NHRA Full Throttle Series event winners Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) appeared on last night's "WFO Radio NHRA Tuesday with Joe Castello".
 

Co-Part/Lucas Oil Team Owner Kenny Bernstein has named Todd Smith as the crew chief following the dismissal of crew chief Rob Flynn and assistant crew chief Mike Guger on Tuesday.

When Tommy Phillips held two Wallys in the winner’s circle last year at the JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals, he knew at the time that he had just had a very, very good day.

A veteran racer, Phillips knows how tough it is to earn a single trophy in one category in the ultra-competitive world of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Winning two at the same national event is extremely rare. Phillips is among a small fraternity of 10 racers in NHRA history that have accomplished the feat.

The names alongside Phillips are some of most successful drivers to have ever competed in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series: David Rampy, Edmond Richardson, Jeff Taylor and Pete Biondo, to name a few.

Dunn-Benson Dragstrip will host the Top Dawg series on Saturday, March 27. The event will be the first of four scheduled appearances of the Top Dawg Showdown at Dunn-Benson Dragstrip. March 28 is also reserved as a rain date for this event if needed.

In 2009, John Montecalvo topped some of Pro Stock’s best drivers to become the IHRA Pro Stock World Champion. He did this all while maintaining a spot in the ADRL’s Battle of Belts, which means he ranked in the top 8 in points going into the final race of the year. This year, Montecalvo is looking to strengthen his ADRL presence and pursue his goal of eighth mile dominance in 2010.

The ADRL has a lure all its own for competitive drivers who want to make a stand in the “run what you brung” atmosphere where no holds are barred. Montecalvo was able to make an impressive statement in the inaugural season of Extreme Pro Stock (2009), despite having to miss a few races on the tour. This year, the ADRL will see more of Montecalvo, and, if it’s up to him, it’ll be in the winner’s circle.

Jay Payne remembers the first time he ever saw a Pro Modified in person.

The year was 2001, and he was awaiting his turn to qualify in the Top Alcohol Funny Car [TAFC] division. A gathering of 24 invited Pro Modified cars were on hand to showcase their skills for the first time in NHRA drag racing since the class was first debuted and recognized as a professional category in 1990.

“I sat there and watched this 1949 Mercury do a burnout, swap lanes – come over in the other lane, hit the other car – go back to his lane, and back up,” Payne explained. “Then this guy in an Indian suit ran around the car, tapped on it and then they made the run.

Pat Musi has a whole country behind him, literally.

The multi-time Pro Street champion from Carteret, NJ., and team owner Frank Brandao of  Curacao in the Netherland Antillies plan to make their ADRL Pro Nitrous debut this weekend in Houston, Tex., representing the country of Curacao.

Ashley Force Hood, the first woman to win drag racing’s most important Funny Car event and one of America’s most popular drivers, will be the Newsmaker of the Week on The Race Reporters radio show, Wednesday, March 17, 7 p.m. EDT, on www.PowerUpChannel.com.

Force Hood finished second in last season’s NHRA Full Throttle standings, with two wins in the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. One of those victories came at the U.S. Nationals, the series’ most prestigious race. The daughter of 14-time Funny Car champion John Force also advanced to six other final rounds and had six No. 1 qualifying runs. She was NHRA’s top rookie in 2007.

This will be Force Hood’s second appearance on The Race Reporters, the top-rated program on the PowerUp Channel.

Two-time Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon, hit hard by the country's downward economic spiral and that of General Motors in particular, said in a Saturday interview with WFO Radio that he has some sponsorship help to continue racing and has a possible deal or two in the works to keep him competitive.
 
He also indicated that he hasn't completely let go of the problem he had with former boss John Force that erupted last Labor Day at Indianapolis. He also hinted that he isn't afraid to stand up for his opinions again.
 
Pedregon said he and two-time titlist brother Cruz Pedregon, who share a shop in Brownburg, Ind., are "trying to figure out how to survive, how to remain competitive. One thing Cruz and I have been able to do is win championships, be competitive, and be very efficient. We've been able to do a lot with very little, and you can only do that for so long. We can't even get close to outspending the John Force team and the Don Schumacher team and some of the other competitors we face."

DMP Awnings, a division of Minnesota-based Dubbin Racing Products, has teamed up with Charles Carpenter Racing in an associate sponsorship role for the 2010 season. Not only will the DMP logo appear on Carpenter’s unmistakable Pro Nitrous ’55 Chevy, but a new DMP Awning will be outfitted to the Carpenter team’s rig.

The partnership was initially brought to life shortly after Carpenter’s devastating crash at the season-opening ADRL Dragpalooza V a year ago. Dubbin was one of the first to pitch in and offer to help Carpenter get back on track anyway he could, despite having never met him.

Now that Carpenter is back and poised to make a run at the ADRL Pro Nitrous championship in 2010, Dubbin has stepped up his support to help him achieve that goal. During their first face-to-face meeting at December’s Performance Racing Industry trade show, the two came to an agreement for DMP to become involved as an associate sponsor.