The Top Alcohol semi-finals made for tense moments as Marty Nothstein
and Alexis DeJoria both tested the new containment system at during the
NHRA SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J.

David Napp, track operator, has heard all the rumors and while there does exist an inner frustration, Napp

David Napp has been around Raceway Park long enough that he's learned to brush off the rumors of his track's demise.

laughs off the talk that Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is closing.

Napp tries to keep track of the tales in his mind, even though he knows
the day will come when he will have to write down those tales, just to
keep an official record of all the rumors.

“We've heard neighbors are shutting it down, it's sold, it's for sale,
it's for rent, it's up for grabs, the town's shutting it down; we've
heard it all,” Napp said, smiling and shaking his head.

“We've heard it probably for the last 25 years nonstop and we're still here and we're not going anywhere.” 

In the final rounds of qualifying for this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil
Drag Racing Series it was Kevin Wayman and defending event champion
Doug Gordon qualifying on top in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol
Funny Car.        

Wayman of South Jordan, Utah, laid down a lap of 5.582 seconds at
255.48 mph to lead the dragster field.  Johnny Ahten, Saugus, Calif.,
sits in second at 5.640, 240.80 and Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., is
third.

Gordon of Paso Robles, Calif., drove his ’06 Monte Carlo to a 5.905
second lap at 245.70 mph followed by Sean O’Bannon, Ontario, Calif., at
5.953, 246.45.  O’Bannon is undefeated in the NHRA Pacific Division
picking up wins in each of the first two events of the year.

In the final rounds of qualifying at Route 66 Raceway and this
weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series it was Bill Reichert and
Mick Snyder leading the way. 

Defending Lucas Oil National Champion Reichert covered the quarter mile
strip in 5.282 seconds at 269.89 mph for the No. 1 spot in Top Alcohol
Dragster.  Ken Perry fell just shy of the top spot with a run of 5.292
seconds, 264.70 mph.

Ray Drew, Hales Corner, Wis., made a great pass midway through the
final Top Alcohol Funny Car qualifying session to jump to the No. 1
spot at 5.598 seconds, 258.62 mph only to have Demotte, Ind., racer
Mick Snyder run an even better pass at 5.558 seconds, 257.97 mph
dropping Drew to No. 2.  Drew will face off against John Bojec in round
one of Sunday’s eliminations while Snyder will run No. 8 qualifier
Bobby Martin.

Pairings are set for Sunday’s eliminations at Spokane County Raceway. 
With qualifying complete, Top Alcohol Dragster pilot Shawn Cowie of
Delta, B.C., and Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Ken Webster from Red
Deer, Alb., grabbed the No.1 spots at the inaugural Lucas Oil Drag
Racing Series event. Over 3,000 eager drag racing fanatics made their
way to the renovated track to enjoy side by side racing at over 265 mph.

Cowie posted a 5.465-second, 265.22 mph pass in qualifying to place him
just ahead of Joey Severance from Spanaway, Wash. Cowie is piecing
together a dominating year by winning out-of-division races in Phoenix
and Las Vegas to go along with his victory at Mission Raceway Park last
month. Because of the odd number of cars in competition, he will have a
bye run in the first round of eliminations Sunday.

Webster will be looking for his first win of the season going into
Sunday, qualified at the top spot.  His run of 5.741 seconds at 252.05
mph catapulted him to the top of the field and in front of current
divisional points leader Brian Hough of Junction City, Ore.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
IHRA Sooner Nationals at Tulsa Raceway Park, the fourth of 10 events in
the 2009 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in
qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Saturday’s
pristine evening conditions set up some solid laps and a few records as
Bruce Litton (Top Fuel), Taylor Lastor (Pro Modified) and John
Montecalvo (Pro Stock) topped qualifying at the IHRA Sooner Nationals
Saturday at Tulsa Raceway Park.

And what it was for Top Fuel ace Bruce Litton.

With many of the drivers struggling to find grip under the hot
afternoon sun, Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) finally had a breakthrough
under the cool evening conditions with a 4.737 second pass at 310.13
miles per hour to top Top Fuel qualifying and take home the Last Man
Standing award Saturday night at the Sooner Nationals.

It is safe to say that the last two races have not been what Elite Motorsports Pro Stock driver John Montecalvo had hoped for.

After making the finals at the season opening Mardi Gras Nationals,
Montecalvo has since lost in the first round at two straight IHRA
events including a disheartening first round loss as the No. 1
qualifier six weeks ago in Rockingham. He also lost in the first round
two weeks ago at Dallas.

“Both losses were very unfortunate. One was mechanical problems, the
other was driver problems. We really need to have a breakout race this
weekend to get back on track” Montecalvo said. “We need to make our
move now. We are going to have to get rid of some of these mechanical
gremlins, but the team is doing a good job and I am confident we can
get this turned around.”

After winning his first race as the driver of "Nitro" Nick Boninfante's
"U.S. Male" nitro nostalgia Funny Car last month at Englishtown, N.J.,
driver Phil Burkart won again Saturday night at New England Dragway's
"Funny Cars Under The Stars" setting both ends of the nostalgia Funny
Car track record in the process.

In the world of professional drag racing, three day marathons are considered the norm.

But this weekend, the IHRA is taking a bit of a different approach.

This weekend’s Sooner Nationals will feature a rare two-day show with
three professional qualifying rounds packed into Saturday’s action
before eliminations begin on Sunday.

While the two-day format gives drivers a chance to make a few more runs
during the heat of the afternoon, simulating Sunday’s final rounds, it
also gives crews a little less turnaround between appearances.