It's been a very exciting offseason for Tommy and me as we both recently secured and announced new driving jobs.

Tommy will be part of Don Schumacher Racing's venture in Abu Dhabi and will be racing a Top Fuel dragster to promote awareness of the Yas Marina Drag Racing Centre in the Middle East. Under the guidance of crew chief Lee Beard, Tommy and "Hot Rod" Fuller will run lots of exhibition races over there to get people excited about the sport on a global level.

It's a long ride to Abu Dhabi and Tommy is going to be racking up some serious miles this year but he's very excited to be racing again. Hopefully, they'll have those dragsters running strong right from the start. I haven't been over there yet but Tommy told me the racetrack is top notch. They hold a Formula 1 race there so I'm sure it's very nice. I'll make sure and get some photos for everyone to see when I go over.

Last week we announced I would be driving a Funny Car again with support from my longtime friends at In-N-Out Burger. The plan is to race at eight national events and our schedule includes the three stops in California, the two Vegas events, the Phoenix race, and the two Texas races.

In-N-Out Burger is based in California and has restaurants in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and California. They're a privately held entity and I can tell you from personal experience they are very much a family-run organization. They do things differently there and I think you can see that in every employee they have. They really operate as a big family and I'm honored to represent them.

Longtime fans may remember I drove the In-N-Out Burger A/Fuel Top Alcohol Dragster back in 1998 and '99, first with my Dad and then with Darien & Meadows. After that I got the job driving Tony Schumacher's Exide Batteries Top Fuel dragster and I've always felt that my success with In-N-Out back then helped me realize my dream of turning professional.

Lynsi Martinez, a member of the Synder Family, which started In-N-Out Burger 62 years ago, now runs the company. She and I both lost our fathers around the same time 10 years ago and I think we both feel like there were goals we still wanted to accomplish in drag racing so it's very cool that we're back together again.

The next time you're at an In-N-Out Burger, please tell them thank you for supporting drag racing and our team. And order lots of food while you're there!

My team owner, Roger Burgess, put our Funny Car away after the 2008 season just before Christmas so it was basically put together and ready to race. The guys have pulled it out and have been hard at work getting it ready for our Pomona debut. We plan to test in Las Vegas the week before Pomona and we have veterans Lance Larsen and Robb Hauser in charge so I'm confident we'll be ready to go.

I'll also be racing the entire Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series along with Roger and Ray Commisso so you'll be seeing a lot of me this year.

Coming up this weekend and next (plus lots of reruns) you can catch a group of us on SPEED TV when they air the fifth annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge presented by Whelen Engineering from Lake Placid, New York. Geoff is a friend of ours and has been after Tommy and me to compete in this fundraising event since it started but I never had a chance to go until this year.

So, how did the newbie do against all the boys? I won the gold medal, of course.

Okay, I'll admit, there was plenty of beginner's luck involved and I was on a steep learning curve but my bobsled coach and new buddy Frank Bellini tuned me up just in time that I was able to figure out a fast way down the mountain when the race started.

It was a blast and every bit as crazy as it sounds, but the main thing is we raised some money for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, which builds American made sleds for the men's and women's Olympic team. Before Geoff got involved, our athletes used old sleds from other countries. Now Geoff's non-profit organization makes sure the best racing technology in the country is put towards making the fastest sleds in the world.

It works because now our U.S. athletes are the right at the top of the charts and expected to do very well in Vancouver next month. Nursing the bumps and bruises I got in Lake Placid, I know I have a newfound respect for what it takes to race those things. I certainly wish Team USA the very best and I'll be watching them very closely.

Please stop by and say hello at the races!