The on-track action may be over for the year, but the National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) remains at full speed heading into the 22nd annual Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show Dec. 10-12, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

The American Drag Racing League and its affiliated Arabian Drag Racing League will share space this year in Booth 609 on the trade show’s main floor.

Prior to their pioneering association with ESPN, the International Hot Rod Association under the guidance of Larry Carrier and Ted Jones partnered with the Mizlou Television Network for a series of race coverage shows.

TV4U.com purchased the rights to the syndicated shows from Mizlou and in this offering, features coverage of the 1983 and 1984 IHRA Springnationals, two of the richest purse drag races in drag racing of that era.

THURSDAY, December 3: Drivers visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany

NHRA drivers Morgan Lucas, Erica Enders, Doug Horne, and Spencer Massey had a memorable Thursday visiting wounded military
personnel at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the USO Wounded Warrior Center in Germany. Landstuhl is the first major stop for wounded servicemen and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and is the largest U.S. hospital facility outside the United States.

"I think we all learned something very valuable today," said Lucas, driver of the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster. "There is simply no way we can ever thank our troops enough for what they do for us. To meet the people we met today, some with pretty bad injuries, and see how gung-ho they are for our country makes you re-think everything. It's so humbling that these people do what they do for all of us.

"I just turned 26 and I'm the youngest guy in Top Fuel but I was older than a lot of the guys and girls in the hospital. What they do and the attitude they have at such a young age is impressive. This is the neatest thing I've ever done and we're already making plans for next year."

The fences still remain, as do dilapidated buildings, a reminder that a once proud drag strip occupied the land.

To the drag racing community, Spartanburg Dragway was just another drag strip that fell victim to a new neighborhood where the neighbors created a community around the strip and then realized that drag strips are loud.

Dick Krieger is the Southern California Drag Racing Association (SCEDA) 2009 Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels non-electronics series champion.

Krieger, 69, of Henderson, Nev., considers the SCEDA championship as another feather in the cap of a successful racing career.

Krieger began drag racing in 1964 at Niagara Falls Drag Strip located in upstate New York with a 1957 hard-top, two-door Chevrolet. After winning many races with the car he moved from New York to San Diego in 1968 and started building an Econo dragster. The former junior fuel car that he purchased with a 118-inch wheelbase, powered by a small block Chevy with Chevy 2 headers turned upside down and a one-gallon gas can for the carburetor scoop.

There is nothing quite like racing in southern Florida – especially during the month of January.

While most of the country is digging out from under buckets of snow or trying to stay warm amid treacherous temperatures, the people of south Florida enjoy mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine during the winter months.

So what better way to start the year than with a double dose of south Florida sun and fun with a pair of sportsman races promising to give drivers a well earned vacation as well as four days of track time and two shots at the 2010 Tournament of Champions.

It's nitro and tire smoke this Saturday on the Sammy and Bob Show on ESPN Radio 97.5 in Houston at 10 AM till 12 PM.

Beginning at 8 a.m. (EST) on Friday, Dec. 4, American Drag Racing League and Arabian Drag Racing League President and CEO Kenny Nowling will be tweeting real time results and commentary covering the hot racing action happening at Qatar Race Club in Doha, Qatar via Twitter for the leagues’ stateside fans.

Twitter followers will receive insider information straight from Nowling about the leagues’ stars and cars, details and results from each run, and weather and racing condition updates as the event unfolds.  Fans familiar with Nowling know that his personal insight and unique perspective should make the coverage truly special and one of a kind!

NHRA drivers wanted the Eject Helmet Removal System [Eject] and after a period of research, the sanctioning body agreed the device designed for safer helmet removal in the event of a crash was a good idea. Effective 2010, all NHRA drivers in the professional and alcohol ranks will be required to equip their helmets with the Eject system.

Bob Vandergriff Jr., Chairman for the newly formed NHRA Driver’s Committee, confirmed that his group pushed for the mandatory implementation of the Eject system.

“You have to credit Larry Dixon because he’s the one responsible for bringing it to our attention on the Driver’s Committee,” said Vandergriff. “He brought it to us as another option to increase the safety aspect of what we do.

An Extreme Pro Stock final round appearance at the season-opening ADRL LenMar World Finals was enough inspiration for Scott Hintz. The Hintz Motorsports team has committed to a full schedule with the ADRL in 2010.

“We were only able to attend the final National Guard ADRL race of the season in 2009, but we were very impressed with the ADRL organization and really enjoyed ourselves,” the Odessa, Texas-based driver said. “Our team is comprised of three generations of family members and close friends and we feel the ADRL family atmosphere is a perfect fit for us.”