Jack Beckman and the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger Funny Car team arrive for this weekend's 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., to race the latest version of the initial 2008 DSR-1 chassis design.

Top Sportsman driver Ricky Adkins, the North Central Division representative for the upcoming JEGS Allstars event at Route 66 Raceway, will be flying yellow and black colors of JEGS Mail Order this weekend as he has agreed to drive Mike Coughlin’s JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt during the special event. Adkins recently encountered mechanical problems with his own ’57 Chevy Top Sportsman entry and once he realized that he would not have the car ready in time for the JEGS Allstars race, Coughlin was quick to offer his assistance.

The big question in the NHRA right now is what the sanctioning body might do to reduce the power of the nitro cars with the focus on returning quarter-mile runs.

Long-time crew chief and former standout driver Ed “Ace” McCulloch believes there is no reason to return to quarter-mile racing, leaving behind the 1,000-foot racing the NHRA has had in place since July of 2008.

Veteran Funny Car racer Jim Head thinks speaking to race fans directly is the key to winning support for 1,000-foot racing.

The NHRA seeks to conclude data gathering no later than July of this. Depending on what the NHRA does, there is the possibility the sanctioning body would return the nitro cars to traditional quarter-mile racing.

Dan Wilkerson has had 242 days to prepare for his next ride on the horse.

Wilkerson, the son of iconic Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson, will climb behind the wheel of a Funny Car for the first time since a devastating crash last fall in Memphis, Tenn., when the wheels came off of his car in a second round race against Ron Capps.

Thanks to major associate sponsorship from Dump-Lok, a dump truck safety brace device manufactured by Worksafe USA, based in Springfield, Ill., Wilkerson will get another shot at driving a Funny Car during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. Levi, Ray and Shoup will provide major sponsorship as well.

Top Fuel Champion Tony Schumacher can leave a lasting impression; just ask Corbin Mehrbrodt.

This weekend Mehrbrodt will race in the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in a Super Comp eliminator. The inspiration for the outing came from Schumacher, many years ago.

Mehrbrodt, then an impressionable 10-year-old Bolling Brook (Ill.) boy, was inspired both to drag race and join the Army by a meeting with Schumacher back in 2002. Mehrbrodt will report for basic training in two weeks.

Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson has signed an associate marketing/sponsorship agreement with C&L Companies. of Urbandale, Iowa, and its consortium of motorcycle aftermarket parts companies.

Said C&L CEO Curt Leaverton, “Steve brings the kind of experience and enthusiasm to C&L Cos. that will ultimately provide our products and services with the national exposure we’ve been seeking. For all of Steve’s successes on the track, which includes things like winning the NHRA U.S. Nationals and all of those top 10 points finishes, it’s the professionalism that he brings to his marketing work that really got our attention."

Ron Capps will race the NAPA Batteries Dodge Charger Funny Car in this weekend's 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., as part of a month-long NAPA AUTO PARTS promotion. He'll be aiming for his first victory of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

People thought Billy Meyer might just be crazy when construction started for the first all-concrete facility dedicated to drag racing. Construction had not even begun when he signed an agreement with NHRA officials to host a national event in the fall and his plans for the facility seemed to be something out of a fairy tale.
 
After all, it was 1986. No other “stadium” for drag racing had been created. That’s what makes the Texas Motorplex, and its 25th anniversary, so special. Without the Motorplex, who knows how long it would have taken to create other tracks that have been built specifically for the quickest and fastest form of motorsport?

Five-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., who has raced to two wins in three final-round showings in the past two months, is looking to get quicker as he and his Victor Cagnazzi Racing teammates are planning a pit stop in Norwalk, Ohio, prior to this weekend's 13th annual United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago.

Coughlin and crew are hoping to get their JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt in top form before the summer grind of races, which features eight national events in the next 10 weeks.

Norwalk’s drag strip is a familiar and friendly stop for Coughlin. He won last year's K&N Horsepower Challenge at the racetrack, which is positioned closer to his home in Delaware, Ohio, than any other national event venue. Coughlin already earned a chance to defend that race title when the tour returns to Norwalk later this month.