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.

During his qualifying run, Rick Stivers wrecked several times -- he just didn't hit anything. (Roger Richards)

When Pro Mod driver Rick Stivers said he was looking to “get lucky” in Atlanta
at this weekend's JEGS Pro Mod Challenge event at the Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Southern Nationals, he didn't think he would be talking about the kind of
luck he had today. It wasn't "bad" luck— far from it. It was the kind of luck
that kept him from hitting the walls and  barrel rolling sideways down the
quarter-mile at Atlanta Dragway.
 
In his first qualifying attempt, the
Lexington, Ky.-resident delivered a white-knuckle, breath-holding performance,
characteristic of the thrills common to the Pro Modified class. From the left
lane, his '67 Shelby Mustang GT took a hard left after Stivers pushed the car
into second gear, and the veteran driver held on and corrected, narrowly missing
the left wall only to turn and head for the right wall traveling nearly 100 mph.
Holding on for dear life, Stivers recovered from the car jumping up on just one
wheel and kept from barrel-rolling down the track. He ended the run back in his
lane, looking around the cockpit for the divine helper that got him through the
run unscathed.

WILKERSON, McCLENATHAN, KRISHER, HINES CLAIM PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFYING SPOTS

Tim Wilkerson followed up his Vegas win with the provisional low qualifying effort in Commerce, Ga.

Tim Wilkerson looked to continue his qualifying domination as he took
the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car Friday at the 28th annual
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

Wilkerson drove his Levi Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS to a
4.774-second pass at 325.92 mph to become the provisional top
qualifier. It will be his 13th career No. 1 and second in Commerce.

In the world of heads-up professional drag racing, perhaps nothing
exemplifies the dog-eat-dog nature of the sport better than words, “Go
Full Throttle or Go Home!”

Beginning in 2009, that’s exactly how NHRA’s top professional series
will be branded, as Coca-Cola North America’s Full Throttle energy
drink succeeds POWERade as the title sponsor of NHRA’s premier
professional drag racing series.  It’s the first major sports marketing
play for the beverage Company’s lead energy drink.

The association between NHRA and Coca-Cola North America, with support
from Coca-Cola Enterprises, includes a two-year partnership extension
through the 2013 season, representing one of the longest running series
sponsorships in motorsports. The new series will be called the NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Before heading to Atlanta to compete in the sixth race of the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series, Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III made a stop
in Dearborn, Mich. to participate in Ford Customer Service Division’s
“Bring Your Child To Work Day” activities.

“I was really excited when FCSD asked me to be a part of this day,”
said Tasca. “One of the best things of being an NHRA driver is talking
with kids at and away from the track about the sport.”