First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
Second annual NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord, the
19th of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. 
Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs
listed below pairings.

Eric Medlen's death has saved another life. This according to Bob Tasca, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Ford Mustang Funny Car.

Ironically, Tasca's violent ride occurred in a fourth round qualifying
match up with John Force, Medlen's car owner at the time of his
catastrophic accident.

“The car was on an awesome run and we were just a click behind John,”
said Tasca as he started to describe the wild ride. “It was dead
straight as an arrow and I am not sure what happened first. I remember
the car smoking the tire and I remember shutting it off. When it gets
out of shape at that point in the race track, it will make some violent
moves. I was compensating but it was like I wasn’t even driving it.

The NHRA continued their inspection of Countdown to 1 finalists in the
Pro Stock Car and Motorcycle divisions on Saturday afternoon. Friday
evening, five Pro Stock drivers and motorcycle riders were forced to
leave their cars and bikes in the care of technical inspectors after
second round qualifying.

The process of impounding the cars and bikes is not without precedent
although Pro Stock low qualifier Mike Edwards said Friday evening in a
press conference that he’d never been subjected to an impound of this
nature.

The NHRA has twice performed inspections without representation, first
in 2007, with the final four Countdown finalists and last year, the top
five points earners were subjected to the scrutiny of the tech
inspectors.

Racing continued today at the NHRA West Central Division Summit Racing
Series Finals at Heartland Park Topeka.  The best bracket racers in the
region have converged on the track vying for individual and team
honors. Competing classes are Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, Motorcycle and
High School.

Saturday’s action pitted the top points earning drivers from each track
against each other in head-to-head competition in the Race of Champions
(ROC).  The squad from Cordova Dragway Park in Illinois had three
racers in the final rounds of the ROC.  They came away with two wins.

More than 600 of the top bracket racers from across NHRA’s North
Central division have come to O’Reilly Raceway Park to race for
individual and team honors at the division’s Summit Racing Series
Division Finals.  Competitors are running in four categories, Super
Pro, Pro, Sportsman and Motorcycle, vying for a share of the cash and
contingency purse.  The division’s High School category will also run
in conjunction with the race.

In the final rounds of qualifying for the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing
Series Cajun Sportsman Challenge it was Brandon Lewis and Steve Harker
taking the No. 1 qualifying positions.  Racers are vying for
championship points as well as a share of the nearly $200,000 purse in
cash and contingency awards.

Lewis, Broken Arrow, Okla., clicked off a 5.250 second run at 274.50
mph in his Top Alcohol Dragster and is followed by Michael Manners,
Willis, Texas, and Darryl Hitchman, Greenville, Texas, in second and
third respectively.  

Defending NHRA South Central Division Top Alcohol Funny Car Champion
Harker of Gainesville, Ga., put his ’06 Monte Carlo funny car on top
with a 5.657 second, 252.76 mph run.  Harker has former NHRA National
Champion Tony Bartone, Long Island, N.Y., right on his heals at 5.668,
253.71 and Chris Foster, Davenport, Iowa, in third at 5.821, 248.29.

Brad Personett remained on top of the Get Screened America Pro Mod
Challenge ladder at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals and advanced to the
second round of eliminations by defeating Kirk Wilmes in round one
action Saturday evening.
 
Personett's stellar 5.872-second pass at 246.89 mph remained the best
of the weekend so far and earned him No. 1 qualifier bragging rights.
In round one, he faced Kirk Wilmes. The rookie from Altus, Oklahoma had
a difficult thrash to make the call for the session due to a damaged
transmission he suffered in the final round of qualifying, but was able
to put his jet-black '68 Firebird together and take the lights.
Personett's Big3 Turbo-powered '68 Camaro had more than enough to
dismiss Wilmes, delivering a consistent 5.955 at 236.34 mph to Wilmes'
6.202 at 230.76.

The top bracket racers in the NHRA West Central Division have gathered
at Heartland Park Topeka for the division’s Summit Racing Series
Finals.  The three-day event kicked off today with time trials for the
more than 500 racers in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman and
Motorcycle/Snowmobile as well as a High School category who are
representing 20 tracks.  Racers are competing for team and individual
honors and a share of the nearly $16,000 purse.

Saturday’s action will include the Race of Champions, a race within a
race where the top points-earning drivers from each track square off in
head-to-head competition.

The top bracket racers in the NHRA North Central division have gathered
at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis for the division’s Summit
Racing Series Finals.  The three-day event kicked off today with time
trials for the more than 600 racers in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman and
Motorcycle as well as a High School category who are representing 25
tracks.  Racers are competing for team and individual honors and a
share of the roughly $70,000 purse.

Today’s action included the VP Racing Fuels Race of Champions, a race
within a race where the top points-earning drivers from each track
square off in head-to-head competition.  Art Reed of Kokomo, Ind.,
racing for Bunker Hill Dragstrip, scored the win in Super Pro, ousting
Scott McQueen, Tyner, Ky., running for London Dragway, in the final
round.  In Pro, Timmy Elliott, Portland, Ky., representing Beech Bend
Raceway Park, wheeled his ’69 Camaro to the win over Amelia, Ohio’s
Kevin Bishop who was driving his ’69 Camaro for Tri-State Dragway.  The
win in the Sportsman category went to Pacemakers Dragway Park racer
Nick Hastings of Shelby, Ohio, who ran his ’88 Mustang to victory over
Gary Blankenship of Yorktown, Ind., in his ’69 Camaro.  Blankenship was
racing for Muncie Dragway.  Chad Isley rode his ’73 Kawasaki to the win
in the Motorcycle/Snowmobile category.  The Charleston, Ill., racer
running for Coles County Dragway defeated Bob Lohr of Staunton, Ill.,
racing for Gateway Int’l Raceway.

In the first rounds of qualifying at No Problem Raceway and the Cajun
Sportsman Challenge NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Top Alcohol
Dragster driver Michael Manners, Willis, Texas, and Top Alcohol Funny
Car pilot Tony Bartone, Long Island City, N.Y. took the No. 1
qualifying positions in their classes.

Manners outran the field with a pass of 5.356 seconds at 269.56 mph to
lead the class by more than a tenth of a second.  Manners is looking
for his first win of the year having three final round appearances in
his last three outings.  Darryl Hitchman, Greenville, Texas, and
Brandon Pierce, Moore, Okla., are 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Bartone made a 5.672-second, 252.76 mph run to take the pole in his ’09
Mustang and is followed by Gainesville, Ga., racer Steve Harker. 
Bartone is currently fifth in the national point’s standings while
Harker sits in third and is leading the South Central Division points.