When Comp Eliminator standout Rodger Brogdon entered the NHRA Pro Stock
wars at the start of the 2007 season, many were surprised at his
immediate success in arguably the most competitive class in drag
racing.  Achieving a top-10 standing early in the season led to many a
raised eyebrow as many wondered “just who did this newcomer think he
was?”

While the 2007 campaign ultimately proved to be short lived, it only
fueled the fire within Brogdon when his early success showed this
competitive Texan that he was capable of becoming a force within the
Pro Stock world. For Rodger, the return to Pro Stock wasn’t a question
of when, but became a matter of when the right circumstances would come
together.

Enter fellow Comp racer Steve Kent, owner of Kent Services and
Trucking, a south central US, multi-faceted corporation, that primarily
specializes in service and support for the petroleum industry. When the
conversation late last year between Kent and Brogdon turned to a
discussion of Rodger’s Pro Stock endeavor, a plan began to develop that
has since blossomed into a commitment that will put Brogdon back on
track, beginning with the final third of the 2008 season

The earthquake that some is being estimated at a magnitude of 5.8 rocked the
John Force Racing headquarters and RaceStation retail store today. JFR is unsure
of the total cost damages but many items from the 14-time champion’s career are
a total loss. Amongst the many items that were destroyed include a number of
Force’s CarCraft Magazines All Star Team trophies as well as more than a handful
of the Big Bud Shootout Low Qualifier crystal trophies and plaques.

If the competition had a minimum chance of beating Top Fuel point
leader Tony Schumacher in a quarter-mile, the

Tony Schumacher became the sixth driver to sweep the Western Swing.

introduction of 1,000
foot drag racing dropped those odds significantly. Schumacher admits
the rev-limiter doesn’t come into play any more.

“NHRA didn’t put a rev limiter on just to slow my car down but it did,”
Schumacher said. “We ran 337 in Brainerd a few years back. NHRA
mandated a rev limiter, and we’ve been one of the only ones hitting it.
I mean everyone taps it now and then … we level it. So people come
forward ‘it’s not fair’ … wait a minute it wasn’t fair that I was
getting penalized for having the fastest car. We did it for safety, to
keep the car from going 340 on tracks that we know we shouldn’t be
doing that on. We know that’s what we did it for.”

The rev-limiter might have had designs on slowing down the dragsters,
but for Schumacher, he said the rev-limiter was more of a performance
equalizer than anything.

With twenty-three years and over fifteen thousand graduates, it's no
wonder when drivers and team owners are looking for top notch training,
they look to Frank Hawley's NHRA Drag Racing School.

Many things have changed and evolved in the drag racing world over the
last two decades and the curriculum available at the school is no
different.

School owner and instructor Frank Hawley briefly explains the journey
the school has taken since its inception. "When we first started, I
knew how to drive cars, didn't know why anyone else didn't. Basically
said 'here's what you do, go.' I didn't know why people couldn't drive.
I didn't understand anything about people."

When Robert Hight was growing up before he dreamed of working on or driving NHRA
Funny Cars he had another dream. He

Robert Hight once asked major league baseball manager Tommy Lasorda for advice of how to make it to the big leagues.

wanted to be a big league baseball player.
His hometown in Northern
California didn’t provide him a lot of options but he
channeled his passion for the game into supporting the Los Angeles Dodgers. His
interest in improving his game gave him the idea to ask the manager of his
favorite team for some tips on how to make the big leagues.

On Wednesday night, July 30^th, Hight will finally make “The
Show,” granted not as a professional baseball player but as one of the top
professional NHRA drag racers in the country. Prior to the Los Angeles Dodgers
versus San Francisco Giants game Hight will throw out the ceremonial first pitch
at Dodgers Stadium.

Steve Johnson team manager Tim Kulungian's youngest daughter is ailing from a rare disease.

Tim Kulungian is in the midst of crisis he feels no parent should ever
experience. The General Manager for Steve Johnson’s Pro Stock
Motorcycle has a sick child suffering from a rare disease called
Osteopetrosis.

Kulungian and his wife Christal are fighting as hard as parents can for
their youngest child’s life. However, in this battle the odds stacked
against them.

“The disease attacks your bone marrow and requires a bone marrow
transplant to fix,”  Kulungian said. “Luckily we have a match, our four
year old daughter, we have five children in all, but our four year old
is a match for the four month old baby. The disease, in short, doesn’t
allow your bones to shed and closes up the canal where your bone marrow
lives. So once the bone marrow is gone your body can no longer make
the
red or white blood cells and then you die.”

Bob Pellegrini Photos

The Funny Car final round at the NHRA Fram-Autolite Nationals in
Sonoma, Ca., represented a battle between the teacher and former JFR
driver Gary Densham and the student and successor Robert Hight. As
iconic as
his father-in-law John Force is, Hight pointed out one significant
shortcoming.

Robert Hight was groomed by Gary Densham to be his successor.

“Gary’s the guy that helped me a lot in the beginning because John
Force, as great as he is, is not a good teacher,” Hight admitted. “It’s
hard to learn from him. He’s the best in what he does but he can’t
teach it.”

Hight replaced Densham for the 2005 season and went on to win rookie of the year accolades.

Gatorz Eyewear, maker of high-performance eyewear and fashion
accessories, has been named title rights sponsor for the 2nd annual
Gatorz Ohio Drags Aug. 22-23, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk,
Ohio. The Gatorz Ohio Drags is the sixth of nine eighth-mile drag
racing events being staged this year by the Flowmaster American Drag
Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard.

“I’m already a Gatorz wearer and can personally attest to what a great
pair of sunglasses they make. It’s not often that you’ll see me at the
track without my Gatorz on, but I think what really proves their worth
is that I wear them constantly between races, too,” ADRL President
Kenny Nowling stated. “So to have Gatorz come on board for what’s going
to be one of our biggest events ever is very exciting.”

Gatorz Eyewear CEO Kerry Lynch said he is impressed by the ADRL’s
unique marketing method of providing complimentary tickets to fans at
each of its national events. He also appreciates the “Made in the
U.S.A.” vibe and heritage of the four-year-old drag racing series.

Despite missing the season's first five races because of sponsorship
challenges, Chevy driver Dave Connolly has muscled his way into the top
10 of the Pro Stock standings on the strength of his second victory of
the season.  

In an all-Chevy Pro Stock final round, Connolly drove his Charter
Communications Chevy Cobalt to a narrow hole shot win over his
teammate, Jeg Coughlin Jr., in the JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt with a winning
elapsed time of 6.628 seconds at 207.69 mph to Coughlin's slightly
quicker 6.627 e.t. at 207.24 mph.  

SCHUMACHER BECOMES SIXTH DRIVER TO WIN WESTERN SWING

Hight, Connolly and Sacramento’s Guidera round out FRAM-Autolite winners

Tony Schumacher became the sixth driver to sweep the Western Swing.

NHRA
Top Fuel ace Tony Schumacher continued his season-long domination by
winning the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals Sunday to sweep of the
three-race Western Swing and win for the eighth time in 15 races
overall.

He became the fourth Top Fuel driver (Larry Dixon in 2003 and Cory
McClenathan in 1997 and Joe Amato in 1991) and the sixth driver overall
(PS Greg Anderson in 2003, FC John Force in 1994) to sweep the Western
Swing, the grueling stretch of three-races-in-three-weeks through
Denver, Seattle and Sonoma.