The Performance Racing Industry Trade Show takes place December 14 - 16 in Orlando, Florida and MSD will be there (along with Superchips, Racepak and thousands of other race companies!). We're set up right in the front in booth 3901 so be sure to come by and check out our new products and plans for the '07 season.

NHRA has announced the following:
Components In Alcohol

For 2007, NHRA will allow all applications in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car to utilize a programmable ignition system. Only preset times, throttle position, engine rpm, and other internal engine data may be processed with regard to control of the ignition system. Programmable multi-point rev limiter and/or any rate-of-acceleration rpm limiter in any form is prohibited. Also allowed in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car is the use of electrical or electronic timers to control pneumatic fuel-system valves.

This means the MSD PN 8973 and PN 8971 are legal for the 2007 Race Series!

Link to the Help file in Graphview.
Instructions: Programmable Pro Mag Controller PN 8973

Revised: 11/20/06
STARTING LINE CONTROL DEVICES: Electronic Starting line RPM limiters (2-step) are prohibited on supercharged entries.
ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR:
IGNITION: MSD 8971 and PN 8973 are permitted.

Caution: All 8971s are designed with the NHRA Mandated Speed Limiter for Top Fuel classes. This means that if the engine RPM exceeds 8,250 RPM the engine timing WILL RETARD up 25º at the rate of 50º/Second.

Link to the Help file in Graphview.
Instructions: Programmable Pro Mag Controller PN 8973

Not only does the 2006 NASCAR Nextell Champion Jimmie Johnson rely on MSD, but so does Busch Champ Kevin Harvick and Craftsman Truck Champ Todd Bodine! The 6 HVC Series Ignition happens to be the ignition of choice for NASCAR's 2006 Champions. In fact, the ten cars in the Chase for the Cup all relied on the 6-HVC Ignition Controls for their ignition needs.

1. Jimmie Johnson (48) Car Ignition MSD- HVC 6601
2. Matt Kenseth (17) Car Ignition MSD-HVCL 6631
3. Denny Hamlin (11) Car Ignition MSD-HVCL 6631
4. Kevin Harvick (29) Car Ignition MSD-HVC 6601
5. Dale Earnhardt (8) Car Ignition MSD-HVC 6601
6. Jeff Gordon (24) Car Ignition MSD- HVC 6601
7. Jeff Burton (31) Car Ignition MSD-HVC 6601
8. Kasey Kahne (9) Car Ignition MSD-HVC 6601
9. Mark Martin (6) Car Ignition MSD- HVCL 6631
10. Kyle Bush (5) Car Ignition MSD-HVC 6601

Congrats to all the teams - we'll see you at the races in '07.

MSD Ignition congratulates Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization on its 2007 Nextel Cup Championship. Johnson finished a conservative ninth place, just three positions behind Cup runner-up Matt Kenseth. Rookie Denny Hamlin finished his first full season in third, just 68 points behind Johnson.

Nextel Cup Series 2006 Unofficial Standings

Greg Biffle won his third season finale in a row at the Homestead, ending a disappointing season on a high note.

Ford 400 Unofficial Results

Racepak, the leader in motorsports data acquisition systems, is now under the MSD Performance umbrella. Their first team venture is all new G2X Data Acquisition system.
The G2X, PN 11100, is a GPS based motorsports data acquisition system that is ideal for racers looking to track their lap times, lateral and acceleration G-forces, engine rpm and more. The system is a simple to install, plug-n-play kit with easy to use software. Since the system is GPS based, there is no need to set up beacons or receivers for timing functions - how easy is that!
If you want to expand your acquisition capabilities, you can easily add sensors such as driveshaft speed, throttle position or other steering and braking sensors. Additional sensors can easily be installed with Racepak's V-net technology!
The G2X is available for purchase at our online store. It retails for under $1,000. For more information on the G2X, contact MSD at 915 855-7123.

The racing seasons are winding down, baseball's over, leaves are changing and the days are getting shorter. For anyone involved in the performance aftermarket, that means one thing - SEMA. The world's largest automotive tradeshow takes place this week in Las Vegas.
MSD will have our booth (#23031) dialed in and ready to show off our New Products for 2007. Here's our group fresh from our six+ hour set up.

Congratulations to Jason Line for wrapping up the 2006 POWERade Pro Stock Championship! Jason and his teammate Greg Anderson both run complete MSD Ignition systems.

