“Edwardsscores max points qualifying No. 1 at NHRA Fall Nationals - Everett Herald” plus 4 more

Edwardsscores max points qualifying No. 1 at NHRA Fall Nationals - Everett Herald
MOTOR RACING ROUNDUP: Confrontation mars Bowyer's Nationwide victory - Pasadena Star-News
Small Biz: Sports outlet going to extremes - Athens Banner-Herald
Bay to Birdwood's classic cars and capers - Adelaide Now
Four wheels good, two wheels bad with Jakarta road rage? - Jakarta Post

Edwardsscores max points qualifying No. 1 at NHRA Fall Nationals - Everett Herald

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 09:00 PM PDT

ENNIS, Texas – Pro Stock racer Mike Edwards took advantage of NHRA's new qualifying bonus point system and earned the maximum 12 points during two days of qualifying at the O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals. For his efforts, the Oklahoma racer earned his category-leading 12th No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Texas Motorplex.

Larry Dixon, Robert Hight and Eddie Krawiec also claimed No. 1 qualifying positions in their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event. The race is the second of six events in the Countdown to 1, NHRA's championship playoffs.

Edwards was quickest in both sessions for the day in his A.R.T. / Young Life Pontiac GXP, but it was his 6.597 second run at 209.88 mph from Friday that earned him the top spot. He will face V. Gaines in Sunday's 11 a.m. eliminations.

Per the new rule, the top three qualifiers in each pro category earn 3, 2, and 1 points respectively during each qualifying session. Edwards' total increased his series lead over defending champ Jeg Coughlin, who earned 5 qualifying bonus points.

"Hat's off to all my guys, they were making some really good judgments for this last qualifying run," Edwards said. "We had like 122 track temp, and I just made a phenomenal run. Moved around just a little bit down low, but boy, it was really nice. Hopefully we can make good decisions tomorrow. I'm really happy with my team and the car and my performance and everything. But tomorrow is another day, so we'll see what happens. We're all out here trying to win rounds so every round you can win you try to do all you can. If we could win this race here, it would really help us a lot, but there are 15 other guys who are trying to do the same thing. It's going to be a tough job, but I think we're capable."

In Top Fuel, Al-Anabi Racing's Dixon earned his sixth No. 1 of the season, 37th of his career and second consecutive in the playoffs, with his 3.833 at 312.93 mph performance from Friday. Brandon Bernstein and Spencer Massey were quickest of the day.

"Yesterday was a lot more fun than today," Dixon said. "Conditions were obviously pretty warm. We went out there and tried a few things on the first run, then we went back to a normal set-up and still got the tires loose, so we'll calm her down a little more. It's going to be hotter tomorrow, so we've got to make sure we get our car down the racetrack."

The two-time world champ will face opening round opponent Mike Bowers, who is making his first career start in Top Fuel. Dixon says with warm conditions forecast for Sunday, anything can happen.

"The first couple of rounds probably won't be too bad, but if we're fortunate enough to get to the semifinals, we're going to be running around 3 o'clock, and that's the hottest part of the day," Dixon said. "We measured 127 [degrees track temperature on the second run], so it was pretty hot. But when you're sitting in that car ready to run and the last thing you see is Alan Johnson stick his hands in their and turn the knobs, you don't worry about anything; it's a good feeling."

Hight took his third No. 1 position of the season and 31st of his career in Funny Car with his Friday run of 4.109 at 305.56 in his Auto Club Ford Mustang. Ashley Force Hood and Bob Tasca III posted the quickest runs of the day.

"We knew that with today's weather that we were definitely going to stay No. 1; nobody was going to run a .10," Hight said. "But we only got down the track once today and I'd feel better going into race day if we'd done better in the heat. It dropped a cylinder on that last run and if that hadn't happened it probably would have run near what the quick guys were running."

Hight will face first-time NHRA Funny Car racer Leif Helander in the opening round as he tries to keep his recent hot streak going.

