“Austin Coil always keeps me in check.”

That was the answer 14-time Funny Car champion John Force provided when
asked whether his longtime tuner has a more calming effect on him than
the prescribed medicine he takes.

This weekend Force is reunited with his admitted “voice of reason” in
Coil. Just prior to the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis two weeks
ago, Coil was admitted to the hospital suffering from internal
bleeding. He was released over the the weekend, but only after signing
a document for the hospital promising that he wouldn’t attend the race.

Had Coil defied the doctor’s orders and been at the track, the throw
down in the shutdown, the highly publicized war of words with Tony
Pedregon in the O’Reilly Raceway Park shutdown, might not have
escalated to such a high crescendo. At least that’s how Force sees it.

Liam Flanagan, an eight-year-old resident of Williamstown, NJ, designed the winning “Stars and Stripes - ‘Take a Walk in Our Shoes’” paint scheme that will appear on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car during the NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Concord, NC.
 
Ford Customer Service Division’s Funny Car design contest helped raise awareness and $39,542.59 for JDRF and for research for Type 1 diabetes.
 
NHRA Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III has always said he’s just an all American kid driving an all American hot rod.  During this weekend’s NHRA event, his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang will certainly reflect that statement.
 
After six weeks of voting and more than 300 designs submitted, Liam Flanagan, an eight-year-old resident of Williamstown, NJ, was selected as the winning designer in FCSD’s Funny Car design contest to support JDRF.  Flanagan’s winning design will be featured on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang Funny Car during the NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Concord, NC, on September 18-20.

Doug Herbert, NHRA Top Fuel driver, lost his two sons to an automobile
accident in 2008 when his teenage son was speeding with his brother
in the car. Todd Follmer’s teenage son was 16 when he was speeding with
his girlfriend following behind. She lost control of the vehicle she
was driving and lost her life after hitting a tree. Follmer is the CEO
of tiwi.   

As a result, Herbert and Follmer have dedicated themselves to
decreasing fatalities and injuries of teenagers due to automobile
accidents, the leading cause of death among American teenagers:
Herbert, through the formation of the 501(c)(3), non-profit foundation
B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible and Keep Everybody Safe); Follmer through
the development of the tiwi teen driver mentoring system.

Ron Capps was sitting in the P.R.O. meeting, listening to President
Kenny Bernstein explain the NHRA's new point system that would apply to the Countdown.
 
Immediately, the techie Funny Car driver whipped out his cell phone and
excitedly sent a text message to his crew chief, Ed "The Ace" McCulloch.
 
Ace fired back a message of his own.
 
"He sent me some words I can't repeat right now," Capps said with a
laugh. "I think that's what most of the crew chiefs were like. You
know, why, right now, in the middle of season?"
 
But the NAPA Dodge driver tried to reassure him.

The word "dig" has different connotations.
 
Some people picture a shovel and a pile of dirt beside a hole in the
ground. Some might picture a nosey reporter, digging for the latest
news. Others might put a more noble spin on it, picturing archeologists
or construction workers or coal miners or even a hearty pioneer looking
for gold.
 
It's something a volleyball player uses or something a rude person
makes when speaking of someone else. It's what a teenage boy does --
digs into his pocket to find money to race his hot rod. It's also
'50s-era slang, as in Don Prudhomme saying he "digs" Funny Cars.
 
Drag racers use the term "digging deep" almost as often as John Force uses the phrase "Bottom line . . . "
 
But what does that mean, "digging deep"?

Stock and Super Stock competitors in Southern Ca., do not have many
local options to race against each other. The Southern California Drag
Racing Association (SCEDA) will make it easier for them beginning
October 17th and 18th, as they welcome a Stock/ Super Stock combo
category into their successful family-based racing organization.

“We have been thinking about this plan for a while and it is time we
gave these guys and gals a local racing option,” noted Brent Cannon,
SCEDA director of sales, marketing and competition and a successful
drag racer himself who has captured two-NHRA National event Wally’s in
the Super Comp category. “Opening our organization to these dedicated
racers will give them a friendly and affordable place to race and
provide the fans with a more exciting show. There is nothing like
wheels-up launches from these factory hot rods.”

When Bob Bertsch crossed the finish line ahead of Michael Bruno in the
Pro Stock final at last weekend’s Amalie Oil North American Nationals at New England Dragway, it was a moment the 64-year-old from Willis, Mich. will never forget.

It
wasn’t Bertsch’s first final – it wasn’t even his first win – but there
was definitely something sweeter about this win than any of the others
and that, Bertsch says, is why he continues to spend his retirement in
the cockpit of a racecar.

“This one means a lot to me,” Bertsch
said moments after climbing from the Rislone Ford Mustang. “This is my
first real win and maybe now I can start collecting a few more.”

The battles for championship points in the Get Screened America Pro Mod
Challenge presented by ProCare Rx intensifies this weekend as
the series makes its eighth of ten stops, this time at the NHRA
Carolinas Nationals in metro Charlotte, N.C. The fight for first is as
fierce as the battle to make the top eight heading into the final race
at Las Vegas where the Matco Tools Pro Mod Clash will be contested.
 
Twenty drivers will face off this weekend at zMAX Dragway, a track
that's been called the "Bellagio of Drag Strips." It is the first time
the Pro Mod Challenge has visited the venue.
 
Front-runner Burton Auxier saw his once commanding lead drastically cut
by Roger Burgess and Danny Rowe; both are within two round-wins of
first. Mike Castellana, who had been in second place dropped to fourth,
but is still within just a few rounds of the lead.

Designed to compete with today’s supercars, the Jim Wangers Signature
Edition GTO is all-new from the ground up. Constructed on a new
chassis from the Roadster Shop (www.roadstershop.com), and fitted with
a DSE C6 Corvette front suspension, a triangulated rear suspension and
sporting Jim Wangers Signature Wilwood brakes at all four corners, this
car is built to handle the most demanding road courses.

The car is powered by a Butler Performance (www.butler performance.com)
505-CID fuel-injected traditional Pontiac V8 backed by a Viper spec
TR6060 6-speed transmission connected to a 3.73-geared Ford 9-inch
rearend. The Jim Wangers Signature Edition Rally II wheels, by HRE
(www.hrewheels.com) are 19x10-inches up front and 20x12-inches in the
rear.

"It's time," said Mike Knowles, driver of the Knowles
Enterprises/B&J Racing Transmissions ‘63 Corvette Pro Mod. With two
races remaining to qualify for the MATCO Tools $35,000 Pro Mod Clash to
be contested in Las Vegas at the end of October, he is keenly aware
that this weekend's Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge event at the
NHRA Carolinas Nationals is make-or-break time.
 
"We have worked hard all year, and I think we're finally peaking,"
Knowles said. "We have added some technology, and with the help of Mike
Strasberg and Chuck Ford calling the shots, we can definitely make up
ground this weekend."
 
At the Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis over Labor Day,
Knowles qualified strongly at No. 7 with a 5.977 at 240.64 and made a
quarterfinal finish putting him, just 69 points or less than four
round-wins out of the top eight that will qualify for the MATCO Clash.
Twenty points are awarded for each round win.