Jimmie Johnson put in a convincing performance by holding off rookie contender Denny Hamlin on his way to victory at Sunday’s Subway 500 at Martinsville, VA. Points leader Jeff Burton surrendered his lead in the Chase for the Cup when a broken valve spring ended his day, dropping him to fifth in points.

Matt Kenseth has re-assumed the lead after a mediocre eleventh place finish. Johnson gained four positions in the Chase, climbing to third and just 41 points back.

The 2006 Corteco NSCA Champs have been decided! Congrats to all of the racers and the NSCA for their dedication through the 2006 series! For more information on the upcoming '07 season, check out www.nsca-racing.net

Every year MSD pulls a name out of stacks of Registration cards to give away a complete MSD Ignition system. This year, we send our congratulations to Steve Grobe of Austin, Minnesota!
Here's a couple shots of Steve's '86 Monte Carlo SS. The clean SS has been given big block power in place of the original small block. Watch for the Monte to be cruising aroun Minnesota once spring rolls around.

New T-shirt designs are now in stock and available through our online store! Our new Vintage MSD Ignition Logo T-Shirts and MSD Powersports Apparel are in! Let everyone know that you use the best ignition components available with these high quality, 100% cotton shirts. Get one now from our online apparel store today!

When MSD performance enthusiasts aren’t working on their automobiles, they're adding more power to their quads, Harleys, and personal watercraft! MSD Powersports has launched its new Website complete with an exciting new look, the latest features, and more new products. Check out MSD Powersports. More Power to Ride!

We’re making it easy for you to have your MSD products tested! MSD now has an online Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) procedure. An RMA number is required for all product being shipped to our Customer Service department and now you can be assigned a number and even review the status online!  Click on this link to get your RMA number!

Due to a scheduling conflict, our MSD Race Support Semi will not be at the rescheduled NHRA Richmond, Virginia event.

B.E.S. Racing wins the 2006 Jeg's Engine Masters Challenge! B.E.S. Racing takes the win this year by smallest of margins, 1080.3 to a 1079.3 over Jon Kaase Racing. Both past winners have relied on MSD Ignition systems to give their engines the winning edge! MSD 7AL-2 Ignition controls, Pro-Billet distributors and Super Conductor spark plug wires were used in the winning combinations.

A last lap crash dashed the hopes of race leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and second-place Jimmie Johnson at Talladega on Sunday. Brian Vickers dodged the carnage for his first Nextel Cup victory. A late-race flat tire cost Jeff Burton a top-ten position, and narrowed his points lead to just six ahead of a resurgent Matt Kenseth.

Due to a scheduling conflict, our MSD Race Support Semi will not be at the rescheduled NHRA Richmond, Virginia event.

B.E.S. Racing wins the 2006 Jeg's Engine Masters Challenge! B.E.S. Racing takes the win this year by smallest of margins, 1080.3 to a 1079.3 over Jon Kaase Racing. Both past winners have relied on MSD Ignition systems to give their engines the winning edge! MSD 7AL-2 Ignition controls, Pro-Billet distributors and Super Conductor spark plug wires were used in the winning combinations.

A last lap crash dashed the hopes of race leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and second-place Jimmie Johnson at Talladega on Sunday. Brian Vickers dodged the carnage for his first Nextel Cup victory. A late-race flat tire cost Jeff Burton a top-ten position, and narrowed his points lead to just six ahead of a resurgent Matt Kenseth.

Tony Stewart won the Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday not with a bang, but a whimper. Both Stewart and second place finisher Casey Mears ran out of gas on the last lap and coasted across the line. Jeff Gordon’s championship hopes took a big hit with a late race fuel delivery problem ending his day. After finishing a conservative fifth, Jeff Burton maintains his lead in the Chase over rookie Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin close behind in third.

JR Todd posted a career-best pass of 4.494 seconds on his way to the Top Fuel trophy of the $1.5 million Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. In Funny Car, Phil Burkart won for the first time since the Denver race in 2004. Greg Anderson took his third win of the year and 42nd of his career in Pro Stock, running a 6.656 at 208.36 mph. In Pro Stock Bike, Karen Stoffer joined the 6-second club on her way to her third career national event win.

Congratulations to all of the class champions of the NMRA Drag Racing Series!

