NHRA Newsmakers: A Funny Car on Wall Street

NATIONAL TIME TRIALS, PHOENIX, FIREBIRD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, JAN. 26-28: Pre-season action moves from Nevada to Arizona as the professional teams continue to tweak off-season changes at this second of three optional test sessions.

NEWS NUGGETS

* OHIO TRACK ADDED TO NHRA MEMBERSHIP RANKS: Tri-State Dragway, located just west of Hamilton, Ohio, has been added to NHRA's North Central Division. The track, owned and operated by Bob and Pat Louden, will be site of events in the NHRA Summit Racing Series, which allows division champions to compete against winners from NHRA's other six geographic divisions for a $118,000 national championship. Other events are scheduled at the Dragway as well, including: the National DRAGSTER Challenge; NHRA King of the Track; and NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Dragster Challenge. Tri-State will continue to run its weekly racing programs March through October for high school, street legal and sportsman bracket racing competitors among others. "We are pleased to welcome Tri-State Dragway to our NHRA member track network," said Jay Hullinger, NHRA North Central division director. "We look forward to working with Bob and Pat Louden to enhance their existing racing programs and bring their racers benefits that only NHRA can offer."

* CRUZ PEDREGON BRINGS HORSEPOWER TO WALL STREET: Cruz Pedregon, driver of the Advance Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo Funny Car, recently visited the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Advance Auto Parts' status as a publicly traded entity. Pedregon brought a show car and simulator to Wall Street for the occasion, which he feted with Advance Auto Parts executives. Company Chairman, President and CEO Michael N. Coppola rang the closing bell for the day. Want to see a Funny Car on Wall Street? <http://www.nhra.com/content/news.asp?articleid=17597&zoneid=8> Check out NHRA.com.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

* NITRO BLAST OFF, LAS VEGAS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, JAN. 19-21: The elite teams of the NHRA POWERade Series will get their first whiff of the competition for 2007 at this first of three optional showcase pre-season test session. Media are invited. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information.

* NATIONAL TIME TRIALS, PHOENIX, FIREBIRD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, JAN. 26-28: Pre-season action moves from Nevada to Arizona as the professional teams continue to tweak off-season changes at this second of three optional test sessions. Open to media. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information.

* LAST CHANCE TEST SESSION, LAS VEGAS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, FEB. 2-4: This aptly named test session is the final of three optional events that allow professional drivers to test their rides before formal competition opens for 2007. Open to media. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information.

* CARQUEST AUTO PARTS NHRA WINTERNATIONALS, POMONA, CALIF., AUTO CLUB RACEWAY AT POMONA, FEB. 8-11: Get a front seat as Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) begin the march to defend their POWERade Series world championship titles.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

* 8: Weeks drivers have left to find their lucky combinations for the the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals and the 2007 season.

DRIVERS TELL ALL

* YATES LOOKS AT YEAR AHEAD FOR SEA RAY BOATS PONTIAC GTO: After one win in two final-rounds and five semifinal finishes in 2006, coupled with his best POWERade Series points finish since 2002, Jim Yates is optimistic about his chances for an even more successful 2007. "If nothing else, this year was a huge boost to our self-confidence, both for me as a driver and for Jamie as a crew chief," Yates said. "We realized that when we have all the pieces in place we can run with anyone. We proved that in the first half. We just ran low on assets. That was the only thing that held us back. I'm not intimidated by anyone when I pull up to the starting line. I know I can beat anyone out there and I know they can beat me. I'm not being cocky - I just don't feel like I give anything up to anyone else as far as driving ability. I do know you always have more confidence in yourself when the car's running strong."