- Ashley, Hagan, Anderson and Herrera take Wins at Charlotte Four-Wide
- TOUGH FINAL ROUND PUTS DAMPER ON WEEKEND FOR JOHN FORCE IN CHARLOTTE NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS
- BO BUTNER WINS JHG MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK SEASON OPENER
- AARON STANFIELD RUNNER-UP AT NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS AT ZMAX DRAGWAY
- JUSTIN ASHLEY WINS NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS AT ZMAX DRAGWAY
- Tony Schumacher Out Early After Jam-Packed Four-Wide Weekend in Charlotte
- HART KEEPS IT CLOSE IN TIGHT QUAD AT CHARLOTTE
Antron Brown, Jack Beckman, Allen Johnson, Eddie Krawiec and Alan Reinhart on WFO Radio
Courtesy of WFO
HOLLYWOOD, FL – Mopar Mile High NHRA Nationals winners, Antron Brown, Jack Beckman, Allen Johnson, and Eddie Krawiec all 
join Joe Castello, along with the NHRA’s Alan Reinhart, on WFO Radio NHRA Nitro. To listen now, go to http://www.wforadio.com/
Antron Brown,stops by WFO Radio to discuss his win in Denver, his thoughts on tying Shirley Muldowney and Darrell Gwynn in NHRA wins, being so close to the Aurora shooting, and preview race two of the Western Swing in Sonoma, CA.
Don Schumacher Racing funny car driver, Jack Beckman, talks about beating Courtney Force in the final round, his own story relating to Aurora, and his own attempt at sweeping the swing.
Quarterfinal Finish at Home track a Highlight for JEGS Team
Courtesy of Jegs
HEBRON, OH – Racing at National Trail Raceway, a place where the entire JEGS Mail Order team has enjoyed decades of continued success, Mike Coughlin managed a quarterfinal finish in this weekend’s North Central 
Division Lucas Oil Drag Racing series event.
Coughlin, whose extensive racing résumé includes five national event wins and one division event victory at the venerable facility, was primed for another big weekend behind the wheel of his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt Top Sportsman entry but lost a close race in the quarterfinals. After a great starting line reaction time, Coughlin fell to opponent Glenn Butcher by just six-thousandths of a second, or just a few inches, at the finish line.
“That’s kind of been the story of my year so far,” Coughlin said. “That was a winnable round by all means. I had it won but I gave it back at the finish line. I was ahead just before the finish line and I figured that if I hadn’t seen him by then he wasn’t going to pass me so I lifted off the throttle and sure enough, he passed me. It was just one of those things that can happen when you try to make every round perfect.
Demke Back on Top in TA/D, Whiteley rules TA/FC with 5.50
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Sonoma, CA – At the Western Region event in Sonoma, Calif., Winternationals and Gatornationals champion Chris Demke earned his first regional victory of the season i
n Top Alcohol Dragster and rookie Annie Whiteley her third in Top Alcohol Funny Car, both from the No. 1 qualifying spot.
Demke, shut out since his Gatornationals victory in March except for a Jegs Allstars win last month (which doesn’t count for points), paced the field in qualifying with a 5.30 and in eliminations overcame the electrical gremlins that have plagued the team for weeks for his first win ever at Sonoma. “This team had won at every track in California – Pomona, Bakersfield, Sacramento, Palmdale, Fontana – except this one,” he said.
Demke nearly remained winless at the picturesque facility in the wine country north of San Francisco but had just enough to take out Ray Martin in the final, 5.44 to 5.45. “The engine shut off and came back on twice on that run,” said Demke, who survived a close one in which both drivers made their first runs out of the 5.30s all day.
Reichert Takes 3rd in a row, Ferro Winning Ugly!
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photo by Steve Fuhrman
Hebron, OH – Backed into a corner after losing early in his first two regional starts, Bill Reichert won his third straight to complete a perfect regional season and put himself in position to challenge runaway points leader Jim Whiteley for the Alcohol Dragster
championship. Mickey Ferro had a much tougher time the negotiating the treacherous National Trail Raceway surface but managed to eke out the win in Top Alcohol Funny Car.
Reichert, upset in the first round at both Indianapolis and Norwalk, followed up his Maple Grove and Chicago wins by stopping Robin Samsel in the Columbus final, 5.40 to 5.84. “You try not to think about the pressure of having to win three races in a row for a perfect three-win regional season, but in the back of your mind, it’s always there,” said Reichert, who won every national championship from 2006 to 2010 and settled for second last year. “I just tried to concentrate on winning each round and dealing with the conditions.”
Finke wins first in 3 years, Manzo 3rd this year
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photo by David Smith
Epping, NH – Before a packed house at the Eastern Regional event at New England Dragway, John Finke had a .006 reaction time in the under-the-lights Top Alcohol Dragster final and ran a consistent 5.36 to stop No. 1 qualifier Richard Bourke. In Top Alcohol Funn
y Car, defending event champ Frank Manzo overcame a rare late light to run down John Anderika by seven-thousandths of a second, 5.60 to 5.69.
“This is one of the best wins I’ve ever had – definitely the best one that wasn’t a national event,” said Finke, a three-time national event champion. “I almost didn’t believe it when I got out of the car at the top end of the track. I thought ‘I did win, didn’t I?’ because I never saw my win light come on. I didn’t know for sure until the crew came down there flashing the lights at me.”
