John Force is sending all four of his Mustangs to Las Vegas and he hasn't decided whether they will run in competition this weekend. There's a strong possibility that Phil Burkart will drive Force's car in competition. What is not widely known, according to sources, is that Burkart was one of the strongest candidates to drive Force's fourth flopper before Mike Neff was selected.

Don't be surprised if Gary Scelzi leads a charge of drivers making the switch to a Funny Car chassis constructed of normalized tubing as opposed to the heat treated versions currently on the market. A source tells us that Scelzi has already put in an order with Brad Hadman for a new chassis to drive in 2008. Word has it that this order is contingent on what the rules are going to be in the class for next year.

While it appears that
Antron Brown is headed into the nitro arena and Angelle Sampey could be
reunited with former team owner George Bryce, the word floating around is that
Don Schumacher will remain in the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks regardless if he
can acquire funding or not. Apparently, from what we hear, Schumacher has a
contract with McLaren in Detroit to develop the new Suzuki motor that
reportedly displaces 1655cc and utilizes a four-cylinder head design.

There is a rumor making its way around the racing community that suggests Top Alcohol Dragsters and Top Alcohol Funny Cars will not be a part of the NHRA national events and relegated to divisional events only. One sponsor is already seeing red at the suggestion and is intent on scaling back his operations with the NHRA if that happens.

Later this week Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com will publish a detailed analysis of recent developments in chassis materials use and the arguments in favor of each. In the meantime, usually reliable sources have reported that a new Top Fuel chassis spec that’s destined to replace the currently used standard (2.3M) may be instituted within a month or two. This new spec should be in place and included in the 2008 NHRA rules, and is likely to contain language that no longer calls for the use of heat treated tubing in the lower bottom frame rails of dragsters.

YouTube.com has some astonishing footage of a major Top Fuel crash during the Australian Nationals at Willowbank Speedway from which driver Phil Lamattina escaped unscathed.  Enter “Australian Dragster Crash” in the YouTube search engine to see the footage.  Our sources report that Lamattina may have escaped injury due to the inclusion of a complete carbon fiber “tub” that had been installed inside the dragster’s frame rails, which helped keep his extremities inside the remains of the car.  “Remains?”  There were none after this hig

Sources tell Torco's CompetitionPlus.com that longtime Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Antron Brown will soon begin taking steps toward earning a nitro license. Another source close to the situation confirmed that Brown will test on Monday and Tuesday in Las Vegas behind the wheel of the David Powers Motorsports Dragster with the blessings of current employer Don Schumacher. 

File this in the unsubstantiated rumors section, but we've heard from at least two sources that former Top Fuel driver David Baca could be making a limited return in 2007 to drive. Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has been unable to contact Baca for confirmation or denail. Stay tuned.

Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has learned that Don Schumacher Racing will announce in Las Vegas a new to drag racing on a corporate level sponsor to replace a current  primary sponsor who will scale back to associate status for 2008.