A simple repeat of last year is on Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s
wish list as he arrives at Maple Grove Raceway for this weekend's 25th annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals.

One year ago, the five-time world champion came into Pennsylvania's
Dutch Country and won the race, spring-boarding his way into the NHRA
playoffs where he won his second Pro Stock title in a row and fourth
overall. He's also the '92 Super Gas world champion.

Last year's Reading final was the first of four down the stretch that
put Coughlin out of reach in the championship chase, making the
intimate facility in the rolling hills an hour outside of Philadelphia
one of his favorite tracks.

Mike Janis might have won the ADRL Gateway Drags in St. Louis, but the
Pro Extreme racer admits the triumph could have been better. His son and crew chief Mike Janis Jr., agrees with that assessment.

“Don’t get me wrong; getting our second win was fantastic. It’s just
that we struggled that weekend with the same troubles that we have had
all year. It’s no secret we’ve been putting band-aids on our issues all
season trying to compete. Thanks to some hard work from the guys at Ram
Clutches this coming race is looking better for us,” said crew chief
Mike Janis Jr.

Asked to recall some of his most memorable moments at Maple Grove Raceway, Clay Millican responded immediately.

“I know I usually don’t remember what we’ve done at tracks over the
years,” he said, “but the last time I raced there, I went to the
semifinals and lost to Tony Schumacher by seven-thousandths of a
second.”

When was that?   In 2008, after Millican was forced to sit out most of
the year before his solid, late-season Top Fuel debut with new team
owners Mark and Lauren Pickens and MPE Motorsports.

There’s no question he and the Hope4Sudan/Motorvation Top Fuel crew would be thrilled with a repeat performance on Sunday.

Fans of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in the state of Indiana
will have the opportunity to participate in a special discount offer
for admission to the 55th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by
Lucas Oil, Sept. 2-7 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

Beginning Aug. 18, up to 155 participating Indiana McDonald’s
restaurants will feature commemorative cups with the image of NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series driver Ashley Force Hood.  Besides becoming
“must-have” collector items, the cups will provide a $7 discount for
any adult general admission ticket on any day of the world’s most
prestigious drag race, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas
Oil. Fans must present the cup to the O’Reilly Raceway Park at
Indianapolis box office to obtain their ticket discount.

Tommy D’Aprile expected to have a 1970 ½ Camaro during the 2009 season.
What he didn’t expect was to race the new ride this weekend during the
ADRL Ohio Drags in Columbus, Ohio.

The new Camaro has been pressed into service after the Mel Bush
Motorsports 1962 Bel-Air suffered structural damage during the recently
completed ADRL Gateway Drags in St. Louis. A broken rear suspension
bracket tore from the rear housing causing the major damage.

Kenny Koretsky’s expanded Nitro Fish team resumes NHRA Full Throttle
Series competition at his home track of Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa., Aug. 20-23.

The apparel company’s multi-hued logos will be on his Pro Stock Pontiac
GXP, driven by Dave Northrop; Tony Pedregon’s series-leading Impala
Funny Car; Matt Smith’s Don Schumacher Racing Suzuki; and a 2005 G
Super Modified Chevy Cavalier that Kyle Koretsky – Kenny’s youngest son
– will drive in his Competition Eliminator debut.

Kenny Koretsky, who also answers to Captain Chaos, was proud of Kyle’s
performance last week when he earned his Comp Eliminator license at
Virginia Motorsports Park near Richmond.  “I’m real proud of ‘Kid
Chaos’,” he said.  “I was impressed with how well he did in his first
runs in the car.”

With Maple Grove Raceway celebrating its 25th year with the Toyo Tires
Nationals this month, it’s appropriate that two of the NHRA’s legendary
drivers will be immortalized at the track’s Walk of Fame.
 
Kenny Bernstein and John Force are part of the six-member class of 2009
that will have their names inscribed on bricks and displayed
permanently along the Alfred S. Stauffer Memorial Walkway, which is
located behind the pit side stands in the Manufacturers Midway.
 
Also being inducted is another NHRA legend, track announcer Bob Frey,
along with Top Alcohol Dragster king Frank Manzo, retired Funny Car
driver Joe Jacono, and local engine builder Lee Crupi.
 
Bernstein was already a Maple Grove veteran when the nationals arrived
in 1985. After that, he won three times, once in Funny Car (1988) and
twice in Top Fuel (1992 and 1996). It’s not surprising that he’s only
one of two drivers – the other being Gary Scelzi – who has won season
championships in both nitro classes.

The skies over Brainerd Int'l Raceway were a clear beautiful blue
Monday morning, the day after the running of the Lucas Oil NHRA
Nationals. Yet, storm clouds were brewing.

When the NHRA announced in January they would limit the Top Fuel and
Funny Car teams to four test sessions throughout the season the
statement was clear.

The story, posted on January 21, 2009 opens with the following, “In
an ongoing effort to assist in curtailing escalating costs associated
with the operation of Professional nitromethane-category vehicles (Top
Fuel and Funny Car), NHRA has implemented the following testing
limitations for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.
Unlimited testing for Top Fuel and Funny Car teams will be permitted
until the 2009 season opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Feb. 5. At
that point, and during the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
season (Feb. 5 to Nov. 15), Professional nitromethane teams will be
limited to a maximum of four one-day test sessions. This policy applies to both the team and driver.” (we bolded these words)

When you qualify fifth and the rain pours for two days, it provides the ultimate opportunity for
a driver to lay low and remain out of the media’s cross-hairs seeking
comment about their days from hell leading into the national event.

That’s kind of the approach Tony Pedregon took this weekend when it
came to discussing his split with the only crew chief he’s worked with
since leaving John Force Racing to field his own team.

The plan worked like a charm for Pedregon except for one key thing.
When you are faced with this kind of adversity, racing with a temporary
tuner and win the race against the odds, instead of hanging out in the
hauler, you must stand in a room with the media.

Pedregon faced the music, elated about his win in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd Int'l Raceway.