Almost a week removed from the richest eighth-mile race in history and the biggest payday of his career, Steve Kirk Jr. savors his $60,000 Automatic Pro Mod win over longtime nitrous racing rival Mike Hill last Saturday night at Carolina Dragway.

“I’ve been to a lot of races, but that one topped the cake, I want to tell you; that was the real deal,” the speed shop owner from Monroe, Georgia, said. “I thought it was pretty cool me and Mike going in there for the final and I think that’s the match up everybody wanted to see.”

It was a race in danger of not even happening, however, as the 833-cubic-inch, Fulton-built monster residing under Kirk’s hood was down on power in two cylinders after his semi-final win over Ronnie Gardner. That necessitated removal of the right cylinder head and replacement of all four pistons on that side of the motor.

The same team who brought you the over-the-edge Yellowbullet.com website, a three-time Dot Com Award Winner for Message Board of the Year, has branched out with a video channel featuring action from the volatile doorslammer drag racing world.

Bob Tasca III will be part of a joint NHRA and NASCAR program in promoting the launch of the new FordParts.com website. As a result of this inclusion, his traditional red paint scheme will become blue during the upcoming NHRA Supernationals..

In addition to Tasca's new scheme, the Wood Brothers’ famous No. 21 NASCAR Ford Fusion driven by Bill Elliot will carry a matching scheme during the event at Michigan International Speedway.

The members of the R2B2 Pro Mod racing team took Friday to get familiar with their new surroundings at Santa Pod Raceway.

Melanie Troxel's Pro Mod car cleared customs in Amsterdam on Friday morning and was placed on a boat for shipment to England. The car is expected to arrive at Santa Pod on Saturday afternoon.

Even with the late arrival, Troxel's group might not be too far behind the other 28 Pro Mod cars entered in the race because rain is supposed to move in and sit over the area around the racetrack throughout Saturday.

Despite not having their own car to work on, Friday at the FIA Main Event wasn't a total loss.

Pro Mod pioneer Charles Carpenter will be the featured guest on Wednesday's Wally Bell Show on Racers Reunion Radio, www.DragRacersReunion.com  (click on the radio section)  6:00 to 8:00 EST.

Being a full-time NHRA Top Fuel competitor once again is Bob Vandergriff Jr.’s objective.

Vandergriff, a successful businessman, is taking steps toward reaching that goal.

Vandergriff made his 2010 season debut at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., and now he says he’s going to expand on that schedule.

“We’re going to run at least seven more races this year and maybe 10 more,” Vandergriff said.

Shannon Jenkins is to the nitrous doorslammer what Big Daddy Don Garlits is to the Top Fuel dragster.

The former bracket racer from Tuscaloosa, Ala., admitted his initial involvement in the Pro Modified division came after he and then team owner Norman Estes believed the style of racing was neat.

What is neat is that 18 years after the fateful decision, Jenkins stands as the winningest driver of the class with victories in all major series ranging from IHRA to NHRA to ADRL. In his 18 years of racing and tuning fast nitrous doorslammers, Jenkins has watched the combination change dramatically.

Roy Johnson has finally had a chance to play with the present his son, NHRA Pro Stock Mopar® Dodge Avenger driver Allen Johnson, bought for him for Christmas last year—a 2009 Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak vehicle.

Roy Johnson, who builds the Mopar HEMI® engines for his son’s J&J Racing Pro Stock team, currently second in the Pro Stock standings, took his first runs in his Mopar Drag Pak on Tuesday, May 25, at the team’s home track of Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway. Roy Johnson’s best pass was a 10.65-second elapsed time at 125.95 mph, with a second best mark of 10.73/125.35. Not bad for a 68-year-old who hasn’t raced in almost 30 years.

He scored a victory recently by bringing a European driver to the United States, and now team owner Roger Burgess will soon find out if he can pull off a similar feat by sending an American driver to Europe.

Melanie Troxel will race this weekend in England during the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.

"We announced the Worldwide Pro Mod Association this week and we're using the Santa Pod race to help spread the word in Europe," Burgess said. "Plus, we were so excited about Michael's win in Atlanta that we didn't want to lose the momentum within the team. Michael is our partner in the WWPMA and we wanted to show our support in his arena, and we couldn't have asked for a better race than the FIA season opener."

Second generation drag racer James Day is a throwback to the days when race car drivers were an extension of the cars they drove. In fitting nature, Day will return to the seat of one of the more iconic Nitro-Floppers of the late 1960’s this weekend in Las Vegas, Nev., when the NHRA Heritage Hot Rod Series lands on “The Strip” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the “Rock-A-Billy” Rod Reunion contested May 28th- May 30th.

Day will once again drive Ron and Ed Lenarth's "Holy Toledo" Jeep at the upcoming Rockabilly Rod Reunion at The Strip. Previously he'd piloted the "Holy Toledo" Jeep to its quickest ever pass with a 6.08 second elapsed time and is looking forward to reuniting with the team in Las Vegas for what promises the largest field of nostalgia nitro funny cars since the March Meet earlier this year.