With the recent American Drag Racing League (ADRL) announcement
concerning the addition of Extreme Pro Stock at all 10 National Events,
much buzz is going through the Mountain Motor world. Pete Berner, a
two-time IHRA Pro Stock World Champion and long-time supporter of the
class, is excited for this new racing venue and the opportunities that
Extreme Pro Stock brings.

"The ADRL is a great organization and has already done much for our
sport," says the '08 IHRA Pro Stock World Champ. "Their innovative
approach to competition and fans has set new standards. As the ADRL
continues to grow with the addition of Extreme Pro Stock, I'm excited
for the future of the organization and to be able to be a part of it.
Kenny Nowling has put a lot of work into getting this Extreme Pro Stock
program going and I hope that it gets the support it deserves. Many
thanks go out to him for putting this deal together."

NHRA’s Youth & Education Services Program presented by the U.S.
Army, the first and only program of its kind in the world of
motorsports, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2009 and continues
to inspire and provide career guidance to thousands of high school
students all across the U.S.

Created in 1989 as way to connect education and drag racing, the Y.E.S
Program is a one day event held at 16 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series events each season. It is motorsports’ first and only full-time
program devoted exclusively to educational programming.  The Y.E.S.
Program demonstrates to young men and women the variety of career
opportunities within motorsports, the U.S. Army and the automotive
industry.

The central themes of the Y.E.S. Program are: the need for continued
education; the value of job-specific training; the relevance of
establishing clear, attainable goals; and awareness of the variety of
career options surrounding motorsports.

Mike Edwards Racing has added Central Trailer Sales as an associate
sponsor to the Young Life Pontiac Pro Stock for the 2009 NHRA Full
Throttle season. The newest marketing partner with Edwards will
actively support and help promote the race team as part of the
strategic partnership in their mutual journey for success during the
24-race campaign.

“We are very fortunate to have a company like Central Trailer Sales to
come on board and we will do everything we can to make this partnership
stronger and more valuable for them as we do with all of our marketing
partners,” Edwards said. “We are intensifying our business plan at all
levels, in terms of promoting the team message, working closely with
programs in all the markets, and sponsor support, and this active
approach has helped us build a strong relationship with Tom Wood and
Central Trailer Sales, and we welcome them to our family.

Driving the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge at the NAPA AUTO PARTS National Time Trials in preparation for the opening
of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Pomona, Calif.,
Feb. 5-8, Jack Beckman posted six test laps, with his best a
4.156-second pass at 280.43 mph, set on Saturday. He is No. 8 for the
weekend.

"We're not done. We're going to stay tomorrow," said Beckman. "The
reason we test is that's when you find little things that would bite
you otherwise at a national event where the points are important and
the runs are limited. And we found a couple of things and now we are
sneaking back up on the combo that we had for last year.

Cory McClenathan drove the FRAM Top Fuel dragster to seven passes at
the NAPA AUTO PARTS National Time Trials at Firebird Raceway in
preparation for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series opener
in Pomona, Calif., Feb. 5-8. In test mode and working with an all-new
team, McClenathan's quickest pass of the two days the Don Schumacher
Racing teams tested was a 4.067-second elapsed time at 227.31 mph, good
for No. 10 for the weekend.

"We've been in test mode for the last two weeks straight," said
McClenathan, "and trying things to better DSR as a whole, with all the
cars, Funny Cars included, so it's been about being a team player. And
today we kind of backed up and said, OK, let's just get the car to go
down the track.

The most important aspect working in the favor of veteran tuners Brian
Corradi and Mark Oswald is not their high level of talent; it’s their
knack for being able to adapt to a forever changing curriculum.

The duo has been joined at the proverbial hip, since Mike Ashley brought them together in 2007.

Ashley first began nitro racing in 2005 and Oswald served as his crew
chief. When he joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2006, Corradi was
assigned as his tuner.

Corradi and Oswald joined together in 2007 and their unified effort not
only led Ashley to his first-ever NHRA POWERade Funny Car national
event victory but two others for good measure, including a remarkable
U.S. Nationals victory.

Ashley was essentially a sophomore driver when the two contributed to
his success and a year later they pulled off a national event victory
with freshman driver Melanie Troxel.

Don Garlits couldn't get his 2009 Challenger in time for Pomona, but the drag racing icon didn't have to search for a

Team Owner Mike Ashley Continues Commitment to Church Services at the Drags …

Sunday’s Racers for Christ chapel services will continue in the same
familiar location at NHRA Full Throttle events for 2009, this according
to team owner Mike Ashley, who recently purchased the assets of the
Matco Tools-sponsored team formerly owned by David Powers and later Tim
Buckley.

“The honor and blessing of Sunday morning services will continue,”
Ashley said in a statement posted on the Nitromater message board. “I
have the highest regard and appreciation for the [chaplains, Larry and
Linda] Smiley's and RFC.”

PHOTO GALLERY by Thomas Gaines

If
you don’t think tire shake can have lasting affects, just ask Funny Car
racer Bob Tasca. Tasca was feeling the aftereffects of a tough outing
Friday evening following the first day of the National Time Trials at
Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, AZ.

Bob Tasca III, and crew chief Chris Cunningham Friday afternoon.

“It was an ugly, ugly day out there,” Tasca said. “The track was awful
today, it was way over-glued. I can tell you we made nine runs in Las
Vegas and five were the quickest we had ever been. We made seven in
Palm Beach and they were fast. We shook violently the first two runs
here.”

Tasca said at the outset of the season he planned to make the most of
testing in 2009 because of his new alliance with 2008 championship
runner-up Tim Wilkerson.