- SOX & MARTIN® AND MCCANDLESS COLLECTION TO SPONSOR NHRA HEMI® CHALLENGE
- Final Rounds of JEGS $50,000 Race to Conclude On Friday at the Spring Fling
- HendrickCars.com to sponsor Brittany Force’s Top Fuel dragster starting at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte
- DANIEL WILKERSON AND SCAG FORD FUNNY CAR TEAM LOOKING TO TURN THINGS AROUND AT CHARLOTTE FOUR-WIDE
- Dustin Smiley Races to Advanced Product Design $15,000 Wednesday Win at the Spring Fling
- NEOPMA Pro Mod Drivers Ready to Start 2024 Season at MIR’s Door Wars
- JUSTIN ASHLEY AND SCAG TOYOTA TEAM LOOK TO CONTINUE PROMISING START TO NHRA SEASON AT ZMAX DRAGWAY
Mike’s Transmission Sponsors Pro Slammers!
Courtesy of Pro Slammers
San Jose, CA – Mike’s Transmission a well know expert in building racing transmissions has come on board as a sponsor with the Pro Slammers Door Car Association for 2012. Mike’s Transmissions has produced units that have provided record breaking E.Ts from Pro Mods, to Outlaw 10.5s, as well as Pro Slammers cars. 
Mike’s Transmissions not only builds, he also races his products with their blown dragster that has run 5.97 @ 239 mph. Well known for his Monster Glides, Mike uses nothing but the best components and dyno test all transmissions before they leave the shop, so there’s no guessing if things work.
“I like supporting the smaller organizations and the Pro Slammers are a great way for me to expand my business while helping out my customers during these tough times”, says Mike. So if your looking for a place to race check out the Pro Slammers and if you are in need of a transmission check out Mike’s Transmission. www.mikestransmission.com and www.proslammers.com
Coughlin rides the ragged edge in first-round loss in Phoenix
Courtesy of Jegs
PHOENIX, AZ – Following qualifying for the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Pro Stock ace Jeg Coughlin Jr. said the JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger needed to get more aggressive for Sunday’s first round matchup with Jason Line.
For the first half of the race, that plan looked like it was working to perfection, but just when things were looking good for the five-time world champ the JEGS.com Dodge made a couple of sideways moves and Coughlin had to cut off the power.
“It was a bit of a handful,” Coughlin said. “We’ve been working to try and get this car to be a little more efficient downtrack. The car went a little bit left and we couldn’t get it back right into the groove. At every gear change it was getting more upset. It got really loose in third and all the way through fourth gear.
“Eventually, I had to throw in the towel. We were still ahead of him at halftrack, even though I wasn’t even under power. It never really felt like we were at that point of no return, but a split-second longer, it might have told me different.”
Coughlin, JEGS.com Dodge looking to make waves in Phoenix
Courtesy of Jegs
PHOENIX, AZ – For the second straight race, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger are starting Sunday’s NHRA Arizona Nationals from the bottom half of the ladder, but as he proved last week, a subpar qualifying
effort rarely equals an early exit for Coughlin.
“It’s not where we want to start from,” Coughlin said. “We’re still trying to feel our way around with this car at this racetrack.”
Coughlin will start Sunday’s eliminations from the No. 15 spot after a best qualifying run of 6.624 seconds at 208.91 mph. Last weekend in Pomona, Coughlin reached the Pro Stock finals out of the No. 14 spot.
“We made some pretty big changes to the car for our last qualifying session,” Coughlin said. “It looks like it liked them. The ET didn’t really show it, but what we’re seeing on the graph certainly looks like we’re on the right track.”
Good Vibrations Motorsports Presenting Sponsor for Arizona, Salt Lake City Nitro Jams
Courtesy of IHRA
NORWALK, OH – The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is pleased to welcome Good Vibrations Motorsports as the presenting sponsor of the Arizona Nitro Jam March 23-24 at Southwestern International Raceway in Arizona
and the Salt Lake Nitro Jam June 29-30 at Rocky Mountain Raceways in Utah.
Good Vibrations Motorsports, based in Whittier, Calif., was founded by former Funny Car pilot Jim Maher in 1989. With Maher’s background in racing and commitment to excellence in his products and services, Maher and the Good Vibrations team look forward to partnering with Nitro Jam at two of the biggest events on the 2012 schedule in Tucson and Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake and Arizona Nitro Jams are two of the biggest events of the year
“Good Vibrations Motorsports is thrilled to be the presenting sponsor of the Arizona Nitro Jam and the Salt Lake City Nitro Jam races this season. We have a very large, established customer base among the IHRA racing ranks, especially the supercharged machines and we are pleased to reward their loyalty,” Maher said. “Good Vibrations will set up a hospitality and racer support trailer at each of these venues. Racers and fans are encouraged to stop by and relieve some tension on our new racing simulator.
Summit Racing Equipment To Sponsor ADRL’s Top Sportsman Class In 2012
Courtesy of ADRL
O’FALLON, MO – The Top Sportsman class in the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) will continue to have impressive backing for the 2012 season.
On Friday, the ADRL officially announced that Summit Racing Equipment will return as the sponsor for the Top Sportsman class during the 2012 ADRL Tour.
The class, which will continue to be called the Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman class, debuted in the world’s premier eighth-mile drag racing league last year and will continue to have the backing of Summit Racing Equipment going into its first full season.