"We're racing a guy from Sweden and you know he's got to be hungry," Hight said. "There are no easy ones. You know he's going out there trying to get his first national event round-win, so we're going to have to do our job tomorrow. Looking at the ladder, there are a lot of first-round match-ups of the Countdown cars, so a lot of those guys are going to be gone early and if we can do what we did in Charlotte we can keep this thing rolling. But it won't be easy. It's going to be hotter tomorrow and we've got to go down the track to win."

The three marquee Countdown to 1 first-round pairings Hight was referring to include Tim Wilkerson vs. Ron Capps; Force Hood vs. Del Worsham; and Tasca III vs. Tony Pedregon.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Krawiec claimed his second top qualifying position of the season with his Friday performance of 6.908 at 192.55 on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. Krawiec earned eight qualifying bonus points for the weekend, but Saturday's quickest riders were Krawiec teammate Andrew Hines and series leader Hector Arana.

"Like I said yesterday, I really didn't think my run was going to hold up for the session this morning," said Krawiec, who will face Redell Harris in the first round. "I was fortunate that it got a little hotter and the humidity went up. The weather conditions weren't quite as good I was able to maintain the No. 1 position. I think on any race day, it doesn't matter where you qualify or where you are in the field. Bottom line is, as long as you qualify, you have a shot. I don't take any competitor out here lightly. They all have fast motorcycles they all just have to get tuned into the track conditions and weather conditions. I think anybody out there can possibly shine tomorrow. I'm just going to go out there and race my own race."

NHRA Fall Nationals results

ENNIS, Texas -- First-round pairings for Sunday's professional eliminations Sunday at the 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex, the 20th of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, and the second of six events in the Countdown to 1, NHRA's championship playoffs. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel-- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.833 seconds, 312.93 mph vs. 16. Mike Bowers, 4.018, 296.50; 2. Morgan Lucas, 3.859, 313.58 vs. 15. Mike Strasburg, 4.017, 304.05; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.860, 312.78 vs. 14. T.J. Zizzo, 3.992, 307.16; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.872, 311.56 vs. 13. Clay Millican, 3.984, 306.88; 5. Cory McClenathan, 3.878, 315.86 vs. 12. Doug Kalitta, 3.979, 308.28; 6. Antron Brown, 3.878, 314.61 vs. 11. Terry Haddock, 3.954, 304.46; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.879, 307.16 vs. 10. Bob Vandergriff, 3.931, 307.93; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 3.889, 313.44 vs. 9. Steve Torrence, 3.901, 310.20.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Urs Erbacher, 4.102, 294.18; 18. Scott Palmer, 4.154, 270.05; 19. Todd Simpson, 4.731, 209.33.

Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.109, 305.56 vs. 16. Leif Helander, Chevy Camaro, 10.185, 89.49; 2. John Force, Mustang, 4.149, 302.41 vs. 15. Grant Downing, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.374, 255.63; 3. Jerry Toliver, Monte Carlo, 4.163, 302.55 vs. 14. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.256, 292.27; 4. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.173, 295.79 vs. 13. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.246, 294.05; 5. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.181, 298.40 vs. 12. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.234, 294.43; 6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.188, 294.56 vs. 11. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.228, 291.95; 7. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.194, 296.44 vs. 10. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.207, 294.75; 8. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.204, 294.95 vs. 9. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.207, 295.27.

Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.597, 209.88 vs. 16. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, 6.700, 206.10; 2. Jason Line, GXP, 6.611, 209.33 vs. 15. Matt Hartford, Stratus, 6.697, 206.99; 3. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.614, 209.33 vs. 14. Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.695, 207.15; 4. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.620, 208.17 vs. 13. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.688, 207.94; 5. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.628, 208.97 vs. 12. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.660, 208.68; 6. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.639, 208.52 vs. 11. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.655, 207.94; 7. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.639, 208.10 vs. 10. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.653, 207.72; 8. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.643, 208.49 vs. 9. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.645, 208.17.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Mark Buehring, 8.928, 202.15.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.908, 192.55 vs. 16. Redell Harris, Buell, 7.179, 183.24; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.912, 193.07 vs. 15. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.127, 188.81; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.930, 191.95 vs. 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.113, 183.72; 4. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.944, 192.14 vs. 13. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.094, 188.89; 5. Douglas Horne, Buell, 6.966, 190.75 vs. 12. Mike Berry, Buell, 7.092, 186.56; 6. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.976, 194.60 vs. 11. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.074, 187.50; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.997, 190.75 vs. 10. David Hope, Buell, 7.068, 185.28; 8. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.014, 190.62 vs. 9. Angie McBride, Buell, 7.049, 186.56.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Bailey Whitaker, 7.256, 183.34; 18. Blaine Hale, 7.279, 184.40.

