Mopar released their top ten list of most significant achievements for the past decade and drag racing held five of the ten. The list was selected by a large number of Mopar employees and their public relations firm.

The overwhelming choice for the most significant Mopar accomplishment was Gary Scelzi’s clinching of the 2005 NHRA Funny Car championship. His championship marked the first time a Mopar-powered Dodge had claimed the title since Frank Hawley’s 1983 crown.

A new chapter begins in the storied history of Kansas City International Raceway in 2010.  Top Sportsman and Top Dragster racers in the heartland of the country will now have a series dedicated to their classes with title sponsorship provided by Guy’s Snacks Corporation (www.guys-snacks.com).  Driskell Racing Engines and Straightline Motorsports will be presenting the six race series.

The series will feature both Top Sportsman and Top Dragster categories, qualifying and competing on separate ladders, with the winner of each class meeting in the final round for the overall champion.  Each race will be contested on an eighth mile format, with an attractive purse structure as well as numerous product contingencies and a season point’s fund.

John Force Racing fan Wendy Kruz from Elgin, South Carolina will be setting sail in a Penthouse cabin on the John Force Racing Fan Cruise III scheduled to depart December 31, 2009. Kruz’s name was drawn from the over 40,000 entries during the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at the BrandSource booth as well as www.brandsource.com online entries. Joining Kruz on the cruise will be all four John Force Racing Funny Car drivers (John Force, Ashley Force Hood, 2009 Funny Car champion Robert Hight and Mike Neff) as well as Top Alcohol Dragster drivers Brittany and Courtney Force. The group will be aboard the Carnival Elation cruise ship for five days and four nights. The cruise departs from San Diego, California and will now be setting sail New Year’s Eve for Cabo San Lucas in Baja, Mexico.

Fifty years of JEGS history will come to life in captivating video vignettes throughout the mail order giant's 50th anniversary in 2010. Hosted by popular motorsports commentator Bill Stephens, the 2-3 minute pieces are filled with personal interviews and remembrances with family patriarch Jeg Coughlin Sr., his four sons -- John, Troy Sr., Mike, and Jeg Jr., who now own and operate JEGS Automotive -- and third-generation racer Troy Jr., who recently became the first of third-generation Coughlin to win an NHRA national event.

NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock driver Jason Line, NHRA announcer Alan Reinhart, and CompetitionPlus publisher Bobby Bennett were the featured guests for laast night's NHRA Tuesday on WFO Radio with Joe Castello.
 
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Al-Anabi Racing team Funny Car driver Del Worsham was in Doha, Qatar earlier this month when His Highness Sheik Khalid Bin Hamad Al-Thani won his first race as a driver. While on vacation with his wife Connie, Worsham attended the second race of the season at the Qatar Race Club and then accompanied Al-Thani to the Williams Formula 1 facility in Oxford, UK where both drove the Formula 1 simulator. Worsham’s description of the trip is below.

“Connie and I usually take our annual vacation in late November, once we wrap up the NHRA season. This year, we had booked a Caribbean cruise and were really looking forward to some much needed R&R.  When the race season began in Qatar, Sheik Khalid had a great first event, and I called him to congratulate him on his successful first event as a driver. During the call, he invited me to attend the second race of the season so we cancelled our cruise and made plans to travel to Doha, Qatar to attend the race. We were both really excited about it because we had heard so many great things, and wanted to see Qatar for ourselves.

Drag racing has lost a true friend today.

Veteran sportsman drag racer Jimmy "The Shoe" Harrington passed away early this morning. The veteran drag racer and drag racing school instructor had been hospitalized for the last couple of weeks fighting various health related issues.

Funeral arrangements are pending and will be posted once they are received.

No. 2 seeded Louis Force and No. 10 Gordie Bonin lead their respective “races” in the third day of Round 1 competition at the War Stories Showdown presented by CompetitionPlus.com.

Force, who answers to the nickname Diesel, and is the older brother of 14-time champion John Force, jumped out to the lead from the moment voting started yesterday and hasn’t relinquished the advantage. He currently leads veteran photographer Don Gillespie by a 64.27 to 35.73 margin.

Gary Sumek would like to see a very special individual receive some well-deserved recognition.

Sumek, the owner of Lenco transmissions, would like to see Leonard Abbott, inventor of the innovative transmission that he markets, recognized with an induction into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

“His innovation helped revolutionized drag racing back in the late 60's and early 70's,” said Sumek. “He's been overlooked because he wasn't in the limelight. After 40 years, his product, his idea, is still out there and still functioning. How many other things in this industry can you even think about has the longevity this product has?”

Mountain Motor Pro Stocks, ADRL Pro Mods, a key race in the new IHRA Nitro Jam Series, a couple of events combining drifting and drag racing and the return of the most successful independent motorcycle series in the country are the key elements in a 2010 schedule that Rockingham Dragway owner Steve Earwood characterizes as the most diverse in the track’s rich 33-year history.

“We’re really excited about the schedule we’ve put together for 2010,” Earwood said, “especially about the redesign of the IHRA’s Nitro Jam Series, the seventh renewal of the ADRL’s Dragstock event and the addition of a new race for the Mountain Motor Pro Stockers.

“I know we’ve said before that our goal is to provide a little something for every drag racing fan, but I think with this year’s schedule, we finally have done that.”