Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/55313
in Australia, so the big question is whether anyone has a chance to derail their runaway train. Rules changes for 2012 are minor, mostly focused on exhaust restric- tions, so the pursuers can't count on much help there. That leaves challengers like Ferrari and McLaren with no choice but to tighten up their in-race strategy (especially Fer- rari), improve their reliability and hope their top drivers (Fernando Alonso for Ferrari and Lewis Hamil- ton for McLaren, both of whom are past champions) can step up. Further down the grid, all eyes will be on 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen, who is returning to F1 after two years away to drive for the mid-pack Lotus team. Raikkonen is known for his daredevil driving, and he is famous for tolerating no nonsense. How he adjusts to life on a less-than-stellar squad will be very interesting to see. NHRA The straight-line series kicked off its 2012 season at Pomona in mid- February sporting a bit of a new look, thanks to some significant personnel changes. The biggest is that both 2011 Top Fuel champion Del Worsham, who retired after a stellar two-decade career, and fellow driver Larry Dixon have parted ways with Al-Anabi Racing. That left the prominent team suddenly scrambling to fill both its seats, and the lower-profile Shawn Langdon and rookie Khalid alBa- looshi are now in place. AlBalooshi, the reigning NHRA Pro Mod cham- pion, has won more than 150 races in various lower level series. The legendary Kenny Bernstein also retired at the end of last season and closed his Top Fuel team at the same time. That left his son, Brandon, without a ride, and he has secured Langdon's old seat at Morgan Lucas Racing. Bernstein finished sixth in the points last year to Langdon's ninth. In addition, 23-year-old Courtney Force has become the fourth driver on her father John Force's Funny Car squad, along with the elder Force, Mike Neff and 2009 Funny Car champion Robert Hight. And as part of a big hiring spree of off-track talent, Force Racing brought aboard Dickie Venables, who won two championships with Cruz Pedregon. Venables' hiring has sparked specu- lation that Force might be building a Top Fuel dragster program for his third daughter, Brittany. Kay Bell is an Austin, Texas-based writer. When she's not yelling at her television during NASCAR races, she writes about financial topics and blogs about taxes at Don't Mess With Taxes (www. dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com). Circle 343 on Reader Service Card or visit truckersnews.hotims.com MARCH 2012 | TRUCKERS NEWS | 21