Season Of Changes Will Launch At CARQUEST NHRA Winternationals

[PressRoom-GFN]

POMONA, Calif. -- Numerous changes will greet fans, teams, and drivers when the NHRA POWERade Series opens its second Countdown to the Championship at the Feb. 7-10 CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at the historic Auto Club Raceway.

The event, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, is the first in an 18-race regular season, and that's the first change.

In 2007, drivers negotiated a three-tier season that culminated in a two-race run – Las Vegas and Pomona -- for the title. Now, only one cut separates the championship contenders from the spoilers in what should prove to be an eat-or-be-eaten Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend. The points will be reset, but the racers leading in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle will be given a 20-point, or one-round, bonus for their efforts in the regular season. Ten racers in each category will make the cut, up from eight last year.

And that brings us to the racers.

Almost every major NHRA POWERade Series team brings something new to the table in 2008.

Consider Don Schumacher Racing, for one. Jerry Toliver, Cory McClenathan, and Chip Ellis will compete under the DSR umbrella this season, in Funny Car, Top Fuel, and Pro Stock Motorcycle, respectively.

What about the former U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle duo of Antron Brown and Angelle Sampey? Brown, a newly minted Top Fuel pilot, will drive the Matco Tools dragster for David Powers Motorsports. Sampey will make her Buell debut with Klement Motorsports when Pro Stock Motorcycle opens its season in Gainesville, Fla., in March. Veteran DSR Funny Car driver Ron Capps returns with the team, but will sport new NAPA Auto Parts colors on his Dodge Charger.

“Last year, with all the announcements from NHRA, including the Countdown to the Championship, it was such a breath of fresh air,” Capps said. “And we feel it again this year with the new Countdown format. ... It's going to be an exciting year. More than anything, for us, with our new sponsor and all that NAPA Auto Parts is going to do for the sport of drag racing, I can't wait for the season to start.”

Top Fuel and Funny Car teams will run on 90-percent nitro fuel, up from 85 percent. Across the pits, John Force Racing has undergone changes, and the team is about to see the results of its efforts. After enduring months of vigorous physical therapy, team owner and driver John Force is back, ready to go following successful testing in his new Castrol GTX Ford Mustang equipped with the latest safety gear.

Former crew chief Mike Neff will see what he can do behind the wheel for JFR, and Ashley Force makes her first championship charge without the rookie moniker. Neff unseated his now-owner John Force when he tuned Schumacher's Gary Scelzi to the NHRA POWERade world championship title in 2005.

Pro Stock has had its own share of changes. In 2006, it looked as if nothing could break the hold Summit Racing Equipment teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line had on the championship. Between the two, they'd had the crown for four years – and in 2007, seven of the 17 races in the regular season were won by either Anderson [who won six] or Line [who won one], but another team trumped their efforts. Seven regular-season wins were earned by the Cagnazzi Racing combo of Jeg Coughlin and Dave Connolly. Coughlin posted a 10-5 round record in the playoffs, the best of any Pro Stock driver, to win his third NHRA POWERade Series world championship title.

“We are excited to defend our NHRA POWERade Pro Stock championship from last year,” Coughlin said. “Carrying the No. 1 on the side of your car always adds a little extra pressure, but it also gives the team a little extra energy to dig deeper and work harder to keep the No. 1 on your car. There are going to be a lot of significant things that happen in 2008 that will mold and shape the future direction of the NHRA, and that in itself is exciting.”

The qualifying procedure for POWERade Series events has been altered. Only the top 12 times will be officially recorded after the first day of qualifying. That leaves four spots unclaimed. The top 12 times will not be locked in, however, and racers in that top tier can still be bumped or moved in the order during the final two qualifying sessions, where the final four spots will be earned for a full 16-vehicle field.

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Courtesy of NHRA