Danny Perry couldn't have scripted a more perfect day to attend (let alone win) his first ever Big Dog Shootout on April Fools day. His dominating win and stunning new track record of 4.06 elapsed time was hardly a joke though, as Perry rocked the house Thursday evening at Piedmont Dragway.
 
Perry is not one of the dozens of drivers who race the Big Dig tour. A resident of Sims, NC, he and his father Bobby launched B&D Automotive 20 years ago, and also race in a number of leagues in other locales. Builders of mainly sportsman racing motors, the Perrys got involved in heads-up engines almost purely for personal use.
 
Perry and his Jerry Haas-constructed Corvette Z06 got everyone's attention early with a solid qualifying spot of 4.10, good for the No. 2 position. Perry ran a single in round one when Brian Williams experienced problems and couldn't make the call for eliminations. Out of the gate for round one, Perry thundered to a new track record of 4.08 on his competition-break single.

Ron Capps, usually behind the wheel of the 8000-horsepower nitro-fueled NAPA AUTO PARTS Funny Car in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, will compete in the Bill Baker Memorial Late Model race at Santa Maria (Calif.) Speedway on Saturday, April 3.

In preparation for his sixth appearance in the Prelude to the Dream special event at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on June 9, Capps will take to Santa Maria's one-third mile clay surfaced oval to drive a "dirt" Late Model decked out in NAPA AUTO PARTS colors. Qualifying for the event is at 5 p.m., with racing action beginning at 6 p.m.

"I've gotten to race in Tony Stewart's Prelude every year and I've always shown up there without getting a chance to run a dirt car much in advance," said Capps, second in the NHRA Funny Car points standings after four of 23 events in 2010. "Our schedule gets so busy and of course now every year a lot of the NASCAR guys have bought their own teams and they get out and practice before the Prelude.

NHRA Unleashed is pleased to announce that those who purchase advance tickets for the events through NHRA.com will have access to a preferred seating section at each venue.  Advance tickets for each NHRA Unleashed event will go on sale at 10 a.m. EDT on each date and can be purchased by visiting NHRA.com and clicking on the NHRA Unleashed logo box.

After purchasing the tickets on line and printing them, fans simply take the ticket to the NHRA Unleashed event where they will be supplied with a wrist band that will allow seating in the preferred seating section.  The seating will vary at each event and will be marked to find easily.  The preferred seating will provide spectators an up close and personal view of all the on track action during the NHRA Unleashed event, a celebration of pure American horsepower.

The first of four inaugural NHRA Unleashed events will be held June 11-13 at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga. Tickets for this historic event will go on sale April 3rd.  Disrupt/ive Studios, the producers of the hit TV show “PINKS ™”, will produce a television series celebrating every aspect of these exciting events, highlighting the passion and lifestyle of NHRA competitors and fans.

Nitro Jam’s roster of decorated racers continues to grow as Pro Fuel star Cherissa Smallwood has announced her intention to run the rest of the season with the Nitro Jam series.

Smallwood, a fulltime racer and mother of two, has spent the past 17 years racing various sportsman classes with the NHRA and is excited to make her debut with the brand new Pro Fuel class on the Nitro Jam circuit beginning at Rockingham Dragway’s Spring Nitro Jam May 1-2.

“As a racer you work so hard to gain recognition and as a driver of Pro Fuel this will allow our team to be in the spotlight of thousands,” Smallwood said. “We were drawn to the IHRA because it has shown so much appreciation and professionalism to the sport of drag racing. I can’t wait to get out there and meet the fans.”

The smile on Marcus Smith’s face told the story.

Smith, the president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, couldn't help but show his emotion following the completion of the inaugural NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway Monday afternoon.

“I’d say it was a 10, said Smith, son of motorsports magnate Bruton Smith when asked how he felt the first weekend of four wide drag racing went. “It was amazing. We had so many fans out here that got to see some incredible racing, for the first time four wide.  With NHRA, Top Fuel and Funny Cars, all the Pro Stock guys, I think to be here you’ll remember the first time you saw the Nitro cars going four wide and what it was like at zMax Dragway.”

Impact Racing, LLC and SFI Foundation, Inc., in the litigation pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, have agreed that:

The military has long featured a strong presence at Infineon Raceway, but the Sonoma Valley facility will put the Armed Forces front-and-center in 2010 with the Sonoma Salutes Our Troops campaign.

The season-long salute to the Armed Forces will feature military elements at several major events, including the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, IZOD IndyCar® Series, motorcycles, historic car races and more.

The season-long program will culminate with Military Appreciation Day at the Indy® Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday, Aug. 22.

As the NHRA's attention turns to Space City, it's fitting that the 23rd annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park will have a NASA astronaut serve as this year's grand marshal.

Captain Mark Kelly will take time out of his preparations for his next shuttle mission to the International Space Station to meet with racers and fans on Sunday, April 11, and take in the power and excitement of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series from HRP's starting line.

"Houston is known the world over as the epicenter of the space program," said HRP general manager Seth Angel. "It's an honor to have Captain Kelly come out and join us. He knows a thing or two about exciting rides and we can't wait to show him our brand of drag racing excitement."

What happens when you put an engine builder who subscribes to the theory of bigger is better and a drag racing icon who has always felt an engine can do the best with the least together?

The Extreme 10.5 community will find out in a month when Sonny Leonard and Billy Glidden join forces on an engine kit prepared specifically for the narrow tire class.

Leonard has built engines in the range of 900 cubic inches in displacement while Glidden has won championships and earned a nice living with engines categorized as small blocks.

Zizzo Racing has announced Old World Industries' will rejoin and expand its role as the major marketing partner with its PEAK and HERCULINER brands on the team's NHRA Top Fuel dragster driven by T.J. Zizzo. The two-year, 14-race deal begins this season and marks the beginning of Zizzo Racing's 31st year in drag racing.

"We're excited about the opportunity to continue representing PEAK and HERCULINER for the seventh consecutive season," Zizzo said. "We enjoy providing value for them in our NHRA program and the retail programs PEAK does with O'Reilly Auto Parts. "My off-season was busy," states Zizzo. "It started with an appearance for PEAK at the AAPEX/SEMA show in November and continued throughout the winter with great appearances at customer events and at World of Wheels shows. These events are exciting for us as we become a bigger part of PEAK's marketing efforts going forward."