Funny thing happened on the way to a drag race for Allen Middendorf several years ago. The

Allen Middendorf visited the drags several years ago. The former motocross champion made his nitro Funny Car debut this weekend.

former motocross racer upgraded from two wheels to four; and added over 7,900 horsepower to his race vehicle.

He
debuted this weekend in San Antonio, Texas during the IHRA Texas
Nationals. Middendorf fell short of making the eight-car field, but
considering where he began, he wasn't too extremely disappointed.

“The first IHRA race I attended (as a spectator) was in San Antonio in
2003, which is why I am so excited to make my professional debut here,”
said Middendorf.  “The people in San Antonio were awesome fans and I’m
amped that I can be a part of the races here.  It was a just a dream a
few years ago when I realized that I wanted to do this.  Now here we
are, and I am revved up and ready to go.”

The race fans were lined up for an autograph and the Top Fuel driver wasn’t even competing.

Fuller interacts with the IHRA drag racing fans in San Antonio.

Hot Rod Fuller chose to spend his off-weekend away from the NHRA
POWERade tour as a special guest of Holt CAT, presenting sponsor for
the IHRA Texas Nationals.

Fuller drives the CAT-sponsored entry on the NHRA tour. He’ll be racing
next weekend in Las Vegas. This weekend was devoted to sponsor
relations.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to an IHRA event and because I’m
not racing, I get a lot of extra time to spend with the fans,” Fuller
said, as he signed an autograph. “I’ve gotten to hang out with my old
sportsman racing friends and add in that I grew up in this part of the
country.”

Defending IHRA Pro Stock champion Robert Patrick brought out his big gun for the final session of

Robert Patrick returned to his trusted 2007 Bob Ingles engine and climbed to the top spot in Pro Stock qualifying.

qualifying during the IHRA Texas Nationals in San Antonio.
The Fredericksburg, Va-based driver brought out the same 820-inch Bob
Ingles engine he used to run a 6.266 elapsed time in Valdosta, Georgia
preseason testing.

“My team and my engine builder Bob Ingles really worked hard during the
off-season and we tested awful hard for times like this,” Patrick said.
“We had an engine in the car that we hadn’t run before and it could
have run a 6.11 or so. That’s why we put last year’s race engine in the
car.”

Charlie Westcott Jr. hails from Parma, Mich., but there is something about Cajun
Country that brings out the best in him. The Super Stock racer and engine
builder raced to his fifth-straight Mopar Hemi Challenge title Saturday at the
JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La. Westcott drove to an 8.51 in
the final round to stop John Rains of Santa Paula, Calif., who red-lighted.
Westcott also set the national record for the SS/AH class.

Punctuating a relationship that dates back five years, two-time
POWERade Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon has unveiled a Palms Hotel
and Casino design on his Q Horsepower Chevrolet Impala SS for the
upcoming ninth annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.

The car will make its official debut Thursday night at the Palms Hotel
and Casino during the Champions Meet & Greet party, which runs from
6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the facility, located at 4321 West Flamingo Road.
More than 30 drivers will be on hand for the free event, where special
gaming chips honoring Pedregon, Tony Schumacher, and Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s
2007 POWERade titles will be released for the first time.

"We're
thrilled with our association with Tony and Cruz Pedregon and to have a
special-edition car for the Palms is very cool," said Jim Baker,
sponsor liaison for the world-renowned property. "It's actually a bit
of a surprise for Joe Maloof, so let's keep it a secret. He handles all
the sponsorship deals and we thought he'd get a kick out of this car.
His brother George has already seen it and he thought it was awesome.

"Joe thinks the world of Tony and his brother Cruz. The bang for the
buck they've given us is exceptional and, as Joe often says, Tony is
our kind of people. He's salt-of-the-earth, and that's an admirable
trait these days."

A 37-time national event winner, Pedregon won his second world title in
2007 with the Palms logo prominently displayed on his 8,000-horsepower
racecar. Second only to former boss John Force in number of Funny Car
victories on the all-time list, Pedregon became the first driver in 11
years other than Force to win the world title when he bagged his first
championship in 2003.

Patrick in Mid-Season Form at Texas Nationals; Claims First Pro Stock Pole of Season at San Antonio Raceway

Bruce Litton (Top Fuel), Bob Gilbertson (Nitro Funny Car), Laurie
Cannister (Alcohol Funny Car) and Scott Cannon (Pro Mod) also claim #1
qualifying positions at Knoll Gas Nitro Jam season-opener

Robert Patrick was tops in the Pro Stock division.

Defending
Torco Pro Stock World Champion Robert Patrick proved things have not
changed much from October to now…his 2008 Shelby Cobra is the car the
rest of the class is chasing. Patrick powered to the #1 qualifying spot
in San Antonio with a 4.104 pass at 174.96 mph. His Saturday evening
pass is just four thousandths off the current world record.

Station Casinos’ oddsmaker Micah Roberts likes Tony
Schumacher, Robert Hight and Greg Anderson in the final rounds of next weekend’s
NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals for the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series at The
Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Looking to gain a little extra data for his race team, veteran Top Fuel
racer and drag racing school owner Doug Foley headed west from Houston
after last weekend's NHRA event to compete in the Amalie Oil Texas
Nationals near San Antonio. The eighth-mile race is being held under
IHRA sanction from April 4-6.

"Our crew chief Doug Kuch and the guys had some things they wanted to
try out so we made the trip over," said Foley, who hails from Sewell,
N.J., near Philadelphia. "Rather than rent a track somewhere and test,
we thought we'd come here and have some fun under real racing
conditions.

Pro Stock driver Shane Tucker will field a JEGS.com-sponsored Holden Monaro at
the upcoming Tin Top ANDRA Nationals, April 18-19, at Willowbank Raceway in
Queensland, Australia.

Tucker, who has been patiently waiting for his
chance to pilot a third Pro Stocker for Victor Cagnazzi Racing on the POWERade
Drag Racing Series, jumped at the chance to return to his native Australia for
the long-running Tin Top Nationals. He'll race alongside his father Rob Tucker
with the duo trying their best to put two racecars in the first 16-car Pro Stock
field in event history.

"I can't wait to drop the clutch," said Tucker,
the 2005-2006 Australian National Drag Racing Association Rookie of the Year.
"I've recently scuffed some tires for the boys over here [in the U.S.] but I
haven't made a full pass since last June. I'm more than ready to give it a
go."