Salinas, Calif. (August 9, 2008) – With the pressure of the IHRA Nitro Funny Car points chase off his shoulders, Jeff Diehl has a specific goal the rest of the season…to have as much fun as possible doing something he loves.

“We are going to have an absolute blast the rest of the way,” Diehl said. “First Tulsa, then New Hampshire and finally Rockingham, we’re going to make some memories. I love racing with my guys, love hanging out at the track and love racing with a great organization like IHRA. We’re going to give it all we have on the track and hope to go rounds. But when the racing is done for the day we’ll kick back with our friends and enjoy being a part of this great sport.”

Diehl is changing his approach because he is coming off his most frustrating race of the 2008 season. After qualifying on the bump spot at the Torco Northern Nationals in Martin, Mich. Diehl felt his Red Line Oil/Nitro A Go Go ’07 Monte Carlo could make some noise during Sunday’s elimination rounds. His team worked hard Saturday night to make some final changes to the car’s tune-up and everyone had a world of confidence Sunday morning.

But the team never got the chance to figure out if its last-minute adjustments worked. During Diehl’s burnout a fuel line rattled loose. Though Diehl was motioning feverishly to his crewmen to lift the body of the car and pop it back into place, IHRA’s starting line officials shut him down, handing the round win to Terry Haddock.

“I was in the car screaming ‘Lift the body! Lift the body!’ but they couldn’t understand what I was trying to tell them,” Diehl said. “Then we got shut down and had to pull off. These things happen but, at the time, I was not very happy. We just have to learn from it and move on. I don’t blame my guys, they bust their butts for me. It was one of those deals where everything went wrong at once.”

He heads to the Sooner State ready to play spoiler. Though he knows he will not win the championship this season, Diehl realizes he can still be a factor in the points chase.

“I’m looking to win some rounds, it doesn’t matter who is in the other lane,” he said. “Even if it’s a friend in the other lane with a lot on the line this season, I will tell them before the round that I’m coming after them. There’s nothing worse than when a racer lays down for another racer, and I guarantee you will never see that from me. If someone beats me, hat’s off to them…the better racer won that day. But give a round away? Hell no.”

Diehl has definite goals for the final three races of the 2008 IHRA season.

“I want to win a round, win a race and finish in the top five in points,” he said. “In that order. First I have to win a round to win a race, then I think if I win a race I will have a very good chance of finishing in the top five. We have made tremendous strides with this car this season, but haven’t had the big payoff yet.”

Following the Sooner Nationals Diehl will head north-east, towards New England for the IHRA North American Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire.