CANNON GETTING BACK ON TRACK

Scotty Cannon reportedly made around 40 laps in Mike Ashley's '41 Willys last week at Bradenton, FL without making a lap that was really competitive, sources tell the Agent. Cannon is back at Bradenton this week for another test session and this time he's driving his own wing-arm suspension-equipped, Murray Anderson-built Studebaker. Cannon evidently got his problems figured out and, with a Chuck Ford Hemi between the rails, he ran a stellar 6.12/227 and only went four-flat at the eighth-mile.

Cannon will be a force in Pro Mod again. Take that to the bank! (DRO file photo by Jeff Burk) [12-18-2003]

IT'S THRILLING!

What better way to wrap up the holiday season than to watch "NHRA Thrills & Spills" on ESPN? The half-hour show, hosted by Bill Stephens, will highlight on-track crashes and other incidents from the 2003 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season. Several drivers will be interviewed as well as a special John Force segment showcasing some of

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his best lines of the season.

The show will air on ESPN2 on Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. (ET); on ESPN on Dec. 28 at 3:30 p.m. (ET); and again on ESPN2 on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. (ET). [12-18-2003]

WIN THE 'BTE MILLION' AND DRIVE HOME IN A VETTE

The winner of the 2004 BTE Million Dollar Race may take home his share of the purse in a brand new Corvette. Race promoter George Howard has promised to add the vehicle if at least 250 entrants sign up for the race.

"I'm going to say this right now -- that winner will ride out in class with a whole pocket full of cash," Howard said just after making the announcement.

The race, sponsored by Bill Taylor Enterprises, will be held Sept. 23-26 at Memphis Motorsports Park. A million dollars will be awarded the winner if 500 contestants post the necessary entry fee. The payout will be pro-rated based on the number of entrants.

Bracket racing legend Johnny Labbous Sr. won the 2003 event and, with 215 other contestants signed up for the race, his payout came to a whopping $200,000. [12-18-2003]

AT&T SPONSOR SAGA UPDATE

The good news is that NHRA will get a new corporate sponsor for the series in the form of AT&T. The Agent's sources tell him that the telecommunications giant is going to get involved in the sport sponsoring a Top Fuel dragster that will tout their pre-paid cell phone service. The two teams in the running for the sponsorship appear to be Team Force and the Schumacher operation. One source indicated that AT&T is supposedly leaning toward signing with Schumacher partly because of that team's association with the U.S. Army.

One more thing -- besides wanting a dragster, the AT&T folks apparently would like a distaff driver. Wonder if they have Melanie Troxel's cell number? [12-18-2003]