Bidding continues on the
special tribute helmet and firesuit honoring Darrell Russell and worn by Top
Fuel driver Alan Bradshaw during the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, Mo.
These items are currently on eBay with the proceeds donated to Racers for
Christ.

Brandon Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster hopes
that the team’s past accomplishments at the O’Reilly Thunder Valley
Nationals will pay dividends at this year’s May 16-18 event.

“Bristol is a track where we’ve had pretty good success,” said the
second generation driver.  “We won here in 2003 and 2007 and we were
the No. 1 qualifier in 2003 and 2005.  The fact that we’ve performed
well here in the past helps build confidence going into this year’s
event.  We know we are capable of winning.

“One of my favorite memories, though, was in 2005 when my friend Eric
Medlen and I were the No. 1 qualifiers.   It was raining and qualifying
was done for the day and I remember Eric and I got on our golf cart to
go to the press room for interviews.  We were pretty soaked, but we
were like a couple of kids, we were so excited to be the No. 1
qualifiers.  That’s a good memory.”

Melanie Troxel is showing the same competitiveness she displayed in the Top Fuel division.  (Roger Richards Photos)

Troxel Getting Comfortable in ProCare Rx Dodge; Performance Improving with
Each Race
 

Her best elapsed time of the season that was No. 1 on Friday,
three competitive 4.8-second qualifying runs and a second consecutive
strong on-track performance brought a sigh of relief to Melanie Troxel
and every Gotham City Racing team member at St. Louis.
 
The task now at hand is to continue building the success into round
wins and, eventually, that coveted race victory.  Both appear to be
fast-approaching. 
 
Her next step toward achieving those goals is the O’Reilly Thunder
Valley Nationals, May 16-18, at Bristol, Tenn.  She was low qualifier
in Top Fuel at the track in 2006, one of three in the dragster category.
 

The April 30 issue of the Canada Gazette, the official newspaper of
the Canadian government, brought good news to drag racers in Canada.
The amendment for the importation, production and sale of leaded fuel
used for the purpose of competition in Canada has been extended until
January 1, 2010.

This is the seventh time this exemption has been
amended. It caused concern among Canadian racers and track operators
because the exemption was set to expire Jan. 1, 2009 and no word of
another extension was rumored. They provided the government with hard
data pointing out the severe economic impact that would be felt by
those in the industry.

The economic impact would not have been
limited to drag racing. Three of the largest races in Canada are IHRA
Knoll Gas Nitro Jam events, which bring thousands of racers and fans
and millions of dollars into the communities of Grand Bend, Cayuga
(both in Ontario) and Edmonton (Alberta).

Georgia’s own Mike Hill and Coodee Thomas rewarded the huge partisan
crowd at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP) with wins in Extreme
10.5 and Pro Extreme Motorcycle, respectively, May 10, at the 4th
annual Hardee’s Georgia Drags staged by the Flowmaster American Drag
Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard. Joining them in
victory lane were Pro Extreme star Joshua Hernandez and new Pro Nitrous
record holder Billy Harper.

Hernandez qualified his National Guard-backed ’57 Chevy seventh and
raced past fellow Texans Gaylen Smith and Frankie Taylor before taking
out John Stanley in the semis to reach Quain Stott and his ’63 Corvette
in the Pro Extreme final. Hernandez was on his game, taking a .026
advantage off the starting line and blasting to a 3.82-seconds pass at
195.87 mph over the SGMP eighth mile that also set low elapsed time
(E.T.) for the weekend and gave Hernandez his second-straight ADRL
national event win. Meanwhile, Stott suffered traction trouble and was
forced to shut off early after reaching the final from the 16th and
final qualifying position.

“I owed Quain that one,” Hernandez said, referring to a final-round
loss to Stott at the same track two years ago. “We were ready for him.
I knew it was going to run a good number because once Jimmy (Oddy, crew
chief) and the boys found the right tune-up for the hot track they
weren’t going to let go.”

The
highly successful partnership between Holley Performance Products and
the NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion will continue for at least three more
years. Thanks to a new deal, Holley will remain the title sponsor of
the popular event, retaining the naming rights. Holley has been the
Reunion's main sponsor since it first came to Bowling Green, Ky., six
years ago. This year's edition is set for Father's Day Weekend, June
13-15 at Beech Bend Park.

“It's always been called the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion and
I'm happy to report that it will continue to be so named for the
future,” said Tony Thacker, executive director of the nonprofit Wally
Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, producers of the Reunion. “Holley is
headquartered in Bowling Green and the ideal sponsor for the Reunion.
I'm glad our relationship continues to grow.”

One of the reasons the Pro Modified class is so popular is due to the
wide variety of body styles on the 200-mph plus race cars, and the  Pro
Modified Racing Association has its share of eye-catching cars.
 
But for 2008, the PMRA has a larger variety of engine combinations, as
teams both new and old to the PMRA prepare for the season opener, the
Third Annual Victoria Day Weekend - PMRA Challenge May 17 and 18 at
Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario.
 
In 2007 the Guenther Racing Team Willys was the sole non-supercharged
PMRA Pro Modified, but the Livonia, New York team will have company
this year.
 
“Aside from most PMRA teams running superchargers, we have some new
players on board this year running nitrous and we’ll also see some
turbocharger action,” said PMRA Director of Operations Bruce
Mehlenbacher. “We’re pleased to see this influx of engine combinations,
and it just shows the innovations possible in this class.”

There’s nothing like winning to erase a bad memory. For Long Island,
New York’s Vinny Budano, a three-time champion on the NMCA, his
shortcomings at the season-opener were replaced with a Pro Street
victory at the 7th annual NMCA Muscle Car Nationals, held at Bowling
Green, KY's Beech Bend Raceway.  
 
"I had to come home and pick myself up by my boot straps and march on",
said Budano, as he described his method of recovery from a round one
red light in Bradenton, FL over a month ago. The recovery came full
circle over the weekend in Bowling Green, as Budano and the entire
Scott Shafiroff-lead team, found a sensational tune-up for the company
car, a Tim McAmis-built 68 Camaro.
 
Budano’s victory was sweetened by a raceday rebound from a dismal qualifying effort.

"I was honestly bummed out on Sunday morning because the car was simply not right, and I knew it,” said Budano.

Even though he qualified in the top half of the 16 car field, Budano was wrestling with choices.

To say it has been an up and down season for Pro Mod Racer, Mike
Knowles, would be more than a bit lopsided. To tell the truth it's
almost been all down, but things are beginning to look up for Veteran
Racer,  Mike Knowles.

After missing the first race of the Jegs Pro Mod Challenge season
because his new McAmis Corvette was crashed in early testing by a
substitute driver; Knowles rebounded quickly with a back-up car but
success has been hard to come by. Following two DNQ's Knowles and his
team took some time for pre-race testing before the recently completed
NHRA St. Louis event. The testing paid off with Knowles making his
first appearance in eliminations this season only to go down in the
first round.

These photos are from our Baghdad correspondent and drag racing fan Lee McKinney serving in Iraq. McKinney is kind enough every so often to share with out readers the happenings around the Baghdad Embassy.