NHRA NEWSMAKERS: Johnson, Troxel visit Bristol; Schnitz' hopes for championship alive

NHRA Newsmakers
Your inside glimpse at the world's fastest motorsport

NEWS NUGGETS
*	 'AMERICAN DRAGSTER' DEBUTS SUNDAY: "American Dragster," a
30-minute reality show that features Don Schumacher Racing teammates
Tony Schumacher and Ron Capps, will air for the first time at noon on
Sunday (April 2), following the popular news magazine show NHRA 2Day on
ESPN2. New Rule Productions announced Tuesday that it will produce a
series of six 30-minute programs with the NHRA POWERade Series as the
backdrop. Ryan Johnson, director/executive producer for New Rule
Productions, has spent the last two years preparing for the show. "I'm
grateful for the tremendous support we've received from NHRA as well as
the exclusive access granted us by Don Schumacher Racing," he said.

*	O'REILLY NHRA SPRING NATIONALS ON ESPN2: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will
televise: two hours of qualifying highlights from Houston at 8 p.m. on
Saturday; NHRA 2Day at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday; and three hours of final
eliminations at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

*	DEBUT SET FOR 'DRIVING FORCE': "Driving Force," a reality show
based on the lives of 13-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force
and his drag racing daughters Ashley, Brittany and Courtney, will air at
9 p.m. on July 10. Check out www.JohnForceRacing.com to see the trailer,
see the Force family's most recent photos and get the latest news on the
family.

*	JOHNSON, TROXEL SPREAD NHRA LOVE TO NASCAR: Motorsports' fastest
couple - Tommy Johnson Jr. and Melanie Troxel - visited the Bristol
Motor Speedway last weekend for NASCAR's Food City 500. Their mission?
To promote the O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals coming to Bristol
Dragway April 28-30. "Then, we headed over to the press room to meet
with all the reporters covering the NASCAR race. They knew a lot about
drag racing and had an interest in our sport. It's great to see, and
proves that our sport is heading in the right direction ... Before the
race, we had the opportunity to walk the garage and chat with some of my
buddies who work on the pit crews for Cup teams. Those guys are big drag
racing fans. Several of the NASCAR crew guys will be coming to both
Bristol and Atlanta to check us out. Perhaps we'll let a Cup guy do a
blog about their drag racing experience." Read more about the couple's
trip to Bristol in Tommy Johnson Jr.'s blog at www.nhra.com.

*	SCHNITZ' HOPES FOR CHAMPIONSHIP ALIVE: In Gainesville, Ryan
Schnitz should have been celebrating his No. 1 qualifying effort.
Instead, he was afraid that despite qualifying No. 1, that event would
be his last. But on Tuesday Schnitz, who is currently fifth in the
POWERade point standings, announced he will continue his chase for his
first world championship with the support of primary sponsor Trim-Tex
Drywall Products.
		"(Trim-Tex Drywall Products' owner Joe Koenig) is
adamant about winning the championship," Schnitz said. "I'm really
excited and glad to see him on board because I know how great a person
he is and what a great competitor he is. I told Joe that if he had been
sitting next to me when I heard about the sponsorship deal, I would have
given him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek."

*	PALMER, AREND ANNOUNCE NEW SPONSORS: This year, new sponsors
have inked their support of POWERade Series teams in 3's - and with
Schinitz's new deal, another round is complete. Von Dutch, Serta and
Jagermeister signed up early this year. Last week, Grand Crowne Resorts
announced they will be a major sponsor of Scott Palmer's Top Fuel team.
Grand Crowne Resorts, a popular family vacation destination in the
entertainment district of Branson, Mo., will give away a trip to a
national event at the end of the season as part of a nationwide
promotion of NHRA drag racing. This week, Canadian Funny Car driver Jeff
Arend announced Erie Educational Services, an innovative student loan
company, will support his ride with an abbreviated '06 schedule. He
plans to make the full 23-race circuit next season.

*	SPORT COMPACT SERIES OPENS IN SOUTH FLORIDA.: The fourth annual
Nitto NHRA Sport Compact Nationals presented by RJ Gators, Buzz 103.1
and Palm Beach Mitsubishi will stage its diverse blend of drag racing
with a hip culture vibe at Moroso Motorsports Park this weekend - the
first of 11 events in the $2.5 million Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series
in 2006. The event will be telecast on ESPN2 on April 9. "I have a
strong car with more horsepower this year and feel terrific about the
upcoming season," said Jesus Padilla, the defending series champ in the
Honda Tuning All Motor category. "This is my home track and I consider
it a good one."

*	FLORIDA STUDENT WINS GAINESVILLE FAN NATIONALS: Timothy Mays,
19, of Florida City, Fla. earned a different kind of Spring Break party
when he dominated Nitro Alley at the 37th annual ACDelco NHRA
Gatornationals.
		Mays, a second-year student at Miami Dade College,
defeated hundreds of other local fans in ultra-realistic Funny Car
simulators designed to mimic the shakes and sounds of NHRA's fastest
dragsters.
		Fans at each national event battle to qualify and race
in a 16-person bracket elimination, just like the pros. Each event
winner earns a "POWERade Wally" trophy, stands in the Winner's Circle
with the POWERade Series' event winners and earns a trip to the 42nd
annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals to compete
against the Series' other fan champs for the 2006 POWERade Fan Nationals
Series championship title.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
*	HOT MARKS: Larry Dixon became the first driver to eclipse the
4.5-second mark when he posted a 4.486 at Houston Raceway Park in 1999
in his Miller Lite dragster. He has two career wins at the Baytown,
Texas facility (1999, 2000). Gary Scelzi has his own claim on the track
- he owns one of the oldest track records in the books (4.480 seconds,
Oct. 1999) at Houston.

HE SAID, SHE SAID
*	SCELZI SOUNDS OFF ON START TO SEASON: Last November, the eyes of
drag racing faithful everywhere were riveted on the three men mired in
the closest Funny Car battle in NHRA history: Don Schumacher Racing
teammates Scelzi and Ron Capps, and 13-time world champion John Force.
Scelzi walked away with the world championship title - but he hasn't had
much luck so far in 2006. In fact, he currently sits No. 9 in the
POWERade point standings. Did he use all of his luck up in '05? "I do
care (about points), but there's nothing I can do about changing the
results of the first three races. The way you fix it is by winning and
by going rounds. Our goal right now is to go as many rounds as we can,
if not win the race." 

DRIVERS TELL ALL
*	ROD FULLER AND 'DEMOLITION MAN': When Rod Fuller made his
national event debut in Gainesville in 1992, he did it with the help of
"Demolition Man" - a "good luck" troll his mother gave to him when he
was a teen. "That guy is famous, my troll," Fuller said. "My mom gave
him to me as a kind of protector ... He's been with me through so many
experiences. When I ran in Top Fuel in '95 at the Gatornationals, I had
a really big engine explosion. I was putting him out with one hand while
I tried to get the car stopped. Now he's all burned up with one eye, but
he sits to my left in the dragster, right by my shoulder. He's always on
ESPN2." A Q&A with Top Fuel's Rod Fuller is available at media.nhra.com.
Recent photos are also available on the site.