Len Imbrogno has held high ranking positions with race teams and sanctioning bodies.

He’s even tried his hand at driving a nitro car and that experience was
enough to convince him he’s better off on his current side of the
fence.

Imbrogno now serves as General Manager for Kenny Bernstein Racing, but
back in the day, in 1979, he drove a low-budget Funny Car for
Ohio-based team owner Ken Thornburg.

“That's when it was fun to drive,” Imbrogno said. “It's amazing; you
couldn't run an alcohol car today on the budget we ran those cars on
back then.”

Clay Millican’s long and sometimes agonizing wait to
officially begin his 2008 NHRA Top Fuel racing career ends this weekend at Maple
Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa. 

Millican will be flying the familiar – and colorful –
Nitro Fish banner and Hope4Sudan on the Brad Hadman-built dragster in the Toyo
Tires Nationals, Friday through Sunday. 

“I’m so excited,” said the effervescent Millican, whose return was
hastened by one race, thanks to sponsorship from Kenny Koretsky’s apparel
company.  “The Captain (Koretsky’s
nickname) called and said if we came back a race earlier than we planned, we
should do it at his home track of Maple Grove with Nitro Fish on the car.

CompetitionPlus.com has learned from multiple places sources that
once-approved to the NHRA nitromethane supplier Wego Chemical Company
approached the NHRA with an offer to sell their 53-gallon drums of
100-percent nitro as a additional distributor and was turned down. The
NHRA was reportedly given a commitment by Wego to sell their fuel
throughout the remainder of the season for $1400.

Former IHRA racer Jerry Williams picked up his second Probe Pro career
Fun Ford victory at Bristol with Dale Brinsfield behind the wheel.
Their brand new Jerry Haas built 2008 Shelby Cobra has posted the
quickest times ever for a nitrous car in Fun Ford history.

Bristol
has always been a favorite stop along the Fun Ford tour. For a number
of racers, it became even sweeter as the 17th annual FFW Thunder Valley
Nationals was the scene for some important wins in quests for the 2008
season championship.

Probe Pro saw Dale Brinsfield score his second consecutive season
victory as he scored 1 6.450/219.65 win over defending champion David
Schorr was forced to shut off after getting crossed up. Several new
faces were competing this year as Seth Johnson and Mike Bellew made
their debuts. Todd Amandus made another appearance in his camouflage
colored Mustang with Dennis Lugo making the tuning calls as he sped to
a 6.843.

Two-time NHRA Funny Car champion Frank Hawley and the new
Rite Aid Pharmacies Racing Dodge R/T Funny Car he will be driving in this
weekend’s Toyo Tires Nationals will be visiting the Wyomissing Rite Aid Pharmacy
Thursday from 9 a.m. until noon.

Hawley
will answer fans’ questions and sign autographs during the
appearance.

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.