There’s never a dull moment with Team Mopar’s "Wild Thing," Gary Scelzi, as his season-opening win yesterday at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., proved.

Scelzi piloted his Mopar\Oakley Dodge Charger R/T to the pole on the final run of qualifying, posting a pass of 4.692 at 333.49 -- the third fastest speed in Funny Car history. He then had to overcome a trip to the sand at the end of the track when his parachutes failed to deploy properly following his eliminations semifinal round win over the Dodge Charger R/T of Mike Ashley. The damage took the combined efforts of all three Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car teams to repair. The teamwork paid off, as Scelzi got down the track and scored his 34th career win (ninth in Funny Car) after Robert Hight crossed the centerline in the final round match up.

"We've given some away and we've had some bad luck," said Scelzi, who struggled in 2006 after winning the NHRA POWERade Funny Car championships in 2005. "It's nice to get one back, and it's great to win at the beginning of the season, especially with the Countdown [NHRA’s new championship format], three new guys on the team, setting the tone, and a great race car. It [the car] is phenomenal and I don't see any changes coming down the road."

Scelzi’s Team Mopar and DSR Funny Car teammates Ron Capps and Jack Beckman were also strong. Capps, a five-time winner last year, qualified his Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T third and dispatched Bob Gilbertson in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals in heartbreaking fashion on a holeshot to Jeff Arend. Beckman also drove his Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T into the top half of the field, taking sixth in qualifying, before suffering defeat in the first round, the victim of changing track conditions during a two-hour rain delay. The event also saw NHRA legend Kenny Bernstein hit a bump in his return to Funny Car competition, as the former champion failed to qualify his Monster Energy/Lucas Oil Dodge Charger R/T.

The Kasay Kahne Racing Team began its long march to the 2007 championship at Volusa Speedway Park in Florida with some positive results from Joey Saldana. Although Saldana and his Mopar-powered winged sprint car were shut out of victory lane in the three-night WoO event, he was consistently one of the fastest men on the grounds. Saldana won a qualifying heat on the first night and set the quickest time-trial lap on night number two, and in the Saturday finale he was a one-man highlight reel, blasting from 24th at the start to eighth at the finish, a display that had the Volusia crowd on its feet.

Additionally, on Feb. 6, Saldana was the winner of the 25-lap feature for the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions, which preceded the World of Outlaws on the multi-night DIRTcar Nationals card.

When it comes to judging results of WoO races, speed is always the best barometer. So there is certainly reason for optimism among the members of the team owned by NASCAR star and Dodge driver Kasey Kahne.

The World of Outlaws troupe travels from coast to coast before making its next competitive stop, a Feb. 23-24 program at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.

For more info on Saldana and the World of Outlaws, log on to joeysaldana.com, nationalsprinttour.com or theworldofoutlaws.com.

Team Mopar NHRA POWERade teammates Allen Johnson and Richie Stevens Jr. got off to a rough start in the season-opening event yesterday, the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., as neither driver was able to advance past the first round.

Johnson was a force in qualifying, taking the No. 2 position after briefly holding the top spot in his Mopar/J & J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T with a pass of 6.640 at 207.85 mph. In eliminations Johnson faced the Hemi-powered vehicle of V. Gaines in the opening round. Both cars suffered tire shake, with Gaines taking the win (Gaines exited in the quarterfinals with a loss to Greg Stanfield).

Prior to his final run, Stevens Jr. had failed to qualify his Team Mopar\Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T, owned by Don Schumacher Racing and expertly tuned by J & J Racing. With his back against the wall, he came out swinging, making the field in the 16th spot and, unfortunately, bumping out the Dodge Stratus R/T of Erica Enders, who made a valiant effort to qualify. In eliminations, Stevens Jr. was sent to the trailer in the first round by Greg Anderson. The event also saw an impressive debut from Pro Stock rookie Rodger Brogdon, who took his first career Pro Stock round win, besting Kenny Koretsky before losing to Dave Connolly. Max Naylor also qualified his Jagermeister Dodge Stratus R/T; he exited in the opening stanza against Connolly.

Johnson, Stevens Jr., and the rest of the Team Mopar Pro Stock contingent will head to the Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., Feb. 23-25. For more info on the NHRA, including the series’ new Countdown to the Championship format, log on to shoeracing.com, allenjohnson.com or nhra.com.

The two 17-year-old drivers of Kasey Kahne Racing’s Mopar-powered entries in the USAC National Midget Car Series, Kevin Swindell and Brady Bacon both turned in respectable performances this weekend, but couldn’t catch the breaks when they needed them.

Swindell encountered problems in qualifying for the "Copper on Dirt" program at the Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz., ultimately starting the feature from the 24th position. He had hustled into the top 10, and appeared to have the fastest car on the track before being sidelined by driveline woes. Bacon, meanwhile, had a serious case of the new-car blues, running into mechanical issues during both Friday night’s qualifying night and Saturday evening’s hot-lap session.

On a much brighter note, defending USAC National Midget Car Series champion Jerry Coons Jr. and his Wilke-PAK Mopar-powered Midget finished third in the "Copper on Dirt" feature. One night earlier, Coons Jr., had thrilled the Manzanita fans with a last-to-first run in his qualifying heat, rebounding from a poor lottery draw to take the checkered flag.

The USAC National Midget Car Series reconvenes on April 11 at the Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle, Texas. For more information, log on to nationalsprinttour.com or theworldofoutlaws.com.

For those who can’t get enough news about Drifting (or those who wonder what all the excitement is about), the Discovery HD Theater channel is broadcasting the documentary "DRIFT: The Sideways Craze," directed and produced by Smadar Hanson.

When Hanson began her research into the world of Drifting, she found that two drifters in particular had great backstories as well as great popularity within the drifting community--and one of these is Mopar’s Samuel Hübinette. He is the current national champion and Hanson described Hübinette as the "man living the American Dream."

Hansen explained, "Samuel has an electric personality and is very approachable. He has many fans because he is the best at what he does, as well as being a friendly, good guy. Samuel is known for giving the crowd a great show every time. They don't call him the ‘Crazy Swede’ for nothing."

You can catch this program on the Discovery HD Theater channel at the following times (all Eastern Standard):

Tue., Feb. 13 @ 9 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 14 @ Midnight
Wed., Feb. 14 @ 4 a.m.
Wed., Feb. 14 @ 5 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 18 @ 3 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 24 @ 3 p.m.