- HULL EXCITED FOR A SWEET TIME IN CHICAGO
- DAVE RICHARDS AND VERSATRAN / BLUEBIRD TEAM LOOKING TO KEEP UP PROGRESS AT ROUTE 66 NATIONALS
- The Wait was Well Worth it for the Mid-West Drag Racing Series 2024 Debut at Throwdown in Tulsa
- ELITE MOTORSPORTS READY TO TAKE ON PRO STOCK ALL-STAR CALLOUT AT ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
- DANIEL WILKERSON AND SCAG FORD FUNNY CAR LOOKING TO CARRY MOMENTUM INTO ROUTE 66 NATIONALS
- HUGE NITRO, PRO FIELDS SET TO THRILL AT GERBER COLLISION & GLASS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS
- RETURN TO CHICAGO CHANCE FOR JOSH HART RESURGENCE
Coughlin makes drag racing history in Fontana
Courtesy of Jegs
FONTANA, CA – Five-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. made NHRA drag racing history Monday at Auto Club Dragway by becoming the first driver in the 60 years of the sport’s existence to win in six different categories. 
In the sixth and final round of Super Comp, Coughlin beat Tom McBride by 13 feet to take the title of the rain-delayed JEGS Pacific SPORTSnationals, running a 9.034-second pass at 160.46 mph ahead of McBride’s 9.052 at 167.07 mph. Coughlin has now claimed trophies in Pro Stock, Competition Eliminator, Top Dragster, Super Gas, Super Stock, and Super Comp.
Four other racers — Scotty Richardson, David Rampy, Greg Stanfield, and Peter Biondo — have won in five different classes, but Coughlin now stands alone with six.
“What a deal!” Coughlin said in the winner’s circle. “To be the first to six is really neat. It’s incredibly hard to win at the national level in any of these Sportsman classes and to have now won in six different classes…I don’t know that it’s sunk in yet. It’s pretty special.
“We did a lot of homework in the off-season to get these cars together. Gary Stinnett built some exceptional engines for us and Kurt Damron from Undercover Chassis built the car. Those two guys are both world champions in Super Comp and the advice they offered along the way was invaluable. Having my buddy Kyle Seipel along this weekend also proved to be very helpful. He’s a legend out here on the west coast and I soaked in everything he told me.”
RPM & LUCAS OIL SET TO UNLEASH FIRST “EXTREME EVENT” FOR 2011!
Courtesy of RPM Magazine
Brandford, ON – Canadian Victoria Day Holiday Weekend will see the first big show of 2011 hit Grand Bend Motorplex May 21-23!
The BIG action on the dragstrip Saturday and Sunday will include:
* INSANE Nostalgia Funny Cars!
* WILD H.U.R.A. Pro Modified series Inagural event!
* THUNDERING fire breathing “Beast From The East” Jet
Dragster!
* PLUS… EVEN MORE fast doorslammers, dragsters, bikes
and sleds in the Extreme 32 and Thunder Series
classes!
HUGE ROCK CONCERT SUNDAY starting at 8pm will see opening act Unanimous Maybe and Dinosaur Bones pave the way for San Sebastian and The Arkells!
JON CAPPS PROGRESSIVELY IMPROVING AFTER ATLANTA
Courtesy of Paul Smith Racing
Commerce, GA – After completing his fifth career National Hot Rod Association Full Throttle Series race day start this past weekend at Atlanta Dragway, Jon Capps, driving for the Paul Smith Racing / Biesenbach Inc. Monte Carlo
Funny Car team, is progressively improving and remains upbeat following a first round loss to the current NHRA Funny Car point leader, Mike Neff.
“We came here to compete, not just qualify and today Neff was just a taste better than us,” said Capps, the Las Vegas, Nev. resident who qualified in the number 11 position and recorded a career best elapsed time and speed during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals. “We learned quite a bit during the weekend, but had some issues taming what was a very tricky right hand lane. I felt like I had a good light (reaction time) and the car was charging pretty hard in the first 60 feet, but about 300 feet into the run it started to rattle the tires and smoked the hoops. By the time I caught it, Neff had zipped by me to take the win.”
Maier qualifies and competes at NHRA Southern Nationals
Courtesy of Tim Miller
ATLANTA, GA – After obtaining his NHRA Top Fuel license only months ago, Canadian Ike Maier qualified and competed in the 
NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, held over the weekend at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia.
Maier qualified in his second-ever NHRA Top Fuel event, and was eliminated by NHRA champion Tony Schumacher in the first round.
The Top Fuel Dragster class is the quickest and fastest in all of drag racing, featuring 8000-horsepower cars which travel from zero to over 325 mph in under four seconds.
“It was a lot of hard work, but it all came together pretty quickly,” said Maier, who is from Tottenham, Ontario, just north of Toronto. “I stayed pretty calm, but it was a busy and exciting weekend.”
Coughlin drives small block Pro Mod car to semifinals in Atlanta
Courtesy of Jegs
ATLANTA, GA – Troy Coughlin certainly wasn’t expecting the reception he got from the fans at Atlanta Dragway 
Sunday afternoon as his JEGS.com turbocharged small block Pontiac GTO was being towed back to the pits.
