First Look: Matt Hagan’s 2008 Nitro Funny Car
RADFORD, VA--Matt Hagan Racing is proud to debut the Monte Carlo SS Nitro Funny Car that Matt Hagan will pilot in the IHRA Knoll Gas Motorsports Nitro Jam series this season.
"We're really looking forward to the IHRA Nitro series this year," said Matt Hagan. "As this sport continues to grow it's going to need...
Tags: Ford, Funny Car, IHRA, King, Knoll Gas, Matt Hagan, motorsports, Nitro, racingGanassi To Try Drag Racing?
January 17, 2008 by Robert
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Chip Ganassi is in love. We're talking head over heels, kissy-huggy, flowers and candy in love. A decent driver in his day, Ganassi made the transition to team owner, cultivating a racing empire that includes successful open-wheel, stock car and sports car teams.
from SpeedTV, written by: Jim Chiappelli
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Tags: drag racing, King, NHRA, racingSponsor Hiatus Teams and Drivers Scrambling
January 13, 2008 by Robert
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The surprising withdrawal of Torco Racing Fuels from race team sponsorship for the 2008 season has many high profile teams and drivers scrambling for new sponsors so they can compete this season.
As quoted in the Peoria Journal Star:
Don Prudhomme lost sponsorship for Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr., who moved to Kenny Bernstein's team, so Prudhomme is only running a Top Fuel car for Larry Dixon this season.
Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith is looking for work and Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly may start this season on the sidelines, as may Funny Car driver Mike Ashley. (Editor's note, Ashley has since signed a deal with ProCare Rx for 2008.)
Read full story at the Peoria Journal Star
Dale Creasy Jr., Bobby Lagana Jr., Scotty Cannon, Ricky Smith, Matt Hagan and others from the IHRA series are also impacted by the Torco Racing Fuels pullout.
Bob Gilbertson forced to cut back, but will keep running,
Veteran drag racer Bob Gilbertson forced to cut back, but will keep running, looking
By David Poole, The Charlotte Observer
Veteran drag racer Bob Gilbertson will cut back on the number of races he enters in 2008 after losing associate sponsors Autolite and Prestone after five years of support from the Honeywell Consumer Products Group. Gilbertson, whose business is based in Charlotte, N.C., and whose race team is based in Blacksburg, S.C., said he would concentrate on the International Hot Rod Association Funny Car ...
Force intent on returning to NHRA
Funny Car king John Force, always a local favorite when the NHRA tour hits Bristol Dragway, is apparently intent on returning to the sport where he has captured a possibly untouchable 14 world championships with a record 125 victories...
Story by By Rick Sheek
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The end of Force’s qualifying streak the big news of year’s 2nd quarter
In a harbinger of things to come in the Funny Car class, the second quarter of 2007 started with a shocker as legend John Force failed to qualify for a national event, ending a streak of 395 races that dated back to the Reagan administration. Almost as surprising was four-time champion Gary Scelzi's announcement that he'd be hanging his helmet and firesuit up at the end of the season.
NHRA.com is reviewing the headlines of the past season in quarterly installments. Aside from Force and Scelzi's news-making activities, April, May, and June were highlighted by Warren Johnson's induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, NHRA signing a definitive agreement with HD Partners Acquisition Corporation,...
Tags: car, Force, Funny Car, Gary Scelzi, John Force, Johnson, King, motorsports, NHRA, race, ScelziDancing with Antron
By: Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
I was exchanging holiday greetings with Lee Beard, the crew chief of David Powers' Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster, when the subject turned to his new driver, Antron Brown. Most Geiger Counter readers know Brown has competed in Pro Stock Motorcycle to much success over the past decade but is now making the switch to Top Fuel.
Beard, Brown, and the Matco team recently completed an extensive test at Gainesville Raceway where Beard tells me Brown made several "perfect passes," including some to the 1,000-foot mark that would have translated to low 4.5-second runs if Brown[...]
Read the full story at the Geiger Counter
Tags: Antron, Antron Brown, Brown, Funny Car, Gainesville, King, NHRA, race, Top FuelNHRA driver John Force revisited
December 30, 2007 by Robert
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John Force's goal for the beginning of 2008 is simple: get healthy enough to drive his Funny Car in testing in late January.
"I promise you, I'll be there," Force, a 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion, said last week by phone from his home in California. "I'm working every day, and I will be ready. I can't wait." ...
Dallas Morning News, TX - Dec 25, 2007By RICHARD DURRETT / The Dallas Morning News
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