Special ESPN2 repeat airing of Chicago final eliminations Wednesday
ESPN will provide a special 20-minute repeat airing of final eliminations from Sunday's weather-plagued Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.
The special rebroadcast will air Wednesday, June 11, at 6:40 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. The 20-minute program, which will follow ESPN2's NASCAR Now, will provide highlights of final eliminations in all four Professional categories...
The full eliminations program will be re-aired later that evening, go to NHRA.com to read the story and get the schedule.
Tags: NHRA, TVPedregon rewards crew with Funny Car victory
JOLIET — Maybe Tony Pedregon should smash up his car more often.
He put his crew to work on an all-nighter that resulted in an unlikely run to the Funny Car crown on Sunday at the Torco Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
Pedregon beat Scott Kalitta to the finish line in the final after surviving a qualifying crash on Saturday night. Pedregon banged into...
Read Ron Kremer's full article and interview with Tony Pedregon in The Herald News
Summer Nationals First Round Pairings
First round pairings / qualifying results for the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kansas, June 1st, 2008.
1 Tony Bartone R.T. (.089) E.T. 6.648 MPH 135.43
16 Gary Densham R.T. (.111) E.T. 4.962 MPH 304.32
2 Bob Tasca III R.T. (.017) E.T. 4.939 MPH 309.06
15 Tony Pedregon R.T. (.034) E.T. 6.199 MPH 150.16
3 Frank Hawley R.T. (.113) E.T. 4.849 MPH 306.95
14 Tim Wilkerson R.T. (.072) E.T. 4.889 MPH 307.79
4 Ron Capps R.T. (.029) E.T. 4.956 MPH 307.37
13 Cruz Pedregon R.T. (.052) E.T. 5.021 MPH 254.33
5 Melanie Troxel R.T. (.074) E.T. 4.940 MPH 297.81
12 Jack Beckman R.T. (.068) E.T. 4.976 MPH 303.03
6 Jerry Toliver R.T. (.008) E.T. 4.946 MPH 305.22
11 T Johnson Jr. R.T. (.072) E.T. 4.950 MPH 305.36
7 Robert Hight R.T. (.094) E.T. 5.237 MPH 219.72
10 Gary Scelzi R.T. (.070) E.T. 4.927 MPH 305.70
8 Ashley Force R.T. (.105) E.T. 4.880 MPH 307.93
9 John Force R.T. (.084) E.T. 4.890 MPH 291.95
Summer Nationals notebook: NHRA facing nitro crunch
Rumors of a nitro shortage appear to be true - NHRA cancelling post event testing, including August testing session at Indianapolis, recommends teams use methanol for pit warmups.
From the article:
National Hot Rod Association officials met with POWERade Series teams Friday afternoon to announce measures to conserve the use of nitromethane — used in the Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions — for the foreseeable future.
VP Fuels, the exclusive supplier of nitromethane on-site at POWERade events, has been in discussions with the NHRA in light of the recent decision by the Chinese government to halt and/or limit production and shipment of nitro this summer...
Read the full article by Rick Peterson in The Capitol Journal
Tags: NHRA, Nitro, Summer NationalsNeff Takes Title at Honorary ‘First Race’ During Visit to zMAX Dragway in Concord, NC
John Force and Mike Neff started their engines. Both lurched closer to the starting line.
Then the flag dropped on the first race at zMAX Dragway @ Concord.
Sure, there was no pavement. There were no Ford Funny Cars.
What they did have were dump trucks and, technically, a track. So the drivers of the NHRA POWERade Series took advantage of it Saturday while on a tour of the facility.
Several of the top drivers of the NHRA POWERade Series are participating in events planned during NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend, including defending NHRA POWERade Series world champions...
Read the full article at Motorsports Journal
Tags: Charlotte, John Force, Mike Neff, NHRARain interferes with eliminations in Bristol
On again, off again rain has been interfering with eliminations Sunday at the 8th annual O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
Tags: Bristol, NHRAThunder Nationals bring the noise to Martin – Exhibition Race
May 15, 2008 by Robert
Filed under Racing News
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MARTIN -- The wheels on his tricycle might have smoked when Les Shockley was a toddler, but that ride certainly didn't have the fire and noise his machine had before 15,000 fans at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at U.S. 131.
Driving a twin jet-powered 1957 Chevy "ShockWave" pickup, Shockley, 64, easily won the unofficial title for most thunder Saturday night during the 38th annual National City Thunder Nationals.
[...]
Although 2006 IHRA Nitro Funny Car Champion Dale Creasy's 304.29 mph pass in 4.99 seconds had to be considered an exhibition run because he was the only entry in his class...
Read the full article in the The Grand Rapids Press
Racing deal keeps Gastonia Funny Car driver on NHRA track
It takes more than courage to drive a nitromethane-burning Funny Car dragster down a quarter-mile track at a speed of more than 320 mph.
Few people know that better than Bob Gilbertson of Gastonia, who came close to parking his 7,000-horsepower hot rod this year over money...
[snip]
Jay Pennington, the managing director of Extraordinario Brands, said his 109 proof tequila seems like a good fit with the super-powered world of drag racing.
Read the full article by Kevin Ellis in the Gaston Gazette