NHRA Newsmakers

Your inside glimpse at the world’s fastest motorsport

NEWS NUGGETS

·       FORCE, SCHUMACHER, LINE HEADLINE AARWBA ALL-AMERICAN NOMINATIONS: Six NHRA standouts are included on the ballot for this season’s American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) All-America Auto Racing Team. Nominees include 2006 POWERade Series world champions John Force (Funny Car), Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Jason Line (Pro Stock), Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), and Frank Manzo (Top Alcohol Funny Car). Drivers from seven disciplines will be included: Drag Racing; Open Wheel; Stock Car; Road Racing; Short Track; Touring Series and At Large.

·       16-YEAR-OLD PREPARES TO MOVE UP WITH BACKING FROM MICROSOFT: Jeannine Johnson weighed a mere 1-pound, 10 ounces at birth – a truth that prevented her from participating in traditional sports as a child. Instead, the 16-year-old from Puyallup, Wash. turned her hardship into a blossoming drag racing career that will get quite a boost when her Super Comp dragster is sponsored by Microsoft Corporation’s Windows Vista software in 2007. As reported by NHRA.com, Johnson was recently hosted by Bill Gates and several other company executives at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., where they revealed her new dragster. Johnson, a former NHRA O’Reilly Jr. Drag Racing League driver, started her relationship with the company when she won its “Start Something Amazing” contest. “The people on the Windows Vista team are amazing, and they have worked so hard on putting this together,” Johnson said. “They have made a dream of mine come true.”

·       ALL-STAR KARTING EVENT PITS TALENTED DRIVERS AGAINST EACH OTHER AT PRI AUTO SHOW: NHRA headliners Ron Capps, Larry Dixon and Doug Herbert will take on drivers from IRL, Champ Car and Grand-Am at the All-Star Karting Classic, scheduled for 7-9:30 p.m. on Dec. 14 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Early entries include Capps, Dixon and Herbert; IRL’s Marco Andretti, Bryan Herta, Buddy Rice, Tomas Scheckter, and Alex Tagliani; Grand-Am’s Wayne Taylor; IPS’s Wade Cunningham and Bobby Wilson; and GP’s Phil Giebler.

·       NEW WIRELESS SERVICES AVAILABLE TO NHRA FANS: NHRA diehards now have more ways to enjoy their favorite sport. Like the sound of a nitro launch? Or the purr of a 7,000 horsepower engine? Put it on your cell phone. More than 20 NHRA wallpapers and ringtones are now available at www.nhra.com through San Diego-based Digital Orchid in the first phase of the multi-layered plan that will allow NHRA fans to interact with the world’s fastest motorsport. NHRA and Digital Orchid last year entered a multiyear partnership to provide NHRA fans with mobile application options for their cell phones, and are now working together to develop real-time data applications from NHRA POWERade Series events, including results, news, points, track audio, statistics, screen savers and driver profiles.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

·         NITRO BLAST OFF, LAS VEGAS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, JAN. 19-21: The elite teams of the NHRA POWERade Series will get their first whiff of the competition for 2007 at this first of three optional showcase pre-season test session. Media are invited. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information.

·         NATIONAL TIME TRIALS, PHOENIX, FIREBIRD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, JAN. 26-28: Pre-season action moves from Nevada to Arizona as the professional teams continue to tweak off-season changes at this second of three optional test sessions. Open to media. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information.

·        LAST CHANCE TEST SESSION, LAS VEGAS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, FEB. 2-4: This aptly named test session is the final of three optional events that allow professional drivers to test their rides before formal competition opens for 2007. Open to media. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information.

·        CARQUEST AUTO PARTS NHRA WINTERNATIONALS, POMONA, CALIF., AUTO CLUB RACEWAY AT POMONA, FEB. 8-11: Get a front seat as Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) begin the march to defend their POWERade Series world championship titles.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·       12: Number of weeks former Funny Car driver Whit Bazemore will have to get used to his new David Powers Motorsports-owned Top Fuel dragster before the 2007 season begins. According to team reports, three Brad Hadman chassis were delivered to the team on Monday – two for Bazemore, and one for his new teammate Rod Fuller. “Right now, we’re full speed ahead getting everything prepared for next season,” Bazemore said. “It’s different starting a team from scratch as opposed to just rebuilding. We’ve hired some very talented people and all the parts are rolling in the door every day. It’s an exciting time for the new (Matco Tools Iron Eagle Top Fuel dragster) team. It’s like Christmas every day at the shop … I can’t wait.”

DRIVERS TELL ALL

·       GOODBYE, FRIEND: Members of the NHRA community were shocked when Ken Black, team owner of KB Racing, announced that co-crew chief Jeff Perley – who helped tune teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line to POWERade Series Pro Stock world championship titles – planned to leave the team after 2006 to pursue his own business career with Goodyear. The team has been supportive of the move, however, and wish Perley well. “Jeff has been an instrumental part of the four consecutive POWERade championships that KB Racing has earned over the past four seasons,” Anderson said. “He has been an asset to both Jason and me during his time here. I, like everyone on this team, hate to see him leave but we all wish him success with the new business.” Line agrees. “Jeff is as good as they come and along with all the team at KB Racing saw to it that Greg and I had the cars that were capable of winning – and win they did,” Line said.