CompetitionPlus.com received these photos of the soon-to-be-debuted
1957 Chevy from Al-Anabi/Awesome Motorsports and driven by Von Smith.
Howard Moon is scheduled to wrench this slick classic Chevrolet and
could test this week in Valdosta, Ga.

Del Worsham honestly believed a No. 4 qualifying effort at the NHRA
Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., signified his fortunes were
changing for the better. Then he lost in the first round on a holeshot
to his closest rival for a playoff spot.

Worsham characterized his first round hole shot loss to Bob Tasca III, as a "crushing blow."

"It's a crushing blow, because it's on me and we had it right there in
our hands to make a strong move for the Countdown," Worsham said. "It's
not over yet, and we still have two more races to go before the 10
Countdown spots are filled, but I'm the guy in the car and that was the
best I had right then. I wasn't distracted, I did everything like I
always do, and that was just the best I had. I'm a little frustrated at
myself, but I'm just crushed for all these people in our pit who came
to cheer us on.

"The way this all set up, with us having to race Tasca in the first
round, made the drama just about as thick as it can get. It was so
tense in the pit hardly anyone was talking, but we felt really good
about the car and really good about the tune-up. It ran just about
flawlessly, and our 4.25 was right there with just about all the best
runs in the round. We just didn't get there first. Like I said, I don't
have an easy answer because I did the best I could, and it wasn't
enough. It hurts in a lot of ways, but we're not folding up and
quitting. We're going straight to Reading to win that race."

The real challenge in Tony Schumacher’s nine victories has not been in winning

Tony Schumacher won his ninth national event of the 2008 season;
he's within two wins of tying Joe Amato's career wins mark. (Auto
Imagery Photo)

the events, but in finding a unique method to describe the victory to the media and also the drag racing community.

Schumacher collected his 50th career victory on Sunday and ninth of the
2008 season. He’s just two wins short of tying Joe Amato’s Top Fuel
career victory mark.

“This has been an incredible run for the U.S. Army team,” said the
five-time world champion. “I can assure you that we’re enjoying every
minute of this. Of course, the most important thing is that we keep
winning for our Soldiers. It’s all about our brave men and women.”

With all of the Countdown
to the Championship talk likely to command much of the media’s attention, those
who have been around drag racing for the last three decades or so will recall
one of the greatest championship battles. Bob Glidden and the late Lee Shepherd
staged one of the closest championship battles in the history of drag racing.
This title went down to the final run of the season.

If Tony Pedregon becomes a grandfather, he’ll have some stories to tell.

Tony Pedregon's victory enabled him to become only the second Funny Car driver to win 40 national events.

The two-time world champion will spin yarns about the tough days of his
championship defense season. This weekend during the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., he added another chapter to
story time as he captured his fourth national-event victory of the
season and advanced to second place in the POWERade point standings
with a final-round victory over Jack Beckman.

The triumph marked Pedregon's 40th career victory, his first at BIR,
and his first final-round appearance at this venue since a runner-up
back in 1996. Pedregon became just the second Funny Car driver in the
history of the sport to reach 40 national-event victories.

Matt Smith can take a losing a round of competition.

Matt Smith ranks second in the standings, trailing Andrew Hines by 12 points.

He can also reluctantly take a rule change.

Kidney stones -- now that presents a challenge he hopes to avoid in the future – win or no win.

The defending world champion debuted his new in-house Kelly
Campbell-built Buell at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd,
Minn., and dominated the event.

Pro Stock racer Kurt Johnson may have moved away from Minnesota decades ago, but a sense

KJ was the quicker driver off the line and low elapsed time earner
in each round of competition. This weekend’s triumph was the 39th
national event win of his career.

of the home state spirit inspired the veteran into his third win of the 2008 POWERade Drag Racing season.

KJ was the quicker driver off the line and low elapsed time earner in
each round of competition during the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals. This weekend’s triumph was the 39th national
event win of his career, and fourth at Brainerd International Raceway,
tying him with his father Warren Johnson, Bruce Allen and Lee Shepherd
for the most by a Pro Stock competitor at the Minnesota quarter-mile.

Reigning POWERade champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. secured his chance to
defend his world title by racing to a third-place finish Sunday at the
27th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
Coughlin joined Greg Anderson, Kurt Johnson, and Jason Line on the list
of qualified racers that will begin a six-race fight for the 2008 title
on Sept. 11 in Charlotte. Six more racers will join them to fill out a
10-car playoff field.

"It's an exciting time for Victor Cagnazzi Racing and everyone at
JEGS," Coughlin said. "When you start the season as defending world
champions you set a lot of goals for your team. The most obvious one is
to repeat as champions. The first big step towards that goal is making
sure you're in the playoffs. We've cleared that hurdle now so there's a
sense of excitement and relief.

"We've gained some momentum over the past few races and we want to
continue building on that heading into the Countdown to 1. I feel like
we've got some work to do in the four weeks before the playoffs start
but the entire team should certainly enjoy this accomplishment."

SCHUMACHER CLAIMS 50TH CAREER VICTORY AND EXTENDS WINNING STREAK TO FOUR AT LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS

 
Local favorite Johnson, Pedregon and Smith also earn victories at Brainerd International Raceway
 
Tony Schumacher raced to his fourth consecutive victory and ninth of
the season Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd
International Raceway, and moved within two of all-time Top Fuel wins
leader Joe Amato's longstanding record of 52 victories.
 
Tony Pedregon, Kurt Johnson and Matt Smith also earned victories in
their respective categories at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
event, the 16th of 18 events in the Countdown to 10, NHRA's regular
season. The Countdown to 1, NHRA's six-race championship playoffs,
begins Sept. 11-14 at zMax Dragway at Concord, near Charlotte, N.C.

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following
the 27th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International
Raceway, the 16th of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
-

Top Fuel

1. Tony Schumacher, 1,532; 2. Antron Brown, 1,051; 3. Larry Dixon, 988;
4. Cory McClenathan, 987; 5. Rod Fuller, 958; 6. Brandon Bernstein,
922; 7. Hillary Will, 874; 8. Doug Herbert, 807; 9. Doug Kalitta, 701;
10. David Grubnic, 685.