Pro Modified team owner Paul Trussell admits that he didn’t get as angry as he could have been Saturday evening at the ADRL Hardees Georgia Drags in Valdosta, Ga.

Trussell’s supercharged Camaro was competing in the Pro Extreme division when driver Ed Hoover got out of shape and crossed the centerline on the burnout. Tommy D’Aprile, in the other lane, had time to get out of the throttle to prevent a collision.

Veteran NHRA Safety Safari member Jim Frizzell died April 12 after a brief illness. He was 68.

Frizzell joined the Safety Safari team in themed 1970s and worked with
them for nearly 30 years on a part-time basis, primarily manning
Emergency 1, the starting-line safety vehicle.

Bob Tasca III, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car, will visit Coca-Cola
world headquarters in Atlanta Wednesday, April 15, in advance of his
participation in this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern
Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

For years, Summit Racing Equipment Allstars Program presented by Mr.
Gasket has offered the ultimate shootout experience for racers in the
IHRA’s seven sportsman categories.

Traditionally, the top eight point earners in Top Sportsman, Top
Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod and Hot Rod meet at
the Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway to compete for cash and
trophies.

2009 will see a format change for the Allstars competition, which makes
this the last spring running of the event. Starting this October, the
big race will take place at the World Final at Rockingham. In the
meantime, however, there are prizes to win, scores to settle and
bragging rights to earn, and the Spring Nationals is where it’s all
going to happen.

One year ago Top Fuel pilot Antron Brown left the town of Commerce,
Ga., one Wally heavier—his second since the start of the 2008
season—and just 26 points behind leader Tony Schumacher.

That's pretty impressive considering that Brown was in his first season behind
the wheel of a Top Fuel dragster. Now, one year later, Brown returns to
Commerce to defend his event title at the 29th annual Summit Racing
NHRA Southern Nationals, April 16-19 at Atlanta Dragway.

Though Brown has 24 events and more than 100 passes down the track
under his belt since his Atlanta win one year ago, many similar
circumstances exist that led to his win just one year previous. In
2008, Brown entered the event third in the point standings with one win
in two final round appearances and 10 round wins for the season. This
year Brown heads back to Georgia second in the points, just 18 points
behind leader Schumacher, with one win in two final round appearances
and  11 round wins for the season.

News and Notes from the Auto Trader Easter Thunderball event hosted by Santa Pod Raceway in England. 

This
weekend (April 17-19) nearly 500 of the nation’s best sportsman drag
racers will roll into Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, Calif., for the
fourth annual JEGS NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals. The second of three
JEGS SPORTSnationals events contested each season, the Pacific
SPORTSnationals attracts NHRA Lucas Oil Series competitors from all
over the western United States in nine separate eliminator categories;
Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, and the
very popular Top Sportsman, Top Dragster eliminators. For the first
time ever, the popular Sportsman Motorcycle class will also be included
at this year’s event.
          
The large fields are expected to include past SPORTSnationals winners
including 2008 champs Doug Lambeck (Comp), Mark Faul (Super Stock),
Dave Moreno (Stock), Mike Ferderer (Super Comp), Ed DeStaute (Super
Gas), Mike Blodgett (Super Street), Larry Scarth (Top Sportsman), and
JR Leerkamp (Top Dragster).
   

The
longest-running event on the IHRA schedule is the Spring Nationals,
hosted by North Carolina’s Rockingham Dragway and presented this year
by Advance Auto Parts and Castrol.

“The Rock” has long been the place where records tumble and performance
barriers are smashed. If weather conditions are right, there’s every
reason to believe that it will be more of the same when the Nitro Jam
circus rolls into town the weekend of April 24-26, 2009.

Hot on the heels of the successful season opener at Baton Rouge,
championship points battles will heat up in earnest as race No. 2 of
the 10-race Nitro Jam schedule gets under way on the full 1320-foot
racing surface at Rockingham.

Current professional points leaders are: Bruce Litton (Top Fuel),
Raymond Commisso (Pro Modified) and Jason Collins (Pro Stock). IHRA
records set at Rockingham include Clay Millican’s 4.484-second Top Fuel
elapsed time from 2005 and Frank Gugliotta’s awesome 6.251 Pro Stock
E.T. set during last season’s fall race.

CompetitionPlus.com's European correspondent Roger Gorringe has submitted his coverage of the annual Easter Thunderball event at Santa Pod and we couldn't help by notice a few "oh crap" moments for some of the racers during the event. Gorringe's report will apear later today.

A Super Stock racer featured by CompetitionPlus.com has been sentenced
to nine years following a road rage incident in Columbia, Md.

John Palmer Higgins, who was known as Jay Higgins in the drag racing
community, was sentenced on one count of first-degree assault.