Vortech Modular Muscle – Robert Hindman
Toyo Tires Open Comp – Randy Conway
Detroit Locker Truck and Lightning – “Captain” Keith Kohlmann
K&N Filters Factory Stock – Shawn Johnson
Tremec Transmissions Pure Street – Ron Anderson
5.0 Mustang and Super Ford Magazine Real Street – Brian Meyer
Edelbrock Hot Street – Charlie Booze, Jr.
ProCharger EFI Renegade – Brian Mitchell
BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial – John Kolivas
MSD Ignition Super Street Outlaw – John Urist
Vortech Outlaw 10.5 – David Hance
Diablosport Pro 5.0 – Mike Hauf

The 8th Annual NMRA World finals at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky will be the final stop for the bumper-dragging mustang series. In MSD Ignition Super Street Outlaw it looks like John Urist has the championship wrapped up. In many of the other classes this final race will go down to the wire as to who will win the Nitto Tire Diamond Tree Rings. Good luck to all the racers. Make sure go to nmratv.com to watch the round by round action.

An epic battle in the closing laps between Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth ended with Burton in Victory Lane for the first time in 175 races. It also moved the #31 car into the lead in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, ahead of Jeff Gordon by just six points. Meanwhile, Chasers Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch had their campaigns derailed by a crash and engine failure.

Dover 400 Results

1. Jeff Burton               #31 Chevy
2. Carl Edwards           #99 Ford
3. Jeff Gordon              #24 Chevy
4. Kurt Busch               #2 Dodge
5. Greg Biffle               #16 Ford
6. Martin Truex Jr.        #1 Chevy
7. Bobby Labonte         #43 Dodge
8. Clint Bowyer            #07 Chevy
9. Denny Hamlin          #11 Chevy
10. Matt Kenseth          #17 Ford

Chase for the Nextel Cup Standings

Pos.     +/-          Driver                  Behind
1.         +4        Jeff Burton                  Leader
2.         +2        Jeff Gordon                 -6
3.         --         Matt Kenseth               -18
4.         -2         Denny Hamlin             -18
5.         -4         Kevin Harvick             -54
6.         --         Mark Martin                 -75
7.         --         D. Earnhardt Jr.           -102
8.         +1        Jimmie Johnson           -136
9.         -1         Kasey Kahne               -182
10.       --          Kyle Busch                  -224

Brandon Bernstein has featured in three final-round showings in the last four races. His win at O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals near Dallas was the fourth win of the year for Bernstein, one more than Tony Schumacher, who he now trails by seven points. Robert Hight won back-to-back races for the first time in his career, having won at Indy on Labor Day. This was his third victory of the year and fifth overall. In Pro Stock, Richie Stevens scored his first victory in more than five years over Mike Edwards.

Kevin Harvick put in another dominating performance at Loudon, NH on Sunday, vaulting him into the lead for the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship. Fellow chasers Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch had disappointing outings, both having been involved in altercations that cost them dearly. Johnson and Busch finished 38th and 39th respectively.

Results from the Sylvania 300 look like this:

1. Kevin Harvick Chevy
2. Tony Stewart Chevy
3. Jeff Gordon Chevy
4. Denny Hamlin Chevy
5. Brian Vickers Chevy
6. Elliott Sadler Dodge
7. Jeff Burton Chevy
8. J.J. Yeley Chevy
9. Dave Blaney Dodge
10. Matt Kenseth Ford

One day of racing that is! Hot Rod's Drag Week is on the final day. After two rain-outs, one change of venue and directions, and thousands of gallons of race fuel, it will all be decided today. Thanks for the pics mom-Todd.

Check www.hotrod.com for updates for the rest of the week! Click here to view more pictures.

Chevy Rock ‘n’ Roll 400 at Richmond:

1. Kevin Harvick #29 Chevy
2. Kyle Busch #5 Chevy
3. Kasey Kahne #9 Dodge
4. Dave Blaney #22 Dodge
5. Mark Martin #6 Ford
6. Greg Biffle #16 Ford
7. Ken Schrader #21 Ford
8. Matt Kenseth #17 Ford
9. Jeff Burton #31 Chevy
10. Scott Riggs #10 Dodge

By virtue of finishing third, Kasey Kahne made the Chase, ousting defending series champion Tony Stewart by a mere 16 points. MSD congratulates all of the 2006 Chasers, and wishes them well in their championship run!

