NEWS NUGGETS
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SCHUMACHER LOOKING TO GO FROM WINLESS STREAK TO WINNING STREAK AT HOME TRACK, ROUTE 66: Seven-time NHRA Top Fuel world champ Tony Schumacher broke a 32-race winless streak at the most recent event at Bristol Dragway when he beat longtime on-track rival Doug Kalitta in the final round. As the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to Chicago, where Schumacher resides, “The Sarge” looks to continue the success he had at Bristol Dragway. A win at Route 66 Raceway wouldn’t be his first; he has won three times at his home track. For tickets, call 888-629-RACE (7223) or log on to Route66Raceway.com.
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TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR THE O’REILLY AUTO PARTS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS: The 15th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, June 28–July 1 at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago, will mark the 11th stop of 23 races in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season. As always, ticket holders are granted exclusive pit access and treated to spectacular sights, including jet cars on Friday, Saturday’s JEGS Allstars bonus race for Sportsman competitors and Sunday’s Nitro Generation track walk. Also, Chicago’s world-famous Chi Town Hustler and Stardust Funny Cars will be taking fans back in time on Saturday night as they race down Route 66 Raceway. For tickets, call 888-629-RACE (7223) or log on to Route66Raceway.com.
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AUTO PLUS BECOMES PRESENTING SPONSOR OF MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS: Uni-Select, USA’s Auto Plus brand, has been named the presenting sponsor of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto Plus, August 29–September 3, at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Uni-Select’s support of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals marks yet another expansion of involvement for Uni-Select USA in NHRA and its network of automotive stores and services, including Auto Plus retailers and Auto Service Plus centers. In addition to becoming the presenting sponsor of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Auto Plus is title sponsor of the 28th annual Auto Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania, October 4–7. Auto Plus also secured naming rights of the NHRA-owned racing facility in Gainesville, Florida, earlier this season, now known as Auto Plus Raceway at Gainesville. The company is the official auto-parts store for both Atlanta Dragway and Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
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TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS: The sixth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, July 5–8 at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, will mark the 12th of 23 races in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season. As always, ticket holders are granted exclusive pit access and treated to spectacular sights, including jet cars and Fireworks on Friday night, the K&N Horsepower Challenge on Saturday and a pre-race concert on Sunday. For tickets, call 419-668-5555 or log on to SummitMotorsportsPark.com.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
O’REILLY AUTO PARTS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY SUPER START BATTERIES, ROUTE 66 RACEWAY, June 28–July 1: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes its 11th stop of 23 events in the 2012 season in Chicago, and drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will earn points in the battles for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world championships. The 2011 winners are Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Mike Neff (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 888-629-RACE (7223) or log on to Route66Raceway.com.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT MOTORSPORTS PARK, July 5–8: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes its 12th stop of 23 events in the 2012 season in Norwalk, Ohio, and drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will earn points in the battles for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world championships. The 2011 winners are Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Mike Neff (Funny Car), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 419-668-5555 or log on to SummitMotorsportsPark.com.
MOPAR MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS, BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY, July 20–22: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes its 13th stop of 23 events in the 2012 season, and drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will earn points in the battles for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world championships. The 2011 winners are Spencer Massey (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Karen Stoffer (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 800-664-UWIN (8946) or log on to Bandimere.com.
HE SAID, SHE SAID
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LIVING THE DREAM: Funny Car rookie Alexis DeJoria earned her first final-round appearance at the most recent NHRA Full Throttle event at Bristol Dragway. The young team, with reigning Top Fuel world champ Del Worsham behind the knobs as the crew chief, stunned everyone by making it to the final round at just the 10th race of the season, and DeJoria couldn’t be happier about her team’s accomplishment.
“I’m speechless. We qualified just barely, so to make it all the way to the finals has been so incredible. We were in the left lane all day long, and Del’s big thing was just trying to get me down there. I did the best I could on my lights and, thankfully, I just kept knocking them off one by one. We didn’t win, but I’m proud of how far we came from the No. 15 spot. Every person I went up against was very tough. I admire, respect and look up to every one of those guys. They’re my heroes. Just to be up there with them is incredible. We would’ve been super happy just to make it past the first round. This was a dream come true.”
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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66: PERCENTAGE OF FAN VOTE COUGHLIN EARNED TO RECEIVE NO. 8 SPOT IN K&N HORSEPOWER CHALLENGE: NHRA fans have spoken, voting in Jeg Coughlin, driver of the JEGS.com Mopar Dodge Avenger, to the eighth and final spot in the 28th annual K&N Horsepower Challenge, which will be held as part of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Saturday, July 7, at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Coughlin won the fan vote by a landslide, receiving 66% of the total votes cast by NHRA fans since voting began in April. The K&N Horsepower Challenge is a race within a race, showcasing the top drivers in NHRA Pro Stock, for which the winner receives $50,000. The runner-up will receive $10,000, the two semifinalists will each receive $3,000 and the four first-round finishers will each receive $2,500. As part of the program, a $3,000 bonus is awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event. For tickets, call 419-668-5555 or log on to SummitMotorsportsPark.com.
DID YOU KNOW…
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NHRA FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN ADDED TO MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS LINEUP: The NHRA has announced the formation of the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown at the 2012 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, August 29–September 3. The NHRA Factory Stock Showdown is a competition designed to showcase the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, Dodge Mopar Challenger Drag Pak and Chevrolet COPO Camaro. The program will feature ’08 and newer models. Competition will be run heads-up as a class within NHRA Stock eliminations. Early rounds of eliminations in the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown will take place Thursday, August 30. The final four cars in competition will run Friday, August 31, in conjunction with the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions. An NHRA Wally will be awarded to the winner of the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown. All participants in the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown will still be able to run in the national event eliminator.