All pictures taken from the bikini contest are posted on my myspace page. www.myspace.com/topfuelphotos. If we can help you out with any photos please contact us at thomasgaines@topfuelphotos.net

Thanks!!!

Rob Geiger, Managing Editor
Monday, 29 June 2009/ go2geiger.com

If Tony Schumacher doesn’t win the ESPY award for Best Driver this year than I think it’s very clear that drag racing will never stack up with its motorsports counterparts.

Schumacher accomplished so much more than fellow nominees Jimmie Johnson, Lewis Hamilton, Scott Dixon, and Helio Castroneves in 2008 that it seems ridiculous to even have a vote. Let’s examine the facts…

Nobody has done it better than Schumacher in ‘08.

Schumacher won his fifth consecutive and sixth overall NHRA championship; He became the first driver in NHRA history to win five consecutive Top Fuel championships; He moved past Joe Amato to become the all-time Top Fuel wins leader; He established Top Fuel records for most championship titles (6), career victories (56), season wins (15), consecutive wins (7), consecutive final rounds (11), most final rounds (18), and consecutive round wins (31); He tied all-time NHRA record for wins in a season (15, Greg Anderson in 2004) and elimination round wins in a season (76, Greg Anderson in 2004); He raced to 15 victories in 18 final-round appearances in 24 events; His eliminations round winning percentage was 90 percent; He raced to nine No. 1 qualifying performances; He won the prestigious Driver of the Year award, the Jerry Titus Award as top driver in motorsports from the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters, and he claimed the Economaki Champion of Champions award.

It’s not hyperbole to say we may never see another season as dominant as Schumacher’s 2008 campaign.

NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson, who also has been nominated for Best Male Athlete alongside Michael Phelps, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant, had a great season as well, but even Johnson himself would probably admit it didn’t stack up to Schumacher’s dominance.

Considering a rabid fanbase that far outnumbers the NHRA faithful, NASCAR voters could vault him to the ESPY podium regardless of how his accomplishments match up. But let’s examine his ledger nonetheless.

Johnson won his third straight NASCAR title to match Cale Yarborough’s long-standing mark. He won seven events in 36 starts and claimed six poles. He had 15 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes and completed more than 99-percent of the laps contested.

If the international vote comes in strong, than Briton’s Lewis Hamilton, who became the youngest champion in Formula 1 history when he won the title by one point at the age of 23, could make a run at the award. But again, as inspiring as it was to see a person of color win F1, his season just didn’t measure up well against the numbers Schumacher and team posted.

Hamilton won five of 18 races and finished on the podium another five times (two second-place finishes and three thirds). Like Johnson, it was a superb season but not a history-making season, at least as far as results go.

Scott Dixon equaled an IRL record with his six wins in 19 races en route to a second series title. He also earned seven poles. Nice job, Scott.

Helio Castroneves won the Indy 500 and was acquitted of tax evasion. At least that’s how the official ESPY’s Web site has him listed. Perhaps the best thing he has going for him is the fact he won Dancing With The Stars a few years back so if there are any old ladies with internet access, he could score some extra votes there.

Other drag racers, including Schumacher himself, have been nominated for ESPYs in the past but every time they’ve walked away empty-handed. If Schumacher leaves the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on July 15th without the drag racing’s first one there’s no reason to ever return, unless drag racers just like being seat fillers.

Rob Geiger, Managing Editor
Saturday, 27 June 2009

Jeg Coughlin Jr.

The best drag racer on the 2009 NHRA tour added $50,000 and a win in the 25th annual K&N Horsepower Challenge to his impressive resume Saturday when five-time national event winner Jeg Coughlin Jr. beat the best drivers in Pro Stock for his third &N Horsepower Challenge title.

“Any time you win a race that only invites the best of the best it’s pretty darn special,” Coughlin said. “It certainly sets a great tone for this weekend and continues the momentum we’ve built over the first part of the season. We’re going for our 60th career national event win tomorrow so we could really make this one of the all-time weekends.”

Spurred on by a partial home state crowd, Coughlin, of Delaware, Ohio, was an underdog all day but used exceptional driving to claim the special race-within-a-race, which invites the top eight qualifiers from the previous 12 months to battle for cash prizes.