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Kyle Busch
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
7. Mark Martin
8. Jeff Burton
9. Jeff Gordon
10. Kasey Kahne

MSD congratulates Evernham Motorsports and Kasey Kahne for sweeping the weekend at Fontana. Kahne scored wins in both the Busch and Nextel Cup series, and jumped seven positions in Cup standings, putting him in the thick of the action for the Chase. The Cup win was Kahne’s fifth of the season and moves him into 11th position in points. Teammates Elliot Sadler and Scott Riggs had respectable finishes in the Cup race, both finishing comfortably inside the top 20.

1. Kasey Kahne               #9 Dodge
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.         #8 Chevrolet
3. Clint Bowyer                #07 Chevrolet
4. Carl Edwards               #99 Ford
5. Jeff Gordon                  #24 Chevrolet
6. Denny Hamlin              #11 Chevrolet
7. Matt Kenseth               #17 Ford
8. Kyle Busch                   #5 Chevrolet
9. Tony Stewart                #20 Chevrolet
10. Dale Jarrett                   #88 Ford

The U.S. Nationals were held this weekend with Tony Schumacher winning in top fuel category over Brandon Bernstein. In funny car, Robert Hight kept his boss John Force alive in the chase by beating Ron Caps in the semis and taking the win in the final against Whit Bazemore. Greg Anderson took in his 4th year in a row Indy win joining Bob Glidden and Warren Johnson! Dave Connolly red-lighted against Anderson in Pro Stock final. Matt Smith took the win over a red-lighting Angelle Sampey.

Four-time, consecutive Champion Carl Renezeder will be looking to win it all again at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway this Labor Day weekend. “How can you not love Crandon,” asks Renezeder. “As a driver it combines the X and Y factors: speed and technical sections, with the z factor: flying through the air. There’s no other rush quite like it.” Renezeder won three times in Pro-4, once in Pro-2, and he was also the winner of the coveted BorgWarner Cup in 2004.

Matt Kenseth swept the NASCAR weekend at Bristol, winning both the Busch and Nextel Cup races. The Cup win guarantees Kenseth a spot in the championship chase and moves him to within seven points of series leader Jimmie Johnson. "If we can go into the Chase like this, we'll have a shot at the championship," said Kenseth. "The guys are operating at a championship level. I was worried about going into the Chase and not running good. But this is what it's about, bringing your best piece and go there and try to win some races."

1. Matt Kenseth 17 Ford
2. Kyle Busch 5 Chevrolet
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8 Chevrolet
4. Scott Riggs 10 Dodge
5. Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet
6. Denny Hamlin 11 Chevrolet
7. Carl Edwards 99 Ford
8. Ryan Newman 12 Dodge
9. Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet
10. Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet

The MSD Race Support Trailer is at the National Tractor Pull Association offering tech support for these extreme pulling machines. Take a look at some of the pictures we have gotten so far.

Click here to enlarge

Chalk one up for the performance aftermarket! MSD Ignition has obtained a Permanent Federal Injunction against Procomp Electronics, Inc. Procomp manufactured an ignition that was confusingly similar in appearance to the well known red housing of MSD's 6AL Ignition Control. With more and more infringement in the aftermarket, MSD's top brass got fed up and took the matter to the courts.
In the end, a permanent injunction was granted. This means that, "Procomp, including its parent company, subsidiaries, divisions, affiliated, successors and assigns, and any person acting in concert with them are immediately prohibited from manufacturing, selling, distributing, marketing or offering any ignition or similar product that utilizes a design identical to or otherwise confusingly similar to the design of MSD's labels or the design of the distinctive housing of MSD's Ignition controls, including MSD's 6AL Ignition Control."

Brandon Bernstein beats Tony Schumacher in the Top Fuel final at Brainerd International Raceway, in his third win this season. In funny car, Tommy Johnson Jr. takes the win light to Gary Scelzi tractionless effort. Dave Connolly holeshots Jason Line for the win in Pro Stock.

The MSD Race Support Trailer will not be attending the upcoming O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals, in Memphis, TN. August 18-20.

Damon Dais was crowned the MSD True Street King at the recent Joliet NMCA race. Damon ran his Mustang to a three way average of 9.580 to take home the goods. Thanks to NMCA and our area Rep, Ron Piasecki, for the weekend!

