One of the more noticeable absences from the season opening IHRA Texas Nationals in San Antonio

Brian Gahm sat out the first event of the season in San Antonio for what he calls economic reason.

was the two-time IHRA Pro Stock champion Brian Gahm. The Lucasville, Ohio-based driver had a good reason.

He was working. Plus, the current state of the economy and his disdain for eighth-mile racing were contributing factors.

“I just couldn’t see going down there for an eighth-mile race and
spending all of that money for fuel,” Gahm said. “I’m just not doing it
this year. We have a lot of stuff going on at home. We’re going to race
but we’re not doing a lot of things like we used to – like driving all
the way to Edmonton. It ain’t gonna happen.”

Gahm is a veteran of the mountain motor Pro Stock wars, having migrated
over from the rough and tumble world of racing nitrous Pro Modified.
He’s reached the final round in eighteen IHRA national events with
eleven victories.

It has only been a few days since Bob Tasca III had his best Funny Car
event of the season with a semi-final appearance in Atlanta, and the
rookie driver is ready to do even better this weekend as the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series heads to Gateway International Raceway.

“Having a couple of days to kind of look back on what we accomplished
in Atlanta, it’s really remarkable,” said Tasca. “To come from nowhere
and to be a contender this soon, is just really a credit to my crew
chief, Chris Cunningham, all the guys working on the team.”

Heading into the seventh race of the season, the driver of the
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Shelby Mustang sits 11th
in the series’ championship points, one point outside of the top 10.

The Pacific Street Car Association roared into The Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway with a whopping 20 Pro Street car field and they desert heat didn't
stop records from being set. The track staff had the track prepped to perfection
ALL WEEKEND!! (Hello NHRA are ya readin this) Records started with Giuseppe
Gentile setting both ends of the record with a 6.297 @ 226.05 mph and a Win
against a peddaling number one qualifyer John Mihovetz in the Finals.

Crane Cams will be supplying contingency sponsorship for the winner at each of the 2008 PMRA events.
 
“To get Crane involved with the PMRA is very important and gratifying
for us,” said PMRA Director of Operations Bruce Mehlenbacher. “It shows
that the PMRA has reached a level where major aftermarket firms such as
Crane believe in our series.”
 
Based in Florida since 1953, Crane was founded by hot rodder and
machinist Harvey Crane, with an emphasis on quality and reliability.

Jerry Haas Race Cars held their annual open house the Thursday
of the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Several hundred members of the community
attended and ate what was described as some of the best food ever
offered for an open house.

Today at noon (EST), the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL)
presented by the National Guard will debut Adrenaline: The Series, an
hour-long online video show dedicated exclusively to highlighting ADRL
events, teams and drivers. The new, all-ADRL show will be hosted at
www.DragRacingOnline.com.

“The ADRL has made its name by going its own way. From eighth-mile
racing to two-day national events to taking the shackles off and
letting the racers run with very limited rules, the ADRL has never been
afraid to break the mold and give the fans what they want,” ADRL
President Kenny Nowling stated. “The ADRL’s fans want something
different. They prove that over and over again at our events and now
we’re bringing a whole new style of event coverage to them with ADRLTV
Online and Adrenaline: The Series.”

ADRL fans will never have to wait for a brief mention of their favorite
racers on a general motorsports news program, or tune in at an odd
hour, or suffer having their scheduled shows pre-empted by an overly
long stick-and-ball event—they can get their shot of Adrenaline: The
Series whenever and wherever they like.

Gary Scelzi has had his share of fun in Bristol, particularly when it comes to
trekking through Thunder Valley at speeds in excess of 300 mph. And he’s looking
forward to doing just that again when the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
bring him back to town May 16-18.
 
While he’s preparing to go after a
second Funny Car win at Bristol Dragway, the four-time world champion also is
anxiously awaiting his chance to take on the World’s Fastest Half-Mile for the
NHRA Circle Track Challenge on Saturday May 17.
 
Scelzi is just one of 18
NHRA drivers who will race all day at the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
then venture over to Bristol Motor Speedway for a 25-lap event that will test
their circle track skills. He is looking forward to showcasing his talents in a
Street Stock car.
 
“A few years ago, Bobby Matson was one of my bosses at
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.,” he said.  “They had a birthday party for his wife in
Bruton's suite, and while we were up there having a good time I took my kids and
all the other kids up to the circle track in Bruton's Suburban and drove around
Bristol. It was amazing how big of a bank that that place has. And you really
have to get the speed up to get the thing up in the corners.

Saturday's
two-hour ESPN2/ESPN2-HD coverage of qualifying from this weekend's
O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Int'l Raceway in Madison,
Ill., will now air from 10 p.m. - midnight Eastern. Sunday's three-hour
final eliminations program will air in prime time, beginning at 7 p.m.

Two-time Pro Modified champion remembers a magical weekend in St. Louis

Mike
Ashley knows well the crossroads between nitro Funny Car and Pro
Modified intersect in St. Louis, at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St.
Louis, Mo., to be exact.

The two-time Pro Modified world champion will be pulling double-duty
driving his front-running 1968 Camaro Pro Modified in the Jegs ProMod
division as well as the second nitro Funny Car on his Gotham City
Racing operation.

Ashley, the mortgage banker from New York’s Long Island, remembers the
first time the two divisions intersected. Two years ago, in Ashley’s
first full season as a nitro Funny Car driver, he sat out the event as
he transitioned his team from Del Worsham’s operation over to Don
Schumacher Racing.

Antron
Brown has taken NHRA drag racing by storm since making the unprecedented move
from Pro Stock Motorcycle to Top Fuel. The 32-year-old racer from Indianapolis earned the pole at the 2008 NHRA season-opener
in Pomona, Calif. and hasn’t looked back. Arguably the
hottest driver on tour, Brown recently earned his second win in three races on
April 27 at Atlanta Dragway after making his third straight final round
appearance. Brown made NHRA history on March 28 becoming the first driver in
NHRA history to earn wins in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Now with 18
wins to his credit, he looks to advance to his fourth straight final round when
the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series visits Gateway International Raceway near
St. Louis May
2-4. While Antron Brown qualifies for a starting spot in the O’Reilly Midwest
Nationals on May 3, another famous Brown, Big Brown, looks to add his name to
the horse racing annals when he battles a challenging field at Churchill Downs
during 134th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky. The Derby
favorite, Big Brown looks to follow-up his impressive victory in the Florida
Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 29 as trainer Richard Dutrow
looks to field the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Big Brown
will start on the outside post on Saturday.