Tim Wilkerson  came into the 2008 NHRA season with five career victories, and left the season with 11. He entered the campaign having just come off a 15th-place finish in '07, but finished the '08 season in second place, after a storybook run. To all who were witnessing this remarkable "arrival," the Levi, Ray & Shoup driver seemed fully capable of turning everything around, including the startling ability to erase the memory of seven DNQs from the year before by recording absolutely none in 2008, while he also improved his round record from a pedestrian 14-16 in '07, to an astounding 42-18 this year, a mark no other Funny Car driver could match.

In the end, though, it was the final day and the ever-so-close but narrowly missed chance at a championship that far too many people remember. Having spent most of the season leading the Funny Car points chase, Wilkerson entered the Countdown to the Championship knowing, full well, what the rules were and how they worked.

NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Bill Reichert accepted the trophy for his third-straight National Championship at the NHRA Lucas
Oil Series Championship Banquet in Los Angeles last Monday after
posting a runner-up finish at the season-ending Auto Club Finals at
Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.  Reichert wheeled his Rislone
Engine Treatment backed machine to his third-straight Championship on
the strength of three national event wins (Chicago, Indianapolis and
Charlotte) and five divisional wins (Reading, Pa., Chicago, Bowling
Green, Ky., Atlanta and Reynolds, Ga.).
 
Reichert, who runs the family business Reichert Racing Engines in
Owosso, Mich., started off slow but found his stride around the middle
of the season.  At the Division 3 event in Bowling Green, Ky., in
August, Reichert started a string of 20 straight round wins before
losing in the final of this past weekend’s race.

Matco Tools has launched a new, interactive technical educational program website, www.matcotools.com/TechEd/. The contemporary
site prominently features Matco Tools Top Fuel driver Antron Brown and
Courtney Hanson, host of Spike TV’s Powerblock.

“This new Matco Tools Tech Ed site is more than just a portal for users
and students,” Matco Tools Director – Commercial, Government and Export
Sales, Jeff Peterson said. “The site was designed as a fun place to
visit with easy navigation and we hope that users will bookmark the
site and log on frequently. This is a micro site for students and
instructors and it’s loaded with video and expanded content and
discounts on industry-leading Matco Tools.”

Australian drag racer Peter Leahy won’t be featured on the entry list for January’s ENZED International Nightfire New Year Series, but without him the Event could well be missing its lynch-pin – US Nitro Funny Car legend Gary Densham.

Leahy is the proprietor of Peter Leahy Custom Imports after taking over
the business from his father and drag racing identity Roly five years
ago, and will provide the freighting costs and service to see Densham’s
Nitro Funny Car machine arrive safely next month ahead of the January
twin-events.

Specialists in custom imports, the business ships items from LA to
Brisbane with at least one container leaving the US every week loaded
with everything from lounge suites and shoes to racing cars and tyres.

CompetitionPlus.com published a news item in early-October proclaiming engine builder Sonny Leonard had produced a 2,000-horse,
naturally aspirated engine via his dyno readings. The 892-inch engine
profiled found its way into the Top Sportsman GTO of Frank Tamez, who
during the recent PSCA Street Car Supernationals, provided Leonard with
the ultimate commercial.

The first first rendering of Jim Wangers/Big 3 Performance GTO has all
the makings of a home run effort.  Combined with the efforts of Big 3
Performance brings an aggressive approach to the now common protouring movement.

Over the past three months Jim Wangers Productions and Big 3
Performance spent countless hours fine tuning a modernized
interpretation of Pontiac’s American Icon, the 1969 GTO Judge.  
Through the illustration shown above, you can see that styling and
function working hand in hand was a major consideration in the design
of the Wangers Edition GTO.

Team owner believes shortened distance is the easiest fix for slowing cars …

Don Schumacher has been around drag racing long enough to understand
the value of traditionalism. He’s also been around long enough to
understand safety always trumps routine.

The veteran team owner has had his differences with the sanctioning
body over various issues, but when it comes to slowing the nitro cars
and running 1,000 feet in the meantime, he’s certainly on their side of
the issue.

“I support the NHRA 100-percent in their decision to keep the cars
racing at 1000 feet,” Schumacher said. “I believe it’s helping the
sport safety wise by the simple fact it’s giving them another 320 feet
to slow down. We’re continuing to work hard with the NHRA to try and
slow the cars down to where we can take them back to 1320.

“Reducing the horsepower is a tough road to go,” Schumacher added.
“It’s going to be expensive and difficult. It’s going to create
situations where you are going to have to keep the tires spinning
adequately to get through the clutch. It’s a hard task but we need to
continue to work with everything we have to keep these cars as safe as
possible for the drivers, spectators and all the racers out here.”

Veteran drag racing photographer Jim Bralley suffered a stroke on Friday afternoon, and after two days in the Intensive Care Unit in a Charlotte, N.C. hospital, he passed away.

Bralley had entered the hospital for surgery to clear a 75-percent
arterial blockage in his neck but suffered a stroke 20 minutes after
the surgery.

Kirk Wilmes won what could easily be categorized as survival of the
fittest when he captured the $20,000-to-win Pro Street title at the
Pacific Street Car Association's Streetcar Supernationals hosted by the
Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Joining Wilmes in the winner's
circle was Billy Glidden (Outlaw Street), Roger Holder (Extreme Drag
Radial), Michael DeMayo (Hot Street), Al Jiminez (Wild Street), Mike
Nordahl (Open Comp), Scott Dool (Mustang Madness), Rod George (Super
Index), Jim Caruso (Double Index), and John Phlegar (Bracket 1).