Drag racing entrepreneur Evan Knoll’s expanding influence took a new turn with
the announcement this week of a naming rights agreement that will transform US
131 Motorsports Park into Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at US 131. The facility is
home to an IHRA Nitro Jam™ Drag Racing Series event, the Torco Racing Fuels
Northern Nationals, August 3 – 5.

Knoll, whose holdings
include Knoll Gas, Torco Racing Fuels, Seelye Wright Automotive Group, Skull
Shine, Accelerator and Skull Gear, works out of corporate offices in nearby
Decatur,
Mich., a 45-minute drive
from the track.

“It made sense to put
our name on our home track,” Knoll said. “It’s a great place to spotlight our
complete product line and showcase our drivers and teams.”

The first ever Justice Brothers-sponsored Shav Glick award has been won
by drag racing icon Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. A panel of prestigious
judges from the world of motorsports selected Prudhomme from a list of
five candidates nominated to receive the 8th Annual Shav Glick award.
Prudhomme was honored during the pre-race ceremonies at the NASCAR Auto
Club 500 at the California Speedway on February 25.

MONSTER OF A TIME FOR BOTH BERNSTEINS; WINNERS SHOW HEART; ONE PEDREGON VINDICATED, ONE VOWING COMEBACK

Monroe’s Mike Bell drove Roy Hill’s 2007 Ford Mustang
to best-of-the-event
numbers of 6.013 seconds at 230.17 miles per hour
Saturday at Rockingham
Dragway en route to the Pro Modified championship
at the second annual ROCK
Battery Spring Blast presented by
raceworks.com.

Bell shared the
winners’ circle with six-time IHRA world champion Rickie
Smith of King, who
sailed to an easy Pro Stock victory at the wheel of
the Skull Shine Chevrolet
Cobalt.

Bell, who like Smith is a former IHRA Pro Stock Champion, was
clocked in
6.129 seconds at 201.76 mph in the Pro Modified final, turning
back
second generation driver Scott Cannon of Lyman, S.C., winner of of
last
October’s IHRA World Finals.

You can’t blame Hot Rod Fuller for being overly excited when he repeated as NHRA CSK Nationals Top Fuel champion. After all, in January he wasn’t even sure if he had a ride. Fuller’s Valvoline deal is scheduled for two races and headed into Gainesville, the team is looking for a major deal. 

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 23rd
annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals presented by Castrol at Firebird
International Raceway, the second of 23 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series Countdown to the Championship -

Final round-by-round results from the 23rd annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA
Nationals presented by Castrol at Firebird International Raceway, the second of
23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Sunday's final results from the 23rd annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA
Nationals presented by Castrol at Firebird International Raceway.  The  race is
the second of 23 in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Roy Johnson, father and co-crew
chief of veteran Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson, suffered an apparent heart
attack late Saturday at Firebird International
Raceway near Phoenix, where the Greeneville, Tenn.-based team is competing in
the Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals.

SCHUMACHER, HIGHT AND LINE EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT
CHECKER
SCHUCK'S KRAGEN NHRA NATIONALS

Four-time Top Fuel
champion Tony Schumacher raced to his 37th career No. 1 qualifying position Saturday after covering
Firebird International Raceway's quarter-mile dragstrip in a track
record time of 4.430 seconds -- the fourth quickest run in NHRA history.

Robert Hight and Jason Line also earned No. 1 qualifying honors at
the Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals presented by Castrol, the
second of 23
events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Countdown to the
Championship.
Sunday's eliminations start at 11 a.m. (MT), with television coverage
on ESPN2
at 7 p.m. (ET).

Saturday's drama came in the form of last-ditch qualifying efforts by
John Force and Doug Kalitta. With their class-leading qualifying
streaks
hanging in the balance, both drivers managed to make the starting
lineups in their respective categories during the final session. Force
powered his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang to a 4.818 and
Kalitta posted
a 4.547 in his Mac Tools dragster. Force has now qualified for 394
consecutive
events, while Kalitta has reached 162 straight race days.