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

MIKE JANIS DEBUTS NEW SCHEME AT AUTORAMA

The Automotive Group and Eaton Hydraulics recently announced that
Eaton will be returning as the title sponsor of two-time International Hot Rod
Association (IHRA) Pro Modified World Champion Mike Janis for the 2007 season.
Janis will unveil his car and new paint scheme at the Eaton display at the 55th
Annual Murray’s Autorama held in Detroit, March 9-11 at Cobo Hall.


“Competitive drag racing is a great venue to highlight our
performance-related product portfolio,” said Tom Nellenbach, marketing manager
for Eaton Performance Products. “Eaton’s Aeroquip® hoses, connectors, fittings,
Detroit Locker® differentials and racing engine valves and lifters have been
helping champions like Mike Janis find the winner’s circle for decades. Mike is
a great ambassador for our company and products.”

TUTTLE HIRES WEST, HEAD

NHRA Top Fuel team owner Dexter Tuttle is enlisting the help of drag
racing veterans Jim Head and Johnny West to assist driver J.R. Todd and the
SKULL Shine crew.

 

Stunned by the defection of Jimmy Walsh and Danny DeGennaro two days ago,
Tuttle said Thursday

Head will serve as an interim consultant until a
permanent crew chief replacement is secured while West has been hired to oversee
daily race-car preparations at Tuttle Motorsports. 

 

Head is a longtime driver/owner currently campaigning in Funny Car.
“Dexter and I have been friends for many years and I am willing to help him
through this transition period,” said Head, who is currently 10th in
Funny Car points.

HIGHT TO FLY WITH BLUE ANGELS

POWERade points leader Robert Hight, who’s been figuratively flying this season
at the wheel of the Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang, gets to
go literal Friday when he climbs in the cockpit of a F/A-18 Hornet, one of the
aircraft used by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels precision flying team.
 
 Hight will fly out of the Naval Air Facility at El Centro, Calif., the
team’s pre-season training facility.
 
 Among the maneuvers for which the elite team is best known are the
four-plane Diamond Formation, enhanced by the individual maneuvers of two solo
pilots, and the six-plane Delta Formation.

ALKY FLOPS BACK FOR IHRA

IHRA announced Thursday, March 1, that Alcohol Funny Car would remain on the
2007 Nitro Jam™ schedule as a professional class. Alcohol Funny Car will run at
all 12 events and include a world championship points
chase.

 

“A lot of people
worked very long, hard hours to make this happen,” IHRA President Aaron Polburn
said. “Now that this is a reality, everyone can go about their business of
getting ready for San
Antonio.”

ROY JOHNSON BACK AT WORK

Just call him tough as nails. Less than a week ago, Roy Johnson was
fighting for his life in a Phoenix, Arizona hospital. Yesterday, he was
back at work. It was light duty. This serves as a major miracle from
God.

FORCE TOPS SI LIST

FORCE TOPS LIST OF NON-NASCAR DRIVERS AT
SPORTSILLUSTRATED.COM
 
Force, the 14-time NHRA Funny Car Champion, sits atop the list of America’s
Top 10 active, non-NASCAR drivers as selected by Mark Zeske this month for
sportsillustrated.com.
 
 Force, whose 122 POWERade tour victories include at least three wins every
year since 1989, was one of four drag racers on the list.  The others were Kenny
Bernstein, the only driver to have earned multiple series championships in both
Top Fuel and Funny Car (No. 5), four-time and reigning NHRA Top Fuel Champ Tony
Schumacher (No. 6) and Gary Scelzi, the 2005 NHRA Funny Car Champ and former Top
Fuel champ.

TORCO EXTENDS SPONSORSHIP OF IHRA NORTHERN NATIONALS

northernnats_131_400.jpgIHRA has extended its agreement with the recently renamed Knoll Gas Motorsports
Park at US 131 to host the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at the facility
south of Grand Rapids, Mich., through the 2011 season.

 

The Nitro Jam™
event has been held at the track since 2002 and this season is scheduled for
August 3 – 5. Knoll
Gas Motorsports
Park at US 131 will celebrate 45
years of operation this season.

 

NEW LIGHTS FOR ROCKINGHAM

New MUSCO lights erected to better illuminate the shutdown area are among
$140,000 in improvements that will greet IHRA sportsman racers competing this
weekend at Rockingham Dragway in a 2007 IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am
Series event.

 The Carolinas’ fastest racetrack will play host to more than
400 IHRA racers competing in seven Pro-Am categories including Top Dragster and
Top Sportsman.

 The track will open
at 11 a.m. Friday for a test-and-tune session restricted to Summit Series
drivers.  Qualifying, time trials and IHRA national record runs are scheduled
Saturday with final eliminations starting at 10 a.m.
Sunday.

DRAG SPECIALTIES RETURNS TO G2 FOR 2007

Motorcycle parts retail powerhouse DRAG Specialties will return as the primary
sponsor for Chip Ellis and the G2 Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle in the 2007 NHRA
POWERade Series. DRAG Specialties will also increase their dealer hospitality
presence this season, pumping up the atmosphere around the G2 pit. "We are very
happy to be sponsoring Chip Ellis and G2 Motorsports for a second year," said
Jeff Fox, president/CEO of DRAG Specialties. "We saw great results last year and
felt it was an excellent opportunity for DRAG Specialties again in
2007."
 
"I'm very proud to represent DRAG Specialties for a second year,"
said Ellis, who finished a strong 4th in the final 2006 point standings. "I
visited their facility in Wisconsin at the end of last year and it was awesome.
I'm really looking forward to seeing all their dealers at the track all season
long."
 
"We're really glad that DRAG Specialties will be more involved at
the events," said Jackie Bryce, G2's vice president of operations. "We think
that NHRA POWERade drag racing is a great venue to bring their dealers in to
experience the excitement of Pro Stock Motorcycles, and they're really gonna
like being in the pits with the team. We also think that it's a great
opportunity to introduce DRAG Specialties to all the potential customers who
follow the NHRA."

ALPHATRADE.COM GETS INVOLVED WITH ADRL

AlphaTrade.com (OTC BB: APTD) and the Flowmaster American Drag Racing
League (ADRL) announced today a three-year, multi-faceted agreement
that will give AlphaTrade the title-rights sponsorship for a number of
prominent ADRL programs.

AlphaTrade will become the title sponsor for the season-long ADRL
points program and the year-end championship eliminators - now
called the AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts - the traditional
season-ending event in Ennis, Texas - now called the AlphaTrade ADRL
World Finals - and the newly established AlphaTrade All-Stars program.
This new program has been designed exclusively for this partnership and
will involve engaging ADRL fans through a variety of text-message
promotions. Fans will be texting to determine the first AlphaTrade ADRL
All-Star teams in each of the organization's professional categories.

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