BERNSTEIN, HIGHT AND STEVENS EARN VICTORIES AT O'REILLY FALLNATIONALS

Brandon Bernstein and Robert Hight moved into their respective championship chases Sunday with convincing wins at the
O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at the Texas
Motorplex near Dallas.

 
Both men started and finished the day third in the points, but not
before gaining some serious ground on the category leaders at the 19th
of 23 races in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
Bernstein is now just 40 points out of the Top Fuel lead, while Hight
closed to within 93 of Funny Car's top spot.

In Pro Stock, Richie Stevens scored his first victory in more than five
years. Bernstein's fourth victory of the season and 12th of his career
came at the expense of Rod Fuller, while Hight pulled away from
first-time finalist Mike Ashley at half-track to earn his third win of
the year and fifth overall.

SHELLY PAYNE IS FIRST FEMALE TO WIN

PRO MODIFIED NATIONAL EVENT

Shelly
Payne has driven everything from a Top Alcohol Dragster to a Top Fueler
but a Pro Modified doorslammer has proven to be a formidable challenge.
This weekend she effectively broke down the barriers to become the
first female champion in the five-year history of NHRA AMS Pro Modified.

Payne
defeated a formidable list of challengers that included Mike Bell, her
husband Jay Payne and Thomas Patterson before getting the best of Troy
Critchley in the final round.

Castrol Syntec driver Eric Medlen was on the hot seat in the
first round when he popped the blower in his first round loss to Tony
Bartone. (Motel6 Vision/ESPN2)

Sunday's final results from the 21st annual O'Reilly
NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex. The
$1.5 million race is the 19th of 23 in the $50 million NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing Series:

Final round-by-round results from the 21st annual
O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas
Motorplex, the 19th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series:

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional
categories following the 21st annual O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals
presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex, the 19th of 23 events in
the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

Final round-by-round results from the IHRA Canadian Nationals at Toronto
Motorsports Park, the sixth of 11 events in the  2006 eMax Drag Racing
Series:

TEXARKANA, ARK. RESIDENT WINS TRIP TO NHRA FINALS AND CHANCE TO BECOME POWERade FAN NATIONALS SERIES CHAMPION

Colton Chapman Triumphs Behind the Wheel of a Funny Car Simulator at the
O’Reilly Fall Nationals in Ennis, Texas; Wins a Trip to the Auto Club
Finals in November and a Chance to Become 2006 POWERade Fan Nationals
Series Champion

ENNIS, Texas. (Sept. 24, 2006) – Recently flexing his competitive
muscles behind the wheel of a Funny Car racing simulator at the 21st
annual O’Reilly Fall Nationals, Texarkana’s Colton Chapman, 13, beat
out hundreds of participants to become the local POWERade Fan Nationals
Event Champion. Now, Chapman will travel to Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
at the end of the season to compete for the national championship.

Chapman, a seventh grade student and NHRA Jr. Dragster competitor, will
ultimately be one of 23 Event Champions from drag strips across the
country to compete to become the Series Champion. He and one guest will
travel to the 42nd Annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA
Finals in Pomona, Calif. the weekend of Nov. 9-12, 2006. There, Chapman
will compete in a series of qualifying rounds for the chance to claim
the title of POWERade Fan Nationals Series Champion.

“The POWERade Fan Nationals was a lot of fun,” Chapman said. “I was
surprised that I beat my dad and won the race. This is really cool.”

IHRA CANADIAN NATIONALS
ELIMINATIONS POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY

Due to inclement weather,
IHRA officials have postponed Sunday’s eliminations of the Canadian Nationals at
Toronto Motorsports Park. Round one of Top Fuel, Nitro Funny Car, Pro Modified
and Pro Stock are completed. One pair of cars remains in Alcohol Funny
Car.
Eliminations will resume Monday, September 25 at Toronto Motorsports
Park at 9 a.m. The professional sessions are scheduled for 10 a.m., 12 noon and
1:30 p.m.

View the photo sequence by Roger Richards off of Motel6 Vision screen.