The two street legal series combined to bring hundreds of racers together in Joliet, Illinois. In the MSD Super Street Outlaw class, John Urist scored the win over Billy Laskowski. Charlie Booze chalked up another one with a holeshot win over Bob Hanlon.
On the NMCA side of the track, congrats to Brian Robbins in Pro Street, Bill Glidden in Super Street and Johnny Baio in NPS. These are just a few of the winners with MSD on their cars, check out NMCAracing.com or NMRAracing.com for more info!

At Sonoma, Top Fuel rookie J.R. Todd took another win over three-time champion Tony Schumacher (for the second time in less than a month. Racing in just his 11th national event, Todd is now 2-0 in final-round appearances in his Skull Shine dragster with both wins coming against Schumacher.)
Eric Medlen won in the Funny Car, ending a long winless streak that dating back to last year's event in Memphis and Jason Line got an enormous hole shot to take the win over a faster V. Gaines. All these racers are fired by MSD Ignition.

It was an off weekend for the Cup Series, allowing the Busch series to step into the spotlight on Saturday night. Nextel Cup star Carl Edwards passed Denny Hamlin with just nine laps remaining and won the Busch Silver Celebration 250.

Reigning POWERade Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher has won two of the last three races with his victory Sunday at the Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals. The U.S. Army-backed, three-time champion has climbed to fourth place from eighth in the last four races and has closed to within 150 points of the lead. Whit Bazemore's first win in over a year may have been a bit of a surprise after qualifying a lowly 12th. Bazemore put on a driving exhibition in his Matco Tools Dodge Charger Funny Car, chalking up his 20th career victory. In Pro Stock, Allen Johnson scored the victory for the fourth time in his career, jumping from 10th to seventh in the points.

MSD congratulates Nextel Cup rookie Denny Hamlin on his second win of the season! Hamlin became the sixth driver in NASCAR history to sweep the season at Pocono on Sunday.

Bob Johnson of Gainesville, Georgia set out to build the ultimate street machine. He succeeded. His radical orange “G-Force” 1971 Plymouth Barracuda took home the Goodguys 2006 Street Machine of the Year award. Johnson packs MSD fire power in the ‘Cuda with MSC coil packs in this special application. Click here to see a few more pictures.

Congratulations to Kyle Busch and the Hendrick Motorsports team. Busch scored his first Nextel Cup win of the year at Loudon last Saturday. In the process, he rocketed up four places to fourth in points with just seven races remaining to the Chase. The top ten, all using MSD Ignition Controls, looked like this:

NHRA took to the mountains of Colorado for Mopar Mile High Nats. J.R. Todd scored his first TF/D victory in just his ninth career start and became NHRA’s first black National Event champion in the Fuel classes. Todd made it to the sand pit at top end during the semis, but was able to get past Tony Schumach with a 4.90 to a close 4.96. Dave Connolly pulled out a Pro Stock holeshot victory over Jason Line. That makes three wins for Connolly who also pulled within 51 points of Greg Anderson. In Funny Car, Gary Scelzi took a much needed win over a tire smoking Cruz Pedregon.

MSD was in the finals of all the pro categories at Gateway International Raceway for the NHRA. Our Pro Mag 44 fired Tony Schumacher to a win over Brandon Bernstein in Top Fuel while Tony Pedregon got through the traps just in front of John Force. In Pro Stock, Mike Edwards pulled off a holeshot win over Larry Morgan. Also, congratulations to Mike Ashley on his first Pro Mod win of the year.

The National Street Car Association held their third event of the season with the BES Racing Engines Summer Shootout at Edgewater Raceway Park over the weekend. There was some serious heads-up racing action with John Stanley taking the win in Pro Street over Steve King, Scott Merkel got by Randy Jewell in Top Sportsman and Bill Trovato ran his Oldsmobile past Tom Mauro in Limited Street. Check out www.nsca-racing.net for more on the race.

There are a few drivers on the Cup circuit that can't wait to get on the two road courses that NASCAR visits. One of those drivers is Jeff Gordon and with Sunday's victory at Sonoma, he now has nine career road-course wins (the most in NASCAR history)! This was an important win to Gordon and the Hendrick Team as it also landed them back in the Top 10 (with sparks provided by an MSD 6-HVC Ignition Control!).

