Ready for the Green light

What do you do after the Super Bowl?

How about a drag racing?

Well, ready or not, another NHRA Powerade Series season is upon us, and this one promises to be just exciting as the last one.

There's a lot of good storylines as the 2008 season prepares to kickoff on Thursday for the first day of qualifying for the Winternationals at Fairplex.

One of the most intriguing will be the husband and wife battle of Tommy Johnson Jr., and his better half, Melanie Troxel.

Both will be competing in Funny Car this season. We have a video interview planned this week and we'll get their take about the upcoming season.

Also in Funny Car, we have the return of John Force, who appears to be ready for a comeback after proving he's ready to continue the fight after roaring to a 4.7-second pass during preseason testing.

Another question in the class is simple and to the point:

What does Tony Pedregon have to do to get a little respect?

The two-time championship, who won the class last season, was recently picked just fourth in a preseason poll by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

Yes, we understand the procedure for the Countdown to the Championship has changed, but if that same procedure was in place last season, Pedregon would have still won the title.

He's my pick to repeat, and we'll just have to wait a few months to see who is right.

The big story in Top Fuel is whether Tony Schumacher, who has already set a record with a fourth-consecutive title, make it a magical five in a row.

I betting that he can. But it should be an interesting season with Schumacher, Hot Rod Fuller, Brandon Bernstein and so many others all in the mix.

In Pro Stock, it looks like it will be a battle between Greg Anderson, who let the title slip out of his grasp last year, and defending champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., who showed over the weekend he's ready for another trophy after winning the Pontiac Showdown in Las Vegas this past weekend.

Get ready, the roll through the waterbox beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursday!