| LARRY MORGAN’S DRIVING PERFORMANCE SECRET |
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Written by Bobby Bennett
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 11:31 |
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 Larry Morgan knows what makes every part on his Pro Stock Dodge work.
However, the one-inch in diameter, silver patch he’s been wearing on his shoulder for the past few weeks remains a mystery. Morgan has suffered with a rotator cuff issue for years and now it feels new.
“I’m not exactly sure what’s in it and what it does, but I do know it takes the pain away,” said Morgan, who two weeks ago at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals won his first Pro Stock event in seven years.
The 17-time national event winner said he drove at Vegas for the time first time without pain. He wasn’t skeptical of trying it either.
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| THE CHAMPIONS: FOUR STORIES OF DETERMINATION |
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Written by Bobby Bennett, Susan Wade; Photos by Roger Richards
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 10:54 |
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 CompetitionPlus.com believes that every champion has a story to tell. This past weekend, the NHRA crowned four Full Throttle Drag Racing champions during the NHRA Auto Club Finals and in doing so wrote four incredible scripts.
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| PRO MODIFIED: TWO DECADES OF THRILLS |
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Written by Bobby Bennett; Photos by Bobby Bennett, Dave Bishop
Thursday, 12 November 2009 10:54 |
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 If you’re a Pro Modified fan, March 10 is your Independence Day.
On a Saturday afternoon in 1990, within the small racing hamlet of Darlington, SC., a group of doorslammer racers declared their independence from Top Sportsman eliminator and became the first true professional addition to the drag racing fraternity since 1969 when Jim Tice’s AHRA introduced Pro Stock.
This time it was the IHRA’s opportunity to be the first to introduce a professional eliminator that it had developed and nurtured within the sportsman ranks, and after nine years of weaning was ready to leave the nest and stand on its own.
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| RICK STIVERS: THE UNTOLD STORIES OF HIS CRASH |
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Written by Bobby Bennett, Photos by Roger Richards
Friday, 06 November 2009 13:28 |
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|  Rick Stivers believes it’s the injuries you can’t see that can hurt most.
The veteran Pro Modified racer from Lexington, Ky., endured a devastating accident during the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway. He emerged from the crash with no apparent injuries and was moving and speaking coherently as soon as he exited his significantly damaged Dodge Stratus.
Stivers, a racer in the Get Screened America NHRA Pro Modified Challenge, had experienced accidents before – but this one was different. Not only did his car strike the opposite lane retaining wall head on, but it also vaulted into the air and slammed down onto the track.
Stivers will attest that once a car begins a crash, the driver is usually just along for the ride, and that was the case in this accident.
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| BROWN FINDS STABILITY IN NEW DSR HOME |
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Written by Bobby Bennett; Photos by Marty Reger, Les Welch
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 09:51 |
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 Top Fuel driver Antron Brown can only hope his Matco Tools has finally found a stable home. The former Pro Stock Motorcycle standout who made the jump to Top Fuel prior to 2008, has taken a rollercoaster ride of uncertainty for last two seasons and with Don Schumacher’s purchase of Mike Ashley Racing’s assets, he’s on his fourth team owner.
Brown said this kind of movement comes with the territory of a professional athlete, but even he admits four times is a bit much.
“Drag racing team members are like professional stick and ball sports players, one year he could be here and the next he could be traded,” Brown explained. “That’s the same way out here. Now I feel like we are at home.”
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| GREG ANDERSON: A CLASS ACT |
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Written by Jon Asher; Photos by Jon Asher, Roger Richards
Sunday, 01 November 2009 19:35 |
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 Ask any racer, and those that are honest will admit that while drag racing may be addictive, winning makes it even more so. Guys like Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson, who has a house full of NHRA national event trophies interspersed with the occasional POWERade Series championship gold, know what it’s like to win. With winning comes losing. It’s just the natural order of things. But, it’s how you handle those losses that will ultimately determine your reputation. Throwing your helmet, for example, is not the way you ingratiate yourself to your fans and sponsors.
Anderson has had, by almost any standards, a very good season in 2009. He’s won some races – and that’s more than a lot of other drivers can say – but he’s lost some, too.
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| DICKIE VENABLES: TRADING ONE COMFORT ZONE FOR ANOTHER |
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Written by Bobby Bennett
Friday, 30 October 2009 12:32 |
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 Within days of parting company with Tony Pedregon, Dickie Venables could have gone to work for John Force, Don Schumacher, Kenny Bernstein and a couple others.
Instead of jumping at the first opportunity, Venables picked up his fishing pole and headed to the lake to catch his breath and a big one or two. When he was done fishing, Venables decided to go to school.
For the two-time championship tuner, the lure of learning from who many have proclaimed as the best drag racing tuner in the business, Alan Johnson, was an attraction to hard to resist.
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| CORY MAC: A LIFE AFTER DRAG RACING |
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Written by Bobby Bennett
Thursday, 29 October 2009 09:51 |
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 Top Fuel drag racer Cory McClenathan remains firm on one aspect of his drag racing career. The veteran driver of the Fram Top Fuel dragster has given himself until his 50th birthday to win a championship and then, win or lose, he plans to embark on a new life outside of the cockpit.
Currently McClenathan stands third in a three-way championship battle with Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher and Al-Anabi driver Larry Dixon. Newly announced DSR teammate Antron Brown is fourth.
At 68 points out of first, McClenathan’s chances are remote, but not impossible, with eight possible rounds of completion remaining. Last year he finished third in the championship points behind the same two drivers.
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| THE IHRA COMMUNITY WEIGHS IN ON THE 2010 RACE FORMAT |
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Written by Bobby Bennett
Monday, 19 October 2009 13:15 |
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Three days after the IHRA’s announcement of a major format overhaul, their contingent of racers,  track operators and race fans are digesting the news that the IHRA, for the first time since its 1971 debut, will run without qualifying and a traditional eliminations format.
Friday afternoon, the Norwalk, Ohio-based sanctioning body issued a release stating their 2010 format will essentially be based on a Chicago Style format where each professional eliminator will make two runs during a two-day Nitro Jam event and the final pair of the second session each day will represent the final round.
The IHRA events will no longer carry the designation of Nationals and will be limited to a three-hour window to complete the professional portion of the event.
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| BECKMAN'S CAPITOL OFFENSIVE |
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Written by Stan Creekmore
Saturday, 17 October 2009 13:42 |
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  How many of us can remember sixth grade geography and having to memorize all 50 Capitals?
Richmond, Des Moines, Raleigh, Columbia, Tallahassee, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City and the list goes on and on. Jack Beckman, driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Funny Car is going one step past memorizing the Capitals. Beckman, along with his wife, Jenna and two year old son Jason, is attempting to visit all fifty state Capitals and the nation's Capital, Washington, D.C.
To date the Beckman clan have visited 30 of the 50 Capitals, and one of them twice because they forgot they had been there previously.
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Feature Stories
When John Force looks at Terry Haddock, he’s reminded of himself thirty years ago.
