After growing up working in his dad’s auto repair shop, then spending 38 years as a professional yacht technician, Ellis Vial Jr. likes to joke he’s spent his life with a Snap-on wrench in one hand and a payment book in the other.

This year, his life-long dedication to the brand is being rewarded with major sponsorship from Snap-on Franchised Dealers for an all-out assault on the American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) Pro Extreme class.

“This is it, I’m showing all my cards this year; I’m all in,” Ellis declared from his Hayes, Virginia, race shop as he watched Billy Smith of Auto Ink Designs applying the bright red-and-black Snap-on wrap to his brand-new K&K Precision-built ’68 Firebird. “I’m not coming out to the races just to qualify; I’ll be there to win.

14-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force, winner of the season-opening NHRA Winternationals, will appear on "WFO Radio NHRA Tuesday with Joe Castello", tonight at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).  To listen, go to http://www.wforadio.com
 

The Dana Point Concours d’Elegance announced that drag racing legend Don “The Snake” Prudhomme will be the Honorary Chairman for the 28th annual event on June 27, 2010.

A true legend of the sport, Prudhomme’s 47-year career saw him behind the wheel for 32 seasons before he retired from driving at the end of his 1994 "Final Strike" campaign. He then transitioned to the role of team owner where he led his teams and drivers for the past 15 seasons before retiring in January of this year. Overall, Prudhomme has totaled an impressive combination of six National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) World Championships and 112 National Event victories.

“I’m very excited to be a part of the Dana Point Concours d’Elegance this year as Honorary Chairman,” said Prudhomme, “I love all types of automobiles and this event has something for everyone.”

Jason Scruggs, recently named by Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com as the 18^th ranked all-time Pro Modified driver, continued to establish his value in doorslammer history by unleashing the quickest eighth-mile pass ever by a Pro Extreme. He stopped the timers in testing today at Palm Beach International Raceway with a 3.645 at 210.90 miles per hour.

The American Hot Rod Association continued its strategic advancement today by retaining Active Marketing, the Phoenix, Ariz.-based PR and marketing agency headed by former NHRA Pro Mod Challenge series director Matthew Brammer. According to AHRA CEO Troy Moe, Brammer and his team will be responsible for managing the public relations as well as assisting with sponsorship development.
 
"Matthew has the experience in the drag racing world that can help us continue to advance to new levels," Moe said.  "His professionalism and positive attitude fit our culture extremely well, and his track record speaks for itself. I'm excited to have the opportunity to work with him."

In honor of its 50th anniversary celebration, JEGS Mail Order will be giving away a beautiful 2010 Chevrolet Camaro in the mail order giant's familiar yellow and black trim.

"Our customers are car people so the best thing we could think of to give away was this great American-made hot rod," said Mike Coughlin, vice president of JEGS. "We're hoping to have a lot of fun with this Sweepstakes and I think our fans and customers will join in the excitement, especially as we get closer to July when we give this thing away.

"We plan to have the car out at several events during the year so people can see how cool it is in person. We encourage everyone to enter the contest and try their luck."

Bob Bode showed up at Tucson, without a Funny Car license but with eyes as big as clutch plates and a heart full of excitement. He had been a boat racer but quickly converted to drag-racing fan -- with no real knowledge of the floppers he fell in love with from the grandstands.

That was 10 years ago, and he had a car that Glen Mikres had built in California. But Bode had never sat in it. Bode remembered his first piece of advice from Mikres, who was still driving at the time but was helping him get started.

If 2009 was Top Fuel driver Morgan Lucas’ coming out season, what is this year?

“This is our trying to repeat last year tour,” answered Lucas, who qualified fifth at the NHRA Winternationals. “We’ve had so many bad years in drag racing that last year inspired us to be as good as we were. We want to win more races than three; we want to finish top three or top five. The bottom line is that beggars can’t be choosers. It’s a tough sport, and a tough class. All we want to do is keep making improvements, remain consistent and represent our sponsors as best we can.”

Showcasing first-year sponsor Geico, Lucas won three races in three finals, finishing seventh in the championship points battle last year.

Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey, the 2009 rookie of the year who has no NHRA ride this season, was one-up on his employed colleagues as he visited them in the Pomona pits Thursday. He already had one complete event under his belt -- the International Hot Rod Association's Nitro Jam series opener at Florida's Palm Beach International Raceway. Massey returned to the IHRA to compete in fellow Texan Mitch King's dragster -- the one in which he began driving in the nitro ranks in 2008 and took to the championship that year.
 
However, with his former NHRA boss Don Prudhomme's retirement, Massey admittedly there is "not really anything at the moment" in the works on the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series side. He said he came to Pomona because "it's good to keep my face out here" and because "I'm always a drag-racing fan -- I can't miss a drag race."