NHRA SHORT BURNOUTS

BAYTOWN, Tex. (March 30, 2007) - With rain in the forecast for Saturday, Mike Ashley and the entire Gotham City racing team were focused on putting the Torco Race Fuels, Inc. Dodge Charger solidly into the field heading into Saturday. A 4.814/309.63 run during the second qualifying session earned the provisional No. 4 position at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals, alleviating any doubts as to the teamıs plans for Sunday. "I always had faith in Brian Corradi [Ashleyıs crew chief] that he would get things figured out for this Torco Dodge," Ashley said.

BAYTOWN, Tex. (March 30, 2007) - Facing an uncertain forecast for Saturday, Friday's opening day of qualifying for the O'Reilly Spring Nationals took on added significance for the 25 Pro Stock cars on the grounds at Houston Raceway Park. With the possibility of having only two chances to make Sunday's final eliminations field, Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts GTO Racing team took full advantage of the opportunity presented. Making two solid runs, Johnson's quickest time of 6.680-seconds, which came with a 207.94 mph top speed slotted the six-time Houston winner in the fifth position midway through qualifying, sheltering him from any concerns about the weather, and allowing him to concentrate on improving should he have the chance. "Today was a good first day. Our GM Performance Parts GTO made two decent runs, and even though our second run tonight was a little slower, it was still among the best in the left lane, which apparently wasn't as good as it was cracked up to be.

BAYTOWN, Tex. (March 30, 2007) - Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. is the provisional No. 1 qualifier for the second NHRA national event in a row after his blistering, track-record pass of 6.649 seconds at 208.17 mph in the opening round of the 20th annual Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park. Following a similar performance two weeks ago in Gainesville, Fla., where Coughlin also led at the halfway point of qualifying, the 36-year-old from Delaware, Ohio, sees lots of progress with his Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevrolet Cobalt. "This team never rests," Coughlin said.