ROOKIE DRAG RACER: Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22
Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will be
making his NHRA Full Throttle Series debut at the 41st annual Tire
Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals March 11–13 at Gainesville Raceway.
After reviewing feedback from the Performance Aftermarket Advisory
Council (PAAC) and a majority of NHRA contingency sponsors, NHRA
officials announced today the creation of an innovative program for
Super Stock and Stock class eliminations, which will be introduced at
select NHRA national events during the 2011 NHRA Lucas Oil Series
season.
NEWS NUGGETS
FORCE HOOD EXPECTING CHILD; NEFF STEPS BACK INTO DRIVERS SEAT; HIGHT NAMED PRESIDENT AS JOHN FORCE RACING MAKES MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR 2011: Funny Car driving sensation and two-time reigning Mac Tools U.S. Nationals winner Ashley Force Hood announced that she and husband Dan Hood are expecting their first child and that she will sit out the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season. Former John Force crew chief Mike Neff will take over driving and tuning duties on the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang for the 2011 season.
FORCE HOOD EXPECTING CHILD; NEFF STEPS BACK INTO DRIVERS SEAT; HIGHT NAMED PRESIDENT AS JOHN FORCE RACING MAKES MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR 2011: Funny Car driving sensation and two-time reigning Mac Tools U.S. Nationals winner Ashley Force Hood announced that she and husband Dan Hood are expecting their first child and that she will sit out the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season. Former John Force crew chief Mike Neff will take over driving and tuning duties on the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang for the 2011 season.
NEW NAME: Lucas Oil Products has acquired the naming rights for
the NHRA-owned O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Indiana. The venue
will now be known as Lucas Oil Raceway.
NEWS NUGGETS
SILLY SEASON CONTINUES! JOHNNY GRAY MOVES OVER TO FUNNY CAR AND DSR: With only six weeks remaining until the first engines start up at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California, the off-season shuffle appropriately named, “the silly season,” continues as former Pro Stock driver and team owner Johnny Gray announced that he, along with sponsor TBC Retail Group, would be joining Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) and fielding the Service Central Racing Dodge Charger Funny Car for the 2011 season. The addition of Johnny Gray gives DSR a total of four Funny Car teams competing this season in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Gray, who last year drove a Pro Stock car for Service Central, returns to the Funny Car wars in which he competed from 1999 to 2004 and again in 2006. Famed crew chief Lee Beard will take over tuning duties on the Service Central Dodge Charger.
SILLY SEASON CONTINUES! JOHNNY GRAY MOVES OVER TO FUNNY CAR AND DSR: With only six weeks remaining until the first engines start up at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California, the off-season shuffle appropriately named, “the silly season,” continues as former Pro Stock driver and team owner Johnny Gray announced that he, along with sponsor TBC Retail Group, would be joining Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) and fielding the Service Central Racing Dodge Charger Funny Car for the 2011 season. The addition of Johnny Gray gives DSR a total of four Funny Car teams competing this season in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Gray, who last year drove a Pro Stock car for Service Central, returns to the Funny Car wars in which he competed from 1999 to 2004 and again in 2006. Famed crew chief Lee Beard will take over tuning duties on the Service Central Dodge Charger.
NEWS NUGGETS
LUCAS OIL PRODUCTS ACQUIRES NAMING RIGHTS TO HISTORIC NHRA-OWNED MOTORSPORTS FACILITY IN INDIANAPOLIS: Lucas Oil Products has acquired the naming rights to the NHRA-owned and operated multipurpose auto-racing facility located just west of Indianapolis. The multiyear track entitlement agreement gives Lucas Oil Products naming rights to the legendary facility, host of the famed Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, the world’s most prestigious drag race, and the Kroger SpeedFest, which showcases NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series races as well as USAC and ARCA Series races during a single weekend.
LUCAS OIL PRODUCTS ACQUIRES NAMING RIGHTS TO HISTORIC NHRA-OWNED MOTORSPORTS FACILITY IN INDIANAPOLIS: Lucas Oil Products has acquired the naming rights to the NHRA-owned and operated multipurpose auto-racing facility located just west of Indianapolis. The multiyear track entitlement agreement gives Lucas Oil Products naming rights to the legendary facility, host of the famed Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, the world’s most prestigious drag race, and the Kroger SpeedFest, which showcases NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series races as well as USAC and ARCA Series races during a single weekend.
Xydias Named Chairman of NHRA Museum Board
The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum of Pomona, California, named industry icon and SO-CAL Speed Shop founder Alex Xydias as the museum’s chairman of the board. He previously served as a board member since the museum opened in 1998. In 1946, Xydias opened the SO-CAL Speed Shop, the first hot rod parts store in Burbank, California, and established the SO-CAL Speed Shop Racing Team, which would go on to receive many accolades. The team was responsible for The SO-CAL Special Streamliner, one of the first hot rods to go more than 200 mph. In 1982, Alex was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame and in 2008, received the notable Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1997, Xydias and celebrity hot rod builder Pete Chapouris partnered to revive the SO-CAL Speed Shop name and continue its legacy.
The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum of Pomona, California, named industry icon and SO-CAL Speed Shop founder Alex Xydias as the museum’s chairman of the board. He previously served as a board member since the museum opened in 1998. In 1946, Xydias opened the SO-CAL Speed Shop, the first hot rod parts store in Burbank, California, and established the SO-CAL Speed Shop Racing Team, which would go on to receive many accolades. The team was responsible for The SO-CAL Special Streamliner, one of the first hot rods to go more than 200 mph. In 1982, Alex was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame and in 2008, received the notable Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1997, Xydias and celebrity hot rod builder Pete Chapouris partnered to revive the SO-CAL Speed Shop name and continue its legacy.
Although primarily a motorsports museum that displays everything from
early dry-lake race cars to modern top-fuel dragsters, the Wally Parks
NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California, had long desired to host
a stars' cars and guitars exhibit. The necessary impetus came with the
60th anniversary of the Fender Telecaster guitar. According to Cris
Mirabella of Mirabella Guitars, "The Telecaster laid the groundwork for
many of the modern custom designs of today. And even with all of these
modern concepts, the original design still remains a very valid and
needed instrument." [Read more]
NHRA Full Throttle Championship results.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS! HAGAN AND FORCE BATTLE FOR THE WORLD TITLE AT AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS:
After 22 races and more than 330 rounds of racing; after traveling all
across the country, from the West Coast to the East Coast and back
again over the span of nine months; after picking up national records
and round wins by hundredths of a second, the NHRA Full Throttle Funny
Car world championship comes down to this: Matt Hagan vs. John Force at
the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Youth vs.
Experience. DSR vs. JFR. The Country Boy vs. the Truck Driver. And
there’s only 37 points separating the two.