If they were drag racing, the quarter-final match between Pat Musi and Gary Densham would have been a photo finish. Fifteen minutes before voting ended the storytelling combatants were deadlocked in a 50 – 50 percent tie. That was the first time a race has been that close in the history of the competition. The largest lead between the two at

The lead changed hands another two times in those final fifteen minutes and within the last five minutes, Musi edged ahead by five votes to win 50.4 to 49.6.

Louis Force didn’t have as hard of a battle with Gordie Bonin, but he didn’t have it easy either.

Ask even the most casual of motor sports fans who the biggest name in drag racing is and you are almost always sure to hear one name – Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. A true legend of the sport, Prudhomme, 68, concluded his 47th year in drag racing in 2009, his 15th season as an owner after logging 32 seasons behind the wheel as one of the sport’s elite drivers.

Snake’s remarkable driving career began in 1962 with his first Top Fuel victory at “Smokers March Meet” in Bakersfield, Calif., before ending with 49 NHRA career victories – the sixth most in NHRA history – following his farewell “Final Strike Tour” in 1994.  For his career, Prudhomme reached the finals 68 times, posting a remarkable 35 wins in 45 Funny Car finals (.777 win percentage) and 14 wins in 23 Top Fuel finals rounds (.609 win percentage). Overall, he won 389 of 589 rounds of competition for a .660 winning percentage.

Matthew Brammer, who most recently held the position as series administrator for the Get Screened America NHRA Pro Mod Challenge, will join the Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com staff as Editor, Social Media.

Brammer’s objective will be to increase the electronic magazine’s awareness within the growing social network communities, namely Facebook, Twitter and grow our weekly e-mail newsletter.

Brammer represents the second major hiring for Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com this week, and its bid to further increase its presence in the world of drag race reporting. Brammer is a Baylor University graduate and owns Active Marketing, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based marketing firm that specializes in drag racing. He will continue to operate his Active Marketing firm which services a handful of leading drag racing teams.

The American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) Pro Jr. Dragster (PJD) series is about to enter its third full season and on Jan. 15, at 9 a.m. (Central), the O’Fallon, Missouri-based series will begin accepting pre-registered entries for every race on its 2010 schedule. No changes are planned for PJD rules; however, the car rules will be included in the ADRL’s online rule book to be posted Jan. 15, on the official ADRL Web site (www.ADRL.us).

 “The Pro Jr. Dragster class really came into its own last year with some truly great performances and record participation,” ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling said. “In fact, we had waiting lists for entries at several events, so I encourage all Pro Jr. Dragster teams interested in competing with the ADRL this year to waste no time in signing up for what I know will be another great season.”

Within its continuing efforts in support of Canada’s drag racing scene, and in conjunction with primary sponsor Lucas Oil Canada, DragRaceCanada is pleased to announce its annual "Canadian Drag Racer of the Year" awards program.  It marks the 6th consecutive year that drag racing fans can vote to help recognize top achievements in Canadian drag racing during the past season campaign.

The 2009 DragRaceCanada "Drag Racer of the Year" awards program will honor four winners; one Professional driver, one Sportsman driver, one Crew chief/Tuner as well as the Most Improved/Up-And-Coming drag racer.   

Covering all sanctioned drag racing but limited to Canadian drag racers only, the on-line ballot begins on Jan. 8th, 2010 at 00:01 and will close at 23:59 on Feb. 7th, 2010. After the polls close and the audit is completed four winners will be announced.  All will receive on-line recognition as well as a handsome commemorative memento.

To every situation there's a season and it's been a busy winter for Bankston Boyz Racing.

Michael Bankston has announced the team has purchased a 2009 David Janes -built '68 Camaro, formerly owned by Shannon Jenkins. The team is prepping now to run the ADRL Pro Nitrous division with help from Speedtech, Reher-Morrison, and Al-Anabi for the 2010 season.

The car will be piloted by 2009 Pro-Nitrous winner and veteran driver, Stan Allen with a Reher-Morrison 5.3 bore under the hood. In addition to Allen's mount, the team will field a ZO6 Jerry Haas Corvette piloted by John DeFlorian which will run a 5.2 bore space Reher-Morrison engine. Only the Allen car will carry the Al-Anabi colors.

Racers Who Care spokesracer and leading National Hot Rod Association Top Fuel Dragster contender, Antron Brown, is set to launch the RWC Quick Tips on Winning in Life Presentation team.  He follows teammate, Fast Jack Beckman, in sharing his own personal sage advice on winning with young Indianapolis LeGore Branch Boys & Girls Club members.  Beckman visited them in September 2009.
 
Brown ended the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Series third in season point standings, after winning six races during the year. He achieved this even though his team changed ownership four times during the season!  He now drives for Matco Tools and Don Schumacher Racing.  Antron’s fastest Top Fuel speed is 331.94 m.p.h.  Prior to entering the Top Fuel ranks in 2008, Brown spent 10 years as a leading NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor. He is the only driver in NHRA history to have won races and led the standings in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories.

Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, one of the most accomplished drivers and revered team owners in the history of motorsports, announced his retirement today, thus ending a career spanning five decades in the sport of drag racing.

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.  Overall, Prudhomme has totaled an impressive combination of six National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) World Championships and 112 National Event victories.

NHRA and producers of the popular drag racing show Pinks®, Stephen Pullin and Jack Schaeffer, have agreed to create, develop and produce media properties including new racing competitions, new events and television programs.   The first project, NHRA Unleashed, will celebrate pure American horsepower in an interactive festival environment.

Pullin and Schaeffer’s Disrupt/ive Studios, and NHRA, will explore and develop innovative properties focused on wide open wheel-standing heads-up competition embracing the car enthusiast, the roots of NHRA.   NHRA Unleashed is the first of these properties, to be staged in 2010, in Atlanta, Indianapolis, Columbus, Ohio, and Gainesville, Fla.   A schedule of events is listed below.  The plan is to expand NHRA Unleashed to other premier drag racing facilities in the United States in 2011.