While waiting for the team transporter to arrive home from Perth. Team
Bray this week has lent a hand to help Brisbane repair damage from one
of the biggest storms to hit the city in two decades.

The severe storm battered Brisbane on Sunday doing more damage than
cyclone Larry as it hit highly populated areas, tearing off roofs,
bringing down trees and power lines, leaving many without livable homes
and a repair bill that is expected to be around 1.5 billion dollars.

Many of today’s top professional drivers have one thing in common on
their racing resume, they are graduates of Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing
School.
   
In 2009, as the school celebrates their 24th year of training drivers,
Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School will be offering even more
opportunities for those seeking to obtain their dream of becoming the
next “Force”, “Dixon” or “Schumacher”. Not only can drivers obtain
their Alcohol License in either a dragster or a funny car at the world
renowned school but now they will also be able to take it to the next
step – competition.

Voting has begun among more than 300 members of the motorsports press to select the 2008 Auto Racing All-America team.
  
The annual vote is conducted among the membership of the American Auto
Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association. Two nominees from each of
seven categories will be named to the first team, to be honored at the
annual AARWBA banquet Jan. 10 in Ontario, Calif.. The winner of the
Jerry Titus Award will also be announced at the banquet. The Titus
Award honors the team's top driver -- the one earning the most votes in
the balloting regardless of category.
  
Among those on the ballot are former Jerry Titus Award winners Tony
Schumacher (2006), Dan Wheldon (2005) and Tony Kannan (2004). The
ballot also includes a driver who is among the top-10 with the most
All-America first-team honors -- Scott Pruett (nine times), and the
only driver ever earning more than honorable mention from write-in
votes -- Danica Patrick (second team 2005).

Australian drag racer Robin Judd, rewrote the Top Doorslammer record books at last weekend’s 37th annual Goldenstates at Perth Motorplex, Kwinana Beach.

Already Australia’s quickest-ever Top Doorslammer racer with a time of
5.907sec, Judd became the first Australian Doorslammer racer to run
into the 5.8sec zone when he ran a 5.868sec.

Prior to the Motorplex event, Judd had recorded five-second passes at
Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway, Ipswich (two) and at Western Sydney
International Dragway (WSID) (also two), but he had not run the Top
Doorslammer milestone at his home track (Perth Motorplex).

DSR Feels Loyalty to Manufacturer …

Don Schumacher confirmed with CompetitionPlus.com that although Mopar
has pulled back its sponsorships with his team, he will continue to
support the manufacturer.

“I have lots of Dodge Chargers mounted, and in place to go racing
with,” Schumacher confirmed. “I’ve been supported by Dodge and Mopar
for many years. I certainly plan to support them to the best of my
ability.

“Every team always searches for factory support and that could change at any time.”

No sponsorship in place, Todd faces the sidelines next season …

The NHRA’s Top Fuel fraternity continues to whittle down to a less than positive 2009 with a sluggish economy and declining sponsorship market.

J.R. Todd could very well be the next victim unless he’s granted an eleventh hour reprieve.

“As of Sunday in Pomona, I don’t have a sponsor for 2009,” Todd
confirmed with CompetitionPlus.com. “I’m not out of a ride; I just
don’t have a sponsor to race with. Right now I’d say things are pretty
much up in the air for me.”

Brian Corradi’s psyche rarely reeks of sensitivity. That’s not to say the Cleveland, Ohio-based tuner has no compassion, because he’s an honorable man who would provide the shirt off his back.

But, he’s as tough as they come and has proven to be one of the more
talented crew chiefs in the nitro pits. His credentials include a U.S.
Nationals victory and a handful of world records.

He’s been there done that, in more than a handful of situations, but 2008 provided a new and unique challenge.

ACDelco
NHRA Gatornationals Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Guidera has
renewed his major-sponsorship agreement with Brian Bozsum and Mohegan
Sun Racing for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.

"The marketing partnership started out the fifth race of the 2007
season and has turned out to be a great relationship between Mohegan
Sun, my family, and Brian and Linda Bozsum of Mohegan Sun Racing," said
Guidera. "We have made huge strides in our program since joining
together, and we are already planning to come out in the 2009 season
with even a better program. Our family is very proud to again be flying
the colors of one of the premier destination resorts in the world, the
Mohegan Sun Resort."

O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis officials announced today a plan
for the next phase of the ongoing facility improvement project that has
been underway for much of the last decade at the historic multi-purpose
use motorsports complex.

In this phase, a new, main office building will be constructed prior to
the start of the 2009 O’Reilly Raceway Park racing season.  This 7,500
square foot structure will replace the current office building, which
has been in continuous use since the 1960’s.  Construction of the new
office building will begin in November.

The new office building will be located directly off of U. S. Highway
136 adjacent to the main entrance.  The building will feature 11
offices, ticket sales area, conference room, break room, work stations
for seasonal interns, storage areas, and mail room.  It will also
feature an area for retail souvenir sales, display cases for O’Reilly
Raceway Park memorabilia; visitor and guest parking will be available
outside the building.

In their first trip out west, the Snyder Motorsports Race Team sponsored by Powersource Transportation, made their way through
a tough Top Alcohol Funny Car field to earn their second National event
win of the 2008 season.  Driver Mick Snyder, who began the weekend in
10th place in the Lucas Oil National points standings moved all the way
up to 6th with the win at the Automobile Club of Southern California
NHRA Finals.