The most prestigious Sportsman race in the world will celebrate its
25th anniversary this year on the weekend of June 5-7 when the invitation-only JEGS Allstars race returns to Chicago's Route 66 Raceway.
 
The prestigious JEGS Allstars race features the top points earners from
the NHRA's seven geographic divisions competing against each other for
big money and divisional bragging rights. Although the fields haven't
been set for this year's race as competitors in Top Alcohol Dragster,
Top Alcohol Funny Car, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas,
and Super Street continue to earn points towards inclusion, organizers
at JEGS High Performance are making sure the 25th anniversary will be
one to remember.

Marc Kinton, an IHRA official and avid CompetitionPlus.com reader, was injured recently at a divisional event. According to the IHRA, Kinton was struck in the face by an errant part from a support vehicle.

Keep up with Marc's situation on CARE PAGES . 

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The West Central Division’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series pulls up to
the starting line this weekend at S.R.C.A. Dragstrip for the first of
six events on tap for the year.  Competitors from eleven categories
will be battling it out during the three day event in hopes of claiming
valuable divisional and national points.

Richard Putz of Earlville, Iowa, claimed the lead position in Top
Alcohol Dragster after Friday’s qualifying pass with a run of 5.607
seconds at 252.52 mph.  The division’s 2007 champ landed just ahead of
Brandon Lewis, Broken Arrow, Okla., sitting in second. Top Alcohol
Funny Car is once again headed by Roger Bateman from Calgary, Manit.,
who is also the reining division champion.  Ontario, Calif., resident
Sean O’Bannon qualifies his ’06 Monte Carlo in the No.2 position of the
four car field.

Frank “The Flying Meatball” Gugliotta (Mt. Airy, Md.) claimed top
honors in Elite Motorsports Pro Stock, taking the provisional “pole”
and Last Man Standing award at the IHRA Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway with a pass of 6.328 at 218.23 mph.

“She
was rocking at ‘The Rock’,” Gugliotta said. “We had her locked in and
had a great run. This is only our second race out and we are just
trying to do the best we can out here.”

Point leader Bruce Litton tops Top Fuel charts

IHRA veteran Rickie Smith holds down top spot in Pro Mod; Gugliotta takes top honors in Pro Stock

Bruce
Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) picked right up where he left off at the
season opener in Baton Rouge with the top run of the night in Top Fuel
during Castrol “Night of Fire” qualifying Friday at the 38th annual
Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway.

Litton laid down a 4.721 E.T. at 290.32 mph to top the provisional Top
Fuel qualifying charts, edging out rookie Del Cox Jr. (Downey, Calif.)
in a head-to-head battle. Cox ran a 4.739 at 312.28 mph, the fastest
speed of the night.

“It was good. We kind of adjusted accordingly based on what everyone
else was doing and Richard made a couple of adjustments there toward
the end and it worked out in our favor,” Litton said. “Being that this
is the first lap, it is hard to guesstimate, but you would rather be
safe than sorry.

 In opening day qualifying at O’Reilly Raceway Park for the NHRA Lucas
Oil Drag Racing Series, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Michael Manners,
Willis, Texas, and Top Alcohol Funny Car pilot Mick Snyder, Demotte,
Ind., took the No. 1 qualifying positions in their classes.

Manners outran the field with a stellar pass of 5.249 seconds at 272.94
mph.  Manners is more than a tenth of a second faster than the rest of
the field, including the No. 2 qualifier and defending National
Champion Bill Reichert of Owosso, Mich., clocking in at 5.405 seconds,
260.41 mph.

Snyder, the former 3-time North Central Division Funny Car Champion
posted a 5.611-second pass at 256.02 mph in this the season opening
event in the division. Andy Bohl and defending champion Bobby Martin
are 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Terre Haute, Ind., racer Tom Stultz grabbed the top spot in the Top
Sportsman class at 6.770 seconds, 204.05 mph.  Not to be out done, Tom
Elliott put his Top Dragster on the pole running 6.255 seconds, 221.02
mph out of Brooks, Ky.

He was the kid seeking autographs. The son of the owner of a Ford
dealership, who would hire race teams to put their cars on display
in
the days leading up to the IHRA events.

He was the kid who dreamed that would day he would be just like Rickie Smith, Ronnie Sox, Roy Hill and  “General” Lee Edwards.

Robert Patrick never wavered in his belief that a day would come when
he would be an IHRA Spring Nationals champion just like them.

Over the years the 38-year old, former IHRA Pro Stock world champion
from Fredericksburg, Va., has never let go of the dreams of his youth.
This weekend as the IHRA drag racing tour heads to the racing hamlet of
Rockingham, N.C., for the 38th annual IHRA Spring Nationals presented
by Advance Auto Parts/Castrol GTX, Patrick's youthful desire still
burns strong.

“I love coming down and racing with Steve Earwood at Rockingham
Dragway,” Patrick said. “I honestly believe the fans are in store for
one of the greatest IHRA Pro Stock events they’ve ever witnessed. I
hope we can win it all. It’s not going to be easy. Winning this race
never is.”

S&S Cycle has acquired certain assets of Crane Cams Inc.  Those
assets include the inventory, intellectual property, and trademarks for
all Crane automotive and motorcycle electronic products and for Crane
motorcycle valve train products.  The intellectual property portion
includes designs, drawings, and cam profiles.  Crane automotive valve
train products are not included in this acquisition.  Crane Cams was
founded in 1953, and like S&S Cycle, founded in 1958, it has become
a respected and iconic brand in the high performance industry.

Tim Stevens Michigan based Top Alcohol Funny Car team will debut their
beautiful ‘Flopper’ on the track this weekend at the Division 3 Lucas
Oil Drag Racing Series event at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis,
Indiana.

They will also be unveiling a very unique sponsorship and fund raising opportunity.

Scott Richmond- President of Michfab, along with partner Craig Chopp
and Jim Simon- President of Tailored Building Systems, are thrilled
with their respective company’s involvement as major sponsors with
Stevens and the NHRA. As such, they have sponsored the car’s unique
paint job. 

It is not the typical car in the NHRA that is focused on sponsor
stickers and logos. Instead, this car will focus on art and “attitude”.
Richmond’s passion for car racing and the vision for his company’s
sponsorship is two fold.

Drag racing is all about speed and trying to be the fastest.

Kevin Martin hopes to take that statement to the next level by trying to be the fastest of all time.

Riding what many consider the most extreme bike on the planet,
Martin will try to set a new world record by being the first jet bike
driver to surpass the 200 mile per hour barrier atop the world famous
Ballistic Eagle Jet Motorcycle at the 38th annual Spring Nationals
April 24-26 at Rockingham Dragway.