On Saturday, December 5th at the Auto Club Exhibit in the Los Angeles Convention Center’s Kentia Hall 2009 NHRA Funny Car World Champion Robert Hight along with teammates 14-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion John Force, Ashley Force Hood and Mike Neff signed autographs. The NHRA Funny Car foursome were the guests of the Automobile Club of Southern California. Robert Hight’s Ford Mustang is sponsored by the Automobile Club of Southern California and all John Force Racing teams carry the Auto Club logos.

In the week leading up to the third annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories we will re-publish some of the finest moments from last two years competition. You'll hear some of the finest stories laid down in competition. The program works like this: 16 figures within the drag racing community are voted on by the readers of CompetitionPlus.com to determine who they feel could tell the best story. From that voting, an NHRA professional elimination ladder pairs the contestants and they battle it out until one is left.

Today's story comes from Shirley Muldowney, a quarter-finalist in  last year's War Stories Showdown.

Originally published March 2003

We all take for granted that Pro Stock has been a simple formula. Today, those that participate in the class carry a common weight of 2,350 pounds in a two-door American made coupe no older than five years old with the source of motivation coming from an engine that displaces 500-cubic inches. Sounds pretty simple, huh? It has always been the nature of man to start with things in a difficult fashion and make it easier as knowledge and technology permit. Such was the case with NHRA Pro Stock as it took them nearly a decade to make the drag racing equivalent to NASCAR an easy proposition.

When the NHRA announced that they would be changing to a "mountain motor" format for the 1982 season, they were the last of the three major sanctioning bodies to abandon the small block Pro Stocks. The AHRA, whose rules had initially mirrored those of the NHRA inevitably allowed small blocks the use of nitrous oxide as they converted over to the mountain motor format a year prior to the NHRA's decision to abandon ship.

Although there is no racing, the month of December is still a busy one for Summit Racing teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line, as they balance the demands of the holiday season with preparations for the upcoming campaign.  Since returning from Pomona two weeks ago where they capped off another solid season with their eighth win of the year, the KB Racing stable mates have been working non-stop in their shop in Mooresville, NC, looking to gain an edge on their competition.

However, on Tuesday, December 8, the two Pro Stock standouts will take time from their busy schedules to lend a hand to those in need, taking part in the 20th annual Stocks for Tots, signing autographs from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Charles Mack Citizen Center in downtown Mooresville.

In the week leading up to the third annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories we will re-publish some of the finest moments from last two years competition. You'll hear some of the finest stories laid down in competition. The program works like this: 16 figures within the drag racing community are voted on by the readers of CompetitionPlus.com to determine who they feel could tell the best story. From that voting, an NHRA professional elimination ladder pairs the contestants and they battle it out until one is left.

Today's story comes from Pat Musi, the iconic Pro Street pioneer and last year's runner-up War Stories Showdown. This story advanced Musi to the quarter-finals.

Two veteran Pro Stock racers will release the clutch on their new rides for the first time on Monday, Dec. 14. Larry Morgan will debut his new 2010 Mustang while Allen Johnson will make his inaugural laps behind the wheel of a new Dodge Stratus.

Morgan will first participate in a private Ford Racing test at South Georgia Motorsports Park [SGMP] in Valdosta for two days and then join a score of other drivers including Johnson making laps at Palm Beach International Raceway in Palm Beach, Fla.

“I can’t wait to run, I’d run the car today if I could,” said Morgan, who admitted he’s waiting on parts to arrive at his Newark, Ohio shop.

Dr. Alan Bradshaw's prescription for a down economy? Work on the things you can control and hold on to your dreams.
 
The Odessa, Texas-based doctor and former Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster champion-turned Top Fuel pilot hasn't been in the cockpit of a dragster for more than a year, but his absence hasn't slowed the fastest chiropractor in the land at all. He's even taken up dirt track racing to feed his addiction for competition and speed as well as keep his skills honed, and his most recent project involves a possible jump into another drag racing class.
 
"We're in the midst of re-building the blown alcohol Pro Mod Chevelle owned by Jeff and Casey Saldivar that we ran last year, and I'm looking to continue racing on a local level and do some quick-8 shows while I'm trying to secure marketing partners for 2010 because I've got an NHRA Pro Mod opportunity available right now with a current top-five team," Bradshaw said.

The on-track action may be over for the year, but the National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) remains at full speed heading into the 22nd annual Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show Dec. 10-12, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

The American Drag Racing League and its affiliated Arabian Drag Racing League will share space this year in Booth 609 on the trade show’s main floor.

Prior to their pioneering association with ESPN, the International Hot Rod Association under the guidance of Larry Carrier and Ted Jones partnered with the Mizlou Television Network for a series of race coverage shows.

TV4U.com purchased the rights to the syndicated shows from Mizlou and in this offering, features coverage of the 1983 and 1984 IHRA Springnationals, two of the richest purse drag races in drag racing of that era.

THURSDAY, December 3: Drivers visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany

NHRA drivers Morgan Lucas, Erica Enders, Doug Horne, and Spencer Massey had a memorable Thursday visiting wounded military
personnel at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the USO Wounded Warrior Center in Germany. Landstuhl is the first major stop for wounded servicemen and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and is the largest U.S. hospital facility outside the United States.

"I think we all learned something very valuable today," said Lucas, driver of the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster. "There is simply no way we can ever thank our troops enough for what they do for us. To meet the people we met today, some with pretty bad injuries, and see how gung-ho they are for our country makes you re-think everything. It's so humbling that these people do what they do for all of us.

"I just turned 26 and I'm the youngest guy in Top Fuel but I was older than a lot of the guys and girls in the hospital. What they do and the attitude they have at such a young age is impressive. This is the neatest thing I've ever done and we're already making plans for next year."