:::::: News ::::::

NMCA LSX SHOOTOUT COMING

The NMCA and GM Performance Parts are excited to announce the 2nd Annual GM
Performance Parts LSX Shootout, which will occur at Memphis Motorsports Park
near Memphis, Tenn, the weekend of October 9-12, 2008. The event, held in
conjunction with the Nitto Tire NMCA World Finals, is the largest LS event in
the U.S.  The LSX Shootout features awesome heads-up racing for the fastest
LS-powered cars in the world, index-style racing for competitors of all levels,
a dyno shootout to see who can make the most LS power, and a giant all
LS-powered auto show and shine.  This is “the” LS event of the year, with over
$60,000 in cash and prizes, and it’s brought to you by GM Performance Parts.

Presenting sponsor, Source Interlink’s GM High-Tech Performance
magazine,
will produce the official LSX Shootout fan guide as well as rules
and event press releases leading up to the LSX Shootout.  Rick Jensen, the
editor of GM High-Tech Performance magazine, and his team are looking
forward to the 2nd annual event and will provide comprehensive Shootout coverage
for their passionate readers.

BERNER SKIPS EDMONTON EVENT

Pete Berner currently sits fifth in the Nitro Jam Pro Stock points standings,
and he recently had a difficult decision to make concerning his run for the
Championship. As we near the halfway point of the season, the points battle is
tightening and the Championship chase is growing in intensity. In a year where
gas prices have soared to all-time highs and people everywhere are feeling the
effects of economic downfall, it is becoming increasingly difficult for racers
to be competitive on a national and international level.

 

The
fifth stop on the IHRA Nitro Jam tour lands in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which
for many racers is a 40+ hour drive, costing thousands in fuel alone. This
financial burden is prohibiting some racers from attending the event, even those
currently vying for the '08 Championship. Berner and the Quarter-Max.com team
have chosen to sit out the Rocky Mountain Nationals in order to save costs for
the season and provide an equal championship shot for all Pro Stock racers.

2008 PRI SPRINT & MIDGET CLASSIC POSTPONED

The PRI Trade Show’s annual Friday night tradition of an exciting
evening of racing at the PRI Sprint & Midget Classic will be
postponed for one year as the event undergoes a major renovation in
anticipation of its return to the PRI calendar of events in 2009.

“We’re currently working on plans to make the event even bigger and
better, but we need more time to put everything in place. We will start
promoting the events at the 2008 Performance Racing Industry Trade
Show, as we still have a lot of details yet to be worked out with
regard to big changes in the race program,” said Steve Lewis, PRI Trade
Show producer and the race’s organizer.

FORCE SPEAKS ON 1000-FT. TRACK

Drag racing icon John Force said Thursday that, for now, he supports
the unprecedented step taken by the NHRA on Wednesday when it announced
that starting with next week’s Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Denver,
Colo., Top Fuel and Funny Car races at least temporarily will be
contested to 1,000 feet instead of to the traditional 1,320 feet.
 
 “As a PRO member, I support the NHRA decision, for now,” Force said. 
“(Shortening the race course) was one of several options they
considered but it’s one of the few things that could be done
immediately to reduce speeds (in the aftermath of the qualifying
accident two weeks ago that claimed the life of Funny Car driver Scott
Kalitta).”

COUGHLIN HONORS NORAD

jeggy.jpgReigning Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will don a specially-designed
racing helmet for the upcoming Mile-High NHRA Nationals to honor the 50th
anniversary of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which is
located in nearby Colorado Springs, Colo.

 

Noted helmet artist Jason Beam
was contracted to paint the helmet, which will be presented to Lieutenant
General Charlie Bouchard of the Canadian Armed Forces, NORAD's Deputy Commander.
General Bouchard, the highest ranking Canadian Officer on U.S.
soil, is slated to be the honorary starter of the Mile-High NHRA Nationals.

