Andrew Hines is excited about riding his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class. He’s also excited about attempting a Pro Stock car license on May 24, on his 27th birthday.

As great as those opportunities are, they pale in comparison to what he’s got on the horizon in July.

July 27th is the due date for his and wife Tanya’s second child already determined to be a boy.

If at first you don’t succeed, and drive through the clutch, do a little tinkering and you’ll be the number one qualifier.

This is the lesson Matt Smith learned during the first day of qualifying at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

Following a lackluster opening run, the past Pro Stock Motorcyle champion turned a few knobs, made a couple of adjustments and during the second session rode like a banshee to the top spot with a 6.940 second pass. As quick as Smith was in the heat of the day, defending series champion Hector Arana was just as fast falling .001 short off the top spot.

“The first pass we missed the clutch really bad,” Smith said. “We found a little bit of horsepower last weekend. When we came here it just ran through the clutch. Then we felt maybe we did have plenty of power.”

Practice makes perfect and for Allen Johnson, a test session prior to the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway made all the difference in a provisional No 1 spot and being just another driver chasing the domineering Mike Edwards.

Well, there is an issue of gained horsepower which could likely serve as a contributing factor in the success.

After nearly a year of parking side-by-side on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series pit area, the teams of Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Rodger Brogdon have drifted apart.

Scott Woodruff, spokesperson for Team Jegs, said the parting was a way of focusing better on their racing operation.

“We just decided to park elsewhere to help us focus on our program,” Woodruff explained, adding the decision was inevitably made by engine builder Victor Cagnazzi. “We obviously lost that race (in St. Louis) because of distractions and not breakage. This is our way to resolve that.”

Pleasant surprises are always welcomed, at least in Ashley Force Hood’s world they are.

The second generation Funny Car-driving Hood surpassed the competition during Friday qualifying at the NHRA Southern Nationals to claim the provisional No. 1 qualifying position, placing nearly .02 between her and No. 2 qualifier Robert Hight.

If her run holds, it will be her first of the season and tenth of her career.

Larry Dixon stands on the cusp of his 42nd career pole and yet the two-time champion feels as if he’s still got a lot to learn.

Dixon drove to a 3.822 elapsed time at 316.08 miles per hour to land in the No. 1 spot during the first day qualifying for the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

Just making two runs to the finish line, nevermind the fact they were blazing quick, was enough of an accomplishment for Dixon, now in his sophomore season as driver of the Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel dragster.

Ashley Force Hood raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

Larry Dixon, Allen Johnson and Matt Smith also were qualifying leaders at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Force Hood continued to have success at Atlanta Dragway, site of her milestone first career victory in 2008 and No. 1 qualifying effort and runner-up finish last year, by powering her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a leading qualifying performance of 4.104 seconds at 304.60 mph.

Mike Janis raced to the qualifying lead Friday in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

Janis powered his Eaton ’69 Firebird to a leading performance of 5.919 seconds at 243.55 mph to pace the 16-car field.

The Texas Motorplex will play host to the Super Chevy Show, May 21-23 and will have a little of everything to offer fans, participants and anyone looking to have fun. There will be an eye-pleasing car show, the sound of outlaw nitro drag racing, a 1957 Chevy truck that runs on jet engines, a Texas BBQ, live music, a professionally designed autocross and more.

Just call it a Texas-style block party.

"This year’s Super Chevy Show at the Texas Motorplex is absolutely going to be the most entertaining one we’ve ever had,” said Gabrielle Stevenson, Texas Motorplex general manager. “We are getting a lot of positive feedback on the event already because people can already feel a difference in the excitement and investment by the new owners. Our goal was to make this an event that families would want to attend even if they weren’t racing or car show enthusiasts. With the additional entertainment like the band, the ’57 Jet Truck and everything else, we have something to entertain everyone."

As torrential rains and tornado watches swept through the Permian Basin today leaving a wake of flash flooding and water damage, AHRA Officials announced that the first ever Nitro Showdown will go on this weekend at Desert Thunder Raceway in Midland, but the schedule will be changed to support the community.
 
Early Friday evening, AHRA Chief Executive Troy Moe said, "We know that the local community will need some time to recover from today's storms, so we've decided to give them something to enjoy on Sunday after they've taken care of things at their homes. We're keenly aware that homes take priority over anything else, and we want our fans to be safe and secure before coming out to enjoy our show."