The 31st Annual ACDelco Night Under Fire presented by Amalie Motor Oil began with the spotlight on legends Shirley Muldowney and John Force. The evening ended with kids showing up their parents, as Ashley Force beat her father John, and Dan Wilkerson beat his father Tim to set up an “all-kids” Funny Car final round. Dan Wilkerson prevailed to become the 2008 Night Under Fire Funny Car Champion.

Opening ceremonies for the Night Under Fire, held at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, began at 6:00 p.m. They included the introduction of drag racing legend Shirley Muldowney who presided over the race as Grand Marshal. The three-time NHRA Top Fuel World Champion was treated to a standing ovation by the capacity crowd.


The 31st Annual ACDelco Night Under Fire presented by Amalie Motor Oil began with the spotlight on legends Shirley Muldowney and John Force. The evening ended with kids showing up their parents, as Ashley Force beat her father John, and Dan Wilkerson beat his father Tim to set up an “all-kids” Funny Car final round. Dan Wilkerson prevailed to become the 2008 Night Under Fire Funny Car Champion.

Opening ceremonies for the Night Under Fire, held at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, began at 6:00 p.m. They included the introduction of drag racing legend Shirley Muldowney who presided over the race as Grand Marshal. The three-time NHRA Top Fuel World Champion was treated to a standing ovation by the capacity crowd.

The first round of Funny Car determined the qualifying order as well as the pairs for the second round which also served as the elimination round. In this format, the number one qualifier faced the number two qualifier to determine the champion.

A few upsets ruled the first round as Columbus, Ohio resident Jim Head beat Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif. Hight is currently second in NHRA POWERade points. Parents also lost, as Dan Wilkerson beat his father Tim, the current NHRA POWERade points leader, and Ashley Force defeated her father, 14-time NHRA World Champion John Force. Ashley’s 4.242 second elapsed time in that round made her the number one qualifier in Funny Car.

In the final round Ashley Force, Yorba Linda, beat Dan Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., off the starting line with a better reaction time, but Wilkerson caught up at the 330 feet mark. Force’s car got loose and swerved close to the guard wall but by the time she regained control Wilkerson shot past to take the win. He had a 4.173 second ET at 297.22 miles per hour, the fastest Funny Car pass of the day.

In Jet Dragster, Jill Canuso, Vineland, N.J., defeated Ernie Bogue to take the victory. Canuso controlled the race from start to finish and beat Bogue with a 5.253 second ET at 299.53 mph, to Bogue’s 5.346 second ET at 289.63 mph.

In the first round of Jet Dragster qualifying Canuso had the fastest pass of the entire event, at 301.00 mph with a 5.275 second ET.

In the R&R Auto Body Extreme 16, an eighth-mile format, Edward Careccia, Mars Hill, N.C., won the open body class against Brandon Booher, Urbana, Ill., with a 3.890 second ET at 187.39 mph to Booher’s 3.962 ET/176.26 mph. Careccia was the number one qualifier in the class. In the R&R Auto Body Extreme 16 ‘Door Wars’ full-bodied class, Barry Ballard, Adrian, Mich., beat Larry Higginbottham, Warren, Ohio, on a holeshot with a 4.282 ET/173.07 mph to Higginbottham’s 4.397 ET/165.01. Careccia and Ballard were to face off to determine the champion of the Extreme 16 but had not yet faced off when this story was filed.

Sportsman class competition was continuing early Sunday morning after the professional classes completed competition.