Forrest Lucas, John Force and Ashley Force Hood are also featured speakers

Several members of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series community, including President Tom Compton, will be featured prominently over the next two days at the 10th annual Motorsports Marketing Forum presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal.

The two-day event, which is being held at the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, includes eight panels/interviews today and three more tomorrow.

Antron Brown, driver of the Don Schumacher-owned Matco Tools NHRA Full Throttle Series top fuel dragster, will be tonight's featured guest on NHRA Tuesdays on WFO Radio with Joe Castello.

What do you do to prepare a junkyard-purchased classic for drag strip competition?

That is the challenge Tom Lukans of TL Race Cars faces in the second installment of Project White Wagon.

The goal is to turn a 1964 Chevy II Wagon into a competitive SS/E Modified entry complete with a high-winding small block and manually shifted five-speed transmission.

Officials from the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) confirmed that all 572 available booths will be used for the inaugural IMIS show Dec. 2-3 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.

The two-day IMIS trade show offers individuals and companies from all facets of the racing business the chance to interact, share ideas and products, build relationships and attend seminars to improve motorsports business around the world, all while showcasing Indianapolis as the “Racing Capital of the World.”

Bristol Dragway officials, along with SPEED, confirmed the return of the popular drag racing television show, PINKS All Out, to Thunder Valley Oct. 1-2, 2010.

PINKS All Out host Rich Christensen and the SPEED crew will revisit Bristol after a remarkable debut event in 2007. More than 400 racers competed in time trials for the event and the grandstands were packed with spectators from more than 15 states, eager to see one of their favorite TV shows live.

For some, the opportunity to take part in the filming of a nationally broadcast television show is all it takes to entice them to come to the track. Others, however, will visit Bristol simply for the high-speed, “run-what-you-brung” action on the strip. Either way, it is definitely a must-see event.

After seeing what all the excitement was about, many of those curious visitors were transformed into die-hard PINKS fans. That set in motion conversations between officials from both groups to determine how they could make it happen again.

Tommy Johnson Jr. will begin his first day of employment for Don Schumacher Racing on December 1.

Team owner Don Schumacher confirmed this with CompetitionPlus.com today in an interview.

Johnson is slated to drive one of two Top Fuel dragsters destined for the Yas Marina circuit based in Abu Dhabi. The driver of the second car has yet to be determined.

Lee Beard will serve as Johnson’s crew chief.

Melvin Daniels, driving the Ray Barton 68 Hemi Dart, reset his own SS/AH NHRA National Record and once again in Hemi Super Stock competition ran in the 8.20s and over 160 on Saturday, November 28.

Cruz Pedregon is thankful for his time machine.

For a few weekends out of the year, Pedregon, the two-time NHRA Funny Car champion from Brownsburg, Ind., can strap into this time machine and forget about the pressures of signing a major sponsor and the challenges that accompany the overwhelming demand.

Pedregon’s time machine is a throwback to a time when Funny Cars actually resembled the machines they claimed to be.

Pedregon isn’t just a Funny Car driver. He’s a Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car driver and he admits, his 1977 Plymouth Arrow is the escape he’s needed for a long time.

“Wow. What an exciting season. We have really enjoyed it.”
 
Top Dragster driver Tony Positano joined the ranks of the newly-formed Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts in 2009 after competing locally in Top Dragster competition for the past two seasons.
 
The driver and team owner of the Mike Bos Slip Joint Dragster said the series was the right program at the right time for competitors such as him.
 
“This is a fantastic series,” noted Positano. “I’m proud to be a part of the Quick 32 Sportsman Series. It’s what we needed in Ontario.”