Recovery from an operation that requires an incision more than 14 inches long would usually take several months, but Rick Stivers, driver of the Trane 2006 Stratus Pro Mod, is ready for action this weekend less than six weeks after emergency surgery that removed more than a foot of his colon and intestines. The Kentucky-native will compete in this weekend's NHRA Spring Nationals as part of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series at Houston Raceway Park outside of Houston, Texas.
 
"The doctor has cleared me to race, I've got the signed papers with me that say I'm good to go," Stivers declared. "I can be pretty stubborn, and I'm definitely a competitor, so the idea of missing more than one race because of the operation never even entered my mind. I knew I'd be in Houston behind the wheel of that Trane Stratus."

NHRA officials announced this week that the Electromotion Shutoff Receiver will be reinstated by the NHRA Tech Dept. for mandatory use starting at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, May 21-23.

During the past 10 months, Ryan Ondrejko has been riding an emotional roller-coaster.

Last June, Ondrejko realized a life-long dream when he was able to land a ride in the Pro Stock ranks with Jim Yates.

Flash forward 10 months and Ondrejko has had to shift gears and he’s aiming to win a Top Sportsman Division 1 championship.

“Right now, because of no sponsorship and not much budget, I’m just driving my Top Sportsman car right now,” the 25-year-old Ondrejko said. “That could change to Top Sportsman and Super Gas, though. I have a 1962 Corvette I run in Super Gas a lot. Presently, though, we raced at Charlotte and I’m going to race  all the Division 1 Top Sportsman stuff and I plan on hitting a few Top Sportsman national events as well.”

The propaganda-laced mass-media message since the 2008 elections has been that Corporate America was a heartbeat away from a heartbeat. But it definitely has a pulse, if drag racing is any kind of barometer. Ask John Force.
 
His new five-year contract extension with Ford signals faith in the future.
 
For himself, the Funny Car points leader said, "it just gives you the financial security for the future in this economy. The five-year deal with Ford made me know all of the work in the gym, eating right, taking out the party life, that I changed all of that and I can still compete." He said Ford executives believe feel they can sell their products "through Robert Hight, myself and Ashley Force [Hood] and the other Ford teams. I'm excited to be a part of that.

After experiencing “Four-Wide” competition at Charlotte, Rodger Brogdon and the Attitude Apparel/The Racers Edge team are ready to return to the norm this week, and being able to do so at Houston Raceway Park just makes it that much better,

“Steve Kent’s business operations are based out of southern Louisiana,” said Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon, “and my roofing business is based out of northern Houston, so racing at Houston Raceway Park this weekend is a ‘coming home’ for our race team.”

“Between Steve and myself, we’ll be entertaining over 300 clients, friends and family members this weekend so to say it’ll be a normal weekend at the races for us isn’t exactly true, but we always look forward to everyone being able to come out at our home event and see our Pro Stock team in action. We’ve had a good season so far this year and have qualified well at every event except Charlotte, and that was such a unique situation we were just glad to be there on race day.”

Registration for one of Thunder Valley’s most popular events, PINKS All Out, soon will take place on Bristol Dragway’s webpage. Because racer entry slots fill quickly, Bristol Dragway officials encourage racers to register early.

Driver registration will begin on Monday, April 12 at 10 a.m. EST with four hundred racer entries available initially. The registration link will be found at www.bristoldragway.com/events/pinks_all_out/. All drivers MUST register online.

Pro Stock veteran Larry Morgan is quickly closing in on his 500th national event start. He figured at this point in his career he'd pretty much seen it all. But as the NHRA tour heads to Houston Raceway Park for this weekend's 23rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals, Morgan realizes there are still things to learn.

This past off-season, Morgan took on the Herculean task of making a Ford-powered racecar competitive in a class dominated by other brands for the last 25 years. He knew he'd have no usable data to work with and that he'd have to start from scratch, but with the support of Ford Motor Company and longtime sponsor Lucas Oil, he decided to take a chance.

Terry McMillen will display his Amalie Oil Top Fuel dragster and sign autographs during a Parts Plus Customer Appreciation Day on Tuesday April 13 (1pm - 3pm) in Albuquerque New Mexico. One lucky person will win a trip to the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals April 16-18 compliments of Parts Plus, Amalie Oil and Hoosier Thunder Motorsports.

The Super Chevy Show is kind of like the carnival of motor sports - it offers a little bit of everything for everyone. Whether you like sportsman or pro-class drag racing, an eye-pleasing car show, or the ever-popular swap meet, this event is for you. It's also a national touring series with regional flavor, and that will be evident when the Super Chevy Show makes its first East Coast stop of the season, visiting Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP) on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18.

The weekend's highlights include the Nitro Xtreme Doorslammers, Jet Funny Cars, ProMod Corvettes and four bracket racing classes. Car show enthusiasts will be in heaven as VMP traditionally attracts one of the largest entry lists on the 10-race Super Chevy Show Series. Racing and car show fans will also be treated to one of the largest vendor swap meets on the tour.

Two months following a decisive victory in the championship-deciding Round 7 of the Arabian Drag Racing League series, Sheikh Khalid Al Thani (KH, center left) is preparing for his next challenge – the American Drag Racing League’s Pro Extreme division.

Al Thani, who earned three wins in his world championship-winning rookie season, will make his American debut Apr. 23-24, in the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park, near Valdosta, Georgia.

“Undoubtedly, the American Drag Racing League is the most competitive doorslammer racing organization in the world,” said KH, checking in from his hotel in New York City. “It will be an honor and a privilege to line up with legendary drivers such as Jason Scruggs, Todd Tutterow, Joshua Hernandez and Bubba Stanton and race against my heroes.”