The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series officially kicked off one of
the most anticipated seasons in many years today with a Parade of
Vehicles that passed through downtown Los Angeles.

The parade departed from Gate 17 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona at
11:30 a.m. with Los Angeles County sheriffs providing the escort and
2005 rookie of the year and two-time series runner-up Robert Hight,
driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang, serving as the grand marshal.

"Drag racing is a huge part of the Southern California culture, so what
could be better than a parade through downtown L.A. to celebrate the
start of our 2009 season," Hight said. "This will be my fifth season
driving in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, and it just keeps
getting bigger and better, and this parade is just another example of
that."

The 2009 season begins later in the week, Feb. 5-8, at Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona with the 49th annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA
Winternationals featuring 2008 Driver of the Year Tony Schumacher, 2007
rookie of the year Ashley Force Hood, and the rest of the stars of the
quickest, fastest, and most intense motorsport on the planet.

It almost sounds like a line best spoken by John Cleese in a Monty
Python skit, but it aptly describes everything surrounding Tim
Wilkerson, driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang Funny
Car, as he prepares for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle season: Everything
is exactly the same, except it's all completely different.
 
Wilkerson's marvelous run at the 2008 Funny Car championship was the
most compelling story of the year, and his selection as the "Pro Driver
of the Year" and "Mike Aiello Person of the Year" in on-line voting is
all the illustration one needs to know just how the fan base feels
about the personable driver from central Illinois. After years of
toiling in the underdog role, often overlooked and under-appreciated,
Wilkerson burst onto the scene as something of an overnight sensation,
despite the fact it was his 13th season in the pro ranks. Again, it was
exactly the same, but completely different.
 
By spending much of the '08 season at the top of the charts, before
missing out on the championship on the season's final day, Wilkerson
experienced the pressure and time-consuming commitments that come with
contender status, and those external issues made an even greater impact
due to the fact the LRS pro not only drives his car, but tunes it and
owns it as well. Having been hands-on and in-command since the first
day of his pro career, that was nothing new for Wilkerson, but the
added crush of media and fan interest was palpable.

With
Urs Erbacher, Andy Carter and Leif Andreasson gearing up for
Winternationals action at Pomona, European drag racing is fast becoming
a hot topic. Now a British travel company has a special offer for
followers of the sport interested to see how the Europeans do drag
racing on their home turf.

Grandstand Motor Sports, the UK’s leader in motorsport travel, has
arranged excursions to mainland Europe’s biggest drag race events for
enthusiasts from home and abroad. The Veidec Festival takes place at
Mantorp Park, Sweden, in July, followed in August by the Nitrolymp’x at
Hockenheim, Germany.

Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

When the soon-to-be announced title sponsor of this summer's Gateway
Drags II suggested to ADRL Executive VP of Operations Jessica Alcoke
that they would rather have the National Guard ADRL event at Gateway
International Raceway that will bear their name take place in late
summer rather than its original date, Alcoke did what any
self-respecting company executive would do.

She said, "Yes."

B.R.A.K.E.S., the nonprofit organization founded by drag racer Doug
Herbert that promotes safe and responsible driving, was honored at the
2009 NCMA Industry Awards on Monday, Jan. 26, by receiving the Safety
Innovation Award from the North Carolina Motorsports Association.

The Safety Innovation Award, which was sponsored by the Society of
Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and SME Education Foundation, recognizes
safety products, devices or programs used in motorsports.  B.R.A.K.E.S.
was chosen as the 2009 recipient for the work the foundation has done
to raise awareness about the importance of safe driving, as well as for
the program’s ability to use motorsports to transfer safety to the
streets.

“It was an honor for B.R.A.K.E.S. to win this award,” said Herbert, who
lost his two sons in a tragic car accident on Jan. 26, 2008.  “It has
been exactly a year since I lost Jon and James and everything I do for
B.R.A.K.E.S. is because I want to honor my sons and their memory.  We
are working hard to continue to grow the Teen Pro-Active Driving
School.  I am sure that Jon and James would be proud of this award and
everything that B.R.A.K.E.S. has accomplished.  I could not have done
it without the support of all the B.R.A.K.E.S. board members, my
friends and family.”

On Wednesday, February 4th John Force Racing will be teaming up with
KCXX 103.9 FM for a free fan event at Auto Club Raceway on the Fairplex
grounds at 1 p.m. The X103.9 Full Force Fanfest will feature
appearances by 14-time funny car champion John Force, Ashley Force
Hood, Robert Hight and Mike Neff. All four drivers will sign autographs
for fans and X103.9 FM deejays will be on hand to give away tickets to
the 49th annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals as well as
additional promotional prizes.

At just 38 years of age, Jeg Coughlin Jr. already has experienced lots of things during his drag racing career. Even so, this year's
season-opening 49th annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals marks
something new for the five-time world champ -- the beginning of a quest
to win three straight NHRA titles.

In addition to his Super Gas crown in 1992, Coughlin has won four of
the last nine Pro Stock championships, including back-to-back titles in
2007-2008. (He also won titles in 2000 and 2002). That places the
54-time national event winner in position to become just the fourth Pro
Stock racer in history to capture three championships in a row,
alongside Greg Anderson, Bob Glidden, and Lee Shepherd. Across all four
pro categories, only 12 racers have pulled off a championship
three-peat.

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FEEDBACK FRIDAY - JANUARY 30, 2008

The mere notion of anchoring supercharged, alcohol burning engines
within the confines of a full-bodied doorslammer was a practice
described as volatile, but that didn’t stop a dedicated group of
thrill-seekers from pursuing the rush. Their self-appointed name, the
Wild Bunch, was an accurate description of the image they conveyed. How
else could you explain a group that would dare bolt a blown, alcohol
burning motor into a Chevy Luv Truck, a Nissan 300 ZX or if those
weren’t radical enough, a Jeep CJ-5?

What started out as a group of guys choosing to be different in bracket
racing, quickly evolved into a lucrative match race circuit and the
inspiration for the Top Doorslammer class in Australia. Their finest
hour resulted in the first six-second doorslammer pass in drag racing
history.

Their unpredictable nature made them an immediate hit for the fans in
the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States as well as the rest of the
country. Not only that, their antics also brought forth heaping amounts
of publicity within the various drag racing magazines.