IHRA Announcer Bob Unkefer was convinced he’d reached the pinnacle of success in his driving career when

NHRA Stock racer and IHRA announcer Bob Unkefer reacts to an admiring fan in the winner's circle. (Roger Richards)

he
won the Stock eliminator crown recently during the NHRA
Springnationals in Houston, Texas. As the elated Unkefer stood on stage
and hoisted his trophy high into the air, he saw it.

As Unkefer admitted, you couldn’t miss it among his cheering fans comprised of fellow sportsman racers.

Unkefer got mooned.

Yes, someone dropped trouser to show their posterior as Unkefer stood on stage.

“It was definitely not a sight to behold,” Unkefer admitted. “I had a
friend tell me that it’s memories from the winner’s circle that I will
never forget. I don't know that that's what I don't want to forget.”

There’s a positioning going on during the first phase of the two-part NHRA Countdown to the Championship

Rod Fuller says the experience from 2007 had encouraged him to approach the championship chase in a different way.

and
no one wants to take the lead, especially last season’s early leaders
Rod Fuller and Ron Capps. Both racers led the points championships in
their respective divisions before losing the titles in the final
contracting elements.

Fuller led the Top Fuel division points up until the final round of the
season. Under the former format, Fuller would have won the title.

“The experience changed my approach a tremendous amount,” Fuller
pointed out. “Last year left a big chip on my shoulder and there’s two
ways to look at it. I know we should never hold a chip on our shoulder
but the experience has worked as a positive for me. I drive with an
extra fire burning inside because of it.

Former Pro Modified racer turned Pro Stock Truck sensation Brad Jeter has made his way back to the

Brad Jeter has found a reason to return in drag racing in working with Scotty Cannon.

professional ranks, but in a different capacity than when he won ten national event championships.

Jeter, of Greenville, South Carolina, has given up the wheel to serve
as one of Scotty Cannon’s “crew chiefs” during his return to the Pro
Modified class. He’s traded in the firesuit for the greasy confines of
the clutch can in a doorslammer and any other between rounds
maintenance needing to be done.

He’s not disgruntled with the reassignment. Instead, he’s having the time of his life helping a long time friend.

Reigning POWERade champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. has taken a big step towards
increasing driver safety in the Pro Stock category by trading in his traditional
two-piece driver's suit for a new one-piece creation from Oakley Motor
Sports.

A 52-time national event winner, Coughlin has been sporting a
prototype suit named Factory Pilot. It features three layers of protection and
is SFI rated 5. Like all of Oakley's safety gear, it is constructed with
award-winning CarbonX fabrics.

"We're seeing a big push for safety at
the moment and through our conversations with Jeg we realized there was a need
to improve what Pro Stock drivers are currently wearing," said Todd Hayes,
Oakley's Sports Marketing Manager for Motorsports Worldwide. "The evolution of
firesuits in the class just kind of went to the two-piece design, which has
since survived mainly because it's easy to take the jacket on and
off.

This weekend, Kurt Johnson will be one of countless people heading west
with the intent of winning big in Las Vegas.  However, even though he
may try his hand throughout the weekend at one of the gaming tables in
the casinos, his primary target will be the quarter-mile of concrete
and asphalt at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as he and his
ACDelco Cobalt racing team look to take home the trophy from this
weekend’s SummitRacing.com Nationals.  After all, having learned a
valuable lesson during his runner-up performance at the last race, KJ
is confident of being able to improve his odds.

“It certainly didn’t seem like it at the time, but what happened to us
during the final in Houston was actually good for us,” said Johnson.
“It showed us something we had to fix in our ACDelco Cobalt. In the
last two races, we had blamed the car’s bad behavior on the track,
which was certainly a factor, but when we overlaid the graph from that
run with our first-round race in Gainesville (where KJ also shot to the
right at the launch), they were virtually identical.

Laurie Cannister had every reason to enter the IHRA season-opener intimidated and worried. Just

A former Pro Outlaw champion, Laurie Cannister resumed her winning ways in Alcohol Funny Car.

because one has a reason doesn’t mean they always subscribe to negativity.

Cannister made a clean sweep of the Alcohol Funny Car field by
qualifying low and sequentially eliminating Paul Noakes and Thomas
Carter before beating three-time world champion Rob Atchison. She
wasn’t intimidated in the least considering she’s a former champion
herself dating back to the 2000 season.

“It’s unbelievable and great for a brand new team,” Cannister, who
drives the Kalbones Grilling Sauce Funny Car, said. “I hope we keep the
momentum for at least a little while because there are plenty of good
teams out here.”

Returning to one of the few tracks on which he has struggled during a
remarkable 31-year NHRA driving career, the indomitable John Force
sends his 330 mile-an-hour Castrol GTX® High Mileage™ Ford Mustang
after another milestone this week at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.
 
The 58-year-old icon, still battling back from injuries suffered in a
spectacular crash last September at the Texas Motorplex outside Dallas,
is poised to become the first driver in NHRA history to win 1,000
competitive rounds. 
 
All he has to do to make it happen is reach the winners' circle at the
ninth annual SummitRacing.com Nationals, the only event in the NHRA
POWERade Series in which he has made multiple appearances without at
least one victory.
 
In fact, the 14-time NHRA Funny Car Champion hasn't even reached the
finals at this particular event, the only race in which he has a losing
record (6-7).  It's also the event that last year brought to a end his
20 year qualifying streak at record 395 consecutive events.

Team
owner confirms he’s playing the waiting game on Connolly program …

The highly-anticipation sponsorship program which could bring Dave Connolly back to NHRA Pro Stock is in a holding pattern,
according to team owner Victor Cagnazzi.

“We’ve felt we were close, but at this point we aren’t really sure how
close we are,” Cagnazzi said in a recent interview with Torco’s
CompetitionPlus.com. “The process seems like it’s been at 90-percent
for a month now.”

Connolly was poised to challenge fellow Cagnazzi Racing teammate Jeg
Coughlin, Jr. for the 2008 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock championship when
sponsor/team owner Evan Knoll suspended sponsorships before taking a
medical leave of absence due to injuries sustained in a non-racing
automobile crash.

Funny Car
veteran learning to be a player on a multi-car team …

Even a seasoned veteran
can get “discovered”.

Last year, Jerry Toliver
spent much of the season playing drag racing’s version of the opening act as a
single-car nitro team. The benefits of multiple sources of information just
weren’t available.

Toliver has become part of
the headlining act by joining up with the traveling Don Schumacher Racing tour
and instead of showing off on a solo basis; he’s playing alongside teammates
such as Ron Capps, Gary Scelzi and Jack Beckman.

A larger stage doesn’t
guarantee one instant success, but the resources available sure don’t hurt.
Optimism is one of the great by-products of being on a multi-car team.