Doug Herbert and Ray Evernham have announced the launch of www.lsrproject.com ,
the website dedicated to the Herbert-Evernham Land Speed Record
Project.  The site is designed to give fans information about the
project as well as updates on the progress of the car itself.

“There has been a lot of interest in the car we’re building, so we
wanted to have a site where people can go to check it out,” said
Herbert, who began work on the car in 2008 as a project with his
father, Chet Herbert, who passed away in April 2009.  “My dad was
involved with land speed cars for many years and I’ve got a lot of
respect for the sport of land racing and the guys that do it.  He was
really excited about the car.  Even though he won’t be there with us to
see it, I still can’t wait to get out to Bonneville and run this car. 
It was a project I was doing with my dad, now it’s something I’m doing
for him.”

Top Fuel pilot Brandon Bernstein, Funny Car driver Jack Beckman and Pro
Stock Motorcycle world champion Eddie Krawiec will attend this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600, as special guests of NHRA’s series sponsor, Full Throttle Energy Drink and The Coca-Cola Company.

The drivers will make a guest appearance on the Coca-Cola Stage at
Speed Street, participate in an autograph session and conduct a fan
meet-and-greet on Saturday, May 23, as part of Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s
Speed Street in downtown Charlotte.   In addition, the three will
participate in the pre-race driver’s meeting prior to the 50th running
of the Coca-Cola 600, followed by a visit to the media center.

Veteran motorsports journalists and longtime members of the NHRA press corps, Susan Wade and Will Lester,
were named top winners today in the Aflac Motorsports Journalism Awards
of Excellence in honor of Russ Catlin, an annual contest that
recognizes outstanding coverage in major auto racing since 1985. The
announcement was made today in Concord, N.C. at Lowe's Motor Speedway
as part of the Coca-Cola 600 festivities.

The awards are among the most coveted in motorsports journalism.
Reporters from USA Today, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated and the
Washington Post, among others, have been past winners.

Typically, the drivers are the stars of the Nitro Jam professional drag racing series.

In a little over a week, however, it is the track that is going to take center stage.

Dallas Raceway and its streets of concrete will provide the backdrop
for the third leg of the 2009 Nitro Jam tour as the world’s best
drivers descend on Crandall, Texas next week for the Amalie Oil Texas
Nationals May 29-31 at the track known in racing circles simply as the
“Concrete Palace.”

It is a dream that is years in the making for track owner Kenny Barnes,
who wanted to create one of the most modern, top-of-the-line facilities
in drag racing.

Shannon Jenkins will return to the familiar confines of his Al Anabi
Awesome Motorsports nitrous Pro Modified after taking a brief hiatus to
serve exclusively as crew chief.

Jenkins a multi-time Pro Modified champion will drive at the ADRL
Quarter-Max Memphis Drags this weekend. He drove earlier this season at
the ADRL Dragpalooza V in Houston, Tex.

He’s excited for the opportunity to drive this weekend.

The ADRL is expected to announce a change on Friday afternoon moving their Independence Drags national event from Radford, Va., to Topeka, Kan.

ADRL President Kenny Nowling is contractually bound to remain silent on the issue, but reportedly the event will also carry a new title sponsor.

"Nitro Nick" Boninfante, owner of the U.S. Male nostalgia nitro Funny
Car, announced today that he's selected journeyman Funny Car driver, Phil Burkhart, to drive the U.S. Male for the 2009 season.
 
Boninfante, who has already booked seven match races for the U.S. Male
this year and is expecting to add at least four more dates to the
schedule, needed a driver he could count on to get the car down the
track and Burkhart was the obvious choice.
 
Burkhart, who has four NHRA Funny Car wins during his career, has
driven for Del Worsham, Paul Smith and most recently was the choice to
fill in for multi-time NHRA Funny Car champ John Force after his
serious accident in Dallas in 2007.  Burkhart jumped in the seat and he
drove Force's car to the finals of the season ending NHRA World Finals
at Pomona, Calif. where he lost to team Force driver Robert Height in
the final round.

Daniel Wilkerson, the 21-year-old son of NHRA Funny Car star Tim
Wilkerson, will make his National Hot Rod Association

professional
debut at the upcoming O'Reilly Summer Nationals, May 29-31, at
Heartland Park Topeka.  The younger Wilkerson earned his nitro Funny
Car license in 2007, was the No. 1 qualifier and runner-up at his
first, and only, IHRA event in Milan, Mich. in May of '08, and also
defeated Ashley Force in an all second-generation final round at the
popular Norwalk Raceway "Night Under Fire" match race last year, when
he posted an e.t. of 4.173 seconds at more than 297 mph.  In addition,
he has successfully competed as a sportsman racer in the NHRA Top
Alcohol Funny Car class since 2006, winning the Division 3 TAFC
championship in '07.

Wilkerson will drive a second Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car in
Topeka, and will compete with his own crew, with additional help from
his father and the LRS Shelby Mustang team.  While it will be his NHRA
national event debut, Wilkerson is not planning to make all of the
allotted qualifying runs on Friday and Saturday, as his father
explained.

"It just seems like the right time to get Daniel out there and get his
feet wet in the big leagues, so we're going to take it one step at a
time and not overwhelm him or any of the guys on his team," the senior
Wilkerson said.  "Right now, the plan is to make one qualifying pass a
day, to make sure he and his guys are buttoned-up and ready for each
lap.  We're not trying to stun the world, we just see this as a great
time to get him out there and make his debut.

Tommy Gray and the Undertaker Team set a new Pro Mod record at Maryland
International Raceway last weekend at The Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod
Association running a record setting 5.90, 243mph.

"We
are so thrilled with Our Vanishing Point Race Car and our Jan Cen power
plant," Gray said. "We have run 2 NEOPMA events and been to the final
in both. With a record setting crowd waiting for the final round the
rain came and unfortunately the race was canceled.

Jamie Stoneman takes commanding TNT Super Series points lead at Toronto Motorsports Park

Jamie
Stoneman ruled the field at the Joe's Transmission TNT Super Series
events this past weekend at Toronto Motorsports Park (TMP).  A regular
in TNT Super Series competition, the Cheektowaga, New York racer found
his way to the winner's circle in both Saturday and Sunday's events
presented by Rosehill Auction House.

"I can't believe it," said Jamie in the TMP Winner's Circle.  "Two
weeks ago, the cab, engine and transmission weren't even in the
chassis.  We thrashed to get the truck ready for the season opener last
week and got a runner-up finish.  Here we are winning the next two in a
row.  Awesome!"  The 555 cid big block Chevy-powered 1993 S10 qualified
third Saturday, first on Sunday and then busted up the field all
weekend long.