While the decision to cut Alcohol Funny Cars from the 2009 Nitro Jam schedule was not an easy one, the IHRA welcomes its alcohol burning floppers back to the fold this weekend at the Rocky Mountain Nationals at Castrol Raceway.

Well over a dozen Alcohol Funny Cars are on hand for this weekend’s
event including one of the greatest in the history of the sport – Rob
Atchison.

The Canadian born wheelman is second all-time on the IHRA charts in
wins (20) and has three championships to his credit all gained
back-to-back-to-back during the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons.

Cathy Belcher isn’t the first female to drive an ADRL Pro Extreme doorslammer but she is the quickest and for now, that niche suits her just fine.

Belcher, of Rantoul, Ill., pilots a former Ray Commisso Camaro in a class where the weak are chewed up and spit out.

Even a DNQ in her first race and an accident in her second, hasn't
discouraged Belcher as she races this weekend at the ADRL Independence
Drags in Topeka, Kan. Belcher was the first alternate with a career
best.

Cathy Belcher and Ken Thomas emerged uninjured from a accident which left both of their cars

CompetitionPlus.com staff photographer Roger Richards captured the full photo sequence of the incident. Click here for the sequence.

sporting quite a bit of cosmetic damage.

Thomas crossed the centerline into Belcher’s lane and the two made contact just past the eighth-mile mark.

“I just got out there on the two-three [shift] and it blew the tire
loose and I got over in the other lane,” Thomas said. “I ended up
getting bumped by the other car but it was totally my fault.”

Belcher said she and Thomas gradually came together during the course of the run.

Some people just seem to be born into certain professions.

That's definitely the case for Rickie Jones.

Jones grew up watching his father Rick Jones race Pro Stock cars and
trucks. Rick Jones also owns RJ Race Cars Inc. and Quarter-Max Chassis
& Racing Components in Galesburg, Ill. RJ Race Cars has been
building doorslammers since 1987 and he was named the Car Craft Chassis
Builder of the Year in 1998 and 2002.

"Racing is in my blood," Rickie said. "I've lived it my entire life. It's all I have known."

In anticipation of this weekend’s River Cree Resort and Casino Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by Paradise RV, one of the largest
drag races in North America, Castrol Raceway and the IHRA teamed up for
a party fit for royalty Thursday evening at the River Cree Resort and
Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

“This is one of the biggest races of the year and we wanted to
celebrate that fact by throwing a huge party for the Edmonton race fans
and for the media,” said Castrol Raceway owner Kimberly Reeves.

Jeff O’Neill, the 2007 IHRA Rookie of the Year, was arrested on drug charges Thursday according to the Indianapolis Star.

The website for the newspaper reported the former Top Fuel driver was
held without bond at the Marion County Jail in Indiana on initial
charges of dealing a controlled substance and possession of drug
paraphernalia.

A rumor posted on the Internet suggests the NHRA is considering or has planned to require race teams to complete a minimum amount of runs in order to receive compensation is false according to a high ranking NHRA official.

Competition Plus spoke to NHRA and Graham Light firmly denied the rumors regarding minimum runs at a national event.

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Tommy Johnson Jr., may be out of a nitro ride at the moment but that doesn’t mean he’s sitting around doing nothing.

Last evening at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Johnson drove
the same A/Fuel Dragster that Bill Evans drove to the semi-finals
during the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.

Johnson, in his one shakedown run, registered a .068 reaction time en route to a 5.60 elapsed time.

It was just five years ago when crew chief Wayne Dupuy and driver
Darrell Russell came to the Sears Craftsman National at Gateway

Roger Richards

International Raceway, just across the river from St. Louis.

The duo was flying high. Not only were they winning races, but they
also were establishing themselves as one of best driver-crew chief
tandems in the Top Fuel dragster division.

"We were on top of the world," recalled Dupuy.

Then, when Russell made a pass during second-round eliminations on June 27, 2004, nothing would ever be the same again.

A fire, triggered by an oil line failure on a machine, caused damage to one of the buildings housing A-1 Performance
Products, a pioneering manufacturer of automatic transmissions & torque converters and long-time NHRA contingency sponsor.