For the last month, sixteen of drag racing’s most colorful
personalities have battled it out within the electronic pages of
Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com in hopes of becoming the inaugural WAR
STORIES SHOWDOWN champion. Sixteen hard-fought battles have whittled
the challenge down to one final match.

Their battles are not of a physical nature or one of performance. This
championship is decided by who can tell the best war story. On Monday
morning, Scotty Cannon will face off with Roy Hill for the coveted BULL

POO trophy. The BULL POO is the WAR STORIES equivalent to an NHRA Wally or IHRA Iron Man.

How fitting is it that out of the sixteen combatants, who are all
accomplished in some form or fashion within drag racing, the
championship comes down to two “good ‘ole boys” from the Carolinas?

Canadian fuel regulations have always been considered forward thinking
by those deeply concerned about the environment. Since 1990, Canadian
officials have exempted several industries from the conversion from
leaded fuels to unleaded fuels – specifically airlines, farms, boat,
trucks and eventually competitive motorsports. Fuels for the exempted
industries is imported, mostly from the United States.

A fourth extension of the exemption for competitive motorsports has now
been proposed, however that exception is proposed to last only one
year, with all competitive motorsports vehicles required to use
unleaded fuels starting in 2009.

According to Ron Biekx, General Manager, Grand Bend Motorplex, a one
year exception is a death sentence to the top levels of professional
drag racing and the tracks hosting those classes.

Late last year Matt Hagan Racing announced it would run a Nitro Funny
Car team in the 2008 season. Matt Hagan Racing is now proud to announce
the addition of Jay Lewis as Crew Chief for the 2008 Nitro Funny Car
team.

Jay is from Dinwidde, Virginia and is an 11-year veteran tuner of top
fuel and funny cars. He has 3 career wins with Lagana & Lewis
Racing in IHRA Top Fuel competition, and his teams have finished 4th or
better in the points for the past 3 years running.

Jay was also awarded the 2006 IHRA Crew Chief of the Year.

Less than 48 hours after learning of his longtime sponsor's sudden and
unexpected hiatus from drag racing, Mike Ashley has acquired primary funding for
his NHRA Funny Car team for 2008 and beyond.

Ashley today announced a
racing partnership with ProCare Rx Chairman and Founder Roger Burgess with the
goal of fielding the ultimate championship drag racing team. Ashley and Burgess
will initially field one nitro Funny Car with racing standout Melanie Troxel
behind the wheel, and will aggressively seek additional long-term sponsorship to
field a second Funny Car in the NHRA.

"I wasn't sure what we were going
to do," Ashley recounted.  "I got the announcement and it was obviously
stunning. I was on the way to Indianapolis to talk with the team when Roger
called me and asked what I was going to do about the 2008 season.

"My
initial response was that it was such short notice that I wasn't sure what we
would be doing and I didn't know if we were going to be able to continue long
term. Roger immediately hopped on a plane and met me at the shop in Brownsburg
[Ind.].

In a press conference earlier today, Andrew Bornstein, Amalie Oil Business
Development Manager, announced that Amalie Motor Oil will renew and expand its
relationship with Terry McMillen and the Hoosier Thunder Motorsports drag racing
team based in Elkhart, Ind. Amalie will continue its primary sponsorship of the
Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car and become the major associate sponsor of the
Amalie Oil Top Fuel Dragster. The team is scheduled to compete in all 11 IHRA
races.

The news comes on the heels of yesterday's announcement that
Amalie renewed its relationship with the IHRA, retaining title sponsorship of
the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals (San Antonio April 4-6) and the Amalie Oil North
American Nationals (Epping, N.H. September 5-7)in a multi-year agreement that
will also keep Amalie as the Official Motor Oil of the IHRA.

Four-time drag racing champion Gary Scelzi is still having a blast at
the 22nd annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals, driving the Jegs/K&N
Filters/Scelzi Enterprises/Mopar USAC midget. The Fresno, Calif.,
native finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in his two qualifying
races Wednesday night on the Tulsa Expo Raceway clay oval, but it did
not get him into the A-main and final event on Saturday night.

Scelzi,
whose usual mount is the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car in
the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, still has one chance -- although
extremely remote -- to make the field, in another qualifying event on
Saturday.

"I'm guaranteed to race on Saturday," he said,
"because there are several 'Mains' (or consolation races). The A-main
is obviously the main deal, but there isn't a chance in hell of my
making that. I knew that going in. There's no way a guy is going to
come from as far back in the field as I am and get up front. I don't
think Tony Stewart could make the A-main from where I'll be starting in
the field.

Jason Sharp, of Speedtech Nitrous, will field this Mullis Built dragster driven by Anthony
Jones of Tuscaloosa , Alabama to be run in NHRA Div 2 as well as
the big money bracket promoters like George Howard events. The car will be
powered by a Sunset Racecraft 582 cid, Speedtech Nitrous-enhanced combination
along with a Hughes Performance built Powerglide. The exquisite design has been applied by
the talented staff at Illusions Paint and Body in Bristol, TN
.

The following are the pre-entries received for the 8th annual Eastern Spring Test Nationals presented by Torco's CompetitionPlus.com hosted by South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga. 

NHRA POWERADE COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT CHANGES FOR 2008

NHRA also announces Auto Club NHRA Finals moved to Nov. 13-16, 2008

NHRA announced today modifications to the NHRA POWERade Countdown to
the Championship designed to build upon the excitement and success
generated from last year’s inaugural season.  In addition, NHRA also
announced that the final race of the season, the Automobile Club of
Southern California NHRA Finals, has been moved one week later to Nov.
13-16, 2008.

The 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series will feature an 18-race
regular season, followed by a six-race NHRA POWERade Countdown to the
Championship playoff to determine POWERade world champions in Top Fuel,
Funny Car and Pro Stock.   The fields for the championship playoffs,
which will be set at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend,
will be expanded to the top 10 in each class, up from eight in 2007.  

In the Pro Stock Motorcycle category, the season will feature a 12-race
regular season and a five-race playoff. The top 10 riders will advance
to the championship playoffs following the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

 Similar to last year’s format, and after the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals,
championship playoff competitors will have their points readjusted and
separated in 10 point increments.  However, points leaders in each of
the four professional classes after the regular season will be awarded
with a 20-point bonus, increasing their leads over the second place
qualifiers to 30 points.  Thus, first place in the standings will begin
the Countdown to 1 with 2,090 points; second place with 2,060 points
and so on to 10th place starting with 1,980 points.