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NEWS NUGGETS
EDWARDS SETS NATIONAL RECORD, MOVES CLOSER TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WITH RICHMOND WIN: Mike Edwards continued his dominance in the Pro Stock class as he earned his fifth win of the season this past Sunday at the NHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. The win was also his second in the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs. Edwards ran the table in the process, running the quickest time each qualifying session for the allotted 12 points possible, taking the No. 1 qualifier, earning the event win and setting the national record in the process. Out of a total of 150 points possible this weekend, Edwards picked up every last one to strengthen his lead over second-place driver and Richmond runner-up, Greg Anderson.
“It’s unbelievable what I did here today, what my team did here today,” said Edwards after his win Sunday. “My team was phenomenal. I know it sounds like the same ol’ story, but they’re just so good at what they do. To come out here and have this kind of performance and this kind of day is unbelievable, but I’m the same ol’ redneck I’ve always been.”
Edwards was joined in the winner’s circle by Top Fuel’s Brandon Bernstein and Funny Car’s Del Worsham. Bernstein picked up his first win of the season when he was able to pilot his Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster past runner-up Antron Brown in the final round, while Worsham drove his Alan Johnson/Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Solara past Tim Wilkerson to pick up his third win of the season. To see how all of the racing went at the fourth annual NHRA Virginia Nationals, visit www.NHRA.com.
NHRA MOBILE LAUNCHED—LIVE TIMING, NEWS AND NOTES NOW AVAILABLE FOR NHRA FANS: NHRA has officially launched NHRA Mobile, a mobile application that will bring live racing action from all 24 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events into the palms of NHRA fans’ hands around the globe. NHRA Mobile will be anchored by the live timing and scoring that will give fans access to real-time results, but it will also deliver news, blogs, track overviews, race schedules, team reports, point standings and much, much more. The service is currently available on popular mobile handsets worldwide. The simplest way to find NHRA Mobile is to check your carrier or device content portal and search “NHRA” to find the download. If it’s not currently available for your device, please check back shortly.
The initiative involved the likes of some of the biggest names in the mobile industry, including Boost Mobile and Hands-On Mobile, the world’s leading developer and publisher of connected games and applications. In addition to the mobile application, Boost Mobile will have a presence on NHRA.com, display and fan engagement activities at select NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events, and broadcast elements through NHRA’s broadcast on ESPN2/ESPN2HD. For more information about the new application, visit www.NHRA.com.
NHRA ANNOUNCES FAN RELIEF PROGRAM FOR AUTO CLUB FINALS: NHRA has announced that a limited number of $20 Race Fan Relief tickets—a savings of up to $29 per ticket—will be made available for the November 12–15 Auto Club NHRA Finals, the climactic race in NHRA’s six-race playoff, the Countdown to 1. The offer is available for advance purchase only on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 1,500 tickets for each day of the four-day event.
To purchase fan-relief tickets, enter the password “relief” on the appropriate Ticketmaster page or call 800/884-NHRA (6472) and mention “fan-relief offer.” NHRA has also partnered with Ticketmaster to eliminate service and convenience fees on tickets purchased through www.Ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster phone lines or at Ticketmaster outlets.
Fans purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster may pick up their tickets at the ticket office will-call window on race day or they may have their tickets delivered for a fee. NHRA is also reaching out to families and fans in the military: Children 12 and younger accompanied by a paying adults will be admitted free on any of the four days of the event to general-admission areas, and NHRA is offering any active U.S. military personnel a free reserved-seat ticket on-site Friday, November 13. For tickets to the 45th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals, call 800/884-NHRA (6472) or visit www.Ticketmaster.com.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, OCTOBER 29–NOVEMBER 1: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads back to Sin City for the penultimate race in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Defending event winners include Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel); Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car); Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock); and Chris Rivas (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NHRA FINALS, AUTO CLUB RACEWAY AT POMONA, NOVEMBER 12–15: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and Countdown to 1 playoffs come to an end at this historical event in sunny Southern California. Defending event winners include Larry Dixon (Top Fuel); Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car); Greg Anderson (Pro Stock); and Chris Rivas (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
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HE SAID, SHE SAID
ALL WITHIN “OTHERS” HANDS: Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson on his chances of moving past the top four drivers in the point standings and winning his first world championship:
“The problem is, we can’t race all four of the other drivers in the first round, so we need some help from some other teams to knock them out of there so we can make up ground. It’s not all in our hands, in other words. We’re going to need some help, but the bottom line is we’d have been leaving [Richmond] completely out of it had we lost in the first or second round. We’re still in it.”
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
159: That’s the number of points separating first-place Funny Car driver Robert Hight from 10th place Funny Car driver and John Force Racing teammate, Mike Neff. With a possible 150 points up for grabs at a single event, the Funny Car class is the tightest battle for the world championship of all the four professional classes heading into the final two races of the season.
DID YOU KNOW…
…that long-time NHRA sponsor Coca-Cola recently filmed an entertaining video featuring NHRA drivers Antron Brown, Clay Millican, Cory McClenathan, Steve Johnson, Hector Arana, Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec called "Sounds of Coca-Cola." View the video here.