Team Mopar's Samuel Hubinette, the inaugural 2004 Need For Speed Formula D Drift champion, will kick off his quest for a second title when the 2006 season opens this weekend at Long Beach, Calif.

Hubinette, known as the "Crazy Swede," posted a runner-up finish in 2005 piloting his Mopar SRT10 Dodge Viper, and notched two wins, at Road Atlanta and at Soldier Field. He'll take the wheel of the Viper again for Round 1 at Long Beach this weekend, while the buildup of his Mopar Dodge Charger SRT8 is completed in time for Round 2 at Road Atlanta.

"We're glad that Samuel will be leading Mopar's drifting efforts in 2006," said Kevin Miller, Senior Manager, Mopar Brand, Performance and Motorsports. "With his 2004 championship and runner-up finish last season, he is recognized as one the best drifters in the world. He has proven he can win with the Mopar SRT10 Dodge Viper, and we're confident once the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT8 is battle-ready, he'll be successful in that car as well."

Round 1 of the Need For Speed Formula D Drift Series will take place at the Streets of Long Beach, with practice and pre-qualifying scheduled for April 1. Final eliminations are set for April 2, with gates opening to the public at 10 a.m. For more info on Mopar, Hubinette or the Need For Speed Formula D Drift Series, log on to mopar.com, moparspeed.com, samuelhubinette.com or formulad.com.

By Scott "Woody" Woodruff

Jeg Coughlin earned his first win of the 2006 season when he captured the Mopar Hemi Shootout title during the annual Mopars at the Strip event held at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In the final round, Coughlin drove Michael Ogburn's '68 Barracuda to the quickest run of the weekend with an 8.80 ET at over 151 mph to take a victory over West Coast Hemis teammate Jerry Jenkins. Although the former two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion hasn't driven a Super Stock car since last September's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, he showed no signs of rust.

The event featured a "Chicago-style" elimination format, with all six entries racing in the first two rounds of eliminations and the two quickest winners advancing to the final round. Coughlin went undefeated on the day with preliminary round wins over Bob Mazzolini's Barracuda and Mark Vieira's Dodge Dart. Coughlin also had low elapsed time of the first two rounds with runs of 8.87 and 8.88.

Coughlin is scheduled to drive for Ogburn's team in Hemi Shootout events that will be held at the upcoming Jegs.com NHRA Cajun SPORTS Nationals in Belle Rose, La., next month and the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in September. Coughlin has now driven for the West Coast Hemis team on three occasions and has reached the final round each time. He was the winner of the Mopar Hemi Challenge at Indy in 2004 and was runner-up at the same event in 2005.

For more information regarding Coughlin or the Mopars at The Strip event, log on to teamjegs.com or moparsatthestrip.com.

Team Mopar's Josh Wise competed in his first USAC Midget event of the 2006 season, driving the No. 88 McKinney-owned machine in USAC Western Midget Series competition at Bakersfield Speedway in California on Saturday night. Wise qualified third quick and transferred from the third heat race to place him in the feature event field. The 2005 USAC National Midget Car Series champion drove to a third-place finish to end the night.

Wise and the No. 20 Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises team will begin their defense of the 2005 USAC National Midget Car Series title on May 21 at the Concord Motorsports Park. Wise will be joined by TSRE teammates Levi Jones in the No. 21 and Kyle Nicholas in the No. 29 machine. Jerry Coons Jr. , will also make his first start as the primary driver of the No. 11 Wilke-PAK Motorsports entry.

For more information regarding Wise, Jones, Nicholas, Coons Jr., or USAC Racing, log on to joshwiseracing.com, levijones.com, kylenicholas.com, jerrycoonsjr.com or usacracing.com.

Team Mopar and Don Schumacher Racing's NHRA POWERade Funny Car Series team will return to action this coming weekend in the O'Reilly Spring Nationals event at Houston Raceway in Texas. Ron Capps currently leads the series points chase, having posted solid finishes at Pomona and Phoenix and earning the victory at the recent Gatornationals event. Capps will seek his second event title of 2006 in Houston this weekend.

