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RACING
HEADLINES

Gabrielle Stevenson
NHRA Communications

WHAT: 24th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, the seventh of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Professional competitors in four categories earn points leading to 2004 NHRA POWERade championships.

Sportsman competitors in seven categories earn points leading to 2004 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series championships.

WHERE: Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, Ga. I-85 to Exit 149 (Hwy 441). After exiting the freeway, go north on Highway 441 to Steven Tanger Blvd. Take left on Tanger and then go right on Ridgeway Road.

WHEN: Thursday through Sunday, May 13-16.

PURSE: Cash and contingency awards of more than $1.4 million.
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Gabrielle Stevenson
NHRA Communications

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Bristol Dragway was the only track on the NHRA schedule where John Force has not posted a win in his career. That ended Monday as Force earned his 110th career victory and completed a sweep of NHRA national events during the fourth annual O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Tony Schumacher and Greg Anderson also earned victories in their respective categories at the $1.2 million race, the sixth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The race was delayed one day because persistent rain showers fell on the track Sunday.

Force beat Whit Bazemore in the Funny Car final and is now 42 points out of first place in the standings, behind leader Del Worsham. Force drove his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang to a 4.781-second run at 322.88 mph to beat a tire-smoking 13.224 pass at 93.50 by Bazemore in his Matco Tools Dodge Stratus.

"Rusty Wallace told me I was a weak dog the other day, and that I needed to just go out there and win, just get it done," Force said. "He did it a few weeks ago in Martinsville [Va.] and now I finally got my 110th, so I guess we both still have some left in the tank."
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Anthony Vestal
NHRA Communications

BELLE ROSE, La. -- Local favorite Ross Laris, from nearby Raceland, was among winners Monday at the rain-delayed NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals at No Problem Raceway Park.

Laris powered his Corvette to the victory in Super Gas, defeating Corky Markwart, who drove a Chevy S-10 to the runner-up finish.

Six other category winners were crowned at the event, a special NHRA national event featuring NHRA Lucas Oil Series categories exclusively. Vince Deceglie, Tim Cole, Jeff Hefler, Craig Anderson, Jason Buckner and Greg Lair also were winners in their respective categories.
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Travis Reynolds

Rockingham, N.C. (April 25, 2004) - Clay Millican won the 34th Annual U.S. Sports Scene.com Spring Nationals presented by Advance Auto Parts and Castrol Sunday at Rockingham Dragway. Millican, of Drummonds, Tenn., ran the quarter-mile in 4.636-seconds at 310.41 mph during the final round against Danny Dunn.

Mike Janis, Lancaster, N.Y., Pro Modified; Mark Thomas, Louisville, Ohio, Funny Car; and John Montecalvo, Center Moriches, N.Y., Sunoco Race Fuels Pro Stock were winners in their respective categories.

Qualified No. 1, Millican faced Bobby Lagana, Jr. in the first round. Millican made the quickest pass of the round, defeating Lagana with a 4.616 ET at 311.34 mph. His second round opponent was Chris Karamesines, who failed to make the round. Millican ran an uncontested 4.806 and then won in the final round against Dunn, who did his burnout and then continued to the end of the track.

Millican made the quickest pass in IHRA history Friday night at 4.550, but failed to back it up to claim the record. The qualified eight-car field was the quickest in IHRA history, with the bump-spot at 4.875-seconds. Millican is now tied with Rickie Smith for the most career IHRA wins at 32.
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Travis Reynolds
IHRA: (419) 660-4225

Steve Earwood
Rockingham Dragway: (910) 582-3400

NORWALK, Ohio (April 14, 2004) ý Last fall, IHRA racers converged on Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina for a double-header season finale. The result was a weekend filled with record-setting performances and the crowning of Hooters IHRA world champions. The drag racing circuit returns once again to Rockingham April 23 ý 25 for the 34th Annual Spring Nationals presented by Advance Auto Parts and Castrol.

This event marks the second race on the 12-event Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series, an international drag racing circuit with three events in Canada. (The season-opener was the Texas Nationals at San Antonio Raceway) Racers enter Rockingham with one race under their belt, competing for the weekend purse and points. The competitor at the end of the season with the most points is crowned world champion.

Three-time Top Fuel World Champion Clay Millican enters this race after a win at the Texas Nationals. Millican, of Drummonds, Tenn., picked up two of his ten wins last season at Rockingham, winning the Spring Nationals and World Finals. In addition to holding the IHRA record for most career Top Fuel wins at 31 (a record formerly held by Don Garlits), Millican is an IHRA world record holder (4.566, 326.63), as well as Rockingham Dragway track record holder (4.566, 316.15).
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Anthony Vestal
NHRA Communications

BELLE ROSE, La. - Her story as a determined Jr. Drag Racer was portrayed in an extremely popular original movie on the Disney Channel last year, and one year later the quest to go fast continues for Erica Enders -- only now she's racing full-size dragsters in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

Enders, who now does double duty on NHRA race weekends, competing in her Super Comp dragster and Super Gas Corvette at speeds of more than 150 mph on the quarter-mile, has gained much notoriety since last year's release of the hit movie "Right On Track," starring young actress Beverley Mitchell of WB fame in the leading role.

However, in the movie's aftermath, Enders is continuing with the same hard-nosed resolve to make a name for herself in NHRA's record books. Though her experience with the silver screen was incredible, winning races and championships in the NHRA is the ultimate goal.

