Tonight’s final round of the USA vs AUS Nitro Funny Car Challenge at Willowbank Raceway has been concluded with a jaw dropping 320mph/513kmh pass by Australian Damien Harris, sealing the Aussie domination of the two round series over American Jack Wyatt.

Harris saved the best till last with the new speed record being set in very last run of Nitro Funny Car for the night, which also saw the West Australian alongside Queenslander Ricky Steffens set the quickest Nitro Funny Car side-by side-pass for the country as well.

Harris’ 320.66mph at 4.868 second effort combined with Steffens’ 5.164s pass – a new personal best for the driver – to better the previous side-by side-mark (also featuring Harris alongside fellow West Australian Mark Sheehan in Perth on Boxing Day) by seven one thousandths of a second.

Roush Yates Engines continues their dedication to lead in power and performance in announcing a newly-formed partnership to build race engines for NHRA Pro Stock drag racer Justin Humphreys and RaceRedi Motorsports.

Roush Yates Engines, renowned for providing winning engines in the NASCAR circuit, is once again expanding their program to encompass another form of motorsports.  This partnership with Humphreys takes Roush Yates Engines into the powerful and competitive realm of NHRA Drag Racing. They already have a history of success in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, as well as ARCA, Grand-Am and FIA GT3 competition.

IRL IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti was Saturday night's star, winning the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association's Jerry Titus Award for the second time in three years.
 
But once again, drag-racing uber-pro John Force proved he is the ultimate organizer, showman, and professional in hosting AARWBA's 40th annual All-America Team Dinner and Ceremony and celebration of 55 years as the nation's oldest and largest motorsports media organization.
 
Flanked by haulers and their Funny Car sentries (that included the boss' new fiberglass body decked with 25th Castrol anniversary livery), guests dined in the shop where crews have been preparing to send the team to its first 2010 test session, at Phoenix.

Yas Marina Circuit, the spectacular motor racing circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has partnered with Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), winner of eight NHRA championships and 136 races, to provide two complete Top Fuel dragster teams to be based in Abu Dhabi. The cars will first compete during the inaugural International Drag Racing Festival on March 18th - 20th at Yas Marina Circuit's impressive new drag racing facility. In a separate agreement, Yas Marina Circuit becomes the first NHRA member facility outside of North America.

"Yas Marina Circuit is extremely proud to be associated with Don Schumacher Racing, the current and eight-times NHRA World Champions," said Richard Cregan, CEO, Yas Marina Circuit. "Drag racing will be a significant and exciting cornerstone of establishing Yas Marina Circuit as a world class motor racing venue. Our partnership with Don Schumacher Racing, the world's best drag racing team, will help us establish the Yas Drag Racing Centre and our Yas Drag Racing Team as serious contenders on the world drag racing stage."

Lee Beard, team manager at Don Schumacher Racing, announced today that DSR and the Motorsports Engineering program at Indiana Univ. Purdue Univ. at Indianapolis (IUPUI) have united to develop a comprehensive program to help advance the performance of DSR Top Fuel teams in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Following the trend set by IndyCar and Formula 1 teams in recent years, DSR will work with IUPUI engineering students on exclusive research-and-development projects to improve engine, clutch and chassis components, using technologies such as 3D Modeling, Finite Stress Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics.

An office has been set up at DSR's Brownsburg, Ind., facility where a number of IUPUI students and faculty will work closely with Beard and the other DSR Top Fuel crew chiefs.

NHRA announced today the creation of NHRA Worldwide Network, a program that will enable drag racing facilities around the world to conduct events under the NHRA banner.   By becoming a part of the NHRA Worldwide Network, a facility will be able to use the specially-designed “Worldwide Drag Racing” NHRA oval for broad promotional purposes and will be able to draw on NHRA’s decades of experience and history.

Sitting amongst those gathered to honor Robert Tasca, Sr. was a 60-year-old, 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion with tears in his eyes and the feeling of loss in his heart.

For John Force, losing Robert Tasca, Sr. is like losing his father all over again, even though no one could ever truly replace his dad.

“Tasca was the man I turned to for advice after my father died,” recalled Force. “He is the reason I am with Ford. He bled Ford Blue.”

For your Saturday afternoon pleasure, we present eight minutes of drag racing from York U.S. 20 back in the day. There's good footage, lots of gear shifting and oh yeah, sound. There's even a cameo from Jungle Pam in this Bee-On Video presentation.

Two-time IHRA Fuel Funny Car World Champion, Dale Creasy Jr. and several other drag racers will be amongst the 40 sport celebrities who are involved with the “Softball in the Snow ‘2010” fundraising event benefiting the Wish Upon a Star Foundation in Joliet, Ill. For Creasy Jr., the fan favorite flopper pilot from Beecher, Ill., the event is one which has numerous benefits.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with this group for more than six years,” noted Creasy. “A few years ago, we announced our team would donate $100.00 for every round win in IHRA competition. We won 23 rounds that season and it was awesome to write that check to the Wish Upon a Star Foundation. Every time I’ve come to this event, it just gets better and better. There are Major League Baseball players, NFL Football players, even NASA astronauts who gather together for an autograph session for the kids.”