After rain affected most of the weekend at Maple Grove Raceway, racers of the NMCA caught a break Sunday at the Seventh Annual

Joe
Dunne was able to beat both Vinny Budano and Troy Coughlin in Pro
Street action. It was Dunne’s first NMCA race behind the wheel of his
new Bickle-built, Musi-powered Camaro.

Kooks Custom Headers NMCA Muscle Car Nationals.

With Friday washed out entirely and Saturday’s action forced to be
contested on the eighth-mile due to residual moisture seeping up from
the ground onto track surface, it’s any wonder racers and fans alike we
happy to be greeted by fantastic weather conditions on Sunday.

The poor track conditions forced NMCA officials to shorten Saturday’s
qualifying to the eighth-mile (a first for the organization) offering a
rare glimpse into how these cars perform to half-track. With the top
half of the track dry on Sunday, the race returned to the regular
quarter-mile format.

Representatives
from the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series performed the
prestigious task of ringing The Opening Bell at the New York Stock
Exchange Wednesday morning, June 10.

More than 20 NHRA sponsors and/or partners who are listed on the New
York Stock Exchange were invited by the NYSE to take part in the event,
which serves as a kickoff for NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series,
which will be hosting the 40th annual United Association NHRA
SuperNationals June 11-14 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in
Englishtown, N.J.  The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series remains
the only major motorsport to host a race in the New York Area, the
nation's No. 1 DMA.

NHRA President Tom Compton was joined in ringing The Opening Bell by
Coca-Cola North America Senior Vice President, Integrated Marketing
Beatriz Perez, Coca-Cola North America Director of Motorsports
Marketing Ben Reiling, and George Pyne, President of IMG's Sports and
Entertainment Group.

Returning to the NHRA SuperNationals this weekend at Old Bridge Township Raceway in Englishtown, N.J., will be
a bittersweet time for Jack Beckman, driver of the Valvoline/Mail
Terminal Services Dodge Funny Car in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series. Last year at this event, Beckman was in the "water box"
preparing to perform a burnout before his final attempt to qualify
when, on the track in front of him, Scott Kalitta lost his life in a
tragic accident.

It was Beckman's last chance to qualify for the event and he failed to
do so. He returned home to California the next day with a heavy heart.

Defending NHRA SuperNationals champion Tony Schumacher is not sure how he’ll react when he first arrives in Englishtown.

“For sure, it’s going to be tough for everyone in the NHRA family,”
said the six-time world champion. “It’s hard to believe, but it’s
already been a year since we lost (Funny Car driver) Scott Kalitta.”

It was at Raceway Park last year when Kalitta was killed in a Saturday
qualifying crash. In response to the incident, the NHRA changed the
race distance for the Funny Car and Top Fuel classes from the
traditional quarter-mile to the 1,000-foot mark.

It's been a year and still the wound is open and sore.

It was at Englishtown last year when the racing world lost a great
driver, a great champion, a great husband and father, and just a great
all around person – Scott Kalitta.

Now it's time to go back.

There may be only one man alive who can truly feel the depth of the
pain from that fateful day in Englishtown, N.J. – Connie Kalitta,
Scott's 71 year old father and drag racing legend. Losing a son is
tough on anyone; losing that son to a sport that has given and now
taken so much can be devastating. Still, the “Bounty Hunter” soldiers
on. He does what he knows to do and that is go racing.

Starting this month, CompetitionPlus.com readers will be treated to
classic photos of Hall of Famer photographer Steve Reyes as he

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presents his Reyes on Tour column.

Once a month Reyes will select and comment on a dozen photos of which
he will tell stories from personal experience related to the snapshot.

“I am excited about this opportunity,” said Reyes, who recently
attended the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. “I really
like being associated with this team because Bobby Bennett and the team
at CompetitionPlus.com are passionate about the sport. It makes me feel
good to know they are as excited about the sport today as I was back
then traveling the country shooting photos and covering the drags.”

These days, it seems like professional athletes are all chasing greed and glory.

Fortunately, there are exceptions. There are those like legendary Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Frank "Ace" Manzo.

Last Sunday at the United Association NHRA Route 66 Nationals in
Joliet, Ill., Manzo captured his 80th NHRA national event win, but he
remains humble.

"It was good to get a win, but this was just another win for me," said
Manzo, who is from Morganville, N.J. "The competition keeps getting
better and it's really hard to dominate. I just keep working hard each
week so I can keep up with the competition."

Get Screened America, the sponsor of the NHRA's Pro Mod series, will
test to see just how much the Pro Mod action really raises a fan's blood pressure, and will also offer healthscreening
tests that include blood glucose testing, body mass index tests, eye
vision exams, a skin cancer scan to scan faces for potential damage
under the skin, and a special health risk assessment kiosk where fans
can register basic health information and qualify to win a 'Wii' and
'Wii Fit.'

Freightliner Trucks will be featured on the Dodge Funny Car that rookie
Matt Hagan will drive for Don Schumacher Racing this weekend at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J., the 11th round of 24 of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Freightliner Trucks, a division of Daimler Trucks North America LLC,
has been a DSR associate sponsor for five years and DSR has used
Freightliner tractors since 2004. The team currently counts eight
Freightliner tractors among its fleet

Normally, Kenny Poppell rides motorcycles for a living as a regular in
the American Motorcyclist Association Dragbike Series.  Sunday at 
Rockingham Dragway, the Jesup, Ga., resident proved that the addition
of a couple more wheels presents no additional challenge.

Driving competitive four-wheel ATVs for the first time, Poppell
qualified No. 1 in three different classes, won two titles and was
runner-up for a third in the inaugural Spring Pro ATV Warz.