Each day of physical therapy on his recently-repaired left knee gets Dave
Connolly closer to January and the beginning of testing for 2008 NHRA POWERade
Series competition.
 
A week removed from ligament surgery at Ohio State
University’s Sports Medicine Clinic in Columbus, the Pro Stock driver from
Elyria, Ohio, says “everything is going well.  The doctor said it was a big tear
and that the knee will be a lot better now.”
 
He’s already feeling the
difference.  “There is a little discomfort, but in a couple weeks it should be
in pretty good shape,” Connolly added.  “By the first of the year it will be
ready to go and be 100 percent recovered.”
 
Connolly and Evan Knoll’s
Torco Racing Chevy Cobalt crew at Victor Cagnazzi Racing are eager to resume
their search for the series championship.  They came so close this season during
a strong title run. Not capturing the biggest trophy was the only smudge on a
near-perfect campaign.

This evening, December 11, 2007 between 7:00 and 9:00 pm Scott Cannon
Jr. will be on RealRacinUSA.com with hosts Jack Smith and Rick Agnes.

POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. and his JEGS.com
Chevrolet Cobalt are featured prominently in a new print advertising campaign
from Chevrolet that will sweep the industry in the coming weeks. The Team Chevy
advertisement features many of the Chevy-backed racers that won series titles in
major motorsports sanctions in 2007 and includes photographs and mentions of
Coughlin, NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champ
Ron Hornaday, USAC winner Levi Jone, and many others.

FORD AND NHRA TEAM UP ON SAFETY; BLUE
BOXES TO DEBUT IN ALL NHRA NITRO CARS AT START OF 2008 SEASON

Accelerating safety
development in the sport of drag racing, the NHRA and Ford Racing jointly
announced today that all cars in the Funny Car and Top Fuel classes will be
outfitted with the Ford Racing “Blue Box” crash sensors for the 2008
season.

“Ford, like the NHRA, is committed to
continuously improving safety.  It’s important to further improving our
passenger cars and trucks and also to what we’re doing in racing,” said Dan
Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology.  “We’re supplying Blue Boxes – at no
cost – for all nitro cars for next year.   It’s the right thing to do for the
sport and the millions of customers who will benefit from whatever we learn on
the track.”

The announcement comes after seven months of
initial testing and data analysis of the Blue Boxes on the Mustang Funny Cars of
John Force Racing (JFR).

Thanks to our longtime friend John Baremans at Dragster Australia, here are a few shots from last weekend's International Top Fuel Challenge.

PHOTO GALLERY 

We're not exactly sure who built it or how many cc's it displaces but
wouldn't you just love to see this little beast in a junior dragster?

Veteran motorsports writer and Torco's CompetitionPlus.com contributor
Norm Froscher of Gainesville Fla., has been voted into NHRA's Southeast
Division 2 Hall of Fame.
   
Froscher, 77, joins competitors Billy Jacobs of Enterprise, Ala. (Pro)
and Roy Johnson of Greenville, Tenn.  (Sportsman) in the Hall, which is
celebrating its Silver or 25th anniversary this season. Johnson is the
father of NHRA POWERade Pro Stock competitor Allen Johnson.    
   
The Hall is one of the two oldest in NHRA.

George Howard of George Howard Racing announced today (12/10/07)
that,
effective immediately, Jim Howard will assume operational and
promotion
responsibilities for Montgomery Motorsports Park.

George
Howard will remain the promoter at Huntsville Dragway as well as
the Comp
Cams Million Dollar Race and other special events to be
announced soon.

"Jim has been involved in all aspects of George Howard Racing and
has
managed Huntsville Dragway for the past 5 years and done a excellent
job
in making Huntsville one of the most successful drag strips in
the
South", said George Howard.  "I am very excited and happy for Jim he
has
paid his dues and is well deserving of this opportunity and I know
that
he will do well", George Added.

The car that was driven by Mike Ashley over 327 mph to victory at the Mac Tools
NHRA U.S. Nationals will be on display Tuesday and Wednesday, December 11 and 12
at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock. Given the title "Purpose
beyond Reason," the car is part of fund-raising efforts of the Eric Blake
Faulkner Foundation, and after its display will be taken to Scottsdale, Ariz. to
be auctioned in mid-January at the Barrett-Jackson Classic Auto Auction with the
funds raised earmarked for the Perinatal Bereavement Program at St. Vincent
Hospital.
 
The tragic death of a child cannot be soon forgotten, and
while parents often struggle to make sense of their grief, they rarely get the
opportunity to change the world as a result of their pain. Little Rock, Ark.
residents Donnie and Hollie Faulkner have found a way to give back in just such
circumstances.
 
The Faulkners are the proprietors of the traveling
Oakley merchandising trailer that supports the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series,
and are an integral part of the family-centric experience of NHRA drag racing.
Their son, Eric Blake Faulkner, was stillborn on May 24, 2007, and the
experience pushed the couple beyond their limits. Were it not for the "angelic
support" of the staff of St. Vincent's, the couple said they would not have
survived with their sanity. Determined to turn tragedy into something positive,
they created the Eric Blake Faulkner Foundation to help others faced with a
similar situation.

NHRA Pro Stock legend Bill "Grumpy"
Jenkins headlines the six 2008 inductees to the International
Motorsports Hall of Fame. The list also includes late drag racing
pioneer Art Arfons, and the late Ralph Seagraves, a longtime NHRA
supporter as head of R.J. Reynolds' Special Events Operations.

Robert "Red" Byron, Frank Kurtis, and Everett "Cotton" Owens
round out the list of six inductees. determined by a panel of 125
international motorsports media, who will be enshrined in the Hall in Talladega, Ala., on April 24, 2008 are: Art Arfons,

Jenkins'
innovative use of his mechanical engineering skills in the mid-1950s
produced many of drag racing's most successful vehicles. Considered the
father of pro stock, Jenkins, built engines for 61 NHRA Eliminators,
producing five championships and three ARHA championships. Jenkins also
earned a considerable reputation as a driver, winning a combined total
of 13 NHRA national Pro Stock events from 1965 to 1975 with one
championship as a driver.