giving it one more shot.

We caught up with Armstrong in the Rockstar pits for a little
conversation.

Chip King had a tough go of things during a Friday's test and tune run at the Montgomery ADRL event. According the King, the car started
to haze the tires but then it hooked violently. Normally, he said, this
would be a good thing. King then explained that a heim joint broke
causing the tire to grab the main tube in front of it and caused it to
break. The computers and shock timers were on top of the bar. The tire then
grabbed the electrical cables and sent parts through the windshield and
the tubs. King added the incident also broke the master cylinder.
Fortunately for King, he has a second car which will be pressed into
action next weekend in Rockingham, NC.

Jerry Toliver and his new ROCKSTAR Energy Drink Toyota Funny Car delivered a
4.859-second qualifying run Saturday at the SummitRacing.com Nationals to
officially launch his return to NHRA competition.   
 
Not only that, but
the time came close to putting the Temecula, Calif.-based team into the starting
16. And it gave their confidence a boost.

HIGHT, BERNSTEIN DEDICATE LAS VEGAS VICTORIES IN MEMORY OF FRIEND ERIC
MEDLEN

Anderson increases POWERade Series lead with third Pro Stock victory of the
season

Less than a month after losing Eric Medlen in a tragic testing
accident, John Force Racing celebrated a Funny Car victory Sunday as Robert
Hight raced to the victory over POWERade Series points leader Ron Capps at the
SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Hight was joined in an emotional winner's circle at The Strip at Las Vegas
Motor Speedway by Medlen's good friend Brandon Bernstein, who earned his 13th
Top Fuel title, and Greg Anderson, who claimed a track-record fifth Las Vegas
trophy in Pro Stock.

"It's amazing how many lives Eric has touched and it's not as fun coming to
the races without your best friend and teammate with you," Hight said. "But we
needed to come back out here and be with our family, our drag racing family, and
realize how many people Eric made happy in his life.

"I never have had much luck at Vegas but I felt like I had some extra help
today. Maybe Eric was watching over me. I know having his dad [John Medlen]
helping us with the car was special for all of us."

Both Hight and Bernstein, who beat Bob Vandergriff in the Top Fuel final,
immediately dedicated their wins to the Medlens. Hight presented his trophy to
Eric's father John, while Brandon sought out Eric's mother Mimi and gave her his
Wally. Anderson, meanwhile, was able to give Las Vegas-based team owners Ken and
Judy Black their fifth hometown win, making the team the most prolific in the
track's brief history. This time he beat Jeg Coughlin to get the hardware.

Final round-by-round results from the Eighth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com
Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of 23 events in
the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Morgan Lucas, 4.547, 316.82 def. Melanie Troxel, 4.611, 314.75;
Joe Hartley, 4.618, 328.70 def. David Grubnic, 4.686, 318.39; Bob Vandergriff,
5.955, 291.07 def. Brady Kalivoda, 6.576, 127.19; Larry Dixon, 4.588, 316.60
def. Hillary Will, 4.568, 326.56; J.R. Todd, 4.598, 315.86 def. Tony Schumacher,
6.153, 152.97; Cory McClenathan, 4.639, 316.60 def. Whit Bazemore, 6.270,
139.85; Rod Fuller, 4.580, 324.90 def. Mike Strasburg, 7.228, 114.79; Brandon
Bernstein, 4.955, 209.04 def. Clay Millican, 5.028, 240.64;

QUARTERFINALS -- Bernstein, 4.541, 328.14 def. McClenathan, 4.857, 226.47;
Vandergriff, 4.591, 319.07 def. Hartley, 4.669, 286.38; Fuller, 4.545, 327.11
def. Dixon, 4.584, 318.47; Lucas, 4.563, 324.83 def. Todd, 4.644, 313.15;

SEMIFINALS -- Vandergriff, 4.596, no speed def. Fuller, 5.413, 164.07;
Bernstein, 4.548, 326.95 def. Lucas, 4.585, 326.16;

FINAL -- Bernstein, 4.521, 330.07 def. Vandergriff, 4.828, 298.87.

Sunday's final results from the Eighth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the fifth of 23 in the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series: