First Fulltime Season for Kalitta Motorsports Headed in Right Direction …

Jeff
Arend knew from the moment he was appointed as the temporary
replacement driver for the late Scott Kalitta, the pressure of
performing had the potential to be overwhelming. These were big shoes
to fill and for Arend, accepting the challenge required his willingness
to go forward in the same nature as the driver he was succeeding – wide
open forward.

That kind of an attitude will always triumph with or without the win
light illuminating after a run; at least that’s how Arend sees it.

Jim Davis smiles when reminded that he was a part of something great.
This summer will mark the 45th anniversary of the day he and Monk
Reynolds made the calculated decision to upgrade their weekly racing
newspaper to a full-fledged, newsstand magazine focusing on doorslammer
racing on the east coast and beyond.

Until that time, their racing newspaper was seasonal, with Davis
working part-time and Reynolds full-time through the racing season. Reynolds would seek an outside job to fill the void until racing season
began again.

Reynolds suggested they do a year-round publication, Davis agreed, and
thus was born one of the greatest hardcore drag racing magazines to
ever grace the newsstands.

“At the time (Monk) made the suggestion, the Super Stockers were real
big on the east coast,” Davis recalled. “Most of the magazines were
based in California and covered what was going on out there. There were
a few New York-based publications but they mimicked what the west coast
magazines were doing.”

A
score of Pro Modified teams have migrated to Valdosta, Ga., for a few
days of testing and shaking down combinations. Thursday was the first
what is expected to be three days of preparation for the 2009 season.
Among those in attendance are Jim Halsey with his new outlaw nitrous
Camaro, Joe Baker driving Mike Ashley's new supercharged Camaro, as
well as a score of well known outlaw and conventional Pro Modifieds.

Longtime mountain motor Pro Stock racer Jason Collins fired off an early testing shot Friday morning in Valdosta, Ga.

Collins drove his Ford Mustang to a 6.268, 222.77, which is one hundredth and one mile per hour off of the current record held by Frank Gugliotta.

His incrementals included a .958 - 60' - 2.664 330' and 4.062, 177.11 eighth-mile.

Collins confirmed the car is running in legal IHRA trim with minimal changes since last season.

ONE RACE ADDED, ANOTHER REMOVED FROM 2009 NHRA HOT ROD HERITAGE RACING SERIES SCHEDULE

One race has been added and another removed from the 2009 NHRA Hot Rod
Heritage Racing Series schedule, it was announced today by NHRA
officials.

The Southern California Shootout event that was tentatively scheduled
for Sept. 11-13 at Auto Club Dragway at Fontana has been cancelled due
to noise ordinance issues. NHRA and track officials wanted to notify
racers of the change before the season starts so teams can adjust their
travel schedules accordingly. The April 3-5 Nostalgia Sportsman
Shootout event at Auto Club Dragway at Fontana will continue to run as
scheduled.

In another adjustment to the 2009 schedule, a second event at
Sacramento Raceway has been added to the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing
Series schedule, keeping the series total at eight.

In a joint statement Nick Boninfante, owner of Boninfante Performance
Clutch Parts and Frank Slocum, Vice President of Sales & Marketing
of Raybestos Powertrain announced today that the rumor circulating on
the internet about Raybestos getting out of the performance clutch
business is untrue.

"Due to the economic downturn Raybestos has, in fact, has closed down
some sections of their manufacturing facilities but the company will
continue to build sintered discs manufactured at our plant in
Crawfordsville, Ind. for many years to come," Slocum said. "There is no
shortage and we're currently shipping product out the door every day so
teams don't have to worry about getting the parts they need to race. 
Consolidation is a way of life in the automotive industries these
days."

Officials from both the National Guard and the American Drag Racing League took part in the formal unveiling of the two-car 2009
National Guard ADRL drag racing team with drivers Joshua Hernandez and
2006 ADRL Rookie of the Year Travis Swearingen at ADRL headquarters in
O'Fallon.
 
Joining Hernandez, the five-time ADRL national event winner and his red
'57 Chevy on the National Guard team for 2009 is the 26-year-old
Swearingen, whose '41 Willys has been a mainstay of National Guard ADRL
Pro Extreme competition.

Who said you can't visit home?

Larry Nance, former NBA star
turned drag racer, will return to his basketball roots this weekend at
the NBA All-Star Gala in Phoenix as a judge for the popular Sprite Slam
Dunk Contest.
 
Nance is no novice to the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest having won the
first-ever Slam Dunk in Denver in 1984, defeating “Dr. J,” Julius
Erving, in the final round. Now 25-years later, he returns to Phoenix,
where he began his professional basketball career.
 
“I’m honored that the NBA thought enough of me to have me as judge,”
said Nance. “The event has changed a lot since I won. The players are
doing things with the ball that I never thought of doing and probably
couldn’t do if I had thought of them. It’s going to be fun.”

Four-time and reigning NHRA Pro Stock world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr.
will now be supported in part by R+L Carriers, a National leader in the
LTL transportation industry with over 40 years of dedicated service to
their customers.

"The synergy between our two companies is amazing," Coughlin said.
"We're both family-owned business that started in Ohio back in the
early 1960s. We're definitely kindred spirits on many levels.