CompetitionPlus.com's rendering artist Greg Russell has fired off an artist conception of the new 2009 Camaro Funny Car body.

Going Straight, Collecting Points Connolly’s Primary Mission at E-Town

The math is simple. 

Dave
Connolly continues his bid for a top ten ranking despite missing the first five events of the season. (Roger Richards)  

Dave Connolly currently trails 10th place Warren
Johnson by 130 points as they challenge for the final Pro Stock position in the
coveted Countdown to One six-race championship playoff.  Eight races remain in
the regular season. And they aren’t the only ones with designs on a top 10
finish.
 
Connolly has been impressive since his personal 19-race NHRA
POWERade Series campaign began five races behind the other contenders.  He
signaled his return with a runner-up finish in his second race and a victory at
Bristol, Tenn., in the third event.  The victory pushed him all the way up to
12th, where he remains after disappointing outings in recent back-to-back races
at Topeka, Kan., and Joliet, Ill.
 

While his rivals rested over Father's Day weekend in anticipation of the
upcoming 39th Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals, reigning Pro Stock champion Jeg
Coughlin Jr. was at Indianapolis Raceway Park winning $25,000 at the JEGS U.S.
Open Bracket Championships.

Coughlin logged more than a dozen rounds of
cutthroat competition against 350 of the best sportsman racers in the country --
including the nine straight he needed Saturday to claim the top prize -- to tune
up for his next Pro Stock race.

"It was a tough-fought battle every
round," Coughlin said. "I went through more household names in one race then you
see in a year. It was brutal, but a lot of fun.

"It definitely doesn’t
hurt to race in a deal like this. The cars are different, sure, but the
discipline you need, the lights you need to cut every round, the focus you have
to maintain, the need to basically perform flawlessly in the cockpit, all of
that helps."

While Michael Waltrip is battling it out with 42 other NASCAR drivers nearly
every weekend in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota, his NAPA teammate Ron Capps is
vying for a win against his opponents side-by-side down the quarter-mile of an
NHRA event, driving the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge.

Last Saturday, Waltrip
showed his support of his "little buddy" (Waltrip is 6'5", Capps is 5'8") by
sporting Capps' NAPA tee shirt and cap at the NASCAR event at Michigan
International Speedway.

The two are becoming famous for their creative
and funny NAPA commercials which have been airing during both NASCAR and NHRA
events.

Top Fuel racer Doug Foley will do his best to represent New Jersey this coming
weekend at the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals when the Sewell, N.J.,
resident returns to action at his home track of Old Bridge Township Raceway
Park.

The former IHRA Rookie of the Year rose to national prominence
during a part-time NHRA campaign in 2007 when the media dubbed him "Giant
Killer" for his numerous upsets of top-ranked racers like Tony Schumacher,
Brandon Bernstein, and Rod Fuller. Now, with the continued corporate backing of
Fx Caprara Car Companies of Watertown, N.Y., Foley will try to earn his first
NHRA Wally at Old Bridge.

"This is our third race of the year with Billy
Caprara and we're really happy to be back in action, even if it's just for one
more weekend," Foley said. "We're continuing our search for full-time funding
and it helps tremendously to compete at some of the races so we can show our
potential sponsors what we do in person.

Creasy Cruises to
First Win in 2008

Bobby
Lagana (Top Fuel), Laurie Cannister (Alcohol Funny Car), Mike Castellana (Pro
Modified) and Frank Gugliotta (Pro Stock) also claim Ironmen at IHRA President’s
Cup Nationals

Dale Creasy scored his first win of the season by dominating the Nitro Funny Car division from start to finish.

Last season Dale Creasy Jr. was a regular visitor to the winner’s
circle at IHRA Nitro Jam events. He won six times during the 2007
season in easily cruising to his second consecutive world championship.

This season things have not come quite as easily for the Beecher, Ill.
resident. Through three national events heading into the President’s
Cup Nationals, Creasy had failed to find his way through the field and
into the winner’s circle. That all changed when he knocked off Todd
Simpson in the final round to claim the Ironman at Maryland
International Raceway.

Point standings (top 10) for IHRA professional categories following the
Torco Racing Fuels President's Cup Nationals at Maryland International
Raceway, the fourth of 11 events in the  2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag
Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1.  Bruce Litton, 383; 2.  Spencer Massey, 353; 3.  Mike Strasburg,
296; 4.  Bobby Lagana Jr., 295; 5.  Scott Palmer, 212; 6.  Terry
McMillen, 206; 7.  Kevin Jones, 187; 8.  Chris Karamesines, 108; 9. 
Michael Gunderson, 50; 10.  T.J. Zizzo, 36.

Final round-by-round results from the Torco Racing Fuels President's
Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway, the fourth of 11
events in the  2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Bobby Lagana Jr., 5.335, 258.42 def. Spencer
Massey, 6.888, 143.84; Bruce Litton, 4.896, 288.09 def. Kevin Jones,
4.950, 297.48; Mike Strasburg, 4.938, 282.84 def. Terry McMillen,
4.858, 298.47;

SEMIFINALS -- Lagana Jr., 4.941, 291.82 def. Strasburg, 6.190, 150.51; Litton, 5.143, 210.18 was unopposed;

FINAL -- Lagana Jr., 4.869, 306.40 def. Litton, 4.998, 225.82.

Sunday's final results from the Torco Racing Fuels President's Cup
Nationals at Maryland International Raceway.  The  race is the fourth
of 10 in the  2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series: 

Top Fuel -- Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.869 seconds, 306.40 mph  def. Bruce Litton, 4.998 seconds, 225.82 mph.