Sometimes when a wild horse throws you the best medicine is to saddle up and give it another try.

Two weeks after crashing Raymond Commisso’s Pro Modified, Troxel was behind the wheel again and making more test runs.

The nitro racer turned Pro Modified test pilot made four runs on the
Monday following the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals and while she didn’t
drive the car under power to the finish line, she’s been busy becoming
acclimated with the nuances of fast doorslammer racing.

Troxel has run just past the 330 foot mark and each time lifted.

Bristol Dragway officials inducted one of the more colorful nitro Funny Car drivers into their most revered circle of recognition.

Dale Pulde, whose exploits behind the wheel of the legendary War Eagle Funny Car made him a legend, was recognized as the newest inductee into the Legends of Thunder Valley.

He was the only inductee in 2009.

“I was thrilled,” Pulde said. “This has been one of my favorite tracks since I was a kid. When you’re honored with something like this, it’s like the icing on the cake.”

Pulde joins an illustrious group of members including Bruton Smith, Wally Parks, Larry Carrier, Rickie Smith, Sox & Martin and Don Garlits.

The Brownsburg Motorsport Network will host the third annual Brownsburg
Motorsports Open House Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Numerous NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing teams will take part in the
event and offer fans a behind-the-scenes view of the race shops, the
chance to interact with team members, and more.

Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio has become
one of the most popular stops on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series. Summit Racing Equipment is thanking loyal fans with a Fan
Appreciation Discount for Friday, June 26, at the Summit Racing
Equipment NHRA Nationals.
      
The Summit Racing Equipment Fan Appreciation Discount allows race fans
to buy Friday reserved seat tickets, normally priced at $42, for just
$25 when purchased before June 15. The Friday ticket entitles
spectators to a full day of exciting NHRA drag racing, two rounds of
special evening professional qualifying, a spectacular fireworks show,
and NHRA’s famous up-close pit access to the race teams.

VP Racing Fuels has introduced its newest fuel – VP Sportsman.
“Recognizing that the race engines of many sportsman competitors
require somewhat lower octane ratings than what is provided by VP’s C12
and many of our other specialty blends, VP Sportsman will be a more
cost effective solution for many bracket racers and competitors in
other forms of motorsports,” said Steve Burns, VP’s Director-Research
& Development.
 
“A leaded, nonoxygenated fuel with a motor octane of 107, VP Sportsman
will offer better detonation protection than “standard” 110 octane
fuels, for a comparable price,” Burns added. “It will generate more
power than standard 110s as well, so it leaves nothing on the table in
terms of performance while having a smaller impact on the budget.
Besides drag racing, VP Sportsman will have application in circle
track, road racing and powersports – virtually anything that moves.”

Tony Pedregon Racing will host a Locks of Love charity auction June 27 during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk.
Pedregon Racing and many other NHRA race teams will be donating racing
memorabilia for auction, all of the proceeds of which will go to the
Locks of Love Foundation, as well as contributing funds directly to the
foundation.

Locks of Love is a nonprofit organization that provides the
highest-quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children
with medical hair loss, such as from autoimmune conditions, severe
burns, and radiation treatments. The children who receive these
hairpieces have lost more than their hair; they suffer from a loss of
self.

 
Mike
Ashley, a three-time NHRA Funny Car winner and owner of Antron Brown's
Matco Tools dragster, will return to professional competition this
season Ashley announced today. The 2007 U.S. Nationals winner will
field a second MAR Top Fuel dragster to team with Brown and the Matco
Tools crew at the final four races on the 2009 NHRA schedule.

Ashley, who clocked the fastest Funny Car speed in NHRA history at
334.32 mph (Las Vegas 1 2007), will compete at the Memphis, Richmond,
Las Vegas 2 and Pomona 2 races. He also will race a second MAR dragster
on a part-time basis during the 2010 NHRA season. The dragster will fly
the colors of Lend America. Chuck Ford and Rob Wendland will serve as
co-crew chiefs on the Lend America dragster teaming with MAR's current
tuning duo of Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald who have tuned Antron Brown
to two Top Fuel wins this season and a second-place ranking.

Bob Tasca III talks with CompetitionPlus.com's Stan Creekmore following his testing fire on Monday afternoon in Bristol. Tenn.

Funny
Car driver Bob Tasca III described a Monday afternoon testing fire at
Bristol Dragway as one of the worst he’s had in his short Funny Car
career.

The veteran driver was uninjured and emerged from the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Cobra with more questions than answers.

“I really don’t know what went wrong,” Tasca said, when asked about the fire.

“It wasn’t that bad,” he continued. “It was hot enough where it got
hotter and hotter around my feet. It was pretty intense inside of the
car. We had a malfunction in the clutch can area.

The NHRA’s nitro spec testing opened on Monday afternoon at Bristol. The test(s) are data gathering efforts which may “slow the nitro cars” a bit and facilitate a return to quarter-mile racing.

It was previously reported that Tim Wilkerson would drive the test car, however it was  Tim's son, Daniel, who made the first lap. The second generation Wilkerson earned his nitro license last season and in his debut race drove to a runner-up finish at the IHRA Motor City Nationals in Milan, Mi.

Driver quotables you will likely only hear at Bristol. These were said
over the P.A. during the recently completed NHRA Thunder Valley
Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.