By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
The Summit Racing operation looked very little like the Summit Racing operation during Thursday’s opening round of qualifying at the 2012 NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals. But during Friday’s second round at Pomona, Ken Black’s Pro Stock teams ignited.
Defending class champion Jason Line moved from 12th to fourth in Round [...]

RacinToday.com
Hendrick Motorsports said in a statement today that driver Kasey Kahne will be ready for the Feb. 18 Budweiser Shootout, the Feb. 26 Daytona 500 and all of Daytona Speedweeks after undergoing successful outpatient knee surgery this morning.
Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolets, had an MRI Thursday after experiencing swelling in his left knee. [...]

On her first day as a real-gosh-darn NHRA Funny Car driver, Courtney Force showed speed. And, she showed savvy.
Her 4.21 second/303.16 mph pass in the first round of qualifying for the NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals in Pomona was sixth fastest on the day. And it was just a blink slower than the one laid [...]

RacinToday.com
NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip’s foray into sports car racing continues this week when he tested at Sebring for next month’s annual 12-hour race.
Waltrip, who drove his first laps at Sebring on Thursday morning. The two-time Daytona 500 winner is eyeing his first start at the track following the second day of the annual Sebring Winter [...]

By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
The 2012 NHRA Full Thottle Drag Racing Series season gets under way today with the start of the 52nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.
New faces have arrived, old faces have disappeared and other old faces have re-appeared. The most diverse series in all of auto racing will [...]

By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
Three years ago, when it was first suggested to Khalid alBalooshi that he should be sitting in a Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA by good friend and team-owner His Highness Sheik Khalid al Thani, it all ended with a laugh. The second time that suggestion was made, it ended [...]

By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kasey Kahne is the quiet type.  In tone and in volume. So it can be tough to get a solid read on his exact excitement levels when it comes to, well, basically, anything. It was that way a couple of days ago as he stood in [...]

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Clint Bowyer thought it hilarious that the great blackjack hands he was pulling at a Kansas City casino last Thursday were somehow succumbing to even better hands on the part of the dealer. He did, after all, walk away from the table at the end of the day with a nifty [...]

By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A freakily rare February lightening storm crawled into Kansas City on Friday morning. The big kind. The kind that kicks the danger factor of rush-hour  traffic up to absurd. The kind that can worry pilots and close airports.
Not the kind, however, that was going to turn [...]

RacinToday.com
Sports Car Racing Notes:
Scottish sportscar ace Marino Franchitti has been selected as the first driver for the unique DeltaWing program that will debut at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Franchitti’s name was revealed today at the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) press conference that announced the entries for this year’s twice round-the-clock endurance classic.
Launched [...]