What a difference a year makes.  365 days ago, Tim Wilkerson was readying his troops and his equipment for the season opener in Pomona with more question marks than exclamation points in his head.  He'd not only made the switch to a new chassis during the off-season, he'd moved from the familiar two-rail style to the newer and safer three-rail configuration, and in addition he was putting a sleek new Shelby Mustang on the car for the first time.  If making changes can create challenges, Wilkerson had gone for the gusto.

This year, after a slow start in '09 finally evolved into a successful campaign that featured two race victories, one runner-up result, and a fourth-place finish in the points, Wilkerson and his Levi, Ray & Shoup team are approaching the 2010 season with a different and more calculated approach.  This year, it's all about continuity and confidence, as the team aims to take the momentum they had built during the second half of the '09 season and translate that into a solid start to a long and successful 2010 Full Throttle run.

Tune in to the SPEED Channel this Saturday (Jan. 30), at 10:30 a.m. Eastern for Lucas Oil On the Edge, featuring the American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) 2009 Pro Extreme Speedtech Battle for the Belts.

Watch the top eight Pro Extreme points leaders from last season go head to head in a winner-take-all battle for ADRL supremacy filmed during the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals V at Ennis, Texas, last October by NeWave Video Productions, the same company that produces ADRL event broadcasts.

It was late 2007 when John Force, in a race against Kenny Bernstein, barely survived a horrific crash at the Texas Motorplex.

Force's body was in shambles. His mind wasn't much better. Yet, 28 months later, John Force is as confident as he's ever been, at least in the public eye. He walks, he talks and he drives like he's still gunning for his first Funny Car title. He has the eye of the tiger and the hunger of an orca whale hunting seals.

Rehabilitation has not come easy for the 14-time champ. In the beginning, it was all about being able to walk again. Once he could walk, it was about being able to climb in and out of a race car. Once in the car, his exercise routine needed to be specialized to his routine inside the race car.

Trips to the gym were not without pain, both physically and mentally.

Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com, through the assistance of a key group of Pro Modified historians and enthusiasts, have compiled a list of the Top 20 all-time drivers based on their contribution to the class, historic achievements, statistics and fan appeal.

Starting on Friday, January 08, 2010, the electronic magazine began revealing those names on the list, and will announce two drivers per week, until the No. 1 driver is unveiled on Saturday, Mar. 20, during the ADRL Dragpalooza in Houston, Texas.

Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com narrowed the list from hundreds of drivers down to 20. Today, we reveal No. 15 on the list.

Virginia Motorsports Park, proud home of several NHRA performance records, will host the inaugural World Cup of Drag Racing on August 20th and 21st, 2010.  The Friday – Saturday show will feature Door Slammers from all over the globe competing for major purse money in Pro Stock, Pro Mod Blower, Pro Mod Nitrous, 10.5 Outlaw, and Outlaw Drag Radial classes.

Western Canada has a new group of racers called the Rocky Mountain Nostalgia Funny Car Association (RMNFCA).  The club has been formed under the direction of Eddy Plaizier, Joey Steckler and Cal Tebb.  As of January 15, 2010 it has ten confirmed members. RMNFCA is open to new membership – please contact Joey Steckler at 780-454-6514 or check out our new website at http://www.rockymountainnostalgiafunnycars.com.

The main objective of the club is to thrill crowds with long, smoky burnouts and close side-by-side competitive racing. The club will run traditional elimination style races as well as Chicago shoot-out style.  Race fans will see all the cars competing in multiple rounds. This will allows fans to see more racing than in the past. 

ROUSH® Performance has unveiled the timeline for producing their highly-anticipated 2011 Ford Mustang conversions.
 
In April, shortly after Ford’s Job 1 begins on the 2011 model year Mustang, ROUSH will offer their Stage 1™ and Stage 2™ versions. Using the new Ford 5.0-Liter, V-8 engine, both of these cars will have 412 horsepower and 390 ft.-lb. or torque, all while reaching an estimated 25 highway miles per gallon of fuel economy. Also new for the 2011 model year is the standard six-speed transmission, something that Mustang fans have clamored for over the past several years.

Tommy Dupree, a well-known face to many for his work in the drag racing industry, recently signed on to become the Director of Business Development for the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Association.  Dupree left his position with the IHRA to fire up the newly founded MMPSA. He will also be working with Pete Berner’s Performance Mechanical Contracting business.

Dupree is excited about this new endeavor and feels the MMPSA has a lot to offer. “I am very excited to be a part of this new group. These are great bunch of guys and I am very happy to dedicate my time and experience to help out. We have come a long way very quickly and we have all the tools we need to be successful.”

John Force, a 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion has come to a painful decision. Without the necessary funding, the Drive One Ford Mustang piloted by 2008 Rookie of the Year Mike Neff has been temporarily sidelined.

Force hasn't given up on getting Neff back behind the wheel of a Funny Car. However, with Pomona looming ever closer, it was best to use the team's resources to the benefit of those cars with full sponsorship.

“It's about the economy.” said Force. “That is why my fourth team is parked and Mike Neff is over with us. I use to say I had the million dollar brain trust; spread over four cars. Now I have it over one car - the million dollar brain trust.”

Multiple sources have confirmed with Attitude's CompetitionPlus.com that reigning ADRL Pro Nitrous champion Khalid Al Balooshi will make the switch from a nitrous-injected combination over to a supercharged engine for 2010. We are told that he will be tuned by veteran tuner Howard Moon, who will continue to turn the wrenches for Von Smith.