Dave
Connolly has been to the finals in two of the three races since returning to competition. 

But this is just the beginning.  Ten races remain before the top 10 contenders square off in a six-race title showdown.

The first, the O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka,
unfolds May 30-June 1.  Connolly has been to three consecutive final
rounds in his past three visits to the Kansas Capital city.  He won in
2006 and was runner-up in 2007 and 2005.

“Topeka has been a pretty good track for us,” said Connolly, driver of
the Charter Communications/LifeLock Chevy Cobalt for Victor Cagnazzi
Racing.  “Hopefully we’ll pick up four more round wins there.  That’s
what we have in mind right now.  We are coming off a high with a
runner-up and a win in our second and third races back.  We hope to
have a little faster race car at Topeka so we can put pressure on all
the guys ahead of us.  We’re still taking things one race at a time to
see how everything pans out.”

The popular A&E reality show Driving Force focusing on the private
lives of John Force, his wife Laurie and daughters Ashley, Brittney and
Courtney will return once the icon patriarch feels comfortable with the
progress they’ve made with safety and other issues since the
unfortunate testing accident which claimed the life of team driver Eric
Medlen.

“I still owe them [A&E] some shows, so I told them I needed to get
my race teams back together and get us the safety aspect up and
running,” Force said in a recent press conference in Charlotte, N.C. 
“I can’t focus on a TV show.”

Justin Humphreys’ RaceRedi Motorsports Pro Stock team finds itself in a
frustrating predicament, one that is not easily resolved.

His Pontiac GXP is without race motors and, therefore,
will not be competing in this weekend’s O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Topeka, Kan. 

Humphreys said Richard Maskin, who had been the engine supplier, “called
us and said he didn’t want to do this anymore and asked us to send his engines
back (from the team’s Maryland shop to
Detroit).  We had no forewarning . . . and we don’t have
any other engines available to us, so we won’t be in Topeka.”

In an effort to keep racing cost effective, the Flowmaster American
Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard is “seriously
considering” the implementation of a specified “spec” fuel starting in
its 2009 season, series president Kenny Nowling said. The decision
would affect racers in all three ADRL full-bodied car classes—Pro
Extreme, Pro Nitrous and Extreme 10.5—as well as its unique Pro Extreme
Motorcycle class.

“No agreement has yet been reached, but we are currently in serious
discussions with VP Racing Fuels, the Official Racing Fuel of the ADRL,
to become our spec fuel supplier for all four classes in the future,”
Nowling said. “VP has supported racing throughout its history like few
others. They’re dedicated to providing good performance and value in
the form of top quality products for fair prices, so it just makes
sense for us to take the next step with them.”

The ADRL announced VP Racing Fuels as its Official Racing Fuel last
December and the company now stations a fuel truck at each ADRL
national event, offering a full range of fuel products available at
special “event only” pricing that is lower than the prevailing retail
cost.

Ron Capps' journey so far in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
is quite different from where it was at this time in 2007.

Last May he entered the NHRA Summer Nationals leading the Funny Car
standings by 120 points over his next competitor. This year, he's 192
points behind in No. 8. But that's OK, says the driver of the NAPA AUTO
PARTS Dodge Charger R/T who has won twice at Heartland Park Topeka
(1998 and 2006) and who's buoyed by the recent boost in performance of
the all-new NAPA Dodge tuned by Ed "Ace" McCulloch.

With the new Murf McKinney chassis - which will be mandatory by the
NHRA for the Denver event in July - reacting well to the tweaks and
changes McCulloch made to it at its debut in Bristol two weeks ago,
Capps and the NAPA team are aiming to be running strong when the
Countdown to the Championship kicks in after the U.S. Nationals on
Labor Day weekend.

It must have felt a bit like proving themselves all over again.

Melanie Troxel won her fifth career professional national event in Bristol and first in a Funny Car. (Roger Richard Photos)

In 2006, Melanie Troxel reached a stunning nine final rounds with two
wins in her first year of fulltime competition in Top Fuel, good enough
for a fourth-place finish on the year. Then she followed that with
another two-win season in 2007, firmly establishing herself as a
contender in Top Fuel.

Meanwhile Dave Connolly, one of the youngest drivers on the NHRA
POWERade Series Pro Stock circuit, quickly picked up a good reputation
as one of the fastest leavers at the starting line – drawing
comparisons to established starting-line dominator Jeg Coughlin. After
finishing 18th in the points his first season on the road, Connolly
turned in four consecutive top 5 finishes – three of which were
third-place seasons.

Hot Rod Fuller will entertain three CAT dealerships this weekend in Topeka. (Roger Richards)

The NHRA race at Heartland Park Topeka marks the first event that will
see multiple Caterpillar dealer groups participate in the NHRA
technician recruiting program. The David Powers-owned, Rod
Fuller-driven Caterpillar dragster will fly the logos of Martin
Tractor, Foley Equipment and Warren Cat during the 20th annual O’Reilly
Summer Nationals at Heartland Park. Linn State Technical College and
Crossland Construction also will be involved in the team’s activities
during the weekend.

The relationship between David Powers Motorsports, Caterpillar and the
Caterpillar Dealer Groups was designed as a pilot program to increase
technician recruiting. Many Caterpillar dealers are experiencing a
shortage of technicians, and after successful events in several NHRA
markets during the 2007 season, DPM and Caterpillar inked a multiyear
agreement last August to participate in the NHRA dealer recruitment
program.

"The NHRA Summer Nationals at Topeka is a special race for Caterpillar
as this will be the first event that we have had three Caterpillar
dealers collectively participating in the NHRA technician recruiting
program, as well as Cat equipment on display for marketing and sales
programs,” Caterpillar’s Stan Deatherage said. “All three dealers,
Martin, Foley Equipment and Warren, also will utilize customer
entertainment in the David Powers Motorsports Iron Eagle Club
hospitality area. All three dealers will have their logos on the
dragster, along with Caterpillar Think Big educational partner Linn
State Technical College."

Construction on the "other" drag strip in Carolinas is quickly moving forward with a Spring 2009 opening. The new Union County Motorsports Park in South Carolina makes progress with every day of work. Reportedly the site is being groomed for a 2010 national event although the parties involved are being tight-lipped.

Roger Richards Photos

The 2008 IHRA season has proven to be the year of the nitro rookies.

Twenty-five year old Spencer Massey has won two races thus far in IHRA Top Fuel. He won in his first national event.

Top Fuel freshman Spencer Massey won his first Top Fuel event just days
after procuring his license and twenty-one year old Dan Wilkerson drove
his way to a provisional IHRA Funny Car world record on his first pass
as a professional drag racer. Wilkerson also reached the final round in his first outing.

Massey is the senior of the two having two more races under his belt.
He is also the point leader based on victories at those first two events.