When Chris Gulitti began the 2009 racing season he knew he had a car that could be competitive.

What he didn’t know, however, was that he would have the kind of season that would garner him national attention and one of the most prestigious awards in IHRA sportsman competition.

Gulitti, behind the wheel of his ’98 Firebird Top Sportsman machine, did all that and more this season with two national event victories, a win in the Summit All-Stars race and a second place finish in the Renegades Division on the Summit Pro-Am Tour. And all of that has led to Gulitti being named the 2009 IHRA Sportsman Driver of the Year.

Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher will appear on the popular show “Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain” Sunday night (11/8). The show airs on SPEED from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET.

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In the final rounds of qualifying for this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Short Line Express Market Gambler Shootout presented by Torco Fuels event it was a pair of ladies taking the No. 1 and 2 spots in Top Alcohol Dragster.  Hillary Will, Ypsilanti, Mich., leads the field with a 5.644 second lap at 256.21 mph with Brittney Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., in second at 5.6576, 254.04.

Round one will feature a championship match up with point’s leader Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., taking on No. 2 in the points Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction, Colo. Whiteley is in a must win situation to over take Reichert.  Reichert is looking to hold off Whiteley and Duane Shields, Boulder City, Nev., who is qualified in eighth and would face off against Reichert in the semifinals if they both advance.

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.

Bob Glidden successfully completed his heart procedure yesterday and by all indications it was a success. He is resting comfortably and could be home as early as today.

Affording fans in the greater Phoenix area a chance to partake in two of the biggest sporting events in the region in the month of February, NHRA has announced, in cooperation with the owner/operator of Firebird International Raceway, that the 26th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals will be moved up one week to Feb. 19-21, 2010, which is historically Firebird’s traditional date for this event.

The leading Pro Modified nitrous engine builders agree this weekend’s Shakedown at E’town outlaw drag race will produce some of the quickest and fastest nitrous doorslammer passes in the history of doorslammers. The cool, sea-level conditions at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, are expected to be conducive to possibly the quickest and fastest lap in nitrous-injected history.

David Reher, engine builder for the Awesome/Al-Anabi Pro Modified team, had two of his clients win titles [ADRL Pro Nitrous, NHRA GSA Pro Modified] in what has been arguably the quickest and fastest season for the nitrous doorslammers. If the track conditions are present at this weekend’s Shakedown, the nitrous cars could reach uncharted territory.

“I think you’ll see 5.80s,” Reher predicted. “I can already see where just a good run can get you a 5.88 or 5.89 in NHRA trim and then you know with some of the things that are in progress I'm thinking you're gonna see another .03 or .04 basically.”

Pro Systems Carburetors will serve as presenting sponsor for this weekend’s Shakedown at E’town Same Day coverage on CompetitionPlus.com. This sponsorship agreement was brokered on Thursday afternoon following the success of their association with CompetitionPlus.com’s same day coverage of the Orlando World Street Nationals.

“The phone was ringing off of the hook,” James confirmed. “It definitely raised the awareness of our new SV-1 carburetor.”

Pro Systems will serve as the primary marketing partner for in-depth coverage of the quickest and fastest all-doorslammer event in the world.

Jack Roush is highly recognized for generating horsepower and performance out of engines. Roush also has a long and successful motorsports history with the first of his numerous championships coming in drag racing. And today, Roush is finding great success in engineering, building and selling alternative fuel vehicles to the fleet markets.

So what do you get when you combine all three of these things? A pair of propane-fueled ROUSH® Mustang drag cars, ready to challenge for the NMRA championship next season.

The Auto Club NHRA Finals, the last race of the 24-event NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, is all about tradition.

And drama.

And excitement.

Each November, the world’s best drag racers gather at the historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona to put the finishing touches on a season that began in the same location in drag racing crazy Southern California nine months earlier.