“We really felt the Top Sportsman racers were going to be a natural fit when the ADRL announced the addition of the class to the race line up in 2011. This proved to be a successful move and we were proud to support the racers with the class sponsorship,” Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports and Events Manager Jim Greenleaf said.
No major changes for PMRA Corvette Pro Modified of Derek Hawker
Courtesy of PMRA
CORBYVILLE, ON – “Right now the car is in 10 million pieces, but we’ll have it back together for opening day.”
Entering his third year of Pro Modified Racing Association competition, Derek Hawker said the Hawker Racing
Corvette Pro Modified will not receive any major changes for the upcoming season.
“We are doing some upgrades to the supercharger,” he noted. “We have to try and run with the Joneses, but other than that, it will be pretty much the same deal.”
Hawker placed sixth in 2011 PMRA Championship Point Award Series, qualifying in the tough field at most events, highlighted with a final round appearance against Kenny Lang in the third race of the six-race season. His 6.316-second pass was close, but Lang, an IHRA Pro Modified champion from Manitoba, nipped Hawker with a 6.035-second run.
Altalab Instrument joins TNT Super Series for 2012
Courtesy of TNT Super Series
RENICK, WEST VIRGINIA (February 16 , 2012) The Joe’s Transmission TNT Super Series is pleased to announce 
Altalab Instrument as the official paging weather station for 2012. In business since 1988, Altalab has supplied pro and sportsman drag racers with top quality reliable, user friendly weatherstations for tuning and performance prediction.
“Index racing is a very competitive form of drag racing,” said Ted Barnes, TNTSS Director. “Having accurate, up-to-the-minute weather information at your fingertips in the staging lanes is key to winning races.”
Tenley Shewmake of Altalab commented “We are pleased to be an Associate Sponsor and Official Weatherstation of the TNT Super Series, and look forward to lots of neck and neck action in 2012. The ‘Official Weatherstation’ is an AltaCom II paging weatherstation–our top of the line model that comes complete with prediction software ready to run out of the box.”
Who’s In This Issue of RPM Magazine – March 2012
Courtesy of RPM Magazine
SOUTHERN PRIDE Three nasty small block powered Chevy Musclecars injected with nitrous oxide and ready to take on the world, with one driver, Ricky Pennington! Ricky, his dad Rick, and Tommy Bills, have created Performance
Specialties Inc., where everything is done in house in a true “busted knuckles” style shop with pride of workmanship.
AFFLICTION Ray Abell’s Chevy II is a doer, not a talker. It looks the part, and plays the part, and does so very well. 815 cubic inches of big block Chevrolet, 4.53 seconds at 158 mph in the 1/8th, 7.06 at 195 mph in the ¼-mile, and you can bet there is more left in the clutch tune-up… and even more power left in the engine to get that coveted 6 second pass.
USE THE FORCE – Unless you have been completely avoiding any discussion of small tire drag racing, you have already heard of the controversial X275 world champion race car “Vader”, and perhaps the driver Pete Harrell and car owner Eric McMillon.
UPRISING – 1986 was a good year for Harry Gerb. That summer he had finally gotten his driver’s license and set out to find his first car. Being a died-in-the-wool hot rodder not just any old car would do for his first, so he scoured the newspapers until he found just what he was looking for… a 1968 Firebird!
Be sure to visit the new RPM Magazine Website at www.rpm-mag.com to catch up on the latest news and press releases and to read Back issues for free.
Nitro Jam announces all-star Funny Car lineup for San Antonio Nitro Jam
Courtesy of IHRA
NORWALK, OH – Fans of nostalgia funny car racing will be in drag racing heaven at the San Antonio Nitro Jam March 30-31 at San Antonio Raceway.
Last year’s San Antonio Nitro Jam attracted record crowds for the much anticipated return of nitro racing to the Alamo City and this week Nitro Jam announced the biggest and most competitive “all-star” lineup of AMSOIL Prostalgia™ Nitro Funny Cars ever assembled in Nitro Jam competition.
2011 Nitro Jam Champion Peter Gallen returns to San Antonio Raceway March 30-31
The San Antonio Nitro Jam will feature eight of the best Funny Cars in the country as 2011 Nitro Jam champion and current world record holder Peter Gallen and the “Poverty Stricken” team will take on 2010 Nitro Jam champion Steve Nichols in the “Mill Road Boys” Camaro, three-time IHRA champion Dale Pulde’s “War Eagle”, Tim Boychuk in “Troy Lee Designs”, Mike Savage in “Candies and Hughes”, Jon Capps in “Jungle Jim”, John Hale in “Nitro Boss” and Mark Sanders in “Mr. Explosive.”
Ahten’s Short Winternationals a Matter of Numbers
Courtesy of Athen Family Racing
Pomona, CA – Johnny Ahten doesn’t need a slide ruler or protractor to know how to tune his Nitromethane Injected Top Alcohol Dragster. He does rely on the people that support him and the Ahten Racing Team. This past weekend, at
the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals, Ahten did get closer to the tune up he is looking for.
“We are inching away at the tune-up,” said Ahten. “We just didn’t compensate enough on Saturday to make past that round.”
Ahten and his Island Renovations/801 Racing dragster qualified in the number seven slot after running a 5.472/261.37 in Friday’s second session. That led to a round one match up with Larry Miersch. Johnny ended up losing that round, and it was more like feet than inches.
“The track was good,” said Ahten. “We just had it set a little too lean. And it may be a motorsports cliché, but we know what it did wrong, and we know how to fix it,” added Ahten.
