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

IN HEMI HEAVEN

10_21_06_mg_sat_1336.jpg

Jim Pancake qualified in the No. 3 position and then worked his way through the
24-car field for the NHRA Mopar Hemi Challenge win at Maple Grove Raceway and
the Pennsylvania Dutch Classic.


The Delaware, Ohio, racer drove his '68 Dodge Dart to a 8.609 second lap at
152.14 mph in his final round match up against Joey Wilkes of Zanesville, Ohio
who clocked in at 8.713 seconds, 151.87 mph. The win puts Pancake on top in the
point's battle for the 2007 Mopar Hemi Challenge Series with 95 points jumping
past Rick Houser who won the Pacific Sportsnationals Hemi Challenge at the end
of September at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, Calif. The series includes events
in the second half of the 2006 season along with several events in 2007 leading
up to the final event contested at the Mac Tools US Nationals at O'Reilly
Raceway Park over Labor Day weekend.

 

 

VICTIM OR BENEFACTOR OF INVERTED FIELDS?

gilligdsc_1520.jpgOne would think Tony Gillig would be opposed to the inverted ladder after the
day he experienced in defense of his point lead. He opened the day against the
low-qualifier Robert Patrick and with a victory would have raced another
heavy-hitter in Robert Mansfield.

Patrick defeated Gillig in
the first round to put a crimp in his championship plans.

BIG PIMPING WITH GILBY

Bob
Gilbertson might not have had the baddest hot rod on the Rockingham Dragway
quarter-mile Friday night, for he is unqualified so far for the Nitro Funny Car
field. But he was riding in arguably the coolest set of wheels on the property
on the way back to his pit.

 

Sporting the same
blue-with-orange-flames paint scheme that earned his Jungle Jim tribute car lots
of attention in September at Indianapolis, Gilbertson's overhauled 1987 Cadillac
Brougham limousine made its grand splash at the IHRA season finale as the
Terminator Motorsports tow vehicle.

 

COWBOYS AND KALITTA IN VEGAS

After a successful drag racing weekend earlier this season in the 2006 POWERade
Drag Racing Series in Denver flying the primary colors of Las Vegas-based
Technicoat Companies, Scott Kalitta
and his Toyota Solara Funny Car team will again assume major sponsorship from
Technicoat for this weekend’s, Oct. 26-29, ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

BRUCE LITTON'S COURAGEOUS RETURN

Top Fuel driver Bruce Litton
miraculously is on the mend following his accident during a semifinal run
against Bobby Lagana Sept. 10 at Epping, New Hampshire. He even has a new Lucas
Oil Dragster safely in the field for this weekend's race.

He's looking ahead but stopped to
talk about his recent past.

GOODGUYS ANNOUNCE 2007 EVENT SCHEDULE

The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, the largest rod & custom
association in the world with over 70,000 members, will stage 21 events
in 2007, including a brand new event in Chicago as well as a venue
change for the annual Great Lakes Nationals. The event lineup features
18 “National” events, and 3 “Get-Together's” at the Pleasanton
Fairgrounds.

A brand new event, the 1st Peak Chicagoland Nationals, will be staged
September 21-23 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois marking the
first time Goodguys have ever produced an event in the “Land of
Lincoln.”

SPORT COMPACT RACING SERIES WORLD CHAMPIONS CROWNED

NHRA XPLOD
SPORT COMPACT RACING SERIES WORLD CHAMPIONS CROWNED

 

The 2006 NHRA Xplod Sport Compact
Racing Series World Champions were crowned at the year-end banquet held in
Pomona, Calif. 
There were four repeat winners and one first-time
winner.

 

World Champions for 2006
were Brad Personett (Pro RWD), Ed Bergenholtz (Pro FWD), Paul Efantis
(Modified), Ron Lummus (Hot Rod), and Jeremy Lookofsky (Honda Tuning All
Motor).

 

Personett, driver of the
Titan Motorsports Scion tC, was consistent throughout the year in winning his
second consecutive world championship in only his third year racing the Xplod
Series.  His accomplishments on the year
were winning seven events (West Palm Beach –
spring, Englishtown - spring, Atco, Topeka,
Denver, Indianapolis, West Palm
Beach – fall), being runner-up at one event (Pomona), and having 10 No.
1 qualifiers.  Personett also set both
ends of the Pro RWD national records with a time of 6.41 seconds (Indianapolis) and a speed
of 220.15 mph (Atco, N.J)

SCHUMACHER PREDICTS SHOOTOUT OPPONENT

Defending Budweiser Shootout
champion Tony Schumacher offered his prediction on which driver will pull the
wild card No. 8 starting spot during the Budweiser Shootout Draw Party, Oct. 26
at “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

BUD TF SHOOTOUT DRAW PARTY

The eight starting positions for the $100,000 Budweiser Shootout will be
finalized Oct. 26 during the Budweiser Shootout Draw Party at “The Joint,” a
multi-purpose entertainment venue inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. NHRA
announced today the 15 Top Fuel drivers who will participate in the Budweiser
Shootout Draw Party, which starts at 7 p.m. (PT) and will be hosted by NHRA
announcer Bob Frey and Budweiser personality Katie Daryl.

During the Budweiser
Shootout Draw Party, first round pairings for the Shootout will be determined
during a series of random drawings. Top qualifier Tony Schumacher, who earned
the event’s only automatic starting position by claiming 13 No. 1 qualifying
positions during the Shootout season, will face the driver who wins the wild
card spot for the No. 8 position in the first round of the Budweiser Shootout.

FORCE FAMILY HEADLINES SEMA BREAKFAST

John Force, daughter
Ashley, Eric Medlen and Robert Hight, will be among family and team members on
stage during the annual NHRA breakfast at the SEMA Show, Wednesday, Nov. 1, to
offer a behind the scenes look at the popular A&E reality series “Driving
Force.” The NHRA breakfast, which begins at 7:30 a.m. (PT) at the Las Vegas
Hilton Ballroom A/B, is traditionally one of the biggest attended events during
the SEMA Show. The NHRA breakfast is free to all registered SEMA Show
attendees.

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