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MOTOR RACING ROUNDUP: Confrontation mars Bowyer's Nationwide victory - Pasadena Star-News

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 09:57 PM PDT

DOVER, Del. - Clint Bowyer raced to his second Nationwide Series victory of the season on Saturday after taking the lead with 83 laps to go on the concrete at Dover International Speedway.

His celebration was ignored as all attention turned to a brief, but heated, confrontation on pit road between Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. They made contact late in the race and Hamlin had to go to the garage. Keselowski finished third and was greeted by an angry Hamlin when he got out of his car.

They exchanged words, and Hamlin shoved Keselowski. Keselowski's public relations rep shoved Hamlin. The crews for both drivers got between the drivers. Keselowski crew chief Tony Eury Jr. ended it after a brief chat with Hamlin.

"I wanted to talk to him," Hamlin said. "He obviously needs some sort of guidance on what he needs to do to make it."

Keselowski blamed Hamlin for the accident.

"He cuts me off like he always does," Keselowski said. "He's Denny Hamlin."

Mike Bliss was second. Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five.

Busch kept his overall lead in the points standings. He also became the second driver in the second-tier series to lead 2,000 laps in a season.

Bowyer was driving in only his ninth Nationwide race of the season.

"Dover is one of my best racetracks, so it's probably fitting I was able to get in this car and race this race," he said.

Busch dominated the first 100

laps despite communication issues with his crew. He could hear instruction over the radio, but no one could hear what Busch was saying.

Camping World Trucks

LAS VEGAS - Johnny Sauter scored his first Truck Series victory by pulling away from ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton to win the Las Vegas 350.

In his first full season racing in the Truck Series, the 31-year-old rookie won a NASCAR race for the first time since a Nationwide victory in 2005.

Jason White finished third and was followed by pole-sitter Todd Bodine and Timothy Peters.

Points leader Ron Hornaday finished sixth and was followed by Mike Skinner, Aric Almirola, Brian Ickler and another rookie, 20-year-old Tayler Malsam.

With his runner-up finish, Crafton shaved 20 points off Hornaday's series' lead. Hornaday leads the standings by 197 points.

NHRA

ENNIS, Texas - Pro Stock racer Mike Edwards took advantage of NHRA's new qualifying bonus point system and earned the maximum 12 points during two days of qualifying at the O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals.

For his efforts, the Oklahoma racer earned his category-leading 12th No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Texas Motorplex.

Edwards was quickest in both sessions for the day in his Pontiac GXP, but it was his 6.597 second run at 209.88 mph from Friday that gave him the top spot.

He will face V. Gaines in today's eliminations.

According to the new rule, the top three qualifiers in each pro category earn three, two and one points during each qualifying session. Edwards' total increased his series lead over defending champ Jeg Coughlin, who earned five qualifying bonus points.

Dixon earned his sixth No. 1 of the season, 37th of his career and second consecutive in the playoffs, with his 3.833 at 312.93 mph performance from Friday. Brandon Bernstein and Spencer Massey were quickest in Saturday's sessions.

Hight took his third No. 1 position of the season and 31st of his career in Funny Car with his Friday run of 4.109 at 305.56 in his Ford Mustang. Ashley Force Hood and Bob Tasca III posted the quickest runs of the day.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Krawiec claimed his second top qualifying position of the season with his Friday performance of 6.908 at 192.55 on a Harley-Davidson.

