IHRA has announced that Lend America will be the Official Mortgage Company of the IHRA.

Owned by drag racer Mike Ashley, the company has long had a major
presence in the sport and plans on continuing to be a big part of the
drag racing community well into the future.

 “Lend America is no stranger to the IHRA and we are thrilled to be
working together again. Our mission has been the same for years,
promote affordable home ownership solutions and outstanding service to
our clients,” Ashley said.

As a company that has been involved with drag racing for many years, it
is very exciting to have Lend American join the IHRA Motorsports Team.

NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock world champ Jeg Coughlin, two-time 2009 Top Fuel event runner-up Cory McClenathan, Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals Top Fuel champ Doug Kalitta, and Tommy Johnson Jr.

John Force Racing, headquartered in Yorba Linda, Calif., will be
expanding its tradition of giving back to the community beginning April
25th when the first of seven John Force Cruise Night Car Shows will be
held. Participants and spectators at the John Force Cruise Night Car
Shows are being encouraged to bring a can of food that will be donated
to the Orange County Food Bank. For each can donated a raffle ticket
will be distributed good for a chance to win a 52” Sanyo Flat Screen
TV. If participants bring one can of food they get one ticket if they
bring twenty cans of food they get twenty tickets or chances to win.
The raffle will be held on Halloween at the final John Force Cruise
Night Car Show of the season.

“In December we have built up a tradition of giving toys to kids in
need with the John Force Holiday Car Show that benefits the California
Highway Patrol’s “CHiP’s for Kids” program. During these tough economic
times we felt that we needed to do something for our community right
now, and tying in with our fans at the John Force Cruise Night Car
Shows just seemed like a perfect fit. Our goal is to collect as many
cans of food as we can, and help make an impact on the community. We
are asking everyone to get involved whether they are a participant or a
spectator,” said Craig Hoelzel, John Force Racing – Director of Special
Promotions & Car Show Manager.

Dave Kanners, who partnered with Richard Maskin to campaign the American Motors Hornet X Pro Stock car from 1973 to 1976, died Friday, March 27, after a 4.5-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife, Sue.

The trio of NHRA teams who participated in the USBC Open Championships Thursday at the Cashman
Center may not have challenged for the top score among all of the
17,200 teams that will compete in the marathon five-month tournament,
however, for bragging rights in the pit area, there was an exciting
battle, and as is typical in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing, there was
a close finish.

The NHRA Floppers, led by the tandem of Auto Club Ford Mustang driver
Robert Hight and Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Solara driver Del Worsham,
squeezed out the victory among the three NHRA teams, posting a team
total of 2,180. The NHRA Holeshots posted a late third game rally
behind the smooth-rolling Jeg Coughlin, but came up a few pins short
with an overall total of 2,154. Shawn Langdon paced the third-place
NHRA Eliminators (1,979), and notched an overall high score of 528
among the 15 drivers who participated.

In the world of sports, there is perhaps nothing more entertaining than the sport of drag racing. And in the world of drag racing, there is perhaps no one more entertaining than Tommy Gray.

Recognizing from the very beginning that drag racing is, above all
else, a form of entertainment, Gray has turned that understanding into
a long and illustrious career behind the wheel of the wildly
entertaining and over-the-top Pro Mod vehicle known the world over
simply as the Undertaker.

Sporting wild paint schemes with an elaborate show to boot – a show
that has at times included crew members dressed in Halloween costumes,
fireworks and hearses – Gray has been able to make a name for himself
in a world where drivers simply aren’t that well known.

South Georgia Motorsports Park will host the NHRA Southeast division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, April 3-5.  The
race is the fourth of six in the region and will feature drivers in
eight categories, including 250 mph Top Alcohol Dragster and Top
Alcohol Funny Car, vying for points leading to divisional and national
championships.  The division's Davis Golf Carts Top
Sportsman Series and Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales Top Dragster Series
will also be run in conjunction with the event.

In the battle for the division's Top Alcohol Funny Car crown, Norcross, Ga., racer Mark Billington is tied with Mickey Ferro of Stamford, Conn.  At the two races where the Alcohol categories have been contested, Bradenton (Fla.) Motorsports Park and Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway, Billington has two runner-up finishes.  Ferro scored the win in Bradenton and went to the semis in Gainesville.  Reigning division champion Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif.,

is just 11 points off the pace.  The California native lost in the first round in Bradenton but got the win over Billington in Gainesville.       

Bill Evans of Miramar, Fla., is leading the championship charge in Top Alcohol Dragster after making a final-round appearance in Bradenton and going to the semifinals

in Gainesville.  But Robin Samsel, Marion, Ind., is a scant 21 points behind Evans with two semifinal-round showings.

The NHRA South Central division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series season will kick off at Texas Motorplex, April 3-5.  The
race is the first of six in the region and will feature drivers in
eight categories, including 250 mph Top Alcohol Dragster and Top
Alcohol Funny Car, vying for points leading to divisional and national
championships.  The division's Sunset RaceCraft Top
Sportsman Series, TCI Comp Cams Top Dragster Series and NHRA Sportsman
Motorcycle Series presented by Harley Davidson will also be run in
conjunction with the event.

Reigning division champions in the eight Lucas Oil Series
categories, as well as the division's additional classes, are expected
to be on hand at the Motorplex to defend their titles.

Star Racing will add another Pro Stock Motorcycle class to their regular lineup at Frank Hawley’s Drag
Racing School in Gainesville, FL.  The class is scheduled for April 23
-24 and features all the thrills 170 miles per hour in seven seconds
can deliver on two wheels.

The only professionally run Pro Stock Motorcycle course in the world,
class size is limited to eight students to allow for the ultimate
hands-on experience.  The two-day adventure includes classroom
instruction covering safety, an introduction to the motorcycles, their
controls and basic tuning. 

The only thing missing from Mike Edwards 2009 resume to this point is an NHRA victory. Behind the wheel of his team's Pontiac GXP, he has started this year's campaign almost like a pre-season script every racer hopes for.
 
In the first four stops on the NHRA tour, Edwards has earned a
runner-up finish, back-to-back No. 1 qualifiers, and in Houston reached
the semifinals while recording the fastest speed in NHRA history and
becoming the first driver to eclipse the 212 mph barrier.