The time has finally arrived for the start of one of the toughest, meanest, mind numbing races of the winter – the 3rd annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories competition.

Qualifying for drag racing’s premiere story-telling contest kicks off this Wednesday to establish the seeding for the first round of eliminations which start next week.

Sixteen of drag racing’s most “colorful” characters will try to “tell” their way into the top spot, knowing that anyone can win from any position on the ladder. Fans will vote on who they think will tell the best story. Once qualifying is over, eliminations will be set, according to NHRA professional standard procedure, for the month-long competition to determine who can spin the best yarn in PG-13 fashion.

John Force has responded to rumors suggesting that current Funny Car tuner Mike Neff will serve as his crew chief in 2010 if his fourth team is parked.

The fourteen-time world champion confirmed that is just one of several scenarios his team has considered in an unofficial “flow chart” for the upcoming season.

“Everything is up in the air,” Force said, regarding rumors that he’ll parked the fourth Funny Car on his team driven by Neff. “We had meetings recently in Indy and we did shuffle some things around. We have some sponsor meetings next week and for financial reasons, I do have to evaluate the fourth program. I have to evaluate a lot of things.”

Testing gets underway today for a score of Pro Stockers and a Pro Modified assembled at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Those prepared to make runs today include Allen Johnson's new Dodge Avenger, Larry Morgan's new Mustang GT along with Richie Stevens subbing for Jeggie Coughlin, who is tending to family business responsibilities.

Mike Coughlin won his second Dart Top Sportsman Series title in the most dramatic way possible in 2009 -- with a final-round victory against this closest rival at the season’s last event.

Coughlin had driven his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt to a win at the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals and a pair of runner-up finishes during the season yet still found himself locked in a heated battle with Ricky Adkins heading into the final weeks of the year. At the Southeast Division Lucas Oil Series event in Reynolds, Ga., Coughlin and Adkins met in the final round with Coughlin scoring a decisive victory to clinch the title.

"Ricky and I battled back and forth all year long and it was kind of ironic that we got to have a winner-take-all race for the championship," Coughlin said. "I’ve never been in a race like that. It was a lot of pressure but I was fortunate enough to have it go my way. That was definitely the highlight of my season. I won the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus and then went to the final round of the Doorslammer Nationals in Louisville (Ky.) and I started to think I was in pretty good shape. Then, when Ricky got to the final, I found out that if he won the race, he’d pass me. It was all pretty thrilling."

After fielding a turbocharged Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 entry for several years on the National Guard ADRL tour, Team Titan plans to also enter the naturally aspirated, mountain-motored Extreme Pro Stock arena next season.

“I’ve been having the time of my life racing in ADRL, I just can’t help myself but want to race more and more,” team captain Nero Deliwala said.

“All year we chatted about doing a V-8 program; then the opportunity presented itself through crew chief Eric Luzinski, who has been doing a little mountain-motor racing this year. So when the opportunity came to add [Extreme] Pro Stock to Titan Motorsports, I jumped.”

After joining the National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) in 2009 as a display partner in the series’ manufacturer’s midway, Andy McCoy Race Cars (AMRC) will begin paying a major new bonus to top qualifiers in the Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous classes next year.  

“We’re staying busy and a lot of it I attribute to the ADRL because they put on such a good promotional deal,” McCoy says. “That’s why next year we’re looking to step it up and we’re going to provide $1,000 at each race to the guy that qualifies number one in Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous.”

Unlike a contingency program that rewards racers for using specific manufacturer parts, McCoy stresses the qualifying bonuses will be paid out at all 10 events scheduled on the 2010 National Guard ADRL Tour, regardless of the winner’s chassis affiliation. 

More than 500 people enjoyed a day of holiday cheer at Infineon Raceway on Saturday at the 5th annual Race to the Holidays Christmas Party.

The raceway hosted 260 Sonoma Valley children and their families at the event, which featured caroling with the Sonoma Valley High School choir, refreshments, face painting, balloon animals and a visit from Santa Claus and two of his elves.

The event, which has attracted more than 1,100 children since its inception in 2005, culminated with Santa Claus presenting each child with a bag full of toys. Children ranged in age from newborns to 17-year-olds.

In the week leading up to the third annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories we will re-publish some of the finest moments from last two years competition. You'll hear some of the finest stories laid down in competition. The program works like this: 16 figures within the drag racing community are voted on by the readers of CompetitionPlus.com to determine who they feel could tell the best story. From that voting, an NHRA professional elimination ladder pairs the contestants and they battle it out until one is left.

Today's story comes from Scotty Cannon, the six-time Pro Modified champion and winner of the inaugural War Stories Showdown.

It hasn't turned into a trade-show war, and no one in the motorsports industry would be wise to encourage that. But the lines are drawn as the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show is in full swing at Orlando on the heels of the successful International Motorsports Industry Show at Indianapolis.
 
The PRI Show, which attracted more than 40,000 racing-industry buyers from all 50 states and 60 countries last year, is making its fifth straight visit to the Orange County Convention Center this weekend. And this 22nd edition has scored a rating from TradeShow Week magazine as one of the top 50 trade shows in America.
 
That's perfectly fine with the organizers and supporters of the IMIS. They lobbied long and negotiated hard to bring a racing-industry trade show back to Indianapolis after the PRI Show moved to Orlando in 2005. The move was a result of miscommunication between previous Hoosier politicians and PRI Show principles about convention-center floor space and broken promises.

In the week leading up to the third annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories we will re-publish some of the finest moments from last two years competition. You'll hear some of the finest stories laid down in competition. The program works like this: 16 figures within the drag racing community are voted on by the readers of CompetitionPlus.com to determine who they feel could tell the best story. From that voting, an NHRA professional elimination ladder pairs the contestants and they battle it out until one is left.

Today's story comes from Gary Scelzi, the 3-time NHRA champion, winner in the 2007 War Stories Showdown. Scelzi finished semi-finalist in the first two events.