It was a double case of "close, but no trophy" for Joey Saldana as the World of Outlaws Sprint Series made its early-March swing through Arizona last weekend. The driver of the Mopar-powered No. 9 Kasey Kahne Racing entry finished second twice, Friday night at the USA Race Park in Tucson and Saturday night at the Manzanita Speedway outside Phoenix.

Both evenings, however, Saldana had the fans on their feet, pressuring the leaders in the closing laps after come-from-behind charges. On Friday night, Saldana started the 30-lap feature in ninth position, and was hounding leader and 20-time WoO champion Steve Kinser when the checkers flew. On Saturday evening, despite a left-rear tire losing air, Saldana waged war with defending World of Outlaws champ Donnie Schatz, coming up just short at the finish.

Another Mopar-powered racer, young Dustin Lindquist, had a hot-and-cold weekend. He and his Guy Forbrook-owned sprinter qualified a very impressive fifth at Tucson, but struggled in the feature events on both nights.

Though the grueling WoO season is barely underway, Saldana has already notched four top-five finishes, setting himself up nicely for the long championship chase. The series moves next to America's Gulf Coast, with a stop at Houston (Texas) Raceway Park on March 16 and then a quick ride to Mississippi for the following night's annual visit to Pike County Speedway in Magnolia. For info on the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, log on to worldofoutlaws.com.

Mopar Performance Parts announced a new year-long program to recognize the most passionate and skilled Mopar enthusiasts and their restored cars. Eight owners will be named "Top Eliminators" and will accompany their vehicles to the 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.

A Mopar Performance Parts committee will choose five of the eight winners at the following 2007 events: the Autorama at Cobo Center, Detroit, Mich., March 9-11; Mopars at the Strip, Las Vegas, Nev., March 30-April 1; Chryslers at Carlisle, Carlisle, Penn., July 6-8; Mopar Nationals, Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 11-13; and the Woodward Dream Cruise (Mich.), Aug. 18.

In addition, each editor of Mopar Muscle, Mopar Action, and Mopar Collector's Guide will choose one winner during the year they believe best represents the passion of restoration.

Winners will be chosen based on the following criteria: Originality/Survivor - Time capsule of Mopar's muscle car heritage; Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Gold Certification - Restoring and saving a vintage Mopar muscle car while passing the stringent OEM judging criteria; Resto Modified - Ingenuity in applying modern technology to an older Mopar muscle car; Vintage Race Car - Preserving Mopar's illustrious racing heritage.

Acknowledged at the SEMA show during the Mopar press conference, the owners and their cars will also be displayed in Mopar Alley. Each car will be identified with a plaque and the owners will receive a Mopar jacket for recognition. For more info on Mopar, log on to mopar.com.

Forty lucky race fans got to mingle with top stars from the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, including Team Mopar Funny Car drivers Gary Scelzi and Ron Capps, on Saturday at the sold-out 5th annual NHRA Tour de Charity. The event took place at the Infineon Raceway Karting Center in Sonoma, Calif.

The charity event, which coupled race fans with top NHRA drivers for a day of karting, raised $13,000 for Speedway Children's Charities, bringing the five-year total for the event to more than $50,000. Speedway Children's Charities is the charitable arm of Infineon Raceway, with all proceeds raised during the year benefiting qualified youth organizations in Sonoma County.

Capps took bragging rights among the NHRA drivers, turning the best lap over the 16-turn, three-quarter mile circuit at 55.006 seconds. Scelzi was clocked with a best lap of 56.125. Capps has been dubbed King of the Track four of the event's five years.

"This is one of my favorite events of the year," Capps said. "We get to hang out with the fans, race karts and it all benefits Speedway Children's Charities. It's a win-win for everyone. I'll definitely be back."

What a difference a year makes! Brady Bacon opened 2006 as the defending champion of a relatively obscure Midget racing series centered in Texas. He ended the year as one of the most-watched young racers in the country, with a spot on Team Mopar and a driver-development contract with Chip Ganassi Racing.

For 2007, the 17-year-old Bacon will drive the No. 99 Mopar-powered midget and sprint cars on the USAC trail for Kasey Kahne Racing. He landed the ride thanks to his stellar '06 campaign, when he not only grabbed his first USAC National Midget win (at Kokomo, Ind.), but also posted seven top-10 finishes in only 11 USAC Midget starts. As if that wasn't hot enough, Bacon jumped into a USAC Sprint Car and set fast time in his series debut, then went on to score a third-place finish in the prestigious "4-Crown Nationals" at Ohio's Eldora Speedway in September. Oh, yes, and Bacon also found time to clinch his second consecutive championship with the Southern Midget Racing Series (SMRS).

The son of veteran open-wheel racer Leon Bacon, Brady was a champion in Quarter-Midgets, karts and Micro-Sprints before jumping to full-sized Midgets and Sprints in 2005. That year, he was named "Rookie of the Year" by Oklahoma's Oil Capitol Racing Series for his Sprint Car work and by the SMRS organization for his Midget efforts (highlighted by his series championship and a pair of feature wins).

And check this: Not only is Brady a fast learner on the track, he's clearly a fast learner, period. A straight "A" student, he was allowed to skip his sophomore year of high school in his hometown of Broken Arrow, Okla., and is set for early graduation in May. At that point, he'll turn his full attention to racing. Imagine the fear that thought strikes in the hearts of the top drivers Bacon has beaten as a part-timer!