NHRA President Tom Compton understands the concerns of the competitors and said the sanctioning body will be “putting out information soon.”
 
The NHRA is still working on how to handle the extra two lanes for competition, though some details have been ironed out.
 
“First of all, we’re rewriting the code for the timing system – (it had to be) revamped to be able to handle that,” Compton said. “We had to look at how they all got off the track, how we stage them all so they don’t take too long and run out of fuel. These cars burn a lot of fuel very quickly.

Off-season testing, no matter where it takes place, is essential to NHRA teams winning world championships, especially for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars.

Several of the top crew chiefs from these two classes believe the balance of prominence in testing has switched from the West Coast to the East Coast in recent years.

The Al-Anabi Racing team sent its two cars – the Top Fuel dragster driven by Larry Dixon and Top Fuel Funny Car driven by Del Worsham – to Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway Jan. 11-15 for testing. The Al-Anabi Racing team rented the track exclusively and also invited 12 other teams to join them at the test session.

In a press conference today, the NHRA and zMax Dragway announced plans for the inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at the facility in Concord, NC, March 24 - 28, 2010. The event will be conducted four-wide instead of the traditional two-lane racing.

The four-wide action will start with qualifying on Friday and Saturday, March 26-27. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday.

We'll have the full story shortly.

The NHRA is going four-wide.

NHRA President Tom Compton, zMAX Dragway owner Bruton Smith and 14-time Funny Car champion John Force were on hand Thursday to announce the inaugural Four-Wide Nationals to be held March 25-28. All four lanes of zMAX Dragway’s concrete will be used for the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

The announcement comes four months after the NHRA conducted a four-lane exhibition at zMAX during the Carolinas Nationals in Septmber. Racing all four lanes at one time will also bring a change to the raceday format.

Bill Doner and Pat Musi are supposed to be engaged in a competition to determine who can tell the best story. However, in the last 48 hours, their final round match in the War Stories Showdown has resembled a tennis match with the lead going back and forth.

On Monday during the annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Manager’s Conference in Memphis, Tennessee 14-time Funny Car Champion John Force and 2009 Funny CarFull Throttle Championship Runner-Up Ashley Force Hood surprised 4,500 O’Reilly store managers making an unannounced appearance and entertaining the crowd for nearly an hour.

Autocross drivers will have a new venue to show off their ability to maneuver cars through tight courses in 2010 – the Super Chevy Show. Select host tracks will feature an autocross event during the 30th anniversary season of the Super Chevy Show series.

Autocross will be just one more tantalizing feature of a series that offers drag racing, car shows, swap meets and collector cars for sale. Forward Sports Marketing's Ryan Haas has been charged with marketing and sponsorship for the series and said the idea to add autocross to the events was a collaborative effort between fans and the Super Chevy Magazine staff.

In late June, NHRA racers and fans alike will be headed to Norwalk, Ohio for the Fourth Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. While NHRA Pro Stock competitors will be looking forward to their chance to vie for the largest single payday available in the class, the $50,000 awarded to the winner of the 2010 K&N Horsepower Challenge Race, they aren’t the only ones who can win big during the Challenge.

Each of the eight K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes finalists will receive a thrill packed trip to attend the NHRA National Event in Ohio, including full event credential and suite pass.

Newly announced Yas Marina Top Fuel driver Tommy Johnson Jr. provided more insight to the new team last evening on Joe Castello’s WFORadio.com. He also shed some light on teammate Hot Rod Fuller’s plans as well.

“I won’t be living in Abu Dhabi, but Hot Rod Fuller will,” Johnson told WFORadio.com. “He’s moving over there to run a drag racing school over there similar to what we have over here.

“I’ll be getting quite a few frequent flier miles,” Johnson continued. “I’ll be commuting back and forth. I’ll go over a few days earlier and prepare the cars to run. I will then race the cars and stay a few days and prepare the cars for the next race, then come back to the United States. It’s a unique situation and a neat opportunity for those involved.”