Brian Thiel is set to make his 2010 Nitro Funny Car debut this weekend at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, WA, July 9-11.  The CASE IH sponsored entry is owned and piloted by Brian Thiel, with proven crew chief Johnny West calling the shots on the newly assembled nitro machine.

It has been 19 years since Top Fuel ace Joe Amato became the first driver to master the NHRA's so-called Western Swing of three tracks -- at Denver, Seattle, and Sonoma, Calif. -- in successive weekends. The task features wildly different atmospheric conditions and puts the burden on the tuners -- and hauler drivers.
 
The order of the summertime grind has varied throughout the years, and this year, for the first time, it starts in Seattle. But it doesn't seem to matter. No one has swept the Western Swing more than once.
 
"That is such a difficult thing to do, to do it once," Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher said.

Don't mess with Tony Schumacher.
 
No, it's not that he's tough and has the U.S. Army emblazoned on his Top Fuel dragster. That's intimidating, all right. It's not that he has four victories this season. That's impressive, too, as only Larry Dixon and Cory McClenathan have won the class so far as the series heads to Pacific Raceways near Seattle.
 
Don't mess with Tony Schumacher's method of doing things. It seems to be working well for him.

It could only happen at a three-day big-bucks bracket race in which nearly everybody entered is a “hitter” --- one guy wins, another gets runner-up, with tremendous reaction times and dead-on runs out of both lanes. Only this race had a twist: the guy who won on the second race day gets runner-up on the next, while the runner-up on the first day takes the win the next.

Sort of like those “double-ups” in Stock and Super Stock or Super Gas and Super Comp we all hear about, only in this case both racers taste victory AND get the runner-up status on two different days.

The event in question here was the fifth race of the Super 7 Race Series at Montgomery (Alabama) Motorsports Park held over the July 4th weekend, four races in all, with $5,000 going to the winner on Friday, $10,000 twice to the winners on Saturday, and $10,000 to the winner on Sunday.

The MMPSA will broadcast their event live at U.S. 131 Dragway in Martin, Mich., this weekend over the Internet.

For more than two decades the NAPA Thunder Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park have served notice that winter was over and spring had returned to the historic track. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was the Top Eliminator on the original May dates for this year’s event. However, the rain clouds have cleared and even bigger fields are expected for the second attempt at the 2010 running of this great event. The 2010 NAPA Thunder Nationals should prove to be a worthy part of that great series of races as it expands to two nights for the first time ever. “The Fastest Track in Michigan” will host the 2010 NAPA Thunder Nationals this Friday and Saturday, July 9 and 10.

Country singer and songwriter Jonathan Harris will perform the National Anthem prior to Sunday’s final eliminations at the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

Harris, a native of Tacoma, Wash., also will perform his recent hit, “Thanks to you I’m free,” for fans attending the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

JEGS has introduced a catalog application for Android phone systems, making ordering high performance parts easier than ever before.

Hot rod enthusiasts can now browse through thousands of high performance parts in the palm of their hand from any phone running the android operating system. These include the Motorola Droid, Eris, the Droid Incredible, the EVO, Google's Nexus One and more than 50 other devices from all of the major mobile carriers.

The NMCA and GM Performance Parts announced yesterday the 4th Annual GM Performance Parts LSX Shootout will take place at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, Missouri, the weekend of October 7-10, 2010. The event, held in conjunction with the NMCA World Finals, is the largest LS gathering in the U.S.  The LSX Shootout features awesome heads-up racing for the fastest LS-powered cars in the world, index-style and True Street racing for competitors of all levels, and a giant all LS-powered car show.  This premiere LS event, will showcase over $50,000 in cash and prizes.

Race fans will be treated to a bit of history at the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals, July 16-18, with the first Infineon Raceway Nostalgia Get-Together.

The Get-Together, which will be located on the lawn behind the staging lanes and adjacent to Gate 1, will feature 30 vintage racing machines and hot rods, some dating as far back as the 1950s, and will be open all weekend.  Entry to the Get-Together is free with your paid admission into the raceway.