Terry McMillen knew his chances of winning were a long-shot as he eased his Top Fuel dragster into the staging beams during

Terry McMillen is looking for his second career Top Fuel win in Rockingham this weekend. (Roger Richards Photos)

the final round of the IHRA Texas Nationals in San Antonio. His Amalie
Oil-sponsored dragster had broken a bolt holding the throttle cable
following the burnout and pending a mistake by his rookie opponent
Spencer Massey, he was nothing more than a duck in the water as he lit
the stage beam.

“I started praying somehow or another that it would fix itself,”
McMillen, a sophomore Top Fuel racer said. “I nailed the throttle and
nothing happened.”

See Tim Wilkerson's smile in the accompanying photo? It's still there three days after scoring his seventh career NHRA

Tim Wilkerson’s victory represented the third victory for Chevrolet this season in five national events.

POWERade Funny Car Series win during the recently completed NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals in Las Vegas. 

In fact, much of this year he's been smiling, especially after
qualifying. Thus far in 2008, in four of the first five races of the
season, Wilkerson has qualifiued no lower than third with two pole
positions to his credit. Sunday's triumph places him second in the
points standings, just five behind Ashley Force.

The Pro Modified team of Joe Caruso and Mike Cusimano are looking to
make a better showing in Pro Modified Racing Association racing in 2008
than the previous year.
 
“Our
big goal this coming year is to be consistent,” said Joe Caruso, who is
a team owner and crew chief of the 1994 Corvette Pro Modified. “We’re
working on a few things right now to get some more power and lighten up
the car.”

A variety of seminars are planned from leading industry experts on
different topics; some of those already scheduled include “Speed
Secrets” by Ross Bentley, “The Value of Simulators to the Race Driver”
by Tom Pabst, and “Gaining Car/Team Sponsorship Pro and Amateur” by
Media Fit. A myriad of other topics will be announced as the event
draws near, including presentations geared towards those on the outside
and confused about how to begin their path into motorsports.

Looking for more than just exhibits and seminars? An autocross course
will be setup in the parking lot of Grand Sierra Resort where attendees
can get firsthand knowledge with some of the products and the sport of
autocross, or head down the road to Reno-Fernley Raceway for additional
demonstrations such as the Griggs Racing GR40 Track Toy or maybe even
SCCA’s latest Spec Racer.

One of the most memorable events of the Racer’s Expo will be the
“Evening with a Legend,” planned for Saturday, November 15. This is a
rare opportunity to enjoy dinner alongside one of the greatest names in
racing, hear some “behind the scenes” stories, and maybe even watch
some amazing historical film footage from the good ‘ole days. Watch for
the announcement about which racing legend will be the featured
speaker, guaranteed to be someone you will want to listen to. “Evening
with a Legend” is a benefit event for the “Wounded Warriors” or other
charity.

26-year old racer Luke Bogacki has had some phenomenal moments in his
racing career that spans back to 1993. In 1998, at just seventeen,
Bogacki collected three wins at his home track, Texas Raceway, during
the annual Labor Day Landslide weekend; culminated by a “Race for a
Dragster” victory that landed him his first dragster. In 2001, he owned
the Friday portion of the annual “Million Dollar Race Weekend,”
claiming the day’s “Twin 20” $20,000 victory as well as the Mullis
All-Star Shootout; amassing some 14 consecutive round wins against the
toughest competition in the country. He left the IHRA AC Delco
Nationals in 2003 with his first national event victory (in Hot Rod),
and a runner-up finish in the prestigious Moser Axle Mania Shootout--he
made both final rounds at the wheel of two machines he had never driven
prior to that weekend! In 2004, he became the only competitor in the
series’ long illustrious history to sweep the Tenn-Tuck Triple crown,
winning all three $10,000 main events in the first weekend of the
series. Last season, he appeared in four final rounds in one day at the
DragRaceResults.com Bracket Series event at Abilene Dragway, an event
that cemented his run to the series championships.

Though Bogacki, who now resides in Woodville, AL, is obviously no
stranger to the winners circle, he has never had a day quite like he
did at Gainesville Raceway last Saturday. There, he drove his familiar
CSR Performance Products Dragster and Mickey Thompson Tires Vega to
what is arguably the most impressive performance of his career to date.

Last fall IHRA Top Fuel World Champion Bruce Litton’s trip to Rockingham was one
part business, one part celebration. After watching T.J. Zizzo falter in the
first round, all Litton had to do was knock off Luigi Novelli in the last pair
of cars of the first session and he would clinch his first-ever Top Fuel world
championship. He was up to the task, despite an oil-down the pair before the
biggest run of his career. He not only knocked off Novelli, he went on to win
his 12th career Ironman.

Clinching the 2007 world
championship just reinforced Litton’s high opinion of Rockingham
Dragway.

“I always enjoy coming to Rockingham
because this was the site of our first career victory at the 1999 Spring
Nationals,” Litton said. “I like the people and I like the community so it’s
always been a good track for us. To win the championship in Rockingham last year
was awesome.”

NASCAR superstar Kevin
Harvick will banner high-performance auto parts giant JEGS Mail Order through a
personal services contract that begins immediately. Harvick will feature the
JEGS.com logo and toll-free number on the racing helmets he uses on the NASCAR,
Nationwide, and Craftsman Truck series.

"JEGS is a great company and we
need to make JEGS.com the place for NASCAR fans to go whenever they need
high-performance parts," Harvick said. "The Coughlin brothers got involved with
NASCAR through the contingency program last year and they have big billboards at
most of the tracks. I think this new deal is just a natural progression for
their involvement with our sport.

"I've become great friends with John
(Coughlin) and recently watched Jeg (Coughlin) race his Pro Stock car in Las
Vegas. I'm anxious to meet Troy and Mike as well. We're all racers at heart and
that makes this relationship very comfortable right from the
start."

Was the fuel Don Schumacher fined for actually legal fuel? (Roger Richards Photo)

The NHRA’s fining of Don Schumacher Racing for possession of unapproved
fuel on site has no legal merit on a technicality. The fuel in the
drums emblazoned with Pro Nitro logos reportedly held nitromethane
purchased from Wego, an approved nitro supplier to the NHRA, a source
close to the situation told CompetitionPlus.com.

Our unimpeachable source, who would only speak under the condition of
anonymity, confirmed Wego had purchased nitromethane from Schumacher’s
Pro Nitro in the past and the fuel in question had actually been
repurchased from the Chinese-based company by Schumacher.