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WORLD SERIES OF DRAG RACING
BLASTS ONE OUT OF THE PARK 

A four day marathon of drag racing goes into the books as the 55th O'Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing was completed this past Sunday evening at Cordova Dragway Park. 

The 2008 edition will go down as one of the biggest events to date. More than 450 professional and sportsman race teams were on hand. Sportsman racing including brackets, super comp and NHRA legal super stock/stock were contested on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

The World Series feature shows began on Friday evening with a mix of talent from throughout the Country. Included were Arnie the Farmer Beswick, the Grocery Getter, Nitro Fueled Altereds, Nitro Nostalgia Funny Cars, Wheelstanders, Jets and much more! 

On Saturday evening the heat was increased as the AA/Funny Cars and Top Fuel Dragsters took center stage. The Funny Cars in attendance were NHRA World Champion Tony Pedregon, current NHRA points leader Tim Wilkerson, Del Worham and Jack Wyatt. Low E.T at 1000' in the Funny Car division was a hard fought battle as Worsham took the overall honors with a 4.241/287.35 mph pass in round two action, followed closely by Wilkerson's 4.259 and Pedregon's 4.309/281.48 mph lap. 

Tony Zizzo’s Peak Antifreeze-backed Top Fueler became the 2008 World Series Top Fuel king based upon his two-straight wins over Chris Karamesines. Karamesines set the 1,000-foot speed mark at 277.33 in the first round and Zizzo recorded a 4.062/ 267.43 while trailering Karamesines and setting the track 1,000-foot E.T record in the process. 

The event did see some wild uncharacteristic (ok scary) runs as Carl “Cannonball” Johnson’s Hemi-feed ‘23-T Fuel Altered was destroyed. Johnson was matched up against Kevin Newburgh and his supercharged alcohol entry. Cannonball made a typical Fuel Altered burnout and then on the launch the T took a hard right and impacted the wall, knocking the driver unconscious. The car then went across the track and slammed into the left side wall. It then motored down the track and slowed to a stop. The safety team reacted quickly a extracted Cannonball from the vehicle. While he did regain consciousness at the scene, he was life flighted to the regional trauma center only later to return to the track to officially announce his retirement to the capacity crowd. 

Also in the field was Dom Paris’s twin-engined fueler, making its last race before going into a motorsports museum. Unfortunately, Paris had an engine failure that lead to a tire failure and drove the twin-engined beast off the end of the track. Luckily, the car didn’t appear to have suffered major damage, but it was not the way Dom had intended to end his career.

The 55th World Series of Drag Racing in the books, one can only imagine what will be in store for 2009. This is one event that is a must see.

CHRIS KARAMESINES 
SIX DECADES OF RACING TOP FUEL AND STILL GROWING STRONG

Chris "The Greek" Karamesines returns to Cordova Dragway Park this Saturday, August 23 at the O'Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing. Karamesines an icon in drag racing is the quickest and fastest senior citizen on the circuit. But don't call him old, he doesn't look, act or feel his age.

Taking on The Greek is the youngster in Top Fuel racing, TJ Zizzo who brings his "Peak Anti-Freeze" entry to CDP. Zizzo who wasn't even born when the Greek made the first 200 mph pass in drag racing, knows he has his work cut out for him.

It's clear, years of experience against enthusiastic youth ism is a great show in the making. For a look at the historic career by Dragracingonline of Chris Karamesines click here.

WYATT RETURNS TO WORLD SERIES
SPONSORED BY AUTO ACRES & K&E AUTO

It hasn't been the easiest year for the Iowa based Nitro Funny Car veteran Jack Wyatt. After the loss of several major backers and operational costs escalating, Wyatt was forced to scale back his 2008 race schedule. In 2007, Wyatt was able to finish second in the IHRA Funny Car World Championship. However, 2008 would be a different story as he was unable to secure funding to race the entire national event schedule.

"It's not that we don't have the car and the power to win races" said Wyatt. "It really comes down to the travel expense and the cost of nitro that has required us to pull back on our schedule" he continued. In fact Wyatt wasn't even planning to attend the 55th O'Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing at Cordova Dragway Park this weekend. However, with the addition of two major sponsors Auto Acres and K&E Auto, Wyatt will now return to the track that he has done so well at over the years. 

Wyatt doesn't come to the World Series as an underdog, as current NHRA Funny Car points leader Tim Wilkerson said, "We call Wyatt Sandbag Jack because you never know when he's going to run a  number against you." 

Scheduled to join Wyatt in the Nitro Funny Car category at the World Series is NHRA points leader Tim Wilkerson, current World Champion Tony Pedregon and popular driver Del Worsham. The World Series of Drag Racing gets underway this Friday, August 22 with the Night of Thrills followed Saturday, August 23 with the Pro Finale and Sportsman Final on Sunday. 

Feature shows on Friday and Saturday are underway at 7 PM.

O'REILLY AUTO PARTS WORLD SERIES OF DRAG RACING AROUND THE CORNER
WILKERSON, PEDREGON & THE GREEK HEADLINE 

The 55th O'Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing returns to Cordova Dragway Park, Friday thru Sunday, August 22-24. Headlining a huge entry list of professional racers is current NHRA Funny Car points leader Tim Wilkerson. In addition to Wilkerson, current World Champion Tony Pedregon returns as does Del Worsham. "This is a dream line-up of Funny Cars" said Scott Gardner. "Anytime you have the World Champion along with hottest car and driver in competition, you will have a great show" he continued. 

Along with the Nitro Funny Cars, are the Kings of the Sports with ageless Chris "the Greek" Karamesines versus upstart T.J. Zizzo in Top Fuel. Plus 6 Nitro Nostalgia Funny Cars, 6 Nitro Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragsters, 6 Jet cars, Nitro Fueled Altereds, Wheelstanders, Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick, Special Exhibition Cars, Outlaw Super Stocks, Fireworks and more. 

Friday (August 22) is the Night of Thrills that will feature "Benny the human Bomb" in a fire filled explosion. In addition, special exhibition cars will run as well as the Jets and Wheelstanders. The feature show starts at 7 PM. Then Saturday it's the Pro Finale (7 PM) with more than 50 professional entries. Click here for more detailed information on the World Series.

GENERAL WORLD SERIES INFORMATION

When: 55th O'Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing

Where: Cordova Dragway Park, Cordova, Illinois

What: Night of Thrills Fri (Aug 22) and Pro Finale Sat (Aug 23)

Admission: Friday (Aug 22) $20 Adults, Kids (6-12) $5, Saturday (Aug 23) $35 Adults, Kids (6-12) $5. Camping available with multi-day pass - $60 per person.

Event Times: Spectator gates open 10 AM Fri & 9 AM Sat. Sportsman racing each day with feature shows at 7 PM.

RESCHEDULED NHRA KING OF THE TRACK THIS SATURDAY AT CDP