When the O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals, in Bristol, were
unexpectedly postponed due to track issues, two things were quickly
apparent to every member of Team CSK.  1) The team would now have three
straight off-weekends, during a part of the year when the racing
schedule normally begins to take on a very hectic look, and  2) The
"payback" part of the equation was going to be a tough one, as the NHRA
schedule would combine with a booked match race to create 12 racing
events in the next 14 weeks. 

When the National Hot Rod Association makes it's next stop on the 2007

POWERade tour, the event at Heartland Park Topeka will be contested without
one of
the seasons early shining stars.  Pro Stock campaigner and Rookie of
the Year
candidate Rodger Brogdon has elected to forgo the rest of the
season to pursue
a major marketing partner for the teams continued racing
endeavors for 2008
and beyond.

"It's certainly not the direction that
we want to take," said Brogdon, "the
success we've had, has shown me that we
have what it takes to be a competitive
player. But we didn't win races and
championships in Comp eliminator by just
being competitive, and to achieve
the results in Pro Stock that this team is
used to seeing takes a commitment
that requires the backing of a major sponsor.
My financial investment in
this team has been substantial, yet it is less than
half of what the top
teams are spending to achieve their results."

JEGS.com will assume primary sponsorship of the Cagnazzi Racing Chevrolet Cobalt
entry driven by three-time NHRA champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. The internet home of
mail-order parts giant JEGS High Performance Parts, JEGS.com has been a major
associate on the 47-time national event winner's car since he joined Cagnazzi
Racing last September. It now takes over the top position on the racecar and all
related team components.

Coughlin, one of four Coughlin brothers who took
over the Delaware, Ohio-based company in 1988 from family patriarch Jeg Coughlin
Sr., won POWERade Pro Stock championships in 2000 and 2002. He also won the
Super Gas world title in 1992. This season, Coughlin and his JEGS.com teammates
are third in the points, just 13 points out of the second place spot held by
Connolly.

Mike
Edwards and his Young Life team for nearly six years have opened their pits to
many kids through the Young Life program with disabilities and this was no
different in the recent NHRA stop in Atlanta
for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, where Edwards welcomed
some special individuals on Sunday to give them a taste of racing. 

In
Atlanta, the
Young Life Capernaum Ministries, which is a program of Young Life especially
for kids and young adults with disabilities, paid the Mike Edwards Motorsports
team a visit. It marks the fifth time the group has joined Edwards in Atlanta, but the first time
to catch the sights and sounds of NHRA racing on a Sunday. "In the past
we've gone on Thursday, it is still loud and everything, but Sunday, was a
whole different experience for these kids," said Robert "Skeeter"
Powell, who heads the Capernaum group for the Atlanta area. 

Dave Sebring has been
named General Manager of TCI® Automotive in Ashland,
MS, a division
of the highly successful COMP Performance Group™. The former Marketing and
Engineering Director for the Mr. Gasket Company, Sebring brings a long history
of advanced engineering and innovative marketing skills to the TCI® brand.
“Ron
Coleman and Scooter
Brothers [of the COMP Performance Group™] offered
me the chance to be a part of the already successful TCI® team to develop new
products that exceed the consumer’s expectations,” stated Sebring. “TCI® has a
great name in performance, and through the development of the new products we
can greatly build on that success.”

A self taught engineer
with significant hands-on racing experience, Sebring served in the military
until 1971 and then, with wife Mary, began his performance industry career with
the opening of his own speed shop in Kent,
Ohio, called
Dave’s Automotive and Speed. During that time,

Ron Capps, driver of the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car and
points leader of the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car
class after seven of 23 events, will be a guest on Speed Channel's "Trackside"
this Friday, May 25.

American Graffiti is coming to Columbus. Thanks to Hot Hues Custom
Finishes by DuPont, actor Paul Le Mat, who played John Milner in the
1973 film classic, as well as two replicas of the movie's cars, will be
appearing at the 5th Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by
SoffSeal, June 15-17, National Trail Raceway in Hebron, just outside
Columbus.

According to Tony Thacker, executive director of the nonprofit Wally
Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of
Southern California, Le Mat will be available for autographs and
pictures with the famous cars, a yellow 1932 Ford Coupe that Le Mat
drove and the black '55 Chevrolet 150 sedan driven by Harrison Ford.

"Everyone at the Reunion remembers 'where they were in '62,'" said
Thacker, "so this will be a real treat for fans of American Graffiti
and hot rods in general," said Thacker. "It's another reason to come
out to the event and bring the family."

Oregon Top Dragster racer Rich Bailey has turned lemons into lemonade after
his recent crash in Seattle by acquiring the “Rocketeer” blown alcohol
dragster. Built in 2001, the seldom seen Rocketeer car was designed around
the popular Disney movie of the same name. When the car was debuted it
landed in several magazines and was featured in the PPG calendar. Since then
the car has been idle but maintained to its original
condition.

Bailey sees the Rocketeer car as more than just a replacement
car but an opportunity to provide his sponsors and the sport more exposure.
“The Rocketeer car is a great find and has everything we need to get back on
the track and more. Besides being in top condition in every respect, the
Rocketeer’s unique design is in a class of its own and will benefit our
marketing partners in everything that we do both on and off the track.”
Bailey said.

If Scotty Cannon wins an
Ironman trophy this weekend, he’ll only be getting a statue of his likeness.
Weeks after undergoing back surgery to repair damaged discs, the driver of Evan
Knoll’s Seelye-Wright Top Fuel Dragster plans to race this weekend at the IHRA
Skull Shine Sooner Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Cannon ruptured two discs
during a Friday qualifying run at Rockingham, NC. He grimaced his way through
the pain and completed the weekend. Three days later he was at the Charlotte
Spine Clinic undergoing surgery to repair the damage.

Cannon walks gingerly, but
assures everyone that he’s ready to race again. His doctor agreed and released
him for competition late last week.