For everything NHRA drag racing is, it also is a business.

That was apparent Monday when Don Schumacher removed Ed “Ace” McCulloch as the crew chief of the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Funny Car driven by Ron Capps replacing him with veteran tuner John Medlen.

McCulloch, a longtime crew chief, had served as the leader of the on the NAPA Funny Car since 2005. McCulloch will remain at DSR and assist Medlen and the NAPA team, as well as help the crew chiefs on the two other DSR Funny Cars driven by Matt Hagan and Jack Beckman.

Veteran drag racing journalist Chris Martin, 63, passed away early this morning following a lengthy illness.

The NHRA’s next round of nitro data gathering is scheduled for the Monday following the Summit Racing Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. The plan is to use the nitro Funny Cars of John Force Racing and the Top Fuel dragster driven by Antron Brown.

Brown’s dragster will continue to test the restrictor plate concept, this time dropping the size of the opening by an additional 2 inches; down to about 19 square inches.

In addition to a huge assortment of nitro machines, bikes, funny cars and exhibitions at this weekend’s River Cree Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals, one of Nitro Jam’s oldest and most prestigious classes will return to competition for the first time in 2010 as the stars of the West Coast Pro Modified Association give quarter-mile doorslammer fans something extra to look forward to at Castrol Raceway.

Formed one year after the IHRA invented the class in 1990, the West Coast Pro Modified Association is one of the oldest Pro Mod groups in the nation. It features the quickest Pro Modified doorslammers in the Western half of North America and has a very strong following in Canada.

Tom McKernan, CEO of Automobile Club of Southern California, and legendary voice of NHRA Dave McClelland have been named to the board of directors of The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by Automobile Club of Southern California.  

“These two iconic names in the sport of NHRA Drag Racing will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in driving the mission of the museum, as set forth by our founder Wally Parks, to celebrate the impact of motorsports on our culture,” said Alex Xydias, chairman of the seven-person board.  Tony Thacker serves as the museum’s executive director.

It ain’t over til it’s over, but if Von Smith wins again this weekend it’ll certainly be close.

With two straight wins entering this weekend’s event at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park, June 25-27, the driver of the Barwa/Al-Anabi ’68 Camaro has a chance to take complete control of the points race in the first-year NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series.

“We’re hoping to take the positives from the last two races and carry it into this weekend and win another one,” said Smith, who already has three wins and a 92-point lead through the first six races of the 10-race Get Screened America Pro Mod Series season.

The second annual Bowling for Riley charity event hosted by Don Schumacher Racing and local Indianapolis-area NAPA distribution center was another success. NHRA drivers, sponsors and fans, along with six Firestone Indy Lights series drivers, spent the evening of May 25, 2010, at Brownsburg (Ind.) Bowl in support of Indiana's only comprehensive hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children, Riley Hospital for Children.
 
The second annual charity bowling event generated $12,612 during the four-hour event. The proceeds were raised from lane sponsorships, entry fees, silent auction, a 50/50 raffle drawing and other donations. All 28 lanes at Brownsburg Bowl were sold out for the event.

With a new sponsor to impress, it’s probably a bit of an understatement to say the season didn’t get off to the start that either Kenny Bernstein or his son and driver, Brandon, had hoped for – three races into the 2010 season, the Copart/Lucas Oil dragster was in ninth place with just two round-wins.

So combine one of the most competitive driver/owners in NHRA and the demand to impress a new sponsor, with the undeniable fact that we are in an instant-gratification world, and you had the recipe for change.

Change for the sake of change can oftentimes have the reverse effect, but in this case Kenny Bernstein made a move that certainly has paid dividends. He elevated Todd Smith to crew chief on the Copart/Lucas Oil dragster after the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals and it didn’t take long for things to click – over the course of the last seven races the Bernstein rail has been to two final rounds (Atlanta and Bristol) and four semifinals (Las Vegas 1, St. Louis, Englishtown and Topeka) and not qualified lower than fourth at the last five races.

Andrew Hines is going to attempt to obtain a license in a Pro Stock car, but finding the right time and place to make it happen has been difficult.

Hines, who won Pro Stock Motorcycle world championships from 2004-2006, was going to make some runs in the John Gaydosh Jr. Performance Pontiac GTO at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan., May 25, but that didn’t take place because Gaydosh hurt the motor in the car in his last qualifying run at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., May 15.

“We were trying to do something around Englishtown (last weekend), but we couldn’t get anything going,” said the 27-year-old Hines. “Then, we were thinking maybe Monday (June 28) after Norwalk (Ohio), but Norwalk is not going to hold a test session now. We’re still trying to figure it out, everything is up in the air, but we will get something figured out sooner or later.”

Pro Stock racer Robert Patrick was hard at work in the pits at Bristol Dragway.

The longtime Ford racer wasn’t speaking a word to anyone. His focus was on the small metal pieces he was pulling out of a wooden box and then inserting into the carburetor of his new Mustang Pro Stocker.

After some time, Patrick finally acknowledged the presence of those around him.