Finke had endured five runner-ups since his last victory, at the Englishtown Division 1 event in 2009. “The last couple of years were pretty tough,” he said. “We got close a few times but could never get the job done.”
Latino wins PMRA race at IHRA Nitro Jam Nationals
Courtesy of PMRA
GRAND BEND, ON – Eric Latino returned to the winner’s circle today, capturing the Pro Modified Racing Association event held as part of the IHRA MOPAR Nitro Jam Nationals at the Grand Bend Motorplex.
The race was the fourth of seven on the 2012 PMRA tour. Latino’s win was his fourth in PMRA competition.
Driving his Team Green 1969 Chevy Camaro Pro Modified, Latino, of Whitby, Ontario, bested Rocky Di Lecce of Mississauga Ontario in the final round held on the Grand Bend quarter-mile strip.
Latino qualified fourth in the event with a 6.057-second, 238.09-mph posting. Di Lecce qualified his 1968 Camaro third with a 6.005 run, just behind number two qualifier Jeff Roth of New Dundee, Ontario with a 6.004 in his Willys, while number one qualifier was Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario, with a 5.979 posting in his Willys.
Winners crowned on championship Sunday at MOPAR Nitro Jam Nationals
Courtesy of IHRA
GRAND BEND, ON – In March of this year the IHRA family was devastated by the passing of Jim Weinert. A master of track 
preparation, Weinert was known for his record-setting tracks, his statuesque figure and to many more, a great friend. That rang especially true for Top Fuel competitor Bobby Lagana Jr.
Weinert was like a father to the Lagana brothers and his passing was especially tough on longtime IHRA competitor Bobby. There to greet him at the head of staging before every pass over the past decade, the absence of “Big Jim” was a big void that Lagana hoped to somehow fill with a special tribute car for the Canadian portion of the 2012 Nitro Jam tour.
On Sunday Lagana ended that tour with one of the biggest wins of his Top Fuel career as he edged another longtime IHRA racer Bruce Litton for an emotional victory at the MOPAR Nitro Jam Nationals at the Grand Bend Motorplex in what he calls one of the biggest healing days of his life.
“When you lose someone you are going to have hard days and you are going to have healing days. You never know when those days will come, but you know they are awaiting you. Nights like last night and today were healing days,” Lagana said. “We will never be able to replace that man, but this weekend was a healing one for everyone. The IHRA, Carrie and the boys, ourselves and even the fans that spent their hard earned money to watch us race – this was for Jim.”
Coughlin has fruitful day at Mopar Mile-High Nationals
Courtesy of Jegs
Photo by Roger Richards
DENVER, CO – Jeg Coughlin Jr. made some serious gains on the mountain at this year’s 33rd annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals 
on Sunday in both the Pro Stock and Stock Eliminator classes.
In Pro Stock, Coughlin and the JEGS/Mopar Dodge Avenger lost a competitive race to Greg Anderson in the first round of eliminations. In Stock, Coughlin and his JEGS.com Dodge Challenger reached the semifinals before falling to Colorado native Stephen Hagberg.
Early in the day in the Pro Stock race, Anderson’s car had a slight edge at the start and Coughlin didn’t have quite enough power to catch up at the top end.
“It’s a different breed up here at Bandimere Speedway as far as tune-ups and stuff go,” Coughlin said. “We were just a couple of rounds behind. We did pick up. It was a much cleaner run and it felt like a much better run.”
Fans fill Motorplex during Saturday ‘Night of Fire’
Courtesy of IHRA
GRAND BEND, ON – It was a MOPAR kind of night at the MOPAR Nitro Jam Nationals. It has been nearly three years since Greg Jacobsmeyer last won in Nitro Jam competition. Jacobsmeyer won the very first AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car race in IHRA
Nitro Jam history back in 2010, but hasn’t been able to find victory lane since.
That is, until Saturday night.
In front of a packed house at the MOPAR sponsored race in Grand Bend, Ontario, Jacobsmeyer blasted to his best career numbers in a brand new car to claim his first win since 2010 against defending series champion Peter Gallen behind the wheel of the famous “All Star” Dodge Challenger. And he wasn’t alone.
Joining Jacobsmeyer in victory lane Saturday night was Kyle Wurtzel, who picked up his first career win in Top Fuel, Ron Hope who ran his best career numbers in Fuel Altered and Randal Andras who won in Nitro Harley.
Coughlin seeks to double his fun at Mopar Mile-High Nationals
Courtesy of Jegs
DENVER, CO – Jeg Coughlin Jr. goes into Sunday’s racing at the 33rd annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals with a chance to win not one, but two trophies before the afternoon is over.
Coughlin put his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger into the No. 8 spot in Pro Stock and already has raced his JEGS.com Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to the quarterfinals of Stock Eliminator at Bandimere Speedway.
“Both cars are running really well,” Coughlin said. “Ninety percent of the time, racing two cars on Sunday keeps me calmer because the disciplines are so different. It makes me pay attention a little more than normal.
“It’s one of the things I enjoy about this sport is the discipline it takes to run multiple classes in the same weekend.”
In Pro Stock, Coughlin’s Avenger had a best pass of 7.010 seconds at 196.73 mph. He said the car responded well to some changes the team made during each day of qualifying.
