Final round-by-round results from the 23rd annual O'Reilly Super
Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex, the 20th of 24
events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Tony Schumacher, 3.898, 312.57 def. Rod Fuller, 4.374,
230.72; Antron Brown, 3.909, 307.37 def. Steve Torrence, 3.904, 307.02;
J.R. Todd, 3.911, 310.13 def. Spencer Massey, 3.933, 304.74; Clay
Millican, 4.197, 222.07 def. Bob Vandergriff, 4.279, 235.43; Hillary
Will, 3.879, 309.63 def. Doug Kalitta, 3.918, 299.20; Brandon
Bernstein, 3.894, 311.49 def. Doug Herbert, 4.354, 214.93; Cory
McClenathan, 3.887, 307.16 def. Joe Hartley, 9.776, 83.65; Larry Dixon,
3.871, 309.63 def. Morgan Lucas, 3.908, 303.78;

QUARTERFINALS -- Bernstein, 3.965, 296.24 def. Brown, 4.016,
281.42; McClenathan, 3.968, 294.37 def. Millican, 4.052, 276.75; Todd,
3.934, 305.22 def. Will, 3.936, 304.39; Schumacher, 3.914, 310.34 def.
Dixon, 4.014, 274.66;

SEMIFINALS -- Todd, 4.532, 235.39 def. Bernstein, 6.729, 113.67; Schumacher, 4.025, 273.66 def. McClenathan, 4.646, 173.45;

FINAL -- Todd, 3.912, 309.84 def. Schumacher, 3.910, 310.63.

Sunday's final results from the 23rd annual O'Reilly Super Start
Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex.  The  race is the
20th of 24 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- J.R. Todd, 3.912 seconds, 309.84 mph  def. Tony Schumacher, 3.910 seconds, 310.63 mph.

Charlie Westcott Sr., of Parma, Mich., claimed the victory in today’s Mopar Hemi Challenge held at the fourth annual JEGS NHRA
Northern SPORTSnationals at National Trail Raceway. In the final round,
Westcott defeated his son, Charlie Jr., in the final on a holeshot when
his 8.56-secound run defeated Charlie Jr’s quicker 8.52 effort.
 
There was also a lot of action in the ultra competitive Top Dragster
class as 38 drivers attempted to qualify for one of just 32 guaranteed
starting spots. John Coughlin drove his Undercover Chassis dragster to
a 7.08-second run that was good for the No. 24 spot.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
23rd annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at
Texas  Motorplex, the 20th of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended
Saturday. DNQs listed below  pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.820 seconds, 310.70 mph  vs. 16.
Morgan Lucas, 3.967, 301.20; 2. Brandon Bernstein, 3.842, 315.19  vs.
15. Doug Herbert, 3.946,  300.86; 3. Hillary Will, 3.849, 314.97  vs.
14. Doug Kalitta, 3.946, 309.06; 4.Bob Vandergriff, 3.861, 312.64  vs.
13. Clay Millican, 3.923, 304.80; 5. Cory  McClenathan, 3.866, 313.00 
vs. 12. Joe Hartley, 3.903, 299.93; 6. J.R. Todd,3.874, 307.72  vs. 11.
Spencer Massey, 3.902, 307.23; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.874, 306.26 vs. 10.
Antron Brown, 3.897, 309.06; 8. Tony Schumacher, 3.880, 310.98 vs. 9.
Rod Fuller, 3.896, 308.50.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Tim Boychuk, 3.989, 285.59; 18. David Grubnic, 4.890, 306.95.

HIGHT, DIXON, COUGHLIN, KRAWIEC EARN TOP QUALIFYING HONORS AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX

Even
though it was only Saturday, points were the topic drivers wanted to
talk about after the conclusion of qualifying at the O’Reilly Super
Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol.

In Funny Car, Robert Hight moved within one point of leaders Cruz
Pedregon, who entered the weekend alone in the top spot, and Jack
Beckman, who’s since joined him, in the standings after qualifying his
Auto Club of Texas Ford Mustang in the top spot in 4.063 seconds, at
301.81 mph. A quick look down the point standings show the driver who
goes deepest into eliminations Sunday will leave with the lead in the
Countdown to the Championship point standings.

Driving the G-Force Race Cars 1967 Camaro, Mike Stawicki of Medina, New York became the first three-time winner in Pro Modified
Racing Association history by winning the rescheduled Fourth Annual KC
Auto Parts Family Day PMRA Challenge presented by Paul Wolf Electric
& Lighting Supply Inc., Osram Sylvania and Independent Electrical
Distributors.
 
The event, part of OSCA’s (Ontario Street Car Association) 2008
McIntyre Automotive Championship Finals was held at the Cayuga Dragway
of Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario.
 
“I’m very happy with today,” said a pleased Mike Stawicki after the
race, the fifth of six PMRA events for 2008. “It didn’t matter what
lane we ran in today. The Cayuga team were on top of their game, the
track was in great shape.

Baffled by the inability of the G2 Motorsports Drag Specialties S&S
Cycle V-Twin Pro Stock Buell to start when required recently, the team
decided something different was necessary.

They worked late Friday night during the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas,
Tex., changing virtually everything on the Pro Stock Motorcycle in time
for Saturday’s final two qualifying runs.  They were very pleased by
rider Chris Rivas’ performances.  The switch came after Rivas ran 6.990
seconds at 188.81 mph that put him third.

But Saturday’s runs were in hot conditions, the same expected for
Sunday.  That’s why Rivas’ 6.997 on his last attempt impressed crew
chief George Smith and the crew.  It was second-quickest of the session.

Southeast Texas' largest racing facility, Houston Raceway Park in the Houston suburb of Baytown,
suffered approximately $100,000 in damage from Hurricane Ike. The storm
system pummeled the track with 110-plus mph winds for more than 12
hours, battering the track's buildings, scoreboards, and signage.

"All
things considered, we made out okay," track general manager Seth Angel
said. "First and foremost, no one was hurt, which is always the top
concern. We had the facility locked up tight and the staff was all sent
home early to be with their families.

"When we
returned on Sunday, we started accessing the destruction. It's never
easy to see something you've spent so much time and money on beat-up
like that, but we had to begin the process of rebuilding. Fortunately,
we have insurance for these things."

Del Worsham’s Funny Car team will disband at the end of 2008 but doesn’t mean they’ve quit working. In fact, the CSK Auto Parts team thundered to the third qualifying position at the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas, Tex.

"Today was about getting your race-day tune-up in shape, and we scored
an A on the test, I'd say," Worsham said.  "That's pretty much exactly
what we wanted to do, and the car went right down there twice.  The
guys told me about our qualifying streak, how this is our 10th straight
race with a single-digit spot on the ladder, and even though I knew
we'd been doing a lot better in qualifying, I really didn't know that.

The day Warren Johnson gets his new combination completely figured out will be the day the Pro Stock class pays. The veteran drag racer qualified No. 9 at a booming 208.26 miles per hour during the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas, Tex.

“Looking at the stat sheet, we were quicker on every run, so we’re
starting to get a handle on this new approach we’re using with this GM
Performance Parts GXP, which is more driver-friendly in terms of
getting it down the racetrack, because it doesn’t want to move around
as much,” Johnson explained. “It also seems to have a bigger tuning
window.