IHRA Pro Stock driver Rick Jones will sit out Rockingham in order to tend to his chassis business.

“It has been so busy lately with all of the things that I have going on at work and racing. And with more and more new customers in IHRA and NHRA, it is in my best interest that I sit out right now and have Mike drive the car” says team owner Rick Jones. “We have been really close to Mike and his family for many years and I think he is a really good driver and deserves this shot. Mike has driven Top Sportsman, Comp Eliminator and NHRA Pro Stock Truck & Pro Stock cars over the years.”

Cackle Event to be part of the Southern Nostalgia Shootout.

In the
tradition of the Cacklefest events held at the California Hot Rod
Reunion
and the National Hot Rod Reunion formerly in Kentucky, South
Georgia
Motorsports Park will present a Saturday night Cackle Event as part
of the
Southern Nostalgia Shootout, October 28, 2006.  Cackle events are a
way to
honor Drag Racing's past.  Restored cars are started and lined up to
idle
until they run out of fuel.  Early dragsters are push-started as they
were
in the 1950s and 1960s.  Flames explode out of the headers in a very
special
type of fireworks that stirs the imagination and recounts racing as
it was
in the past.  Grown men have been known to shed tears at these
events, and
it is not because of the nitromethane fumes. The "cackle" in
Cacklefest
comes from the staccato sound the engine makes.

Torco Racing Fuels POWERade Top Fuel driver Doug Foley will not be able to compete at this weekend’s Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals in Virginia due to a crash last week that has temporarily sidelined the team.

The eventual outcome of the accident after a two day stay in the hospital is a broken ankle and leg, four cracked ribs, a separated shoulder and a concussion, but as Foley puts it, “Except for a leg in a cast, I can still walk and that’s all that matters. But in the mean time, my family and I are extremely grateful for all the prayers and thoughts that have poured in from phone calls and e-mails. And I could never thank Torco’s Evan Knoll enough for the undeniable support for my wife Shelagh, my sons Douglas and Joseph, and our entire team.”

One of the more
unconventional T-shirts for sale at the race track is found in Top Fuel driver
Bobby Lagana's "Twilight Zone" Dragster pit. The "Don't make me mad!" warning
printed on the back is credited to the driver's father, Bobby Lagana Sr. --
whose likeness appears on the front of the shirt. In the photo, Lagana Sr.
appears to be seething with rage.

He was -- when the photo was
taken.

The long awaited
release of an in-depth video documentary covering one of the sport’s more famous
racetracks will occur this weekend, when “LIONS – THE GREATEST DRAG STRIP” is
made available (on
DVD) during the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield,
California (October 6-8).

Part One chronicles the first half of the
legendary Long Beach, California facility, from its inception with speed king,
Mickey Thompson, as first manager in 1955, through mid-1962, after lifting of
the infamous “fuel ban”
– and a return to nitro drag racing.

Nearly
two hours in length (1-HR., 55-MINS.), the documentary was created and produced
by Don Gillespie, a 30-plus year drag racing photojournalist who got his start
at the infamous quarter-mile facility.

Infineon Raceway in
Sonoma, Calif. is known for offering ideal conditions for NHRA’s best in Pro
Stock Motorcycle.

Dave Northrop was unhurt after flipping the Nitro Fish
Wear Dodge Stratus R/T in the second round of qualifying for the 22nd annual
Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals. Northrop's car came to stop on its roof and was on
fire, but he quickly escaped.

Northrop was 800
feet into his pass when his car made a sudden move to the right. He successfully
turned away from the wall and avoided contact, but the out-of-balance machine
caught some air and flipped onto its roof. He then slid across the track and
tapped the left-side wall before grinding to a halt.

In less than two years, Steve Torrence has
gone from Super Comp racing to NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series Top Alcohol
Dragster champion to aspiring Top Fuel driver. 
 
And Friday Torrence
will make his first professional start in a Dexter Tuttle-owned, Evan Knoll
sponsored SKULL Shine/Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel dragster.  The occasion is the
inaugural Torco Racing Fuels Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park at
Dinwiddie, near Richmond.
 
Torrence, who took one test ride in the new,
Brad Hadman-built dragster Monday afternoon, is excited to open a new chapter in
his racing career, one that has him teamed with rookie sensation J.R. Todd.