Tim Wilkerson’s son Daniel is racing for the second time this season. Earlier in the season, the second-generation racer qualified  in Topeka where he met up with his father's teammate, Bob Tasca III, in the first round.

The team admitted that Daniel let Tasca leave first and take the win light in order to, “stay out of potential trouble, out of the way of the championship hunt, and out of any drama.”

That was the thought-process nearly five months ago before anyone gave a second thought to the Countdown to 1. That was also four months before a controversial semi-final race where it was alleged that John Force manipulated the outcome of the match to allow teammate Robert Hight to clinch the final berth in the playoffs.

Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon took advantage of NHRA’s new qualifying bonus point system and earned the maximum 12 points for the second consecutive race during two days of qualifying at the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

Robert Hight, Mike Edwards and Hector Arana also claimed No. 1 qualifying positions in their categories leading into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which will be televised on ESPN2 HD and ESPN2 (7-10 p.m. ET).The race is the third of six events in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.

Great weather and eager competition allowed previous track records to fall in the two days of qualifying at Memphis Motorsports Park. Dixon, Antron Brown, Hight, Edwards and Greg Anderson all set new track records at Memphis Motorsports Park during qualifying.

In Top Fuel, Al-Anabi Racing’s Dixon earned his seventh No. 1 of the season, 38th of his career and third consecutive in the playoffs, with his 3.810 at 318.99 mph performance. Per the new rule, the top three qualifiers in each pro category earn 3, 2, and 1 points respectively during each qualifying session. Dixon led all four sessions of qualifying earning him the maximum of 12 points.

Just like car owners, crew chiefs and drivers, no one likes change even if it is for the better.

The new CompetitionPlus.com is intended to speed up and expand your experience as you keep up with the latest drag racing news.

While we feel our new format is easier to navigate, we’re not so naive that we believe each and every reader is web savvy. The least little change can upset the apple cart.

To help you, the reader, we have assembled these quick tips on how to navigate the site.

Johnny Gray confirmed on Saturday during the NHRA Midsouth Nationals that he will race in 2010 with a two-car Pontiac team powered with an in-house engine program based in Denver, NC. This will end a one-year engine lease program with Allen Johnson.

The second car will be driven by his son Shane Gray. They younger Gray presently competes in NHRA’s Competition eliminator.

“It was an economic decision along with a performance decision,” Gray said. “I feel like with the economy in the shape it’s in and the teams that are falling out, and my economics where they are, I need to either make this work or not. The only way I can do that is to jump out there and put my own engine program in … rent motors to try and get some of my money back ... if I am to continue to do this because there is no sponsorship at this point.

John Force and Ashley Force Hood spent some time on Saturday morning at Memphis Motorsports Park talking about a wide range of topics with a Memphis area girl scout troop and their fathers. The Castrol backed Funny Car duo fielded questions ranging from how fast their Ford Mustangs cover the race track to what classes in school can relate to their racing careers.

“It might seem surprising but for me writing and speech classes have really come in handy. I am working on writing my On the Run column for National Dragster, our weekly magazine, and I do a lot of talking to groups like this so those classes were really important to me,” said Force Hood a Cal State Fullerton graduate.

“I remember when I was a Girl Scout my mom was the troop leader. We worked on getting the badges but I don’t remember ever going to a drag race. I think it is great that you can come out here with your dads and have a fun day,” added Force Hood.

For about 6.8-seconds, former NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Andrew Hines believed he was in “La-La Land” and he guided his Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson V-Rod to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position at the NHRA Midsouth Nationals in Memphis, Tenn.

His 6.899 second elapsed time at 195.85 miles per hour pushed his bike to the top of the qualifying list ahead of Michael Philips on Friday evening.

“This is like a playhouse out here,” said Hines as he reflected on the day’s qualifying. “The Pro Stock Bike and Pro Stock car guys love conditions like this. There’s a good barometer and nice cool and dry air.”

Memphis brings a welcomed change for the Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson rider who admits his team has struggled lately with humidity at the last few events on the tour.

Mike Edwards is back at it again. During first day qualifying in Memphis, the soft-spoken Pro Stock driver from Coweta, Ok, was gobbling up those bonus qualifying points at breakneck speed.

He grabbed six of them during provisional qualifying for the NHRA Midsouth Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Robert Hight, during his struggles earlier in the season, was exposed to something he hadn’t seen before – a crew chief that second-guessed his decisions.

There was no second guessing tonight as Hight’s crew chief, Jimmy Prock, guided their car to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position and dual track records with a 4.074 elapsed time at 310.70 miles hour during first day qualifying at the NHRA Midsouth Nationals in Memphis, Tenn.  

“It’s so cool to watch Jimmy because he has some confidence,” said Hight, who picked up six bonus qualifying points for leading both Friday qualifying sessions. “When we were messed up most of the season, he would go back to the [electronic] box 100 times. You could just tell he was second guessing himself.

Appearing as if they were just tired of waiting through one oil down after another, the Alan Johnson Racing/Al-Anabi Top Fuel team towed their dragster back to the pits as the Safety Safari labored to groom the racing surface back to snuff after a third consecutive Top Fuel fire during second round qualifying in the NHRA Midsouth Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.

The return to the pits was a strategic move. The team swapped out a set of scuffed [broken-in] tires for a set of sticker tires. It was a calculated move that paid off handsomely.

“The team just made a call to do that,” Dixon said. “I don’t know that that was the difference. The car certain made a good run, and fast.”

One of the best rivalries didn’t transpire on the track. It took place on the Manufacturer’s Midway.

O’Reilly Auto Parts, the event sponsor and major NHRA supporter, drew exception to the placement of the Don Schumacher Racing souvenir trailer placed in clear view of the starting line and potentially the television cameras.