The Castrol GTX Ford Shelby Mustang driven by Ashley Force Hood was filled with happy hamsters through two rounds of qualifying for the Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park on Friday.

With near perfect weather conditions, Force Hood's co-crew chiefs, Dean Antonelli and Ron Douglas, swung for the fences in both sessions to collect the maximum six bonus qualifying points. From her perspective Force Hood let's Antonelli and Douglas worry about the setup, she just worries about holding on tight and keeping the wheels pointed in the right direction.

Although the day started out cold and rainy, once the storm passed it was time to race at the NHRA South Central Division Summit Racing Series Finals at Texas Motorplex.  The top bracket racers in the division have converged on the track to vie for individual and team honors and a share of the purse worth nearly $30,000 as well as an opportunity to run for a national championship against the winners from NHRA’s other six divisions at the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., in November.  The national champions in each of the four classes will get a winner-take-all $5,000 payday.

The 2009 NMCA Muscle Car Nationals tour comes to a close next weekend with the running of the 8th Annual Nitto Tire Word Finals at Memphis Motorsports Park, the last race of the season for the NMCA Edelbrock Drag Racing Series combined with the running of the 3rd Annual GM Performance Parts LSX Shootout.  

Many drivers will attempt to grab class championships or earn a spot among the top ten racers who will be recognized at the NMCA awards ceremony in Orlando this December in each of the 11 NMCA Eliminators.  

Ashley Force Hood solidified her status as the Funny Car points leader with a 4.094-second pass at 307.79 mph to secure the provisional pole on the first day of qualifying at the NHRA Virginia Nationals.

The other provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 22nd of 24 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series were Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock).

The NHRA Virginia Nationals is the fourth race in NHRA’s six-race playoff, the Countdown to 1. The playoff concludes with races in Las Vegas (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) and Pomona, Calif. (Nov. 12-15).

The racing forecast for Virginia Motorsports Park was fast, and the drivers in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge definitely proved the prognosticators right. In two rounds of qualifying on Friday, the top nine cars crushed the five-second zone with Rick Stivers leading the way at a blistering 5.906 at 242.32 mph. Kirk Kuhns currently sits at No. 16 with a 6.092.
 

Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the Fourth annual Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, 22nd of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.  Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

The Richmond stop is an intriguing one on the tour for Mike Edwards. In the past, it seemingly is one of the fastest Pro Stock tracks on the tour. He's hoping forecasted cool conditions will work in his favor.
 
"If the conditions are right, Virginia Motorsports Park will let the Pro Stock field light up the scoreboard with some big numbers," Edwards said of this weekend's NHRA Virginia Nationals. "Going in we know the entire field will be able to make good runs at any moment, so we have to make every time we let out the clutch count and try to be near the top."

The drag racing media community has lost a good friend.

Dragracecentral.com/FastNews reporter Darryl Jackman passed away Wednesday evening.

Many of you may know the name or know the person only from his reporting on Drag Race Central, especially with the nostalgia racing competition coverage.

Gina Marcum, sister of the Marcum Brothers, Ronnie and Randy, has organized the Marcum Brothers Foundation, a 501-C 3 Non-Profit Organization in honor of her brothers, and designed to assist racing families in need.

Randy, one half of the racing brothers, passed away in 2005 following complications with diabetes.

Ronnie, who beat cancer in 2006, was killed in a tragic pit accident at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, Ca., in August.

Two of drag racing's longest running streaks is in jeopardy with three races left on the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Championship Drag Racing Series.

Fourteen-time Funny Car champion John Force has won 21 race rounds this season, but hasn't appeared in a final since June 1, 2008.
 
Force holds the marks for consecutive seasons with at least one final round appearance (24) and successive seasons with at least one tour victory (22). Even though he is the only Funny Car driver in the Countdown who has not appeared in at least one final this season, Force hasn't given up on extending his records -- or on winning the championship.