“Coming back down the return road as we headed back to the trailer we actually got a standing ovation,” Coughlin said. “Lots of people were yelling out, ‘Small blocks rule!’ I thought that was kind of wild. This car has so much potential, and obviously some fan appeal as well.”
Coughlin rode crew chief Jake Hairston’s reliable tune-up to his first semifinal finish of the season in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. After beating first-round opponent Donald Martin with a season-best 5.965 at 248.11 mph on Saturday night, Coughlin managed to steal a holeshot victory away from Melanie Troxel in Sunday’s quarterfinals before a leak under his racecar during his semifinal round, prerace burnout cost him a chance to run for a spot in the finals.
PMRA, Quick 32 and PBSS kicks off 2011 season at Cayuga Dragway May 20-22
Courtesy of PMRA, Quick 32 and PBSS
CAYUGA, ON – Consistency is a major part of success in drag racing compared to other forms of motorsport.
And consistency was a winning factor for last year’s opening rounds in the Pro Modified Racing Association and the Quick 32 Sportsman Series.
Winning the first event in PMRA racing last year was Eric Latino. “We had a good day,” noted the 1937 Chevy coupe driver about his victory at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park. “We played it safe, we were consistent, and the car went down the track every single pass.”
Winner of the 2010 Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts opener concurred with Latino with regards to consistency.
JON CAPPS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
Courtesy of Paul Smith Racing
Commerce, GA – The 2,000 mile flight from Las Vegas, Nev. to Commerce, Ga. was well worth it to Jon Capps.
He will make his second consecutive National Hot Rod Association Fuel Funny Car division start of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Series, when he squares off with Mike Neff, the current NHRA Funny Car point leader in the first round of eliminations during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Capps, from the 702 area code of Las Vegas, Nev. completed qualifying today under constant threatening skies. Prior to the third qualifying session, team owner Paul Smith made the decision to pull the car out of the session, as the team believed track conditions would not yield better performance than their stout 4.166 elapsed time recorded in the cool conditions of Friday evening. The team was also solidly qualified in the 16-car field, so the decision to save crucial parts for eliminations was made.
CAREER BESTS HIGHLIGHT ATLANTA DAY ONE FOR J. CAPPS
Courtesy of Paul Smith Racing
COMMERCE, GA – The Paul Smith Racing team, with versatile nitro driver Jon Capps behind the wheel, powered their way to a 4.166 second elapsed time and speed in excess of 291 
miles per hour, en route to a provisional number 10 qualifying spot after day one of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals contested at Atlanta Dragway. Both timing standards were career bests for Capps, who is competing in his second National Hot Rod Association National Event of the 2011 season.
Capps, the 41-year old admissions counselor for Wyotech and part-time stunt driver from Las Vegas, Nev., entered the final qualifying session after laying down a very smooth and consistent 4.279 elapsed time in Q-1 (first qualifying session).
“Paul tuned it up for a good baseline run in Q-1 and that’s exactly what the Beisenbach Inc. / Paul Smith Racing Monte Carlo laid down,” noted Capps. “When I hit the throttle, the car drove hot, straight and normal, just like a torpedo looking for a target. Paul is a master at getting a car down the track from A to B. The run also gave me another solid lap under my belt and we were confident we could improve vastly in Q-2.” Continue reading
WHO’S IN THIS ISSUE OF RPM MAGAZINE?
Courtesy of RPM Magazine
Brandford, ON – COVER FEATURE – DOOMSDAY Impala Spawned from the days of the cold war and a used-up shell of 
a musclecar, this Doomsday device is set to take the world of doorslammer drag racing in the United Kingdom by storm.
COVER FEATURE – SUCKER PUNCH! Paul Tadin’s 3,600 pound Super Sport cruises through the pits virtually unnoticed and pulls up to the starting line, the lights go from yellow to green and the black street machine is gone… 8.42 seconds later!
THE YOUTH TODAY – Continuing with our tribute to badass Bowties, we bring you the 67 Camaro of 22 year old Blake Catalanotto.
CIVIL WARS – Spring is in the air and it’s time for Holcomb Motorsports’ Civil Wars.
THE PERFECT STORM – Jason Shell’s ’72 Nova backs up the good looks with some pretty serious performance.
HEART AND SOUL – VICTOR BRUM…. always there, and always a contender for the win.
MICKEY THOMPSON RETURNS AS A CONTINGENCY CONNECTION SPONSOR FOR THE 2011 SEASON
Courtesy of Mickey Thompson
STOW, OH – Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels is proud to return to the Contingency Connection’s sportsman racing scene in 2011 for the third consecutive year as a contingency sponsor. The company will be
posting awards for all sportsman classes at every event throughout the season.
“We look forward to supporting the sportsman racers through our partnership with the Contingency Connection again this year,” stated Carl Robinson, Motorsports Manager, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels. “This program gives us an opportunity to support so many grassroots racers that we otherwise would not know about, and that is really exciting for us.”
