Tragedy hits close to home for IHRA Nitro Funny Car racer …

Matt
Hagan was laboring away in his Radford, Virginia shop, getting his
nitro Funny Car ready for this weekend’s IHRA Spring Nationals in
Rockingham, North Carolina. The freshman driver was meticulous in his
preparation for the weekend of drag racing and even more so knowing
this is only his second event behind the wheel of a nitro-burner. He is
more focused than usual for those simple reasons.

Details mean the difference between winning and losing.

Then his concentration was broken by the radio. Instead of yelling for
one of his co-workers to turn the volume down, he paused and listened.

Determined Ford Pro Stock player signs major sponsorship

One simply cannot miss Jim Cunningham because the quiet man from
Maryland marches to the beat of a different drum. He’s running a Ford
Pro Stocker in the GM and Dodge dominated world of NHRA Pro Stock.

Now they’ll have even more of a reason to remember him. Cunningham has
signed CNC Software Inc. of Tolland, Ct. as a major manufacturing
partner. The team will promote CNC Software’s signature program
Mastercam as part of the agreement.

“CNC Software and Mastercam CAD/CAM software have been instrumental in
our recent gains with our engine program,” explained Cunningham.  “When
we started our in-house engine program, our first priority was to
establish an engine shop that was capable of generating a competitive
Pro Stock engine.  We realized that we needed to get ahead of the curve
when it came to machining capabilities and in doing so; one of our
first purchases was a 5-axis CNC machine.

Those still playing Pac-Man on Atari, trying to solve the
Rubik’s Cube or watching reruns of Miami
Vice will want to head to Bristol Dragway’s Street Fights on Thursday, April
17 for Sonic 80’s Night.

Special promotions highlight the
night, including $1 off admission to anyone dressed in 80’s gear.  Prices at the concession stand will roll back
to the 80’s too with hot dogs and Pepsi products priced at only $1.

Bristol Dragway staff members also
will search the pits and grandstands looking to reward the person whose outfit
best personifies the 80’s. 

Comp
eliminator racers and fans were treated to some spectacular racing at the Texas
Motorplex, just outside Dallas this past weekend. A freshly scraped and groomed
race track met the racers as the second stop of the Lucas Oil drag racing series
for NHRA’s division 4 rolled into town. Mother Nature got in on the act with
dry, crystal blue skies and temperatures in the upper sixties, conditions very
conducive to making horsepower. With over $4700.00 in Comp Cash Reward bonus money up for
grabs for the event, it promised to be an exciting weekend for the full field of
racers,

As qualifying
got under way for the weekends racing action, the track started to come into its
own very quickly, and the usually narrow grove of the “Tex Plex” became wider
than normal and very aggressive for those that wanted to apply their power.  With 36 cars on hand and a .402 under bump
spot once qualifying was completed, competitors knew that this race weekend
wasn’t going to be an easy one.  Recent
Jegs Cajun SportsNationals champ Glenn Self battled with Scott Benham for the
number one qualifying spot, finally unleashing a .702 under lap in the final
Saturday afternoon qualifying session to claim the Hughes performance low
qualifier bonus, as well as taking home the divisions Comp Cash Reward $100.00 check as
well.

Two weeks after scoring the first national event win of his career, Randy Eakins
continued to climb the Top Alcohol Dragster championship points standings with a
strong semifinal finish at the 9th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las
Vegas. Eakins, 39, drove the Canidae All Natural Pet Foods/Red line Oil A/Fuel
dragster to six consecutive NHRA round-wins before being halted in the
semifinals.

The Edgecombe Racing team worked hard to battle through
electrical issues that plagued their nitromethane-burning dragster throughout
the weekend, and they managed to qualify in the top half of the 16-car field and
go rounds in eliminations. Eakins posted a 5.63 elapsed time in the first round
to defeat a tire-smoking Johnny Ahten. His round two matchup paralleled the one
from his Houston win in which he defeated 2007 Top Alcohol Dragster world
champion Bill Reichert on a holeshot. This time he raced 2007 Super Comp world
champ Shawn Langdon, who qualified No. 1 behind the wheel of Morgan Lucas’
dragster, and again it was decided on the starting line as Eakins cut a superb
.011 reaction time and won with a 5.73 over Langdon’s superior 5.69.
Back-to-back wins were not in the cards, however, as Eakins’ engine dropped
cylinders in the semifinals and he lost to Jeff Isbell, who ran a solid 5.47 and
became another first-time winner after defeating Jim Whiteley in the final
round.

In
an initiative to demonstrate its commitment to young adults who share a
passion for cars and vehicle care, Valvoline has announced
a scholarship program to aid students in pursuit of an automotive
technical career.

Former Funny Car driving
veteran turned nostalgia flopper tuner Cory Lee wouldn’t mind batting 1.000
this weekend at the IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham, North Carolina.
He could very well pull off the feat this weekend.

Jeff and Bonnie McGaffic
re-enlisted Lee to pilot their Metalwood Bat-sponsored Monte
Carlo nitro Funny Car and consider last season’s runner-up finish
in Rockingham.

Drag racing superstar Jeg Coughlin Jr. proved he can turn left last
Saturday night during the special "NHRA Stars in Short Track Cars"
charity event at The Bulling at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Driving a
1,200cc Thunder Roadster for the first time, Coughlin finished fourth
in an all-star field of drag racers, some of whom had prior short-track
experience.

"I was pretty happy with the effort," said Coughlin, a four-time NHRA
champion with 52 national event wins. "I went into this deal with zero
experience and an open mind. We wanted to have some fun and entertain
the fans that came over from the drag strip and I think we accomplished
that. We had a ball and I'd love to do it again.

"We had some time to test on Friday night. Roger Hocking and Ron
McIntire, who graciously let me drive one of their team cars, told me I
just needed to trust the car and push it to the limit. I went as fast
as I felt I could go and his guys were all pretty pleased. They told me
I was running a good line. I would like to thank Brian Claas for his
expertise and assistance because it was very very helpful!."

Tony Pedregon, Whit Bazemore and Marty Nothstein will all compete in popular race

Two-time NHRA POWERade Series world champion Tony Pedregon will give
turning a try as he joins some of the biggest names in sports and
entertainment at the annual Pro/Celebrity race at the Grand Prix of
Long Beach on Saturday, April 19 at 11:40 a.m.

Pedregon will be competing against the likes of Drew Lachey and Wilmer
Valderrama among the celebrities and Craftsman Truck Series champion –
and defending Pro/Celebrity champion – Mike Skinner among the Pros.
Also competing in the Pro category will be fellow drag racers Whit
Bazemore and Marty Nothstein.