Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the
39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the
third of 24 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

Final round-by-round results from the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA
Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the third of 24 events in the 
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Sunday's final results from the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals
at Gainesville Raceway.  The  race is the third of 24 in the  NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Alan Bradshaw thumbed through the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Media
Guide looking for his profile and he couldn’t find it. Finally, he gave
up and inquired as to why he couldn't find his listing. 

Bradshaw wasn’t listed; so during the final qualifying session at the
NHRA Gatornationals, he made his name impossible to forget.

Bradshaw drove his Vis-A-Vista-sponsored dragster to the top qualifying
position with a 4.547 elapsed time at 306.95 miles per hour.
His qualifying success comes one event after a DNQ in Phoenix.

“This is another way to earn a few stripes,” Bradshaw said. “We left
Phoenix with our heads hung low. Our team made a pact and we tested the
day after the event. We were determined not to race again until this
car would run.”

Mike Ashley retired a two-time NHRA Pro Modified championship-winning
driver in order to pursue a career as an NHRA POWERade Funny Car
competitor. Somehow, one just couldn’t believe he’d stay away from the
class that made him a superstar.

Ashley proclaimed his return to the popular fast doorslammer division
with a top qualifying 5.945 elapsed time at 239.61 miles per hour. So
much for the competition thinking the mortgage banker had lost his
momentum by focusing his attention on the nitro divisions for the last
two seasons.

“I don't think I lost any momentum,” Ashley said. “The bottom line is
that driving a Funny Car helped me to become a better driver all around
because you've got to be really aware with those cars. The truth of the
matter is that racing is racing. Going four seconds or going six
seconds is still fast.

With the pressure on and with only two chances on Saturday to make it
into Sunday’s Gatornationals, Bob Tasca III qualified his
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang in the 12th position, and will
make his second NHRA POWERade Fuel Funny Car start of the season at
Gainesville Raceway.

“This was a high-pressure day,” said Tasca, referring to having only
two qualifying runs after Friday’s sessions were canceled because of
rain. “Whenever you only get two runs to qualify, it’s really a
crapshoot because these cars are designed to get four runs under your
belt. To go out and run the fifth quickest pass in the first session in
the heat, which is what I think the conditions will be tomorrow, is
really encouraging. “

Tasca’s two qualifying runs came under much different track conditions,
with the first and quickest run coming in the high heat, and the second
happening under heavy cloud coverage.

Four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion Gary Scelzi failed to
qualify for the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway today, after Friday's
two rounds of qualifying were washed out due to rain.

Scelzi's
Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charge R/T Funny Car suffered a mechanical problem in the
final of only two laps available to qualify. He had posted a tire-smoking
7.936-second lap at 108.77 mph in the first session, which placed him outside of
the field. With one last chance to make it in, Scelzi looked like he was on a
strong run, but the 5.014/307.37 run that popped up on the scoreboard was
clearly not stout enough to earn him a spot in the top 16.

Troy Coughlin was surprisingly upbeat after missing the 16-car
elimination field of the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. The
driver of the JEGS.com Pontiac GTO was forced to shut-off very early in
both of his qualifying attempts, surrendering his chance at big numbers
when his racecar made wild moves to the left as soon as he let out the
clutch in both sessions.

"We're not sure why it did that," Coughlin said. "Fortunately, our car
builder, Jerry Haas, is here at this event and he's going over the car
from front to back to see if it's a chassis issue. We've already made
arrangements to stay and test Monday and Tuesday so we'll figure this
thing out and get back after it in Houston.

PEDREGON, BRADSHAW, JOHNSON AND GUIDERA EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT
ACDELCO NHRA GATORNATIONALS

More than a month after suffering one of the most spectacular Funny Car explosions in NHRA history, Tony Pedregon raced

Former Top Alcohol Dragster champion Alan Bradshaw claimed his first top qualifier in Top Fuel.

to the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.

Alan Bradshaw, Warren Johnson and Matt Guidera also were No. 1
qualifiers and will lead their respective categories into Sunday’s 11
a.m. eliminations at the third of 24 NHRA POWERade Series events in
2008.

Former champ Ashley shines in return to JEGS ProMod
Challenge
 

Mike Ashley may have spent the last two years in a nitro Funny Car since winning
back-to-back Pro Mod titles in 2004-2005,

A two year layoff had no ill-affects on two-time world champion Mike Ashley as he drove to the top spot in Pro Modified.

but he certainly hasn't forgotten how
to drive the 2,500-horsepower hot rods.

Ashley opened the 10-race 2008
JEGS ProMod Challenge with a stellar 5.945 at 239.61 mph in his ProCare Rx
Chevrolet Camaro Saturday evening to lead the field into Sunday's elimination
action at the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. It was the only
five-second run of the weekend and places him a full seven-hundredths of a
second ahead of the chase pack.