On a day when the improbable became possible John Force raced his way into his 24th consecutive US
Smokeless Showdown (25th overall) slated to be contested at the 54th
Mac Tools US Nationals in two weeks. It was an amazing turn of events
and another magical achievement for Force who at the end of 2007 had
serious doubts about his racing future.

“After last year and that crash in Dallas I really didn’t think that
I’d be able to put this thing back in coming from behind like I had to
do. We missed races but you just keep the faith and you keep going down
the road. You keep doing what you do and believing in your crew chiefs
and your team. It was a long shot and I remember last year Herbert
screaming on the starting line when he got into the Countdown,” said a
jubilant Force. “(NHRA announcer) Bob Frey had me so screwed up I
didn’t know if we were in or out. Finally I went up to the tower and
got an answer. To be in for Castrol, Ford, Old Spice, AAA of Southern
Cal, Brand Source, and Sanyo we’ve done our job and it is just really
cool.”

Fans watching NHRA POWERade Championship Drag Racing on ESPN2 will have an even better view of
the intense action inside the cockpit of a racecar with a new High
Definition in-car camera developed by Broadcast Sports, who pioneered
in-car camera technology.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
24th annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, the 17th
of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based
on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below
pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 3.816 seconds, 316.67 mph 
vs. Bye; 2. Rod Fuller, 3.861, 310.77  vs. 15. Doug Kalitta, 4.088,
309.77; 3. Doug Herbert, 3.884, 309.13  vs. 14. David Grubnic, 4.006,
289.76; 4. J.R. Todd, 3.888, 310.55  vs. 13. Clay Millican, 3.966,
297.81; 5. Morgan Lucas, 3.889, 307.16  vs. 12. Bob Vandergriff, 3.931,
301.60; 6. Larry Dixon, 3.889, 307.72  vs. 11. Doug Foley, 3.931,
305.49; 7. Antron Brown, 3.892, 308.28  vs. 10. Cory McClenathan,
3.920, 306.53; 8.
Hillary Will, 3.894, 311.49  vs. 9. Brandon Bernstein, 3.899, 310.63.

Tony Schumacher claimed his sixth pole of the year, his
3.816-second pass from Friday night during the NHRA Toyo Tires
Nationals in Reading, Pa., which was good enough to earn him a second straight bye in the first round of eliminations on race day.

Schumacher will race the winner of the Hillary Will-Brandon Bernstein first round match up in the quarterfinals.

“Like last weekend, it’s nice that we were able to get the bye run,”
offered the five-time world champion. “But, just like we did in
Brainerd (Minn.), we’ll still have to go out and put up a good number
even though we’re not racing anyone. You always want lane choice in the
next round.”

Frank Hawley will race at least once more this season in the Roger Burgess Funny Car sponsored by Rite-Aid Pharmacies.

The two-time Funny Car champion more than made a good impression by
ascending as high as second in the qualifying order. His accolade came
with one of the major drawbacks of having a two-car team.

Terry Brown won the Third Annual Eaton PMRA Challenge presented by
Eaton at the Sanair drag strip near Montreal, Quebec over Jack Grainy.
 
Brown of Caledonia, Ontario drove his 1971 Dodge Challenger to a first
time Pro Modified Racing Association series win over the veteran team
of the Grainy Brothers from North Tonawanda, New York and their 1967
Chevrolet Camaro who broke in the final.

ANDERSON STEALS TOP SPOT FROM TEAMMATE; SCHUMACHER, PEDREGON, SMITH STAY NO. 1 IN READING

Pro
Stock driver Greg Anderson took the top spot from teammate Jason Line
as qualifying came to an end at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals.

Tony Schumacher, Cruz Pedregon, and Matt Smith remained No. 1
qualifiers in their respective categories at the 17th of 24 events on
the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

After watching his teammate take the No. 1 spot during Friday night
qualifying, Anderson drove his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GXP to
an impressive 6.611-second run at 208.84 mph in the heat of the day.
It’s Anderson’s fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season, 67th of his career
and fourth in Reading.

SCHUMACHER TAKES PROVISIONAL TOP SPOT; PEDREGON, LINE, SMITH ALSO PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFIERS AT MAPLE GROVE

If
Tony Schumacher's top spot holds it will be his sixth No. 1 qualifier
of the season, 53rd of his career and sixth at Maple Grove.

Top
Fuel points leader Tony Schumacher raced to the provisional No. 1
qualifying spot Friday at the 24th annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at
Maple Grove Raceway.

Cruz Pedregon, Jason Line and Matt Smith also were No. 1 qualifiers in
their respective categories at the 17th of 24 events on the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Schumacher drove his U.S. Army dragster to a strong 3.816-second pass
at 316.67 mph to take the top spot in the category. It would be
Schumacher’s sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season, 53rd of his career
and sixth at Maple Grove.

For the Schumacher Electric Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle team ridden by Chip
Ellis, the term better late than never has a special meaning.

The team's trailer housing encountered an axle problem on the east side of Indianapolis on
Thursday as the team began its journey from the Brownsburg, Ind.-based
Don Schumacher Racing shop to this weekend's 24th annual NHRA Nationals
at  Maple Grove Raceway.
 
The repairs took nearly 12 hours and delayed the team's arrival in
Mohnton, Pa., by 35 hours. The crew finally left Indianapolis at 11
p.m. Thursday night and arrived at Maple Grove at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

Reigning Nostalgia Top Fuel champion Brad Thompson was seriously
injured during the final round of the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series
event at Firebird Raceway Sunday, August 10th.  He suffered 4 broken
ribs, a broken shoulder blade, a
broken neck bone, and multiple broken vertebrae.  He has since had
surgery but faces a long road to recovery.  A Brad Thompson Recovery
Fund has been established to offset medical and transportation costs by
Lisa Jennings and Dawn
Mazi-Hovsepian.