 

"Much like the North American
Aerospace Defense Command team, world champion driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. and his
racing team are committed to excellence," Lieutenant General Bouchard said.
"NORAD and Jeg are also both in the business of high performance and we share
working in an area where there is no room for error.

QTM/SPARCO MAKES CAGNAZZI RACING TEAM LOOK SPIFFY

When NHRA Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly made his 2008 racing debut, he
and the Charter Communications/LifeLock Chevy Cobalt team were nattily attired
in the team’s purple, black and yellow colors.

 

The team’s apparel also caught the eyes of those judging
special awards at the Southern Nationals because the Cagnazzi Racing team was
awarded “NHRA Best Appearing Crew” honors at the event. 

 

QTM/Sparco produces the team’s racing apparel and will become an NHRA
contingency sponsor beginning with the upcoming race in Denver.

GRAYBAR DENVER TO SUPPORT DAVID POWERS MOTORSPORTS

Graybar Denver will support David Powers Motorsports and the Hot Rod
Fuller-driven Caterpillar dragster during the 29th annual Mopar
Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway it was announced today. Graybar
Electric Company, Inc., is a Fortune 500 company.  

The Graybar logo will feature
prominent placement in the driver’s compartment area on Fuller’s Caterpillar
rail during the popular Denver NHRA race, July 11-13, at scenic Bandimere
Speedway near Denver. Graybar also will host more than 100 guests at the team’s
Iron Eagle Club hospitality area during the weekend to entertain customers and
employees.

HOT ROD FULLER Q&A

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A season ago, Hot Rod Fuller was playing the lead part in what
turned out to be a dramatic finish to the 2007 NHRA racing season. Now
the fiery Las Vegas racer has a new role, that of the hunter. Through
the first 12 races of the 2008 NHRA racing season, Fuller and his David
Powers-owned Caterpillar Top Fuel team rank fourth in the arduous Top
Fuel division. With the bulls-eye no longer on his back, Fuller and his
Rob Flynn-led Caterpillar team overcame a slow start to the 2008 NHRA
season and have moved within striking distance of the second and third
place drivers, Antron Brown and Larry Dixon. The former Super Comp and
Gas stalwart has one win and one pole this year along with recording
low E.T. and top speed honors multiple times. In this Q&A, Fuller
talks about his first-half performance and his outlook on year two of
NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship.

Q: Assess the first half of the 2008 NHRA racing season for Rod Fuller and the Caterpillar team.

FULLER: We’re right on par with where I thought we’d be. I like
where we’re sitting. There were some rule changes and we have a few new
crew members. I felt if we could be top five going into the Western
Swing, we’d be happy with that. That’s right where we are. We started
slow, but we have a race win, a final round, a pole and the car is
starting to be a lot more consistent. That’s important to not give
races away.

IHRA HEADS TO "FESTIVAL CITY"

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Top Fuel racer Bobby Lagana Jr. is one of the racers excited about racing in Edmonton this weekend.

With the 2008 season championship points races heating up IHRA will
head to Canada for the first of two Canadian races this season July
4-6. The CARS RV & Marine & Motorsport Rocky Mountain Nationals
Presented by Torco Racing Fuels at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton will
bring the thrill of the Knoll Gas Nitro Jam to the rabid racing fans in
Western Canada for the sixth time since the race’s inception in 2003.
It is one of the hottest tickets in town and consistently sets
attendance records as each year the nitro frenzy grows in what is known
as “Festival City” and one of the largest cities in North America
area-wise.

While the City of Edmonton has embraced IHRA and the Rocky Mountain
Nationals, the drivers have slowly warmed to Castrol Raceway. The
longest haul on the circuit for most racers, many drivers have been
reticent to make the long trip over the years. Those who have been to
the facility, and have experienced the passion and enthusiasm of the
drag racing fans in Alberta, would not miss the race for the world.

SCELZI ON WIND TUNNEL

Four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion Gary Scelzi will appear on
Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain this Sunday, July 6, on Speed Channel. The show
airs live from 9-10 p.m. EST.

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