He's had a good off-season he says, but Ron Capps is ready for the 2008
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series to begin at this weekend's NHRA
Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.

Driving the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car in 2008, his
fourth year with Don Schumacher Racing, the California native is eager
to get back to the challenge of claiming his first Funny Car
championship since beginning his pro career in 1995. He'll also be
facing some changes and variables this season, in particular at this
opening event.

"It's been a great off-season," said Capps, who came off a
disappointing fourth-place finish in last year's all-new Countdown to
the Championship playoffs after leading the standings most of the
season. "We have a new sponsor on board with NAPA AUTO PARTS, which is
awesome. And sometimes you don't go very far into the off season before
you're ready to go racing again. But after last year and competing in
the Countdown to One, I really felt I needed some rest. It was pretty
grueling at the end.

Defending CarQuest Auto Parts Winternationals champion, J.R. Todd is
glad 2007 is finally behind him regardless of having a superlative
season.  He claimed two victories out of three final round appearances
and was among the elite of the first cut of the NHRA POWERade Countdown
to the Championship.

Although, he began a banner year with the Top Fuel points lead in hand,
with Pomona race wins over Melanie Troxel, Doug Kalitta, David Grubnic,
and against great friend and competitor, Brandon Bernstein in the
finals of the season-opening event.  However, it didn’t take long for
many detours to change his point of direction.  Shortly after his
season-opening win, crew chief, Jimmy Walsh departed the Dexter Tuttle
racing group and then Johnny West was tapped to lead him into another
final round and win in Houston.

He reached his third final at Topeka for the O’Reilly Summer Nationals
with then, third crew chief Kevin Poynter, which carried him to an
eighth-place finish in the POWERade Championship.

Tim Wilkerson is hopeful that it will be a good year for his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS.

Wilkerson ended last season on a strong surge, earning a couple of No.
1 qualifying spots, numerous round wins, and several awards given for
outstanding performance. Wilk and his talented team showed that they
had his fuel coupe in top shape and a force to be reckoned with. But
it’s a new year with new rules and requirements, and Wilkerson knows
that things change quickly in his split-second world. However, he is
anxiously anticipating the new season with optimistic enthusiasm.

“I’m hoping we can start the new season, the way we left off last year,
winning a few rounds of racing,” said Wilkerson. “We had a good chance
to win that last race in Pomona last fall, but just came up one round
short. So, we’re optimistic for this year. We’ve got a new guy on the
team, so the first thing we’re going to do is get him settled in where
the car is consistent again.”

One of the rules changes for the fuel cars for 2008 is a return to
allowing them to run 90-percent nitromethane. Several years ago when
the teams ran 90 percent, Wilkerson had a firm handle on his 7,000
horsepower machine, and he’s hoping that handle will return.

The North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame committee
inducted five new members in Greensboro, North Carolina today. Steve Earwood
gave the opening remarks and Mark Joyce introduced the presenters.

Stephen Denton presented the first award to his father, Harold
Denton. Herb McCandless’s son Herb McCandless, Jr. also presented the award to
his father.

Long time friend and associate Thomas Popowich presented Ray
Price his award and Price nearly broke into tears as he thanked the committee
and the large crowd gathered in the banquet hall.

Its' lightning speed fast, too hot to handle, yet so cool it
has to wear shades -- enter Jim Yates Racing’s new Pontiac GXP Pro
Stock car -- the Wiley X Eyewear Sunglass Machine.

The creative tour de force/speed demon will make its debut on
Feb. 7-10 at the 48th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.,
where drag racing enthusiasts will finally get their first look at the
show-stopping good looks of Yates' new Pontiac GXP. Race fans will be
sure to hit the brakes and take notice of the edgy new 2008 design,
from its enflamed skull sporting a pair of Wiley X’s on the hood, to
the extreme barbwire wrapping the car’s frame, the new Wiley X Sunglass
Machine boasts the industry’s most intense custom paint job on the
strip.

David Allio Photos

Jeg Coughlin, Jr. started the 2008 season the way we ended 2007.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. of Mooresville, N.C., won the third annual Pontiac
Pro Stock Showdown at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway today. 
Coughlin, in the left lane, defeated Allen Johnson of Greenville,
Tenn., 6.711 sec./204.94 mph to 6.735 sec./203.92 mph.

“We haven’t tested all season,” said Coughlin. “We came out Thursday, made two runs and we were the fastest car.”
       

Allen Johnson cut a strong pathway to the finals.

Coughlin’s qualifying run on Friday afternoon was the quickest and
fastest pass in Pro Stock history at The Strip at LVMS (6.687
sec./206.16 mph).

Scott’s Transmission Center,
located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has recently announced their sponsorship of a
new awards program called “Top Dog of the Event,”  to be included at each of the
21 Sunoco Race Fuels Money Trail events at Maple Grove Raceway in 2008. The
program awards $100 cash to the winner who ran closest to their dial-in in the
final round. Class winners in Super, Pro, Street, Top Bike and Junior Dragster
Eliminators will all be eligible.

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FEEDBACK FRIDAY - FEBRUARY 1

The champion is back.
 
And defending Pro Modified Racing Association Champion Bruce Boland
will be returning to PMRA competition with a brand new car for the 2008
tour.
 
“I’m looking forward to the PMRA season,” said Boland, who amassed
enough points only at the last event of 2007 to win the
tightly-contested race. “And I’d like to make a repeat of last season,”
he added.
 
Boland and the rest of the B&B Racing team put a new
2500-horsepower ERD Brad Anderson Hemi in the 1953 Corvette last year,
and for 2008 the power plant will be sitting in a new LJ Chassis 1963
Corvette-bodied Pro Modified.
 
"A great veteran drag racer, Bruce Boland is dedicated to the PMRA
series, and like most of our teams he understands the concept of our
series, which is to go out and entertain the fans, and the rest will
look after itself," explained Bruce F. Mehlenbacher, Director of
Operations for the PMRA. "Bruce is a knowledgeable, seasoned competitor
that runs hard and is on his game plan every time he gets into his Pro
Modified. You can never count him out."

Brandon Bernstein is anxious to get the 2008 season underway. 
Bolstered by solid performances in pre-event testing, the second
generation driver is invigorated and ready to renew his pursuit of an
NHRA Top Fuel championship.

The popular driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster came
ever so close to winning the championship last year, finally losing the
battle for the coveted “Wally” trophy in the semifinals of the
season-ending event at Auto Club Raceway.  Building off the team’s
consistent success in ’07, team owner Kenny Bernstein feels the
Bud/Lucas Oil Team has all the markings of another strong run for the
Series title in 2008.

When Bernstein competes at the CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals Feb.
7-10, he’ll be looking to equal or better his runner-up finish at last
year’s season-opener.  Bernstein will be sporting a new red Budweiser
paint scheme, inspired by Bud’s new tagline, “The Great American Lager.”

Six-time champion Kenny spent five days in Phoenix monitoring the team’s progress in pre-season testing.