CRUZ CHOOSES NEW TOYOTA SOLARA BODY

Cruz Pedregon believes a switch to a Toyota Solara body will take his Advance Auto Parts race team to new heights. Pedregon will debut his new carbon-fiber shell this weekend at Heartland Park Topeka, where he's won four times in six final-round showings.

"I'm already a Toyota guy," the 1992 series champ said. "My midget team runs Toyotas and all of our support vehicles are Toyotas. It's certainly a brand we believe in and are proud to represent.

"We've done our homework on this deal. We've had numerous discussions with the design people and they've been very forthright with all of the wind tunnel data. Rahn [Tobler, Pedregon's crew chief] is convinced there's some extra speed in that body.

"With the way Rahn runs this car and from what we've determined we’ll get out of the Solara body, we're really excited about the summer and running on hotter racetracks," Pedregon said. "We just seem to perform better when the track temperatures get above 120 degrees and we won't change our usual strategy this year.

"The reality is that most of the Funny Car bodies out there are pretty similar. It's not like a car at Indy that's running for 500 miles where an inch of a body piece here or there makes a huge difference. We're searching for a lot of down-force for just a few seconds. The clutch application and fuel system are where it's at, but the fact this body is lighter, has extremely low drag, and offers great visibility should all contribute to better racing for us. We're excited."  (DRO file photo) [1/14/2008]

SPORTSMAN RACERS READY FOR JEGS ALLSTARS

The most prestigious Sportsman drag race of the year is just a few days away and the top 64 drivers in the country are prepped and ready for the start of the annual $100,000 JEGS Allstars, to be contested June 8 during the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago.

Each year, JEGS High Performance invites the best racers in eight Sportsman categories from each of the NHRA's seven divisions to battle for big money and bragging rights. The unique event breaks from the traditional drag racing format in the sense that each division must work as a team to beat their rival divisions. There're also individual titles, but most participants agree the team title means the most.

Aside from the coveted winner's jackets and identifying stickers that are proudly displayed on racecars and trailers, JEGS puts up some big money for the event. The winning team gets $20,000. The victors in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car earn $7,000 each, while Comp and Super Stock winners pocket $6,000 apiece. Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street titlists take home $4,500 each.

Runners-up in all categories receive $2,000, and a travel fund of $20,000 is included in the purse. Additionally, JEGS offers a double-up bonus to any Allstars victor who also wins in his or her category at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.

This year's participants are a virtual Who's Who of Sportsman drag racing. Included in the mix is TAFC legend Frank Manzo, 35-time national event winner Jay Payne, reigning world champions Frank Aragona and Darren Smith, former world champions Ron Erks and Anthony Bertozzi, and multiple JEGS Allstars winner Marty Thacker, among many others. [1/14/2008]

DRAGWAY 42 OFFERS TRAVEL INCENTIVE

Dragway 42 is sweetening the pot for racers who pre-enter the track's $25,000+ guaranteed purse, Father's Day Weekend, Ohio State Championship event by the June 1st deadline. In addition to receiving a discounted, total entry fee of just $200 to participate in all three days of racing highlighted by main events with $2,000; $10,000; and $5,000 guaranteed to win (plus the optional High Roller and regular gambler races), two lucky pre-entrants will receive an extra bonus.

The track will conduct a random drawing from all pre-entries and will reward two different pre-entrants with free hotel accommodations for the entire race weekend. The first winner will be staying at the Comfort Inn while the second winner will be staying at the Super 8.

Both hotels are track sponsors, are located in Seville, OH, 10-15 minutes from the track, and (for those of you looking for accommodations) offer 10% discounts to racers who mention Dragway 42 when they make their reservation directly with the hotel.

The Agent says, with the JEGS Allstars having a travel fund and Dragway 42 giving away a couple of room, it looks like the cost of gas and travel is having an effect on drag racing. Will more racers be staying closer to home this year? [1/14/2008]

PROJECT DRAGSTER GETS LODRS RUNNER-UP

The DRO/MaxChevy "Back-2-Basics" dragster had its best finish this past weekend at the NHRA Division 5 Lucas Oil Series event. Andy Nicholson earned the runner-up finish in the Top Dragster class. The final round was extremely close at the finish line with the margin of loss only .002 of a second.

The Ohio Crankshaft-built Project 620 Big Block Chevy performed flawlessly all weekend, with e.t.s from 7.59 to 7.61 in very windy and changing weather.

The next event for the Team DRO / MaxChevy dragster will be the Jeg's U.S. Open Bracket Championships at Indianapolis on June 12-15.  (Jok Nicholson photo) [1/14/2008]