In a rain
shortened qualifying at the West Coast Hot Rod Association Auto Club Raceway
event 2006 PSCA Pro Street
World Champion Steve Paulauskis ran another stellar pass to lower the West
Coast E.T. mark to 6.33 seconds. Unfortunately the WFO Motorsport team did not
get a chance to turn the number into a record when the event was cut short
after delayed qualifying and severe weather rolled into the Bakersfield area overnight. Paulauskis was
distinctly upbeat, “To run like that at my sponsor’s race is great, Team
Transit Mix Inc. had a bunch of customers and employees on hand for an
Appreciation Day and I hope we made them proud. Kelly did a great job today he
had this thing flying”. Kelly Bluebaugh of WFO Racing and Machine who serves as
crew chief on the Team Transit Mix Cavalier continued, “The tune-up for that
pass was conservative, it was safer than when we ran the previous West Coast
best at Speedworld and I truly did not expect a number like that. It would have
been nice to have got another pass and stepped it up, the chances of running a
twenty were pretty good.”

The Mopar® 2007 HEMI® Challenge Race Series hits Belle Rose, La. this weekend.
The second-to-last leg of the 2007 points season will take place on Saturday,
April 21 at the Jeg’s Cajun SPORTSnationals.

The first 2007 HEMI
Challenge race saw Rick Houser drive his Jim DeFrank & Sons 1968 Barracuda
Fastback to a win over Jerry Jenkins at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March at
the 5th Annual Mopars at the Strip. Another large contingent of HEMI-powered
cars is ready to mix it up again this weekend at No Problem Raceway.

Today, one of the
most popular and colorful drivers in recent drag racing history is slated to
make an announcement that will leave his thousands of fans
heartbroken.  Six-time champion (five in Top Fuel, one in Funny Car
in 2005), Gary Scelzi will step down at the conclusion of the current season,
but this will not be a retirement
announcement.  Scelzi plans on leaving the door open for a possible
return at some point in the future.

Looking for a top-tier
Funny Car ride? Don Schumacher will begin his driver search this week and the
top item along with talent will be personality. The successor had better be
able to crack a joke or two.

"I have talked to a
couple of individuals really on the sidelines," Schumacher said.
"Until Gary
really made his decision ... I hadn't made a decision as to what I was going to
do. We are going to look out there in all of the classes from the alcohol
classes down into the Pro Stock classes. I will communicate with many drivers
out there.

The following is a note from Bob Pagano, Founder and President of
the Disabled Youth Awareness group. We'd like to pass on his message.

Atlanta
Pro Mod Invitees
Troy Critchley  
 Josh Hernandez   
 Troy Coughlin
 
 Tim Tindel  
 Jay Payne  
 Shelly Payne  
 Bryan Seward
 
 Scott Ray  
 Matt Hagen  
 Chip King  
 Eddie Ware  
 Steve
Engel  
 Mike Bell  
 John Russo  

The problems for the yet
completed Mansfield
Motorsports Park,
site of an upcoming IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro jam event in September, continue. MMP President
and General Manager Chris Mize resigned his joint position on Monday morning. This is another blow following EPA-mandated delays in construction.

"I'm just tired," Mize told the Mansfield News Journal.
"A lot of this stress is starting to catch up with me. It's affected me
personally. I know my health has taken a toll and it's affected my
family."

Mize’s tenure with the track dated back to 1999 where a safety
worker position enabled him to climb the ladder to General Manager in 2004.

Earlier this season two-time points champ Jim
Yates had indicated he wouldn’t continue racing in Pro Stock beyond the Atlanta
race without additional sponsorship support.  His backing from WileyX eyewear
has been beneficial, but insufficient in terms of getting the team through the
year.

Yates says “We’re still looking (for a sponsor).  We hve to
find some more money before we get done with Atlanta to keep going.  We just
can’t afford to do it out of our own pockets any more.  Right now we have a
great deal going with WileX and Sea Ray boats, but that only carries us through
Atlanta.  From that point on we’ll be struggling to keep going, but we’ll look
for things even on a race-to-race basis if we have to.”

FREE really means FREE at Dragway 42 this Saturday

Unlike other "free"
drag racing events hosted at tracks around the country
that require the
purchase of a (sometimes inflated) general admission
ticket to participate,
Dragway 42 puts its 50th Anniversary season of
racing into high gear with a
truly FREE event on Saturday, April 21.

The Dragway 42 Racer and Fan
Appreciation Event presented by Akron
Machining Institute and Summit Racing
Equipment Retail Store offers both
FREE general admission and FREE race
entry to this Saturday's event.

The NHRA Hot Rod Reunions are all about honoring those who helped
contribute to the sport in its Golden Age. So it's no surprise that
Holley, the title sponsor of the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion,
presented by SoffSeal, is honoring the late Ronnie Sox (the driving
half of the famous Sox & Martin drag racing team) during the 3-day
event. Holley will have the legendary Sox & Martin Plymouth Duster
Pro Stocker (restored by "Hemi Fred" Ristagno), the one that conquered
the strip in the early-1970s, in its booth during the event, June 15-17
at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.

"It's the original '72 Duster later updated to the '73 model," said
Holley's Bill Tichenor. "It's the only S&M Duster team car built by
the S&M shop." (Editor's note: details on the car's restoration is
available at prostockhemi.com.)