You'd think there would be daily updates in this space with all the news floating around this week. Sadly, I've been so sick for the past week that it's been a major effort to do much more than drag my sorry old butt off to work every night. Nothing short of death or jail would stop me from that. After all, without enough (financial) fuel to keep things running, the whole race car project would go lean and subsequently, go BOOM !!! in very short order. Anyways, I'll leave you with a few quick notes and a copy of the official release from NHRA on the injected nitro subject.

Strangely, the NHRA website has made no mention of the rules changes for Federal-Mogul Dragster for next year. Guess the really important stuff, like what John Force had for breakfast, Chuck Etchells getting a free can of carwax, when Scotty Cannon will get another haircut, etc. is more newsworthy. Anyways, here goes with the official word, courtesy of NHRA Division Six Director Chris Blair. Please remember: Don't kill the messenger(s).

"The NHRA Tech Department has proposed that, effective January 1, 2000, injected nitro will no longer be permitted in the Federal-Mogul Dragster class. The tech department is currently accepting corrsepondence both in favor of and against the implementation of this rule change. A more detailed description will be included in issue #9 of National Dragster. All letters should be directed to Jim Skelly - Director of Technical Communications - NHRA Technical Department - 2035 Financial Way - Glendora, CA - 91741 - USA."

Nothing more to add at this point, but to see the kind of comments the "proposal" is generating, check out the Backfire! page. Last bit of news before I sign off for now is the appearance of local Pro Mod hero Glen May of Richmond, BC at the IHRA Winter Nationals in Darlington, South Carolina. Man, what a long haul to race. (Not as far as Australia, but still a long tow from the West Coast of Canada). Glen and his "Cranberry Connection" crew are nothing short of dedicated to the sport to do that in the middle (at least it seems like it) of the winter. A first session (on Friday) 6.601 had them in the field at #13, but the night-time second session saw them bumped down to #23 on the list.

Stout field, or what? After just two qualifying sessions at the first race of the season, the field ranges from 6.34 to 6.52. So far, 43 cars have made at least one pass. Can anyone think of even one good reason why NHRA doesn't have a Pro Mod class? (Oh, I can think of probably ten good reasons - in NHRA's corporate mind - why it won't ever happen, but I'm asking about GOOD reasons)