Formula One

SINGAPORE - Lewis Hamilton of McLaren has taken pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix while Red Bull's cars will start ahead of championship rivals Brawn GP.

Hamilton timed 1 minute, 47.891 around the Marina Bay circuit Saturday and will start alongside Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel on the front row for today's race.

From News Services

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Small Biz: Sports outlet going to extremes - Athens Banner-Herald

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 09:07 PM PDT

Durhamtown Extreme Sports Outlet owner Mike McCommons, right, looks over store merchandise as Michael Taylor puts a shelf together recently.

New racing jackets hang on a rack.

PHOTOTABLE>

Check it out

Name: Durhamtown Extreme Sports Outlet
Owner: Mike McCommons
Type: Retail store for parts and accessories for outdoor power vehicles; used all terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, street bikes and personal water craft
Address: 4300 Atlanta Highway
Phone: (706) 549-4030
Hours: 10 a.m. to dark seven days a week.
Web: durhamtownoutlet.com

Mike McCommons turned his family's ancestral farm into an outdoor recreational resort more than seven years ago and now the Greene County native wants to expand his venture into Athens.

McCommon's, owner of Durhamtown Plantation in Union Point, opened Durhamtown Extreme Sports Outlet on Atlanta Highway in the former Alewine auto salvage building across from Sam's Club.

Durhamtown Extreme Sports Outlet is starting out as a retail store primarily selling every major brand of new parts and accessories for street bikes, dirt bikes, all terrain vehicles and other off-road vehicles, McCommons said. The shop will stock more than 500 tires for motorcycles and ATVs and will provide service for street bikes and the cruiser market.

Additionally, the outlet will carry street bike clothing.

But that's not all. The shop will sell used dirt bikes, street bikes, ATVs and personal water craft, and rent ATVs and dirt bikes.

McCommons also wants to offer some consignment options for camping vehicles like RVs.

"We will be taking trade-ins and offering consignment opportunities for the public including campers, trailers and related products as well," McCommons said.

McCommons also plans to consign leather jackets and other riding gear from people who used to ride street bikes, he said.

The business will start out with three to four employees.

Future plans call for developing facilities for BMX bike riders, skateboarders and pit bikes (motorcycles or dirt bikes with 125cc or smaller engines) on the 24-acre site, McCommons said.

"We are discussing with the (county) to put in a BMX park, a skate park and a pit-bike track," he said.

McCommons expects to open those parks in the spring when he will add BMX and skateboard equipment and accessories to his retail inventory.

He hopes the parks can develop into a safe and secure recreational option for young people within a 30-mile radius of Athens, McCommons said.

"We want it to be a supervised park where kids can be dropped off ... where the parents can go off shopping and the kids can stay and have fun," McCommons said. "We want to provide a destination for people to bring their family."

Durhamtown Extreme Sports Outlet also will host other special events, including freestyle shows and motorcycle stunts in time, McCommons said.

"We want to create the best bike night spot in the Northeast Georgia area with cook-outs and outdoor entertainment, hosting live freestyle shows and stunt bike shows and many other events for family entertainment," he said.

The Athens location is the start of what McCommons wants to turn into a franchise operation with outlets in all the major cities in the Southeast.

McCommons started this new concept of his enterprise in Athens because he thought the town could use the competition and because the market was "perfect" for starting this next level of his Durhamtown Plantation.

Durhamtown Plantation occupies 8,000 acres of his family farm that was started in 1793. He had been leasing the land to hunters and harvesting timber on the property until 2002 when he developed the outdoor sports resort for all types of recreational activities on the wooded property.

The place offers riding trails for ATVs and dirt bikes, camping, rental cabins, rental sites for RVs, motocross tracks, racing, hunting, fishing, a restaurant, a service center, retail shop and more, he said.

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, September 27, 2009

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Bay to Birdwood's classic cars and capers - Adelaide Now

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 09:07 PM PDT

FROM finned Cadillacs to racing Minis, the state's finest classic cars took to the streets today for the annual Bay to Birdwood tour.