“To do it here in Ohio makes it all the better,” Coughlin said. “This race always used to be run in Englishtown, N.J., but they moved it here and that’s okay by me. We have a bunch of family and friends here supporting us and it’s really neat to give them something to get excited about. It’s going to be wild winner’s circle celebration.”

Action for Coughlin began with a tough matchup against Allen Johnson, who had driven to the provisional Pro Stock pole Friday evening for the regular national event. This time, Johnson encountered severe tire shake 200 feet into the race and had to abort his run, handing the win to No. 6 qualifier Coughlin, who went 6.670 at 206.95 mph.

Another monster race awaited Coughlin in the semifinals with red-hot Mike Edwards in the other lane. But just as he has so many times before this year, Coughlin posted an incredible reaction time of .012 seconds ahead of Edwards’ sluggish .055-second start, which translated to a holeshot victory at the other end. Coughlin takes the stripe first with a 6.709 at 206.95 mph to Edwards’ quicker but losing 6.673 at 207.75 mph.

In the final, Coughlin faced a familiar foe in Greg Anderson, but once again got an early jump — .020 to .062 seconds — and never looked back, screaming away to an easy win in 6.675 at 207.05 mph. Anderson encountered tire spin at the launch and couldn’t recover enough to make a run at Coughlin, crossing with a resigned 7.322 at 161.69 mph.

“For us to run a 6.67 just now in the final round, in the heat of the day no less, is pretty stout,” Coughlin said. “I’m not sure what happened to Greg but with the advantage we had at the start of the race I’m not sure he could have caught us any way.”

This marked Coughlin’s third K&N Horsepower Challenge win. He also claimed the trophy in 199 and 2000.

Anderson earns $10,000 for his runner-up finish. Edwards and Jason Line bag $3,000 each for reaching the semifinals, while first-round finishers Allen Johnson, Kurt Johnson, Warren Johnson, and Ron Krisher receive $2,500 apiece.

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (June 24, 2009) - Matt Hagan is ready to move higher in the point standings at this weekend’s third annual NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

After falling to 10th in the rankings following four straight first-round losses, Hagan and the Shelor.com team led by crew chief Tommy DeLago are aiming to break that streak by securing Hagan’s first win of his NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series rookie season.

The performance has been there, both from the Shelor.com Dodge and Hagan himself, but the increasingly tough competition in the Funny Car class plus the luck of the draw and some rare mechanical glitches have resulted in early exits. In the last four races the NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year contender has met up with such highly-decorated veterans as Tony Pedregon, his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, Robert Hight and Del Worsham.

“We have to keep our heads up,” said the 26-year-old Angus Cattle farmer. “I have a lot of confidence in Tommy that he’s got some tricks up his sleeve to get us out of this rut that we’re in.

“I’ve seen other teams do this. They go up and they go down in the points during a season. Hopefully, we’re going to nip it in the ‘butt’ this weekend and go out there and do well at Norwalk.

“I have raced in Norwalk before,” added Hagan, who was runner-up once this season to Capps in Las Vegas. “I was in the semifinals there in 2007 in the Pro Mod class. We hope some of that luck will rub off on us with the Shelor.com Funny Car.

“We just had a couple of tough races these last four. I know we’ll get out of this hole that we’re in right now. We have to really consider what we’re doing and make sure when we do get a break we take advantage of it and don’t let it slip through our hands. It’s going to be up to me to cut good lights (reaction times) and up to Tommy to make the car go to the other end. As long as he and I can do that and we’re on the same page we’ll have a good weekend.”

Between national events, Hagan has worked on the farm, helping with the birthing of cattle, planting crops, baling hay and enjoying the tranquility. “As soon as I walk away from the last race, I return to the peace – and hard work – of the farm and leave the tune-up of the car in Tommy’s and the crew’s hands to make sure the car is ready to rock and roll,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in them that they’ll have a good race car ready when I get to Norwalk for me to get into, strap in and hold on.”

