On a partly cloudy day at Firebird Raceway outside of Phoenix, Brittany
Force, the 21-year old daughter of 14-time Funny Car champion John
Force, completed a job that started over six months ago; making the
necessary passes for her A-Fuel license.

The process had its ups and downs for the Santiago Canyon College
senior including a brush with the Las Vegas Speedway guardwall as she
was learning the ropes. Her final licensing pass was a solid 5.59
seconds at 262 mph.

“Today was my first really good clean run. It was just a normal run and
it felt good. I was definitely nervous and sweating it out before I got
in the car,” said the California blond and recognized “problem child”
of the Force racing clan. “My dad is excited now to have us all
licensed. I am excited to have my A-Fuel license since now we can
continue to move forward.”

Probably
not, because they’re just two faceless members of the vast John Force
Racing army.  The gentlemen on the left is Troy Allen, a new recruit on
Ashley Force’s team, while on the right is Lew Arrington, who has
worked on Force’s car for the last half dozen years.

The following are the pre-entries received for the 9th annual CSR Eastern Spring Test Nationals presented by Torco's CompetitionPlus.com hosted by South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga. 

Coming
off their partial season in 2007, Doug Winters will hit the ground running in
2008.  His ’57 Chevy Nitro Coupe / Outlaw
Pro Mod will continue to carry the Torco banner for Mach Series Accelerator
even though he won’t be officially sponsored by Torco Race Fuels.
 

Tommy Johnson, Jr. admitted the continual references pointing out

he’s one-half of a Funny Car couple hasn’t gotten on his nerves yet. He was expecting the aggravation, though.

“It's not as bad as I expected it to be actually,” Johnson said. “I
guess I was preparing for the worst so anything less would be fine with
me.  It's been alright, it's been good although I wish we could both
get in the show, it might get a little heavier then.”

Johnson raced in Phoenix with his wife Melanie Troxel, driver of the
Gotham City Racing Dodge, serving as his unofficial cheerleader and
supporting cast. Just two weeks earlier, Johnson took up the pom-poms as
Troxel was the second qualifier and he missed the cut in Pomona.

He was patient . . . waiting for his turn to come.  And when it did, Kyle Cultrera grabbed it and
didn’t let go.

The prize was his first NHRA Division 2 Super Comp victory Sunday at
Gainesville, Fla. The fact it came in just his second
series race in his first season of competition in one of the Lucas Oil Series’
toughest categories . . . well, that was much faster then he dared
dream.

Cultrera, of Eliot,
Maine, is 17, but he had been
prepping for a day like that to come along for as long as he can remember.  “My dad (Steve, who works on Jeg Coughlin’s
Pro Stock Chevy at Victor Cagnazzi Racing) used to race Competition Eliminator
and I have been going to the races with him since I was old enough to walk, so I
have been around it all my life,” Kyle Cultrera said.

His search ended when he rented his winning ride from Thomas Stalbas for
the full season.