HEARD ALONG THE STRIP.(Competition)

The 2005 NHRA season is still two months away, but already there has been a laundry list of changes, possible changes and unlikely changes that have had the sport on a full-tilt buzz since the 2004 campaign ended last month.

Heading the list of newsworthy items is two-time champ Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s jump from the comfort and security of his own Pro Stock team to that of omnivorous drag racing magnate Don Schumacher. Coughlin will join NHRA legend Bob Glidden, who will handle the mechanical chores on the team's Hemi-powered Dodges, and another driver (or two) to be named later.

Erica Enders (far right), the 21-year-old Jr. Dragster champ and Super Gas national event winner, is licensed and ready to set sail in Pro Stock-only the fourth woman in history to compete in the category. But it now appears her new Chevy Cobalt race car won't have Bill "Grumpy'' Jenkins engines; her team owner, Vic Cagnazzi, is shopping for another motor supplier. Talk is ol' Grumpy's engines will come at a more premium price after they powered young Dave Connolly to a strong third-place finish in the 2004 points.

In Funny Car, John Force has not officially announced his son-in-law, Robert Hight, will fill the seat vacated by Gary Densham in Force's No. 3 nitro Mustang (top photo), but it's just a matter of time. Likewise, no announcement has been made by Schumacher on ...