MATT HAGAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 10 in 2009 Funny Car point standings, as a Rookie-of-the-Year frontrunner
* Has five first-round, four quarterfinal, one semifinal and one runner-up finish so far in 2009
* Is 81 points short of fifth place in standings
* Entered NHRA Funny Car class four times in 2008, qualifying once at the U.S. Nationals
* 2006 NHRA AMS Pro Mod Challenge Rookie of the Year
* First season with Don Schumacher Racing
* Won class-best three Funny Car events in 2008 IHRA series, ending season third in point standings
* Born Nov. 11, 1982 in Salem, Va., lives in Christiansburg, Va.
* Married to Rachel; one son, Colby (10/27/06), daughter on the way
* Quickest elapsed time to 1000 feet so far: 4.098 seconds (Phoenix 2009)
* Fastest speed to 1000 feet so far: 306.12 mph (Atlanta 2009)
* Manages family 500-acre Angus Cattle farm in Virginia

By:Judy Stropus

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (June 24, 2009) – Matt Smith is back at the Don Schumacher Racing shops in Brownsburg, Ind., this week helping prepare the Nitro Fish Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle he rides as well as the new Hayabusa Suzuki the team will debut at an upcoming event.

He’s getting ready for this weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, where he holds the PSM elapsed-time track record of 6.965 seconds he set in 2007, the year he won his PSM world championship.

“I’m looking forward to going to Norwalk,” said Smith, who is second in the point standings after six of 17 national events for the class in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He’s just 76 points short of the lead. “It’s a very nice facility and one of the nicest tracks on the circuit. The Bader Family has done an awesome job and I’m glad NHRA has chosen to go there.

“We’ve made improvements with the Suzuki we currently race,” he added. “We finally got it running well at Englishtown (last event) and I’ve been working on bettering myself. As a rider, I just have to do my job on the starting line. So, all in all, I think we’ll be in good shape.

“The biggest thing we’re doing here at the shop is working on the new chassis and body for the Hayabusa Suzuki,” said Smith, who joined DSR this season, switching from a Buell to a Suzuki. “We have all the new carbon-fiber body work in for that, so we’re mounting it all up. We’re hoping to debut it maybe on the West Coast Swing and run it in a race.

“When we do run it, we will use the same Suzuki engine we’re using right now.”

As for a chance to break his existing track record at Norwalk, “Yes, I think we can break that,” he said. “It looks like it’s going to be pretty decent weather this weekend. And if it’s not real humid we should be able to do it.

“If we don’t break it, Angie (fellow rider and fiancee McBride) might be able to do it. She’ll be riding the bike that set that record.

“That was her birthday present in Englishtown,” Smith explained. “That Sunday was her birthday and she didn’t want anything but a chance to be able to ride in the next race. I said, All right, you can ride the Matt Smith Racing Buell that set the track record in Norwalk. So, she will.”

MATT SMITH QUICK FACTS:
* No. 2 in PSM 2009 point standings, following runner-up finish in season opening Gainesville, Fla., event, semifinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta and Englishtown, and two quarterfinals
* Is 76 points behind leader Eddie Krawiec
* Holds Norwalk elapsed-time track record of 6.965 seconds, set in 2007
* Qualified No. 5 in 2008 Norwalk, lost second round to Hector Arana
* Set national elapsed-time record in Houston 2009 of 6.865 seconds. It has since been eclipsed
* Was No. 1 qualifier in Gainesville 2009
* Won 2007 PSM championship, winning four races in nine final rounds
* Was No. 1 seed in 2008 NHRA PSM playoffs, earning 20-point bonus
* No. 3 in 2008 PSM point standings
* Came close to claiming his second straight PSM crown in 2008 after leading the standings for the last six of seven events in the playoffs. A mechanical problem in the final event of the season dropped him to third
* Collected a career-high seven No. 1 qualifiers in 2008
* Debuted in the PSM class in Gainesville, Fla., in 2004
* Is the son of NHRA Pro Stock racer Rickie Smith
* Has 10 career national-event wins in 21 final rounds, and was low qualifier 15 times since joining the class on a limited basis in 2003
* Became a full-time competitor in the class in 2005
* Career round win-loss record is 114-70 in 87 national events
* Career-best elapsed time: 6.865 seconds (Houston 2009)
* Career-best speed: 194.63 mph (Atlanta 2009)
* Lives in King, N.C. – single – engaged to fellow PSM rider Angie McBride
* Born Nov. 11, 1972
* Son Tristan (9/12/96)