Eliminations are underway for the second annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories Showdown, a competition which places sixteen of drag racing's personalities head-to-head in storytelling competition. Over the next four days, you will be presented with the first round strories of each respective contestants. They are paired on an NHRA eliminations ladder seeded by reader vote last week.

Today's competition features the #1 qualifier John Force versus #16 Don Gillespie as well as #8 Shirley Muldowney versus #9 Joe Lepone Jr. Voting concludes on December 24th at 5 PM.

With the 2009 racing season on the horizon the Oklahoma-based two-car team of Cary and Dean Goforth have one very

specific goal in mind. They will go all-out in pursuit of the IHRA Pro Stock world championship.

“We’re going to focus 100-percent on our goal of finishing 1-2 in the
2009 IHRA Pro Stock points standings,” Cary said. “Dad and I talked
about it and we really think this is the best fit for us. We will run
other sanctioning bodies on non-conflicting weekends because there is
no substitution for seat-time, but we’re going after the IHRA
championship and running the full deal this year.”

Cary finished sixth in the 2008 championship points standings while his
father Dean finished 10th. Both drivers joined the Jerry Haas 6.20’s
Club at the 2008 IHRA World Finals in Rockingham…Dean becoming the
sixth member with a 6.294 in his 2007 GTO and Cary closing out the
club, becoming the eighth and final member with a 6.298 in his 2008
Cobalt.

Top Alcohol racers Gary Phillips, Steve Reed, Debbie Reed, Wayne Newby and Rick Gauci will have a race against time on their hands for round one of the ENZED International Nightfire New Year Series at Willowbank Raceway on January 2/3.

Scheduled for the first of the two January Events, these five racers
are also competing at Sydney’s Boxing Day Event (December 26/27) just
the weekend before – giving them no more than five days off-track
before their first qualifying runs on January 2 at Willowbank Raceway.

Rolling O Store’s Hollie Faulkner Dies Following Sudden Illness …

Hollie Faulkner, co-operator of the Rolling O
merchandise trailer, died Saturday afternoon at the age of 36. She
leaves behind husband Donnie and a four month old daughter Emma
Jacquelyn.

Hollie was the daughter of Charles and Kay
Cagle.

Miss Hollie, as many of her friends called her, was the
kind of person who continually encouraged many at the races and wore
a constant smile.

She became ill on Friday evening and
collapsed, losing consciousness and drifting into a coma. Holly never
recovered and died this afternoon in Little Rock, Ark.

 

Travel back to drag racing's formative years when Pro Stocker were
really the factory hot rods. This YouTube video features the legendary
Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins discussing this golden years of the Pro Stock
division. Classic video footage includes Ronnie Sox, "Dyno" Don
Nicholson, Frank Iaconio and Larry Lombardo. This video clip comes from
Diamond P video's Hot Rods From Detroit.

One-of-a-kind G2 Motorsports S&S Custom Motorcycle to be awarded to Horsepower WyoTech Sweepstakes winner

A project begun last year reaches its exciting conclusion this weekend when one very fortunate person will become the owner of the special G2 Motorsports S&S Cycle 50th Anniversary custom motorcycle.

More than 200,000 motorcycle enthusiasts entered the Horsepower WyoTech Bike Sweepstakes to win the 10-second street bike that features an all-new S&S 126-inch V-Twin engine.  The winner will be introduced on  Spike TV’s “Horsepower” program with Steve Whitson that airs in “Powerblock”, Saturday and Sunday,  11 a.m.-1 p.m., ET.

The now two-time Mountain Motor World Champ, Pete Berner, is picking up the pace this winter, preparing to defend his title in
the '09 season. Despite economic setbacks across the industry, Berner
hopes to see continued growth of the sport and is expanding his own
operation over the winter, including the addition of a 56 foot, all
aluminum semi, currently in construction at T&E Auto Haulers in
Herscher, Illinois.

"We're keeping busy this off season. We're working hard on our new
engine program, refreshing the car, and getting a new truck and
trailer, so it's not much of an 'off' season for us. The new rig is
coming along great at T&E. They do excellent work, and I'm looking
forward to taking delivery of the semi. Richard Freeman with Elite
Trailers helped us put this deal together so many thanks go out to him
for his help.

The Second Annual “Ohio Crankshaft No Box Nationals” is now officially
back on the schedule for 2009.  This big money No Box race is scheduled
to take place June 12 – 14 2009 at Bunker Hill Drag Strip in Kokomo,
Indiana.

There will also be a Test & Tune and ‘Gamblers Race’ on Friday June
12th.  The Test & Tune is free for all pre-entered competitors. 
The pre-entry for both Saturday and Sunday is only $75.00 to reserve
your spot and then $150 at the gate.

The continuing sponsorship between Ohio Crankshaft and Triple O
Promotions became official at the end of November.  Stan and Scott Ray,
from Ohio Crankshaft, are excited to continue being the official
sponsor of the race. 

Two venerable Baytown institutions have joined forces in a multi-year motorsports sponsorship agreement with Baytown Ford
becoming the Official Car Dealership of Houston Raceway Park. The
arrangement makes Ford the Official Vehicle of HRP, Southeast Texas'
premier racing facility.

"We're extremely proud to align ourselves with Baytown Ford and the
Ford brand," said Seth Angel, Houston Raceway Park's general manager.
"Ford celebrated 100 years in 2008 and we celebrated our 20th season
and we think that's exciting for
both of us.

"The people at Baytown Ford are first-rate and I think that's why
they're weathering the current economic downturn better than most. I
believe it speaks volumes about their commitment to their current and
potential customers by electing to support motor racing here at Houston
Raceway Park. We're thrilled to bring them into our family and we hope
our fans consider buying their next vehicle from Baytown Ford."

Rockingham
Dragway owner Steve Earwood announced Thursday that Goodyear Tire &
Rubber Co. has renewed its presence package at the North Carolina track
for the next three seasons.

Goodyear, which has been involved with The Rock since 1993, will
continue to sponsor one of the track’s 4 X 16 electronic scoreboard
signs.