Wet weather at the start line didn't dampen the spirits of participants and spectators, as classic cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles set off from Barratt Reserve in the morning for the 70km journey to Birdwood.

The procession of cars crawled past the start line to refrains of "La Cucaracha" and a grand prix-style send off from official flag waver Glen Dix.

Thousands of spectators lined the route from Anzac Hwy to North East Rd to see the impressive field of about 1800 classic cars built between 1956 and 1977.

Next year's event will give vintage car enthusiasts a chance to parade their pride and joy through Adelaide's streets.

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Four wheels good, two wheels bad with Jakarta road rage? - Jakarta Post

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 08:45 PM PDT

Sun, 09/27/2009 10:30 AM | Headlines

"If the government banned motorcycles, I would throw my entire weight behind it," said my friend about the messy state of Jakarta's streets.

She argued that motorcycles must be cleared off the streets because they were to blame for all the notorious traffic snarls, the high rate of road accidents and most of the scratches on her dear car.

As a motorcyclist and motorist myself, I can understand her outrage is probably shared by millions of other people who rely on cars to travel around Jakarta, although I sincerely hope that genie in the bottle never grants her wish.

Jakarta motorcyclists are probably among the most reckless in the entire world. They race against each other, cutting in front of other motorists sailing dangerously close to the rows of immobile cars trapped in jams. Then they amass vying for "pole position" at traffic lights.

Seconds before the light turns green, they rev their engines like professional racers they see on TV. "Everybody rides like Valentino Rossi," an "impressed" European acquintance of mine said.

And they are daredevils too. Often, with their errand-laden wife on the back and little kid in front, they risk their lives roaring their way against the flow during rush hour.

If you happen to live on a busy street, you may have considered wearing earplugs when motorbikes go roaring past with their exhaust pipes stripped of mufflers.

At weekends, gangs of Rossi wanabes are out for their own version of Motto-GP on the roads after midnight. The amateur racing, in which wearing helmets is regarded as a sign of timidity, usually continues until dawn.

Where are the police? They are simply outnumbered and the bikes will rumble back to the roads as soon as officers leave.

Claims that motorists are more "civilized" than motorcyclists are myths too. Many are just as reckless, and maybe even more dangerous. If drivers don't do the acrobatic stunt many motorcyclists do, it's just because their cars are bigger and cannot maneuver like motorcycles.

Speeding and inconsiderate overtaking are commonplace in frightening displays of public behavior many motorists show, especially on toll roads, where they make the most of the absence of legal speed limits. Their guts and prowess would probably amaze even such F1 personalities as Lewis Hamilton.

Busway lanes, except for the one between Blok M and Hayam Wuruk business districts, are crammed with cars, bus, trucks of all sizes and motorcycles, even when traffic is relatively light.

When traffic is heavy, Jakarta motorists fight for every inch of space, turning streets into horrendous masses of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles (pedestrians, look out).

At traffic lights, everyone blows their horns and flashes their lights like crazy, moments before it turns green, as if they are afraid everyone else in front is asleep.

Private cars are highly inefficient in terms of fuel and load. Imagine if every car was made to carry five people. In reality, a great many cars carry only two or even one person. If 3 million cars roam Jakarta's streets every day, you can just imagine how many millions of empty seats are running around the city!

There are no convincing reasons why motorcycles should be restricted when the government cannot afford to build reliable mass transport systems, purchase more public buses, build new roads or restrict ownership of private vehicles.

The existing regular buses and busway fleet are far from adequate as we all know. One Australian who ventured to take a bus to work had his mobile phone stolen. Now referring to public buses as the "pickpocket express", he says he'd prefer to take an ojek instead.

Until near-ideal conditions are achieved in Jakarta's transportation systems, don't even think about banning motorbikes, even if they do make Jakarta streets look unruly, poor and unpleasant. Maybe motorcycle usage should even be encouraged because it is efficient.

Perhaps Governor Fauzi Bowo should consider building cheap racing circuits for speed-hungry Jakartans to release their adrenaline without endangering others.

- PANDAYA