The NMSU "Haulin' Aggies" Mini-Baja team competed recently at the Midwest Mini-Baja (May24 - 27, 2006) near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The NMSU team consisted of undergraduate mechanical engineering and mechanical engineering technology students who worked on the project voluntarily during the 2005/2006 academic year. The NMSU Baja vehicle placed 40th out of 134 entries in the 4 hour endurance race, 17th in the chain pull, 66th acceleration, 60 maneuverability, 57th mud bog, and placed 57th out of 134 overall. The event was attended by Project Advisor Chris Wise, Engineer, Engineering Technology Department and by Tom Burton, Department Head of Mechanical Engineering.

Kasey Kahne wins his fourth race this season at Michigan International Speedway! With a series best fourth victory of the season, Kasey is turning out to be the guy to beat! MSD powers Kasey Kahnes No.9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge to victory lane! Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. round out the top three.

Click here to watch photos from the 2006 Power Tour!

Congratulations to the Collins Motorsports crew for winning Overall at the recent Baja 500! Also, note that Collins Motorsports prepared four Trophy Trucks for this race and everyone of them finished!

Power Tour is down over the hump and the gang is now heading to Pennsylvania and on to New Jersey. It's been great weather so far, but the next couple days look questionable. Keep your fingers crossed.
MSD is still rolling for the long haul and our CTS-V is running strong. Very strong! The Procharged 408 was great to drive through the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway (and since Florida for that matter). Stop by and see us in the northeast! We'll have more photos and info from the drive next week!
For more info and pictures checkout the Mothers website!

We'd like to congratulate Ray Evernham for being voted NASCAR's Best All-Time Crew Chief! MSD is happy to work with Evernham Racing and the entire crew. To be voted the Best Crew Chief is quite a feat and honor. Congrats Ray!

Kasey Kahne takes the win at the Coca-Cola 600! This marks his 3rd win of the season. MSD fires his Dodge to the finish line everytime! This also makes him the first Dodge to win at this track since Richard Petty in 1977.

The MSD V is off to Power Tour! Follow along the pictures to see what went into the MSD V build.

It is officially thrash time on the MSD-V. Two weeks ago, we shot a couple pics of the V at Squeeg's Kustoms in Mesa, AZ before they applied the fresh red and black. The interior was completely gutted so Brian at Concept Works could dial-in our seats. We're scheduled to have the car back in El Paso for assembly and detail work by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the MSD team was mounting the ProCharger and getting 408 LS2 ready to drop back in between the fenders. We really need to thank the guys at Exotic Performance Plus for their help in getting the right parts to fit the ProCharger under the hood. Be sure to check out their website for all sorts of cool go-fast late model parts.

Bristol, Tennessee, hosted the NHRA over the weekend. In Pro Stock, Jason Line ran past his boss to score the win with a 6.716 to a 6.752 while in Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta got an easy win over a tire smoking Rod Fuller. Kalitta was set to go as he marched through with a 4.537 at 331mph for the quickest pass of the weekend. Funny car matched John Force against Ron Capps. Capps got off the line .024 quicker which was just enough to get the win light with a 4.793 to Force's 4.788.

It takes about 450 people to keep MSD going strong and we felt it was appropriate to recognize the people that make it possible. For 2006, we've introduced an Employee Excellence award and the first winner is Lupe Tapia!
Lupe has been with MSD for 20 years, though she said it seems like she started just yesterday. She's worked in many departments throughout MSD including boxing and cables. Currently she is the RMA Manager and is a huge fan of NASCAR racing with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson as two of her favorites.
Thanks for your hard work Lupe!

MSD would also like to recognize Jeff Bates as our Sales Representative of the Year! Jeff is a part of the Bob Cook Sales organization that covers much of the east coast. Jeff has been with BCS for 17 years and covers North and South Carolina, Virginia and eastern Tennessee. Thanks for your hard work Jeff and congratulations!

