At this moment Jason Line must feel like he’s on one of the world’s biggest roller-coasters. This wild and wacky thrill ride resembles your every day street sedan, but goes through its ups and downs at more than 210 mph.

While the 2006 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world champion has shown at times he’s certainly capable of adding a second championship crown to his resume, there are other times when he’s trying simply to hang on as his season speeds sharply into a double-loop.

The former head dyno operator for Joe Gibbs Racing on the NASCAR circuit hopes to turn his fortunes around in the hometown of his team owner Ken Black, who continues the recovery process after a recent bout with some health issues.

John Medlen knows the look and sees it when he looks into Matt Hagan’s eyes.

“Ojo de la Tigre,” Medlen conveys.  

In case your Spanish is a little rusty Ojo de la Tigre means Eye of the Tiger.

It’s been almost a month since Medlen, a longtime tuner with John Force Racing shocked the drag racing world with the news he was not only leaving the team but also joining the Don Schumacher Racing operation.

Drag racer Melanie Troxel admits she's a bit of an adrenaline junkie. The only female in NHRA history with wins in the sport's top two categories -- Top Fuel and Funny Car -- Troxel routinely zips down the drag strip in four seconds at speeds in excess of 315 mph.

But her all-male crew still likes to give her a hard time about being a girl, including good-natured ribbing about bringing a purse and lipstick with her whenever she makes a pass in her 8,000-horsepower In-N-Out Burger Funny Car.

"They like to kid with me," Troxel said. "So the other day I made them promise to come along with me on a special deal in Las Vegas, but they have no idea what they're in for.

All four event winners from last weekend's NHRA Full Throttle Series Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park will be guests on WFO Radio NHRA Tuesday with Joe Castello, live tonight at 7 p.m. ET.  To listen live or on-demand, go to http://www.wforadio.com
 
Spring Nationals winners Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) will all appear in one-on-one interviews with host Joe Castello.
 
Dixon, driver of the Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel dragster, won Sunday for the second time this year in a pedal fest against Antron Brown.  The win was Dixon's 50th of his NHRA professional career moving him into eighth place on the all-time list, breaking a tie with Don "The Snake" Prudhomme.

Steve Spiess is a man who thrives on the challenges of life, as well as those behind the wheel of his Billet Specialties-sponsored Chevrolet Cobalt Pro Stocker.

Armed with major sponsorship from the custom wheel manufacturer, Spiess decided to upgrade to a full-time pursuit of the NHRA Full Throttle championship.

Five races into the 23-race schedule, Spiess has two first round losses and two DNQs. A year after producing a strong part-time effort, the former IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock champion has experienced one shortcoming after another, yet he remains confident better days are ahead of him this season.

“We’re having our times right now,” Spiess admitted. “This is Pro Stock racing. We are gaining on it. I think we should be fine from this point forward.”

Past multiple Australian Top Fuel drag race champion, Steve Read, will have a rather unusual lead-up to the Enzed Top Fuel Championship at Willowbank Raceway, Ipswich, April 17-18.

Read, affectionately known as 'The Pom', will marry long-time partner Heather Bond at Willowbank on the Saturday morning (April 17), then after the wedding breakfast, take part in qualifying for the Australian Top Fuel championship series round five.    

The Brisbane-based English couple first met when Read was racing at Avon Park Raceway, Warwickshire, England in 1989, where Bond, who was educated in Australia in the early 1970s, was an official and later Avon Park Chief Executive Officer.

The $300,000 worth of upgrades to the dragstrip at Maple Grove Raceway should be completed within a week and be ready in plenty of time for May 1, the first scheduled day of racing for the 2010 season.
 
Concrete was poured earlier this week for the extended concrete launch pad that will stretch an additional 300 feet for a total length of 820 feet.
 
The asphalt beyond the new pad was milled by 2 inches and a new paving mix that will run to 250 feet beyond the finish line will be installed.

By virtue of a special drawing, the Top Sportsman and Top Dragster “Blocker” positions for the 2010 JEGS Allstar event will go to the NHRA Pacific division and the NHRA Southeast division, respectively.  The two classes were added to the prestigious program at last year’s 25th Anniversary JEGS Allstar event with 2010 being their first year of competition.  Officials held the drawing this past weekend at the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

The 2008 Nitro Jam season was an especially memorable one for Top Fuel star Spencer Massey.

As a rookie that year Massey produced an unheard of four victories and five final round appearances on his way to winning the ’08 IHRA Top Fuel championship all after earning his license just one week prior to the start of the season.

For Kingsport’s Van Greer, Sunday’s victory in the Pro Division at Bristol Dragway was the perfect way to honor the memory of his famous drag racing father.

Shirl Greer, who passed away in March, was the 1974 NHRA Funny Car World Champion. While his most famous race car was the “Chained Lightning” Mustang he used to win that championship, he raced a series of funny cars named “Tension” in his earlier days.