:::::: News ::::::

BLACK: GM LETTER NO SURPRISE

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Ken
Black received a Fed-Ex letter yesterday and the contents came as no
surprise to the NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock team owner.

Inside was a notice from GM which stated they were officially cutting
ties with his KB Racing, LLC as well as with Cagnazzi Racing, Pedregon Racing and Kurt Johnson.

Black’s team consists of former world champions Greg Anderson and Jason Line.

“I knew it was coming, I was forewarned,” Black told
CompetitionPlus.com on Wednesday. “That’s why they [GM] filed
bankruptcy … to get rid of all of this stuff.”

ALASKAN RACER GETS CHANCE

Of all the sports across the globe, there is perhaps none as diverse as the world of motorsports.
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It is not uncommon to see drivers in IHRA competition come from
countries such as the United States, England, Canada – even the tiny
island of Aruba – but one place you don’t often associate with racing
is the often forgot state of Alaska.

Big in area but small in fan base, Alaska is not usually known for its drag racing.

Jay Childs hopes to change that.

HAGAN'S NEW SCHEME FOR DENVER

NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year contender Matt Hagan will be seeing red this weekend, as Don Schumacher Racing introduces a bright-red hagan.jpgdesign
on the shelor.com Dodge Funny Car he drives at the Mopar Mile-High
Nationals in Morrison, Colo. The scheme will also feature Gates Belts
and Hose prominently on the rear wing panel to show the team's
appreciation of the Denver-based company's longtime support of DSR in
the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

MIKE BOS RACING.COM EVENT PROVIDES FINAL TUNE-UP FOR JUNIOR DRAGSTER EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Several Junior Dragster competitors arrived in Thunder Valley last
weekend to take advantage of extra track time during the Mike Bos
Racing.com Jr. Dragster Nationals. A number of drivers celebrated
Independence Day in Winner’s Circle, while all racers gained extra
passes over those who were not in attendance.

The exciting new Thunder Valley 330’ was designed to pit the fastest
racers against each other for bragging rights. The event came down to a
battle between T.J. Tindle of Santa Rosa, Fla. and Evan Wilson of
Kokomo, Ind.

Tindle used a stellar .009 reaction time against his opponent’s .047
R.T. Tindle also completed his jaunt to the 330’ mark in 4.321 seconds,
compared to Wilson’s 4.352 elapsed time.

LYNCH CLAIMS $50,000 TOP PRIZE AT ULTIMATE 64 SHOOTOUT

The fourth annual Ultimate 64 Shootout presented by JEGS Mail Order
came to a close Sunday May 31 at Edgewater Sports Park. The event,
which hosts a marathon weekend full of big dollar competition was
headlined by the Ultimate 64 Box Shootout, in which 64 elite
competitors squared off for a $50,000 winners purse. The entry list
read like a “Who’s who” of sportsman racing, featuring top competitors
from across the nation. At day’s end, the big winner was a man who is
no stranger to $50,000 paychecks, Tennessee based racer Jason Lynch.

Prior to the event Lynch was one of just four competitors who made
claimed multiple $50,000 victories in his accomplished career (Peter
Biondo, Scotty Richardson, and Gary Williams have each won a pair of
$50,000 events as well); having won the main event in both the Big
Bucks Bonanza at Farmington Dragway and the World Super Pro Challenge
in Stanton, MI back in 2006. At day’s end, Lynch became the first and
only competitor to score his third $50,0 00 triumph when he bested
fellow professional drag racer Troy Williams, Jr. in the final round.
Semi-finalists in the main event were Ken Sullivan and Jeff Hefler,
while Gary May, Kenny Underwood, Luke Bogacki, and Mike Brumfield fell
in the quarterfinal round.

THIRD ANNUAL ERIC MEDLEN NITRO NIGHT CHARITY DINNER ON JULY 23 IN SAN FRANCISCO

Infineon Raceway will honor the memory of the late Eric Medlen with the
3rd annual Eric Medlen Nitro Night Charity Dinner at the legendary Fior
d’Italia Restaurant in San Francisco.

Medlen, a native of Oakdale in the San Joaquin Valley, won the Funny
Car championship at Infineon Raceway, his home track, in 2006. He
succumbed in March, 2007, to injuries sustained from a testing
accident. Medlen was a member of John Force Racing.

Funny Car drivers Ashley Force Hood (Castrol GTX® Mustang) and Jack
Beckman (Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge) will attend, as will
Top Fuel driver Morgan Lucas (GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster).

CAM MANUFACTURER ERSON PASSES

Sig Erson, a noted and respected camshaft manufacturer for two decades, died at home in Okeechobee, Fla., July 6. He was 79.

Erson, an Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War, worked for
Iskenderian Cams in Los Angeles after the war, serving as shop foreman
until opening Sig Erson Racing Cams in 1963. Erson was a founding
member of SEMA (Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, now
Specialty Equipment Market Association).

Erson was an avid drag racer, motorcycle trials participant, and
outstanding off-road racer, competing in the Baja 500 and 1000 many
times. He also was a great sport fisherman and private pilot.

SCHUMACHER SEEKS MOMENTUM

This time, last season, Tony Schumacher became the first NHRA
professional driver to clinch a berth in the NHRA Countdown to the

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Roger Richards Photo

Championship.

Schumacher won’t clinch this weekend at the NHRA Mile High Nationals in
Denver, Co., and while the performance-driven champion isn’t enthused
about the inability to repeat the phenomenal feat, he’d be more than
satisfied with securing a measure of momentum.

“It’s all about building momentum,” Schumacher said. “If you can have
success the next three weekends in Denver, Seattle and Sonoma (Calif.),
then you’re setting yourself up in a nice way for the Countdown to One
(playoffs).”

FORCE HOOD: TESTING LIMITS ADDED TO EVERYONE'S STRUGGLES

Ashley Force Hood believes the NHRA’s moratorium on testing has led to
struggles and frustrations, at times, for John Force Racing.

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Roger Richards

Instead
of their traditional Monday test sessions following virtually every
NHRA event in the past, those test runs transpire during national event.

“I think it's added to everyone's struggle and frustration that every
lap, even not full run, half track passes, and launches, everything
helps in testing not just for the team but for the drivers just to gain
more experience and track time,” Force Hood said. “But you know, that's
part of the game, and you know, you go along with the rules and
everybody is in the same boat.  So it is frustrating though because
they always love to have that option of having to have testing and they
have always really utilized it.”

A CONFIDENT KRAWIEC

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Roger Richards

He was the long shot last year.

This year Eddie Krawiec shoots long.

Krawiec, rider for the Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Pro Stock
Motorcycle team, won the 2008 NHRA world championship ala Rob Bruins
style. He attained the feat exactly like the 1979 Top Fuel champion by
capturing the crown without having won a national event title during
the season.

He’s in more favorable territory this season when compared to his
status this time last year. Krawiec has won two national event titles
in five consecutive final rounds and holds a significant point lead as
the 24-race tour hits the mid-point.

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