The 20-year-old Houston native will be among the favorites to win in Super Comp and Super Gas at the NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals, April 23-25 at No Problem Raceway Park near New Orleans.
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written by Andrea

Chicago (April 16, 2004) - Three-time IHRA Top Fuel Champion Clay Millican of Team Werner/Lehman Racing will attempt to become the winningest driver in any professional class in IHRA history at the 34th annual Spring Nationals presented by Advance Auto Parts and Castrol at Rockingham Dragway (N.C.) April 23-25.

"I'm not really thinking about the record right now. I just want to try to focus on everything we have to do in order to win, and hopefully we'll be successful," said Millican.

Millican, starting his fifth season of professional competition, has amassed 31 career IHRA victories. If he is victorious in Rockingham, he will tie Rickie Smith's record of 32 wins to become the winningest IHRA driver in any professional class. The four professional classes include Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Modified, and Sunoco Pro Stock. Smith has a combined 32 wins in Pro Stock and Pro Mod.
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Anthony Vestal
NHRA Communications

BAYTOWN, Texas - Craig Treble has a lot of making up to do these days. After the Matco Suzuki rider finished second in the Pro Stock Bike standings in 2002, he was a front runner for the '03 NHRA POWERade championship.

Treble didn't realize his or anyone else's expectations. He claimed the last two race victories of the season, and finished fifth overall.

The '04 season kicked off without fireworks too. Treble qualified in the No. 10 spot at the season opener in Gainesville, Fla. before he lost to Mike Berry in the first round.

But don't count him out of the championship race yet. Treble is ready to make up for the '03 season starting at the 17th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, April 15-18. The $1.9 million race is the fifth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series and the second of 15 events for the Pro Stock Bike category.
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Anthony Vestal
NHRA Communications

TOP FUEL
* Tony Schumacher, from Long Grove, Ill., earned his third victory of the season and 14th of his career, defeating Larry Dixon in a close final round. Schumacher powered his U.S. Army dragster to a winning run of 4.525 seconds at 331.53 mph, while Dixon's Miller Lite dragster trailed with a 4.571 at 323.97. It was Schumacher's first victory at The Strip at LVMS in three finals. It was the first final round appearance for Dixon since the CARQUEST Auto Parts Nationals at Chicago last October.
* It is the ninth final round appearance (seven victories) for Schumacher since his team hired crew chief Alan Johnson last May, a span of 17 races.
* Scott Kalitta earned his first No. 1 qualifying award since 1999 (Dallas 2), the 19th of his career, when his Jessee James/Mac Tools dragster covered the distance in a track record time of 4.472 at 333.74.
* Doug Kalitta clocked the fastest speed in NHRA history in his Mac Tools dragster during qualifying, a 335.57 mph effort. He failed to back-up the speed within 1 percent as required by NHRA rules to certify the performance an NHRA national record. Kalitta holds the current national speed record in Top Fuel at 333.25.
* Schumacher's victory increased his NHRA POWERade Series points lead to 110 over Brandon Bernstein, who lost in the semifinals. The runner-up effort from Dixon moved the defending two- time champion from ninth to sixth overall in the points order.
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Gabrielle Stevenson
NHRA Communications

Let's face it, they are the talk of the NHRA. Not just Pro Stock - the entire NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series has something to say about Greg Anderson and the entire KB Racing program. Anderson spent time making the tuning calls for six-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson before he was compelled to take a shot at driving. He put a team together that produced two wins in six final rounds en route to a third place finish in the 2002 standings. That wasn't good enough. So Anderson went looking for the ultimate team. The dream team, you can say. He found it in the form of a two-crew chief scenario with Rob Downing and Jeff Perley. They weren't new to the sport either. Downing graduated from University of Nebraska before working his way up to a tuning job with Mark Pawuk. Perley spent a lifetime in motorsports and had been with Johnson and General Motors just before Anderson struck out on his own. Just to be sure they were ready to compete on the highest level, they convinced Jason Line to bring his engine building experience with NASCAR over to the Vegas General Construction team. That's when it all seemed to come together. In 2003 - Anderson's second full season of racing - the squad of veterans meshed and the results were jaw-dropping. Anderson won a record 12 races in 15 final rounds. The team set both ends of the national record as well as 19 track records throughout the season. They were the No. 1 qualifier 14 times and have been the top qualifier for eight consecutive races, dating back to Chicago 2 in September. But as they head to Las Vegas for the fifth annual SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip this weekend, there is one topic on everyone's mind. Is the team operating within NHRA rules or not? In this Q&A session, Downing and Perley talk about why they win, what their biggest challenges are and what they think about being called "cheaters" on a weekly basis.
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Larry Sullivan
Contact: Travis Reynolds

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (March 28, 2004) - Clay Millican won the 3rd Annual Amalie Oil Texas Nationals presented by Ancira Cars, Trucks and RVs Sunday at San Antonio Raceway. Millican, of Drummonds, Tenn., ran the quarter-mile in 4.596-seconds at 311.49 mph during an uncontested final round.

Glen Kerunsky, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Pro Modified; Mark Thomas, Louisville, Ohio, Funny Car; and John Montecalvo, Center Moriches, N.Y., Sunoco Race Fuels Pro Stock were winners in their respective categories.

In round one of Top Fuel, Millican defeated Rick Cooper with a 4.583 ET at 320.36 mph. Millican held the track records for both ET and speed, and with this run, he reset both. Bruce Litton defeated Galveston's Mitch King in round one. King was late off the tree, and Litton made a solid pass: 4.790, 297.48. Litton went on to defeat Grant Flowers in round two, but after crossing the finish line struck the wall. Litton was airlifted from the track and later released from the hospital.
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