Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following
the 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at
Atlanta Dragway, the sixth of 24 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series -

 
Top Fuel

1.  Tony Schumacher, 511; 2.  Antron Brown, 485; 3.  Larry Dixon, 415;
4.  Cory McClenathan, 386; 5.  Brandon Bernstein, 322; 6.  Rod Fuller,
321; 7.  Hillary Will, 305; 8.  Doug Herbert, 278; 9. David Grubnic,
265; 10.  Doug Kalitta, 254.

HISTORY MADE; ASHLEY FORCE BECOMES FIRST WOMAN TO WIN IN FUNNY CAR

Ashley Force became the first female nitro Funny Car winner in NHRA drag racing history.

In a final round for the ages Ashley Force beat father John, becoming
the first woman in NHRA history to win a national event in Funny Car at
the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

Ashley faced father and NHRA legend John Force in the final round,
driving her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang pass the iconic legend with a run
of 4.837 at 320.36. Though John was competing in his 500th race and
came within one round win of reaching 1,000, it was the younger Force
who stood in the winner’s circle at the end of the event.

Eddie Ware collected his first victory on the JEGS ProMod Challenge Sunday with
a convincing win over first-time finalist Roger Burgess at Atlanta Dragway. The
two Georgia-based racers were close for the first half of the race before Ware
drove away to take the stripe with a quick 6.055 at 235.51 mph to Burgess' 6.499
at 179.56 mph.

Ware's victory moved him from eighth to third place in the
rankings, just four behind second-place runner Tony Pontieri and 22 behind
season-long points leader Joe Baker, who failed to qualify for this event after
winning the first two races of the year. Burgess jumped from 14th to
eighth.

"The whole day I was adding points and trying to figure out where
we were in the standings," Ware said. "We knew when Joe DNQ'ed we'd have a
chance to make up a bunch of ground and we just stayed focused on getting as
many round wins as we could. In the end, this turned into the perfect
weekend.

Sunday's final results from the 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.  The  race is the sixth of
24 in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
 

Top Fuel -- Antron Brown, 4.537 seconds, 325.14 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 4.521 seconds, 329.58 mph.

Final round-by-round results from the 28th annual Summit Racing
Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, the sixth of 24
events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

 
TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Antron Brown, 4.580, 319.29 def. David Grubnic, 4.597,
321.81; Doug Herbert, 4.724, 306.12 def. Doug Kalitta, 5.103, 224.43;
Hillary Will, 4.581, 317.72 def. Alan Bradshaw, 4.743, 319.75; Bob
Vandergriff, 5.061, 305.42 def. Larry Dixon, 5.698, 215.58; Cory
McClenathan, 4.556, 318.09 def. Todd Paton, 5.520, 180.77; Rod Fuller,
4.542, 323.04 def. Terry McMillen, foul; Tony Schumacher, 4.551, 326.56
def. Morgan Lucas, 4.614, 321.58; J.R. Todd, 4.624, 322.11 def. Brandon
Bernstein, 4.621, 312.64;

QUARTERFINALS -- Vandergriff,
4.668, 298.93 def. Todd, 4.647, 279.61; Brown, 4.591, 325.61 def.
McClenathan, 4.562, 320.89; Fuller, 4.556, 324.44 def. Herbert, 4.754,
265.33; Schumacher, 4.572, 324.12 def. Will, 4.587, 321.19;

SEMIFINALS -- Brown, 4.555, 330.47 def. Vandergriff, 4.642, 296.11; Schumacher, 4.511, 325.45 def.Fuller, 4.539, 325.53;

FINAL -- Brown, 4.537, 325.14 def. Schumacher, 4.521, 329.58.

COUGHLIN CRASH SEQUENCE

Pro Mod veteran Troy Coughlin was shaken but otherwise uninjured after crashing
hard into the retaining wall of Atlanta Dragway during Saturday's first round of
eliminations in the JEGS ProMod Challenge.

The accident overshadowed an
upset-filled opening round where four drivers from the bottom half of the ladder
advanced. Ninth-place qualifier Roger Burgess beat Shelly Payne with a 6.08.
Tenth-place Jay Payne avenged his wife's loss by beating Kirk Kuhns, 6.06 to
6.11. Eddie Ware got past a higher-ranked Mike Ashley, who encountered severe
tire shake, while Tony Pontieri won when No. 5 qualifier Coughlin impacted the
wall.

WILKERSON, McCLENATHAN, KRISHER, HINES STAY IN NO. 1 QUALIFYING SPOTS

Tim Wilkerson retained the top spot from Friday qualifying.

The
No. 1 provisional qualifiers from Friday in all four categories held on
to those top spots as qualifying wrapped up Saturday for the Summit
Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

Tim Wilkerson’s run of 4.774-second pass at 325.92 mph in his Levy Ray
& Shoup Chevy Impala SS from the previous day was enough to keep
him in the top spot in Funny Car. It is Wilkerson’s third No. 1
qualifier of the season and 13th of his career.

Mike Ashley will drive a nitro Funny Car in at least five races during
the 2008 season. The two-time Pro Modified world champion and defending
NHRA U.S. Nationals titlist will make his re-debut next weekend during
the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, Mo.

“We’ve only been running the second car at select events,” Ashley said
in a Saturday press conference. “I’m looking at doing this at least up
until Norwalk.”

He added there were two strategic factors in his decision.

“It’s important the way our team has progressed that we have two cars
out here gathering data,” Ashley said. “We must come up with a master
plan to master the combination. It’s no secret there have been
significant changes to the chassis this year.”

Justin Humphreys called on a friend for help going into the Summit
Racing Equipment Nationals Friday at Atlanta Dragway and boy, did Frank
Gugliotta answer.
 
Gugliotta, a longtime friend of the Humphreys family and an IHRA Pro
Stock competitor, made some chassis changes Friday that provided the
impetus for two solid runs of 6.679 and 6.655 seconds.  The last one
put him solidly in the provisional starting line-up at No. 3.  He had
been fourth after the opening round.