Kevin Harvick made his move with 10 laps to go, and never looked back winning at Phoenix International Raceway. His dominating performance ended a 38-race winless drought. Tony Stewart came in second which was an incredible feat considering he had to start last in the 43-car field because of a mistake his crew made. Matt Kenseth finished up in third place. For more info: nascar.com

The 2006 MSD Car Show had a spectacular display of vehicles running the gamut from street cars to race cars and everything in between. The weather was great with the MSD employees dishing out burgers and hot dogs along with refreshing drinks. We had a bunch of door prizes that were given away (thanks to those teams and companies that contributed)!  and there was even a karaoke competition with the employees. All in all it was a great day and turn out for our 2nd annual car show! Follow along the pictures:

EL PASO, TX, April 4, 2006 -- The MSD Performance Group is excited to announce the acquisition of Edge Products !
Edge Products is the leading manufacturer of diesel performance modules and controllers such as the Juice and Evolution Programmers. Edge is an ideal fit with the MSD Performance Group of leading aftermarket and performance electronic companies.  The group, including MSD Ignition, Superchips and Racepak, share a complementary technology base and work together to advance the electronic control and component technology offered to the market.
"With Edge Products joining the MSD Performance Group we will be able to accelerate technology development for each brand,” MSD Performance’s CEO Dan Gresham stated.  He went on to say that, “From the market perspective, this significantly increases MSD’s ability to service critical segments of the performance market”. 
Paul Lehman, CEO of Edge Products added, "Everyone at Edge is excited to take advantage of all the new opportunities created by this acquisition. From a distribution, customer service and product development standpoint, being part of the MSD Performance Group will take Edge to the next level.”
El Paso, Texas, based MSD Performance is the most recognized name in performance ignition systems. MSD ignitions are used in professional racing series from NASCAR and NHRA to off-road series as well as on restored muscle and late model.

Ray Price and his Nitro Harley Team showed up at MSD for an afternoon of Q and A with Nitro Harleys. Click here for more info and pictures.

Dust off your ride and join in MSD's second annual car show on April 19th at 4:00! There will be lots of cool cars, technical information and fun. MSD is located at 1490 Henry Brennan Drive just off Zaragosa. The show runs from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. See you there.
2005 MSD Car show pictures.

Melanie Troxel once again is in the finals and this time takes the win over Dave Grubnic. Cruz Pedregon won his first Funny Car race since winning back in Englishtown 2000. Ron Capps smoked the tires to give Cruz the easy win. Kurt Johnson kept Dave Connolly at bay in the Pro Stock category.

Congratulations again to Kasey Kahne and the entire Ray Evernham Motorsports Team on their win this past weekend. Evernham Motorsports runs MSD Ignition system in all of their cars and it's great to see Kasey and the team's 2006 season off to such a great start with 2 wins so far!

April 3, 2006

It is with great regret that we inform you of the passing of Jeff Gaul. Jeff passed away Monday morning, April 3, 2006. Funeral arrangements and information will be forwarded as soon as they become available.
Jeff started at MSD when he was 19-years-old in December of 1980. From working on the line, to customer service, being creative with graphics, working at the races and in the pits, in the water with jet skis and marine, and on to become the Vice President of New Product Development, Jeff has been an integral part of MSD's success.
He will always be remembered and missed by the entire MSD team. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Funeral Arrangements:
A viewing will be held on Sunday, April 9, from 6pm-9pm at Hillcrest Funeral Home, 1060 N. Carolina, El Paso, TX 79915, 915-598-3331.
The funeral mass will begin at 10am on Monday, April 10 at St. Raphael Parish, 2301 Zanzibar, El Paso, TX 79925, 915-598-3431. Burial will follow the Mass at Evergreen East Cemetery, 12400 Montana Avenue, El Paso, TX 79938.
A Trust is being set up for Jeff’s daughters. Donations can be sent to MSD Ignition, 1490 Henry Brennan Dr, El Paso, TX 79936 (checks made out to MSD Ignition) and reference Gaul Trust.

The NHRA Spring Nataionals were hosted in Baytown Texas, just outside of Houston over the weekend. (Can you believe that Houston is still a 12 hour drive from El Paso? In the same state!) There were all sorts of upsets during the weekend but Melanie Troxel found herself in her fourth final in Top Fuel. Four didn't seem to be the magic number as Brandon Bernstein drew the win light with a 4.534 at 329 mph to Troxel's 4.580 at 323. Funny Car saw Ron Capps get by a tire smoking Bob Gilbertson. In Pro Stock, Mike Edwards got a holeshot win over Jim Yates with a 6.731 to the faster 6.726. Also, congrats to Angelle Sampey for her Pro Stock Motorcycle win over Andrew Hines.

