Numerous companies have come and gone in the world of drag racing for various reasons.

Through years of research and development and perseverance, Liberty’s High Performance Products, Inc., has found a niche in drag racing.

Presently, Liberty’s ultimate clutchless transmission is used by nearly every NHRA Pro Stock driver.

“The stuff we have now that they are using is the equalizer transmission,” said the 44-year-old Craig Liberty, who is president of Liberty’s High Performance Products, Inc. “All the transmissions we make for those guys are off from what we call our equalizer platform. It’s basically a gear-to-gear transmission. There’s no planetaries, no clutch packs. We have had every Pro Stock qualifier in the NHRA, I believe for the past five or six years, running a Liberty Transmission. There might be one, maybe two cars a year show up that have a Lenco still in, but they’re cars that have absolutely no chance of qualifying.”

Lou Sattelmaier, a veteran racer who used his racecars as a weapon on the war on drugs, died Dec. 28. He was 74.

A part time race driver back in the 1950s and 60s Sattelmaier teamed up with his brother, George, to race in and around Ohio, with a '32 Ford altered coupe. In the fall of 1971, Sattelmaier began a one-man crusade to curb drug abuse among our youth. The idea came about when his own children asked him to come to their school for a "show and tell." That led to a coveted sponsorship with Marathon Oil and in 1975 he teamed-up with the U. S. Navy, then in 1977 with Quaker State Oil and then Pennzoil.

His days used to be consumed, thrashing and coaxing additional horsepower out of his various race cars.
Butch Leal is now a proud grandfather; and a darn good one if he might say so.

Those daily thrashes now pertain to spending time with them, heeding to their activities, and he’ll tell you that a seven and eight year old will keep a grandfather on his toes.

“I never had much time to raise my own kids because I was off racing all the time,” admits the 65-year old Leal, who resides in Tulare, Ca.

Defending War Stories runner-up Pat Musi has a fight on his hands after one day of voting for the Round One, Day Four voting in his “race” against former Seattle International Raceway promoter Jim Rockstad.

Gary Densham is in the same boat as he leads Billy Meyer.

The final brackets of the first round have been the closest for any of the six other races in the opening round.

Special note from the family: "We are going to load some digital photos on a few digital photo frames for everyone to view during the wake.Anyone would like a photo or two included, to please email a jpeg or two over to me no later than 9:00 a.m EST Thursday to nhra1209@aol.com."

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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