Backstretch Motorsports

Ashely Force Becomes First Female Funny Car Points Leader

LAS VEGAS – Tim Wilkerson (above) broke a three and ½ year winless streak and denied Ashley Force her first career Funny Car win in the process at the ninth annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Wilkerson, a Springfield-Ill.-based auto service shop owner, drove his Levi Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS to a 4.962 at 292.58 to a win over Force, who turned in a 4.993 at 313.95 in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang.

Despite the loss, Force leaves the event as the first woman in NHRA history to top the Funny Car point standings as the tour moves to Atlanta.

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LAS VEGAS – Pro Stock’s Kenny Koretsky goes into race day at the top of the field today for the first time in 18 years of racing after earning his first career No. 1 qualifier at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

John Force, in the hunt for the 1,000th round win that will place him in the highest level of the history books, failed to qualify for the Funny Car starting line-up with his second consecutive DNQ at this event. It’s the first time in his prolific career that Force has failed to qualify at the same event two years in a row. Instead it was his teammate Robert Hight who had the luck, earning his 24th career No. 1 qualifier and the first of the season with a 4.849 at 321.27 in his last attempt in his Auto Club Ford Mustang.

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FUNNY CAR CHAOS KNOTS COMPETITIVE CATEGORY AS POWERADE SERIES HEADS FOR THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

LAS VEGAS – Cruz Pedregon (above) leads the Funny Car point standings for the first time since April 25, 1998. Seven different drivers have reached a final round in the category with just four races in the books, including Del Worsham, who broke a two-year drought with his win in Houston after not making the field in the first two races of 2008.

Need a story line? It’s take-your-pick in Funny Car, where as predicted no team has yet emerged dominant and giants no longer sleep.

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series comes to Las Vegas for the ninth annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, April 10-13. The event is the fifth of 24 on the tour. Brandon Bernstein (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) are the defending winners of the event in their respective pro categories.

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BROWN WINS AT HOUSTON, EARNS FIRST CAREER TOP FUEL WIN

Becomes first NHRA driver to win in Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle

BAYTOWN, Texas (March 30, 2008) – Antron Brown made NHRA history Sunday afternoon at Houston Raceway Park as the 32-year-old raced his David Powers-owned Matco Tools dragster to the win at the 21st annual O’Reilly Spring Nationals. He becomes the first driver in NHRA history to earn wins in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle. He won 16 races during his 10-years in the two-wheel category.

After qualifying the Matco Tools/iLocate GPS dragster in the No. 12 position with a run of 4.644 seconds on Friday afternoon. The New Jersey native bested veteran racer Doug Foley, 29-time Top Fuel winner Cory McClenathan, perennial title contender Doug Kalitta, and two-time series champion Larry Dixon to earn his first career Top Fuel win and 17th NHRA victory.

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I have to start the day with a big “thank you” and tip of the cap to the guys at On Pit Row, “The Fastest Two Hours in Radio”. I’m honored that Steve Wronkowicz and Charlie Turner gave the opportunity for racing’s “enriched web” folks to speak a bit by hosting me and the “Best O’The Net” last evening. The show, that featured some of the best web-based news and blog authors was a blast to be a part of, if not a bit intimidating for this author. If you weren’t careful, you may have just learned a thing or two by listening. I know I did, listening to the likes of Luke Poland, Marc Boland, Darren Fauth, Bob Ellis and the others. And together, we may have solved all of racing problems in a single two hours. Not to mention that the majority seems to favor Greg Biffle to win at Darlington.

Head on over to On Pit Row website (using the link above) and be sure to save it to your favorites.

The weekend past was a tremendous weekend for motorsports. Lots of fast activities taking place, lots of winners got new trophies to carry home with the bragging rights. We will start with the SCORE Desert Racing Series.

The 22nd Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 featured 263 total starters roared through the rugged trails and washes of Mexico’s Baja California desert Saturday, and the smoke and dust cleared, there was second-generation veteran Las Vegas desert racer Brian Collins earning the overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck victory in the No. 1 Collins Motorsports Mopar Dodge Ram 1500.
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Defending NHRA POWERade Series Funny Car world champion Tony Pedregon raced to his first victory of the season and 37th of his career Sunday at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.

Tony Schumacher, Jeg Coughlin and Matt Guidera also were winners at the NHRA POWERade Series race, the third of 24 in 2008.

Pedregon clocked a 4.921 at 315.27 in his Q-Horsepower Chevy Impala at the historic Gainesville Raceway quarter-mile dragstrip to edge veteran racer Gary Densham at the finish, whose Racebricks Impala trailed with a 4.924 at 309.13. In the first three elimination rounds Pedregon defeated Jerry Toliver, Ashley Force and Jim Head.

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NHRA 2007 PSM Champ Matt Smith Ready to Take on Season with New Ride, New Team

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Of all of the professional categories, Pro Stock Motorcycle is the only one that can legitimately bill itself a ‘close fraternity’ (be it one of men and women). But after a two-month off-season that produced more changes than continuity, have the family rules changed too?

Pro Stock Motorcycle kicks off its season at the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway March 13-16. This event, one of the Series’ most popular, is the third of 24 in the NHRA POWERade Series.

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