The Mountain Motor Pro Stock Association [MMPSA] intends to move forward in 2010 without involvement of the IHRA. The series will stage a series of independent events.

Pete Berner, spokesman for the MMPSA, confirmed that the October announcement of an alignment with the IHRA will not transpire as announced by the sanctioning body. The group has instead forged an alliance with the American Drag Racing League, the only sanctioning body to stage a full-time mountain motor Pro Stock division.

In the end, the MMPSA made the decision to walk away from the tentative agreement with the IHRA due to a combination of principle and marketing feasibility.

Richie Stevens, subbing for multi-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., laid down the quickest lap of first day doorslammer Pro Stock testing at Palm Beach International Raceway in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday.

Stevens drove the Jegs Mail Order Cobalt to a 6.619 elapsed time at 209.43 miles per hour. His 60-foot time on the run was a .983.

Five-time world champion drag racer Jeg Coughlin Jr. will sport a special competition number on his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt in 2010. In honor of the 50th anniversary of JEGS Automotive, the company his famous father Jeg Coughlin Sr. began in 1960 that is now run by Jeg Jr. and his three brothers, Coughlin will use No. 50 as his official car number for the entire season.

Unique to drag racing, each racer has a competition number assigned to them at the conclusion of their official licensing process. At each event this specific number is used to identify the racer. The exception is the 10 racers that finish in the top 10 the previous year, who assume the number corresponding with their 1-10 finishing spot.

However, the NHRA allows racers to fallback to their original competition number if they so desire. Since the number Coughlin used after winning back-to-back world championships in 2007 and 2008 -- "1" -- will ride with Mike Edwards in 2010, Coughlin decided to go with "50" to honor the celebration of the half-century mark for JEGS Mail Order.

Antron Brown, driver of the Don Schumacher-owned Matco Tools dragster, will co-host Race Central Radio with Kurt Hansen on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009. The popular Denver-area motor sports talk show can be heard on KCKK AM 1510, the Rocky Mountain's Sporting News Radio affiliate. Brown will be on the show from 1-1:30 p.m. (MT) on Saturday. Fans can listen on the web at www.racecentralmedia.com.

"Kurt (Hansen) is one cool cat," Brown said. "In fact, I think he may be the only guy I know who talks faster than me. I've done Kurt's show a lot this year and over the years he's been on the air with Race Central and he knows a lot about NHRA drag racing. We won at Denver this year and the fan support for the Mile-High Nationals is great, so we're looking forward to taking some calls and talking some NHRA drag racing this weekend."

NHRA Chamption Tony Schumacher and his team presented the 2009 Full Throttle world championship trophy to the Soldiers here last Friday as part of a day of healing at the military installation.

After capturing his sixth straight title in Pomona, Calif. last month, Schumacher immediately announced his championship hardware was heading for Fort Hood where 13 people were killed during a shooting incident on November 5.

With assistance from NHRA President Tom Compton and his U.S. Army team, Schumacher handed the trophy to III Corps and Fort Hood Commander, Lt. General Robert Cone, who was among the military personnel attending the event known as “Fort Hood Community Strong.”

The NMCA Edelbrock Muscle Car Nationals will feature eight events in 2010. Every NMCA Muscle Car Nationals event features heads-up muscle car drag racing, a All-Domestic Auto Show & Shine, a giant manufacturers' midway & swap meet, and 300+ MPH jet cars.   Also, every NMCA event is featured in on Fox Sports Net's Inside Drag Racing. 

Spectator tickets are $20 per day (kids 12 & under free & free parking).

The mystery of the Pro Stock Dodge Avenger was revealed on Monday morning during a test session at Palm Beach International Raceway located outside of West Palm Beach, Fla.

Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson made history as he put the brand new to drag racing 2010 Dodge Avenger through its initial runs.

"It was very smooth on that first run," said Johnson. "We wanted to make sure the parachute and brakes worked, so I let up about half-track. We
were very conservative. It was at .995 seconds around the 60-foot mark.It was real smooth."

The time has finally arrived for the start of one of the toughest, meanest, mind numbing races of the winter – the 3rd annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories competition.

Qualifying for drag racing’s premiere story-telling contest kicks off this Wednesday to establish the seeding for the first round of eliminations which start next week.

Sixteen of drag racing’s most “colorful” characters will try to “tell” their way into the top spot, knowing that anyone can win from any position on the ladder. Fans will vote on who they think will tell the best story. Once qualifying is over, eliminations will be set, according to NHRA professional standard procedure, for the month-long competition to determine who can spin the best yarn in PG-13 fashion.

John Force has responded to rumors suggesting that current Funny Car tuner Mike Neff will serve as his crew chief in 2010 if his fourth team is parked.

The fourteen-time world champion confirmed that is just one of several scenarios his team has considered in an unofficial “flow chart” for the upcoming season.

“Everything is up in the air,” Force said, regarding rumors that he’ll parked the fourth Funny Car on his team driven by Neff. “We had meetings recently in Indy and we did shuffle some things around. We have some sponsor meetings next week and for financial reasons, I do have to evaluate the fourth program. I have to evaluate a lot of things.”

Testing gets underway today for a score of Pro Stockers and a Pro Modified assembled at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Those prepared to make runs today include Allen Johnson's new Dodge Avenger, Larry Morgan's new Mustang GT along with Richie Stevens subbing for Jeggie Coughlin, who is tending to family business responsibilities.