For the last five years in a row veteran drag racer Jay Payne has hoisted the Top Alcohol Funny Car champion's trophy in the NHRA's Southeast Division. After this weekend's season-ending Division 2 race at Silver Dollar Raceway, the driver of the FireIce Ford Mustang hopes to do it again.

Payne enters the event 53 points behind current leader Mickey Ferro. To clinch another championship, Payne needs to reach the final round and hope Ferro is knocked out early on race day.

In the first rounds of qualifying at Silver Dollar Raceway, Richmond Hill, Ga., racer  Arthur Leong and Charlie Careccia lead the pole sitters after day one of action.

Hill took the pole in the Super Stock class followed by Bobby Dennis, Shorter, Ala., who is a regular among the top qualifiers in his ’91 Calais.  Careccia, Mars, Hill, N. C., out ran the rest of the Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales Top Dragster field with a 6.714 second lap at 202.33 mph.  Ray Miller sits in the No. 2 spot at 6.714, 200.23 mph.

Pro Street drag racing legend Pat Musi has just taken delivery of a brand new Dodge Stratus from Jerry Bickel Race Cars.

Musi was previously scheduled to race a 1953 Corvette but according to him, gave up on the project when construction delays made it apparent he wouldn't get the car anytime soon.

"I had sponsor obligations so I called Jerry Bickel to build a new car," Musi said.

In one of the most anticipated announcements in recent motorsports history, the International Hot Rod Association and Feld Motorsports has announced its plans to completely overhaul its highly popular Nitro Jam series while also helping revolutionize the world of motorsports entertainment.

From a completely revamped professional format, to a reduction in the number of days spent at the track and an emphasis on all things entertainment, the IHRA is getting a long-awaited makeover that will carry the IHRA into 2010 and beyond.

In a upwardly spiking movement that defies current trends in drag racing participation -- and the economy in general -- officials for the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series are reporting a record number of AA/Funny Cars at this weekends 18th California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway, just north of Bakersfield.

When time trials for the vintage nitro-burning coupes begin on Saturday at 4 pm, as many as thirty-two machines will take to the track to will vie for a mere eight spots, with these quickest contestants participating in Sunday’s final showdown.  Indeed, qualifying for the last race this year in the NHRA Heritage Points Series promises to be ruthless, with a legion of fuel floppers duking it out in a field defined by quality as well as quantity. Among those entered: Heritage Series Points Leader, Garrett Bateman in the stout Plueger & Gyger Mustang; 2009 March Meet champ Bucky Austin and his vintage Northwest Hitter machine;  Kris Krabill in bicycle magnate Gary Turner’s Pedaler; Mark Sanders’ Mr. Explosive Nova, and AA/Funny Car’s mistress of the motorway, Mendy “Nitro Kitty” Fry.  In addition to those stalwarts, former NHRA Funny Car champ Cruz Pedregon will debut his just-finished Joe Pisano ‘77 Arrow tribute funny car.

Former IHRA Pro Stock champion turned NHRA Pro Stock regular Steve Spiess will race the final two events of 2009 with help from Billet Specialties, a company that specializes in custom wheels and hot rod accessories.

According to their website [www.billetspecialties.com], Billet Specialties carries over 600 accessory products and 90 plus wheel styles. Billet Specialties boasts a diverse product line and and one that's growing daily. Billet Specialties has produced wheels, interior, exterior and engine dress up accessories to enthusiasts since 1985.

Allen Johnson’s new Dodge Avenger is at the paint shop and once it emerges, the Pro Stock driver believes they will have a car capable of showcasing their horsepower.

“They plan to unveil it at the SEMA show,” said Johnson. “It’s a different look and I believe it will be a little better than the Stratus.”

Industry leader Lucas Oil Products has assumed title sponsorship of the popular Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, the charity event that pits NASCAR pros against NHRA drivers to raise money for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project.

The fifth annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge presented by Whelen Engineering will be staged Jan. 8-10 at the Olympic course on historic Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y. The brainchild of NASCAR legend Geoff Bodine, the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project is a collaborative effort between Bodine and Chassis Dynamics to make the best bobsleds in the world for U.S. athletes.

NMCA Pro Street racer Troy Coughlin enters this weekend's season-ending Nitto Tire World Finals at Memphis Motorsports Park with a chance to realize a dream that's been dancing through his head for three decades.

The task seems easy enough. All the 45-year-old Coughlin needs to do to secure the first national championship of his illustrious career is qualify his JEGS.com Pontiac GXP for the final event of the National Muscle Car Association's 2009 season.

With just two races remaining in the Pacific Street Car Association’s 2009 season, Randy Walker is rolling into Las Vegas with just one thing on his mind: maintaining his stranglehold on the Hughes Performance Pro Street points standings.

After dominating the category all season, Walker enters the PSCA Mickey Thompson Tires Fall Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a 270-point lead over second place Tim Henry. The lead is nearly insurmountable, but Walker and crew have no plans to ease into the end of the season.