The just over half-mile Martinsville race is always a tough one with plenty of bumping, grinding and hardcore racing taking place. In fact, there were only 16 cars that finished on the lead-lap! By the end of the day, Tony Stewart took the checkers with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Bucsh rounding out the top five.

April 1, 2006

MSD Performance is excited to announce the launch of our new corporate ship, the S.S. Blaster! This 414 foot long ocean yacht will be the perfect place to host sales conferences, board meetings, planning sessions and even a little R&R for our overworked executives!
Valued at over $200,000,000, the S.S. Blaster is powered by eight 2,400hp Mercedes Benz diesel engines and two electric motors. MSD engineers are already busy adapting our Digital Propane Injection system to the diesels to increase horsepower to 3,000hp each! Speaking of fuel, the S.S. Blaster holds 224,000 gallons of diesel and 46,200 gallons of water. A crew of 60 highly trained specialists keeps everything running smooth.
If our execs and customers get tired of hanging around the mother ship, there’s a 40 foot long, 10 man Olympic submarine on board for exploring the ocean depths. Want to stay above the water? Well, there’s the 63 foot “Sparky” to make those quick trips to 7-11 when at port in Antibes. There’s also 7 other boats of various sizes to play in the ocean. MSD customers will be spoiled with the two float up spa/bar docks that open from the side of the ship. There also two basketball courts and a swimming pool up top.
In today’s world time is money so there’s two helicopters with their own landing pad and hangar, one at the bow and one aft, to ferry our customers and executives to and from the S.S. Blaster. This makes trips to the airport a breeze!
Keep an eye out for the S.S. Blaster at your local port! It will be flying the flag of the great Republic of Texas.
Click here for more pictures of the SS Blaster!

Congratulations to Kurt Busch as he takes the win for the fifth time at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick came in second place while Matt Kenseth finished third. Carl Edwards and Bobby Labonte round out the top five. There was alot of bumping going on towards the end of the race that resulted in some heated moments. Read more on www.nascar.com

Racepak users must register here in order to be eligible for contingency awards! A short amount of info is all we ask so we can improve our administration capabilities. Thanks for choosing Racepak and good luck!

Racers must register here in order to be eligible for contingency awards! A short amount of info is all we ask so we can improve our administration capabilities. Thanks for choosing MSD and good luck!

Congratulations to Kasey Kahne and the entire Ray Evernham Motorsports Team on their win at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Monday. Evernham Motorsports runs MSD Ignition system in all of their cars and it's great to see Kasey and the team's 2006 season off to such a great start!

The Gatornationals, Florida's biggest drag race of the year, took place last weekend thrilling the crowds with great racing action! After three days of racing, David Grubnic got by Melanie Troxel for the win in Top Fuel, in Funny Car, John Force crossed the centerline handing the win to Ron Capps (who's crewchief, Ed McCulloch won this race 34 years ago thanks to an opponent crossing the line too!) In Pro Stock, Tom Martino got the win over a tire shaking Erica Enders. Also, in Pro Stock Bike, Angelle Sampey was handed the win light by her teamate Antron Brown (Antron clicked off a 7.134 to her 7.138). ALL of these teams, winners and runner-ups are fired with MSD Ignition!

The 2006 NMRA season-opener had 14 cars in Pro 5.0 with Donnie Walsh Jr. getting the holeshot win over Michael Hauf. In MSD Ignition Super Street Outlaw class had Sam Vincent taking the easy win over Manny Buginga, who had trouble with some breakage. EFI Renegade had Scott Lovell coming out on top of Brian Mitchell close race. In Drag Radial, John Kolivas holeshot over Vitale Mauro took him to the winners circle. Hot Street had Charlie Booze Jr. taking the easy win over Pat Topolinski. For more info, go to www.nmraracing.com.

The perfect weather out in Orlando, Florida made the Spring Break Shootout spectacular! Chuck Samuel comes out on top over John Gullet in PRO, while in Street Outlaw Tim Lynch takes the win light. In Drag Radial we have Hale Camerman taking the win light over Adam Louramore. For more info, go to www.funfordevents.com

The monster known as the Gravedigger was knocking on MSD's door early on Friday morning! The monster truck with it's partner the Black Smith are in town for a show at the Sun Bowl this weekend and stopped by to take a tour of our facility and say Hi to everyone.