Gary Scelzi, the 2005 NHRA POWERade Funny Car Series Champion, is currently ranked ninth in series points. Scelzi and his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Whit Bazemore debuted the new Dodge Charger Funny Car body in Gainesville on March 17. Scelzi and Bazemore will seek their first NHRA POWERade Funny Car victories of the season in Houston.

Race fans can catch the action from the O'Reilly Spring Nationals on ESPN2. On April 1, qualifying highlights will be broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m. EST. Eliminations will be shown on ESPN2 on April 2 from 4 to 7 p.m. EST. A rebroadcast of the event will be shown on April 5 from 2:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. EST.

For more information regarding Capps, Scelzi, Bazemore or the NHRA POWERade Funny Car Series, log on to shoeracing.com or nhra.com.com.

Team Mopar's NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Series trio of Richie Stevens Jr. , Allen Johnson and Shaun Carlson will look to capture their first event title of the season this coming weekend in the O'Reilly Sprint Nationals event at Houston Raceway in Texas.

Stevens Jr., is currently ranked 10th in NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Series points, having turned in solid performances in the season's first three events. His teammate Carlson will also look to improve his stats in the coming event. J&J Racing's Allen Johnson will also seek his first event win of the season.

Race fans can catch the action from the O'Reilly Spring Nationals on ESPN2. On April 1, qualifying highlights will be broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m. EST. Eliminations will be shown on ESPN2 on April 2 from 4 to 7 p.m. EST. A rebroadcast of the event will be shown on April 5 from 2:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. EST.

For more information regarding Stevens Jr., Carlson, Johnson or the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, log on to shoeracing.com, allenjohnson.com or nhra.com.com.

Team Mopar's USAC National Sprint Car Series competitors will return to action this coming weekend at Eldora Speedway in Ohio in the series' 2006 season opener. Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises' Levi Jones, Josh Wise and Kyle Nicholas will be joined by Hoffman Racing's Jerry Coons Jr. , on Saturday as the fire-breathing sprint cars of USAC take to the highbanks of Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway. The event will mark the beginning of Jones' defense of his 2005 USAC National Sprint Car Series title.

Jones will also take to the Internet this evening, March 27, at 9 p.m. EST, as he'll participate in a live chat on dirttracktrader.com. The chat will be hosted by Steve Elliott and will give race fans a chance to talk with Jones about racing and the upcoming season.

This weekend's event at Eldora Speedway will see gates open to the public at 3:30 p.m. EST. Racing is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. EST. Tickets can be purchased online at eldoraspeedway.com or by calling Eldora Speedway at 937-338-3815 between 9 to 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday.

For more information regarding Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises, Hoffman Auto Racing or USAC Racing, log on to tonystewart.com, hoffmanracing.com or usacracing.com.

Paul McMahan and the Tony Stewart Motorsports team will resume winged sprint car racing action this coming weekend at the Batesville Speedway and I-55 Speedway. The No. 20 team will compete in the World of Outlaws Sprint Series events after having a short weekend break from racing action. McMahan and the No. 20 have already won one World of Outlaws Sprint Series event thus far in 2006 and will look to earn their second win with Paul Kistler-built Mopar power this weekend.

Joey Saldana and the No. 9 Kasey Kahne Racing team join McMahan this weekend, returning to action as part of the "Mean 15." Saldana, who won an early season event at Volusia Speedway Park, is currently second in World of Outlaws Sprint Series points. The No. 9 team utilizes Speedway Engine Development-built Mopar power.

Sammy Swindell and the No. 5 Forbrook Motorsports team will also make the tow south for the weekend. Swindell and the Gaerte powered No. 5 team won the last World of Outlaws Sprint Series event at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 10. Kevin Swindell and the No. 1 Swindell Motorsports team are also possible entries for the weekend's racing action. Swindell debuted Gary Stanton-built Mopar power in the Las Vegas event.

For more information regarding McMahan, Saldana, Forbrook Motorsports or Swindell, log on to paulmcmahanracing.com, joeysaldana.com, forbrookmotorsports.com or swindellmotorsports/citymaker.com.