There is a possibility that recent early exits are simply the calm before the storm for Funny Car racer Tim Wilkerson.

The veteran racer emerged in 2008 as a serious championship contender and carried the points lead through a good portion of the season only to finish second. For his troubles and with his strength exposed, Wilkerson was rewarded with a giant bulls-eye on his back last year, but he battled exhaustively, only to see his hopes of the world title dashed in the waning hours of the chase yet again. This time, he’s ready.

When the first two events of 2010 failed to yield round-wins, the seasoned owner/tuner/driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang had no problem switching to his brand new chassis just prior to the Gainesville event, and sure enough, the change seemed to produce immediate results in the form of a Gatornationals win.

For the better part of two years, representatives from the Kingdom of Bahrain have pursued the tuning services of Jim Oddy, who was lured out of retirement in 2008 to become crew chief for ADRL Pro Extreme points leader Joshua Hernandez.

With Monday’s announcement of the purchase of the team from ADRL co-founder Dave Wood by Bahrain’s Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the deal is finally done.

“I kind of helped put this thing together,” Oddy says, explaining that after more than 50 years in the sport he wasn’t interested in leaving a successful operation for another unknown future—or in leaving behind the guys he works with on Hernandez’s ride.

Rockingham Dragway, a staple on the IHRA tour for the Seventies and Eighties, and the last decade, may not be on the tour for 2011, according to insiders close to the situation. While this speculation is prevalent, there’s no official word to substantiate the rumors to fact. And, for the sanctioning body, nobody’s denying it either.

“The IHRA is currently working on putting together its schedule for the 2011 Nitro Jam season and at this time has not finalized all of the dates for the coming year,” said Larry Crum, spokesman for the IHRA.

Ohio Crankshaft has reached a longevity milestone.

Founded by Stan Ray in 1969 as a one man auto repair shop. Ohio Crankshaft has become a major supplier of high performance engines and components.

John Force has not pulled the plug on his daughters’, Courtney and Brittany, Top Alcohol Dragster efforts. A rumor has circulated throughout the racing community suggesting the patriarch of the Force racing family had decided to pull the plug out of safety concerns following Mark Niver’s death during the NHRA Northwest Nationals last month in Seattle, WA.

According to team spokesman Elon Werner, Force has opted to no longer run the dragster previously driven by Courtney Force which blew a slick during the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, WA. She managed to keep the car off the wall and came to a safe stop in the Pacific Raceway’s shutdown area.

For many months, Pro Stock competitors who have drawn habitual No. 1 qualifier and heavily horse-powered Mike Edwards on race day have likely felt a distinctly sickening, sinking feeling in the pit of their respective stomachs upon realizing the challenge before them.

Edwards exhibited impressive power in his Penhall/K&N/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP through much of the 2009 season and donned a dazzling crown of dominance during the Countdown to 1 to score his first Pro Stock world championship, and for much of 2010, the soft-spoken Broken Arrow, Okla., resident has continued to humbly stand above the rest.

Sure, Chris Rini and Chris Tuten have normal jobs, but their true passion is drag racing. Rini, a passenger on U.S. Airways Flight 1549 from New York to Charlotte, N.C., that crashed into the Hudson River, is a record-setting racer with multiple championships under his belt. South Carolina-native Tuten is a two-time drag racing champion with more than 15 years experience. Rini and Tuten are just two of the hundreds of drivers who will compete Aug. 6-8 in the second annual NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals at zMAX Dragway. 

The three-day event features two of the country's top sanctioning bodies for street-legal drag racing, the National Mustang Racing Association
and the National Muscle Car Association, each of which will conduct an individual event, the NMRA Ford Nationals and the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals at the Bellagio of drag strips. Fans in attendance will witness the world's best street-legal muscle car drag racers competing at the world's only
all-concrete, four-lane drag strip.  

Longtime JEGS.com customer Gary Winkelman had a dream day at the world headquarters of JEGS High Performance Wednesday as the 62-year-old New Yorker officially claimed the beautiful, 2010 JEGS yellow and black Chevrolet Camaro he won through the summer-long JEGS "Win This Car! Celebrating 50 Years" Sweepstakes.

Winkelman and his wife Karen received a hero's welcome when they arrived at the facility. Following a tour of the massive distribution center, the corporate offices, and the race shop, the Winkelman's finally got to see Gary's new hot rod when it was unveiled by JEGS Founder Jeg Coughlin Sr. and his sons Jeg Jr. and Mike.

"I'm overwhelmed but very pleased," Gary said. "Performance cars have always been a passion of mine."

Don Schumacher Racing will again open the doors of its 100,000-square-foot race shop to fans on Sept. 3, 2010, when DSR hosts its fifth annual Open House to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The open house coincides with the opening day of professional qualifying for the 56th annual U.S. Nationals at nearby O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.
 
The popular event will be highlighted by the Indy Hi-Winders Car Club Car and Motorcycle Show and will feature an autograph session with all seven DSR professional drivers: Tony Schumacher, Cory McClenathan, Antron Brown, Rod Capps, Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan and Rod Fuller. The DSR Open House will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. while professional nitro qualifying is scheduled for 7 p.m. at O.R.P.