ADOLPH RETURNS

Veteran fuel funny car driver Jim Adolph made it up to Sacramento Raceway’s Funny Car Fever over the weekend to get his crossover driver licensing finished, making some half dozen passes. On this wheels-up run he carded a 6.856 elapsed time shutting off at about 1,000 feet in Mark Stuckey’s “Nitro Charger” Dodge Daytona. Adolph said, “This is great, after so much effort to get back in the game. It’s really exciting to get my second tour of duty in nitro funny cars.”

With the current AA/FC building-boom there should be no shortage of seats available for the to Dolphster to pilot! A tip of the Agent’s old “Shady Glenn” cap. (Darr Hawthorne photos) [4/14/2008]

HARVICK LOOKS AT DRAG RACING

NASCAR superstar and Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana were visiting with UPS-sponsored Bob Vandergriff Jr. at Las Vegas and are exploring the idea of fielding a Top Fuel dragster in NHRA competition. The proposed Harvick-Vandergriff Motorsports will specialize in offering its sponsors marketing opportunities in NHRA, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Craftsman Truck, and the Nationwide Series.

"As this deal evolves, we want to offer the companies aligned with Harvick-Vandergriff Motorsports the chance to use the best of NHRA and NASCAR through the same program. We'll have the capabilities to provide something no other team can offer,” Vandergriff said.

"The response from the companies we've spoken to already has been tremendous," Harvick said. "Everyone at Kevin Harvick Incorporated and Richard Childress Racing hasbecome extremely interested with what's happening in the drag racing world through our friendship with Bob. The more we come to understand what is happening in the NHRA series, the more attractive it's becoming as a whole.

"It's my belief that NHRA could provide a great marketplace for us to grow our business by providing unmatched opportunities for interested sponsors. We view this as something that would be a natural extension of our current Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series programs. Bob's a proven leader and innovator and DeLana and I are happy to be here as his guests. The future looks very exciting."

Vandergriff and Harvick plan to begin assembling a race team and all of the necessary components within the next two months as they prepare for a 2009 debut. [4/14/2008]