Hot Rod Fuller will entertain three CAT dealerships this weekend in Topeka. (Roger Richards)

The NHRA race at Heartland Park Topeka marks the first event that will
see multiple Caterpillar dealer groups participate in the NHRA
technician recruiting program. The David Powers-owned, Rod
Fuller-driven Caterpillar dragster will fly the logos of Martin
Tractor, Foley Equipment and Warren Cat during the 20th annual O’Reilly
Summer Nationals at Heartland Park. Linn State Technical College and
Crossland Construction also will be involved in the team’s activities
during the weekend.

The relationship between David Powers Motorsports, Caterpillar and the
Caterpillar Dealer Groups was designed as a pilot program to increase
technician recruiting. Many Caterpillar dealers are experiencing a
shortage of technicians, and after successful events in several NHRA
markets during the 2007 season, DPM and Caterpillar inked a multiyear
agreement last August to participate in the NHRA dealer recruitment
program.

"The NHRA Summer Nationals at Topeka is a special race for Caterpillar
as this will be the first event that we have had three Caterpillar
dealers collectively participating in the NHRA technician recruiting
program, as well as Cat equipment on display for marketing and sales
programs,” Caterpillar’s Stan Deatherage said. “All three dealers,
Martin, Foley Equipment and Warren, also will utilize customer
entertainment in the David Powers Motorsports Iron Eagle Club
hospitality area. All three dealers will have their logos on the
dragster, along with Caterpillar Think Big educational partner Linn
State Technical College."

Construction on the "other" drag strip in Carolinas is quickly moving forward with a Spring 2009 opening. The new Union County Motorsports Park in South Carolina makes progress with every day of work. Reportedly the site is being groomed for a 2010 national event although the parties involved are being tight-lipped.

Roger Richards Photos

The 2008 IHRA season has proven to be the year of the nitro rookies.

Twenty-five year old Spencer Massey has won two races thus far in IHRA Top Fuel. He won in his first national event.

Top Fuel freshman Spencer Massey won his first Top Fuel event just days
after procuring his license and twenty-one year old Dan Wilkerson drove
his way to a provisional IHRA Funny Car world record on his first pass
as a professional drag racer. Wilkerson also reached the final round in his first outing.

Massey is the senior of the two having two more races under his belt.
He is also the point leader based on victories at those first two events.

Fred Farndon's weekend began and ended with this run during the IHRA Motor City Nationals in Milan, Michigan. The veteran Top Fuel driver drew first blood on a 15-oildown weekend for the event during the first session of Top Fuel qualifying. (Photos by Roger Richards)

Allen
Johnson seeks his first win in 2008. (Roger Richards)

NHRA POWERade Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson and his Mopar®/J&J
Racing Dodge Stratus R/T team will look to put their first “W” in the
2008 win column when they head to the drag strip at Heartland Park
Topeka [Kan.] this weekend for the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals.

Johnson has been one of the most consistent drivers in the NHRA Pro
Stock series this year. He is fifth in the points standings, has
qualified no worse than six through the first eight races and has
advanced to at least the quarterfinals in seven events. Those solid
performances have made his struggles to get into the winner’s circle
even more perplexing for the Greeneville, Tenn. native.

In 220 professional starts, reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Jeg
Coughlin Jr. has failed to qualify for eliminations on just 13 occasions, or a
nominal six percent of the time. The superstar racer is much more likely to
reach the final round (28 percent chance) or win the race outright (18 percent)
than anything else.

Nevertheless, Coughlin missed the NHRA's last stop in
Bristol, Tenn., by .003 seconds, ending an incredible streak of 70 consecutive
starts that dated all the way back to the 2004 national event at Heartland Park
Topeka.

"It stings, but it happens; it's part of drag racing," Coughlin
said flatly.

No one is immune. The most prolific racer of all-time, John
Force, extinguished a record run of 395 races at last year's Vegas event. Pro
Stock legend Warren Johnson had 303 successive starts before stumbling in
San Francisco in
2002. Joe Amato had the longest streak in Top Fuel ended in 1995 after 191
successful outings.

At Bristol Dragway’s Night of
Fire on Friday, May 30, folks of all ages will be astounded by a rather unusual
match race between two “jet trains,” the Chattanooga Choo-Choo and the
Cannonball Express.

So who is the brain trust behind the
jet trains?  It’s none other than K.C.
Jones himself… that’s Kenneth Charles Jones for those keeping track.

K.C. Jones will send his Chattanooga
Choo-Choo jet dragster down the quarter-mile at Bristol Dragway with the same
courage and gusto as his heroic railroading counterpart, the legendary Casey
Jones, who hailed from Tennessee.

“My father’s nickname was R.R.,
which looked like railroad,” explained Jones. 
“When my parents named me, they wanted a Casey Jones.  They named me Kenneth Charles so that my
initials would be K.C.”

Kevin Jones was just one of a handful of nitro racers who tested the limits of mechanical boundaries in Milan. (Roger Richards)

IHRA Vice President of Operations Skooter Peaco has experienced easier race weekends.

You know the situation is tough when you can order a pizza and have time to eat between clean ups. (Brian Wood).

Over the course of the three-day event there were eighteen oil downs resulting in several hours of racing downtime.

One of those marathon oil downs transpired on race day delaying the event by nearly an hour.

Peaco searched his memory for when he’s had a more frustrating day.

Max Naylor’s plan for the 2008 season was a lot different than what
he’s experienced thus far. He’s on the right track now since failing to
qualify in

Max Naylor is having a tough season, but he remains optimistic. (Roger Richards)

four of the first eight races and yet to make his way past the opening round.
That’s a free fall considering he earned two pole positions in 2007.

“The things started coming around after Vegas,” Naylor said. “We’ve got
to go back because we were chasing phantoms for the first few races of
the season. We have to get everything set
back to where it was. I think we’ll be good from this point on.”

The largest phantom Naylor chased started in the paint booth when, in
the process of repainting the car to accommodate his new Vegas Fuel
Energy Drink sponsorship, overspray corroded many of the electrical
connections on his Dodge Stratus.