Racing in muggy hot conditions? No problem.

Got a 30-mile per hour wind blowing? No problem.

Warren Johnson has said time and time again that old age and treachery
will whip youth and enthusiasm any day. On Friday, WJ whipped the young
whippersnappers.

Johnson posted the quickest elapsed time and top speed in each of
Friday’s two qualifying sessions at the NHRA Torco Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, Ill., to claim the provisional No. 1
qualifying position. 

When you’re hot, you’re hot and in Friday night qualifying at the NHRA
Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill., Ashley Force was blazing. Force’s
4.759 second run at 329.10 mph established not only a personal best for
speed but her elapsed time was tops among the Funny Cars.

Force’s remarkable achievement has the Yorba Linda, Calif. racer poised
to grab another piece of history in her young career. No other female
has qualified No. 1 in a Funny Car field.

STANTON, HARPER, WILSON AND PROPHIT LEAD ADRL QUALIFYING

Keep up with this weekend's action. - SAME DAY COVERAGE

Bubba Stanton of Potts Camp, Mississippi ran a career-best 3.80-seconds
pass at 196.59 mph to earn the provisional  number-one qualifying
position in Pro Extreme June 6, at the 4th annual ADRL Pizza Hut Summer
Drags at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at U.S. 131 in Martin, Michigan. 
Following Stanton on the list are Joshua Hernandez, Travis Swearingen,
Bil Clanton and Canadian Ray Commisso in his first ADRL appearance,
while defending series champion and current record holder Jason Scruggs
is sixth in the race debut of his new 2006 Dodge Stratus.

Stanton's class-leading, eighth-mile effort came after his team
executed an engine change in his '63 Corvette during a lengthy rain
delay that cut short Friday's scheduled test session. He is cautiously
optimistic the time will hold up through two more qualifying sessions
on Saturday before eliminations begin mid-afternoon.

ASHLEY FORCE, SCHUMACHER, WARREN JOHNSON AND CHRIS RIVAS TOP QUALIFIERS AFTER DAY ONE AT ROUTE 66

If
Ashley Force holds onto the top spot through Saturday qualifying, she
will become the first female Funny Car driver to qualify No. 1.

It
may seem that, after earning her first career win as a professional
driver more than a month ago, a No. 1 qualifier would be somewhat
anticlimactic for Ashley Force.

But when she drove her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a 4.759-second pass
at 329.10 mph during the second round of qualifying at the Torco Racing
Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals on Friday, those numbers stood for more.
They proved her young team, in only its second year together, is
becoming the kind of consistent and comfortable team that posts
competitive, winning numbers, like her career-best speed.

In the last pair of fuel coupes during Saturday evening's Funny Car
qualifying at the NHRA Torco Race Fuels Route 66 Nationals in Chicago,
Ashley Force and Mark Oswald had a shot at unseating Melanie Troxel but
it was Oswald who came closest with a 4.757 second run pushing Force
into the No. 3 slot with her 4.759 run from Friday night.

“The waiting was not good but thank goodness Mike Neff qualified during
that last round or I wish it would have rained. We lost the No. 1 spot
and we match up now with Robert (Hight) but that is just how it goes,”
said the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car event. “Sunday is a whole
new day. We are just going to go out there and run the best we can. The
good thing is our car is running great in all the different conditions.”

With GRP Connecting Rods and Winberg Crankshafts operating under the
same roof, the two companies will join forces to host an open house in
conjunction with the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals on July 10, from
noon to 7 p.m. Two of the industry leaders will open their respective
doors to give the racers that rare glimpse into how these engine
components are manufactured and allow teams to gain a better
understanding of the products. With the shops located at 333 West 48th
Ave., which is located where Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 intersect
in Denver, placing the open house on the route from Denver
International Airport to Bandimere Speedway, making it an easy
destination to allow GRP and Winberg to show the racing community what
they are all about.

The almost 10,000 fans who poured through the gates at Tulsa Raceway
Park for the O’Reilly Thunder Jam presented by Warren CAT and
1-800-SAFE AUTO June 7 made one thing perfectly clear…the city of Tulsa
is ready for its Nitro fix. That fix will come August 22-24 when the
IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro Jam comes to town for the Skull Shine Sooner
Nationals.

Fans have until June 14 to take advantage of an out of this world
ticket deal; a deal that will save customers $15.00 on Friday and
Sunday tickets for the Sooner Nationals. The “Nitro Fast Pass” is now
available at Tulsa Raceway Park or online. The Nitro Fast Pass is good
for the discount on all Friday and Sunday general admission tickets for
the Aug. 22-24 Sooner Nationals.

The NHRA issued a technical reminder to
racers in all Top Alcohol Funny Car and Funny Car classes: All body
(hood) burst panels must follow the Rules provision to ensure the
retention of the panel in any incident that may occur per the NHRA
Rulebook:

Jeff Wahl, of New Lennox, Ill., became the 10th NAPA Honorary Crew Member at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway

Jeff Wahl, of New Lennox, Ill., became the 10th NAPA Honorary Crew
Member at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, the 10th
round of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Wahl had a look of complete surprise when his name was called. He
thought he would be pressed into service as a working crew member on
the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driven by Ron Capps. He
was quickly relieved to learn that he had earned the honor but wouldn't
actually have to turn a wrench on the NAPA Funny Car.
 

Even though you’ve seen a movie once, if it’s really good, you watch it over and
over.  And if you heard people talking about a great movie that you missed, you
want to make sure you see it.
 
For those who want to experience the
excitement and camaraderie of the fourth annual Old Spice Prelude to the Dream
presented June 4 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, HBO Pay-Per-View will
have encore presentations of the all-star dirt late model race available now
through June 15.  Contact your satellite or cable provider and check your local
listings for dates and times.  HBO Pay-Per-View’s racing telecast has a
suggested retail price of $24.95.
 
The race, which drew more than 23,000
fans to Eldora, was broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View with proceeds from the
telecast going to support the soon-to-be constructed Victory Junction Gang Camp
– Kansas City and the Tony Stewart Foundation.