Harris was the low qualifier in rain-shortened Mad Dawg event. Eliminations to be run on Sunday

Three
rounds of Mad Dawg qualifying at Mooresville Dragway was successfully
completed before rains halted the competition in Mooresville, N.C.

Bill Reichert and Mickey Ferro both picked up big wins this weekend for
the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Maple Grove Raceway.

Reichert, of Owosso, Mich., ran the quickest pass of the event in the
final round against John Finke of Selkirk, N.Y., with a 5.310 second,
270.70 mph run.  Reichert also took out the No. 1 qualifier Mike Kosky,
Cuddy, Pa., in round 2 with a 5.323, 271.19 mph pass.

Ferro, Stamford, Conn., grabbed the holeshot and held on to beat
reigning National and Northeast Division Funny Car champion Frank Manzo
running 5.650 second, 256.45 mph.  Manzo had the quicker time at 5.638
seconds but Ferro’s reaction time of 0.020 seconds gave him nearly
four-hundredths of a second lead.  Ferro out ran Marty Nothstein of
Orefield, Pa., in his semi-final match up while Manzo took out Marc
White of Glendale Heights, Ill., in his semi-finals run.

Charlie Greco remained on top in qualifying for the Comp Eliminator
class out of Berwyn, Pa., in his ’06 GTO while John Benoit and Frank
Zeffiro also held on to the top spots in Top Sportsman and Top Dragster
respectively.  Benoit of Montpelier, Vt., drove his ’57 Bel Air to a
lap of 6.490 seconds at 213.10 mph and Zeffiro, Winchester Center,
Conn., clocked in at 6.334, 223.62.

The
National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) came up a little
short in a race with Mother Nature this evening at Memphis Motorsports
Park (MMP), as light rain began falling just as the semi-final rounds
were about to be run at the Quarter-Max Memphis Drags II.

In a
hastily convened meeting with all National Guard ADRL competitors left
in contention, Director of Race Operations Quick Vandiver announced all
semi-finals and final rounds for the Memphis event will now be held
during Friday night’s qualifying session at the next National Guard
ADRL event, June 5-6, at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI.

Round-by-round results from the ADRL Quarter-Max Memphis Drags,
at Memphis Motorsports Park, the third of 10 events in the ADRL
National Guard Drag Racing Series:

The fur is flying. Despite an official announcement by the ADRL, Motor
Mile Speedway owner David Hagan, has confirmed the ADRL has notified
him they will not run as scheduled on July 4th.

Hagan isn't about to roll over and watch his date be transferred to Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas.

According to Hagan, a series of letters have gone back and forth
between the parties involved, one from the ADRL alleging a breach of
contract for providing an unsafe drag racing facility and one in return
from Hagan, reminding the series they have a year remaining on their
contract.

Hagan contends he has complied with all previous requests from the
ADRL, however this latest move, one he deems as unprofessional, leaves
him no option other than the courts. With the Fourth of July less than
45 days away, there is no chance Hagan can find a substitute event.
And, in his eyes, there is absolutely no reason to even be put put in
the position of having to look.

Teammates Roger Burgess and Raymond Commisso have torn up the
competition in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by
ProCare Rx so far this season, scoring a win for Burgess in St. Louis
and a runner-up for Commisso in Bristol, Tenn. The pair, under the
watchful eyes of legendary tuner and driver Al Billes, has succeeded in
becoming a force to be reckoned with and in setting numerous personal
and class-best speeds and times.

Following what was to be a “one-off” appearance of the Ron Capps-driven Adaptive One Brakes Dodge Funny Car body at Bristol Dragway
last week, NAPA AUTO PARTS has opted to run the body one more time at
this weekend’s NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, the
ninth round of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

“It’s a cool design representing a great product,” said Capps, the
class points leader and winner of three of the first eight national
events of the season. “And we’d like nothing better than to put it in
the winner’s circle in Topeka.”

Journeyman Funny Car driver Phil Burkart, Jr. hopped into the cockpit
of Nick Boninfante's "U.S. Male" nostalgia nitro Funny Car at a
test
session Thursday afternoon at Maple Grove (Pa.) Dragway and after an
early shut-off check out pass he cranked out the quickest and fastest
run the car has ever made, a 4.843 at 243.99 mph.
 
Crew Chief, Nicky Boninfante, Jr., who tunes the Kalitta Motorsports
DHL Funny Car on the NHRA Full Throttle circuit, was ecstatic about the
results and predicts that the car will run a lot quicker and faster at
the car's first public appearance this year at the 34th Annual "Night
Of Thrills" next Saturday night at Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.

Five-time drag racing champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. was the first of
several guest speakers at this year's appropriately named HOBY Grand
Prix Ohio South Circuit leadership conference at Denison University in
Granville, Ohio. Coughlin spoke Thursday to an eager group of 300
top-flight high school students on the importance of teamwork,
communication, honesty, and integrity and how these attributes can
relate to their ultimate success in life.

"We kicked off their conference in style," Coughlin said. "We started
with a great video of fast-paced NHRA action and believe me, that got
everyone's attention. As we all know, the sound and fury of NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing has quite an affect on people."

Founded in 1958 by old-line Hollywood movie star Hugh O'Brian of Wyatt
Earp fame, HOBY’s mission is to inspire a global community of young
people to a life dedicated to leadership, service, and innovation to
the benefit of all mankind.

In the opening day of racing at Brainerd Int’l Raceway’s Thunder at the
Lakes event, a round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Dan
Kracht of Gretna, Neb., set the pace in Top Alcohol Dragster while Des
Moines, Iowa’s Vern Moats heads up the Top Alcohol Funny Car
contingent.  St. Cloud racer Pat Nahan is No. 1 in Comp
Eliminator.         

Kracht blasted the field with a 5.395-second, 256.80 mph pass.  The No.
2 qualifier, Ed Schmeeckle of Gothenburg, Neb., ran 5.465 seconds at
261.88 mph.

Moats, a veteran racer wheeling his ’08 Mustang, laid down a
5.720-second lap at 254.14 mph.  Kirk Williams, Glenwood, Iowa, is in
the second qualifying spot with a 5.758-second, 248.25 mph pass.  Bruce
Carlson of Prior Lake, Minn., is qualified No. 4.