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DENVER, pre-race: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car driver Jeff Arend will be changing to a different body and for the 25th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Arend will be switching from a Corvette body to a newer Pontiac Firebird shell with updated graphics. The Pontiac body was formerly owned by Schumacher Racing and should provide considerable more down force than the slicker Corvette-style body. That should help Arend and crew chief Paul Smith deal with the extremely thin air they'll been competing in this weekend in Denver.

Arend has qualified the CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car at the last five national events on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series tour, but he's still hunting for his first round win of the season. The 41-year-old Canadian native is currently 16th in the POWERade Funny Car point's standings after qualifying for seven races in eight starts. With 11 races remaining on the schedule, it's important for Arend and the CMKX team to start earning points during the grueling three-race western swing if they hope to finish the year in the Top 15.

"I think the improved aerodynamic package on the Firebird body is really going to make a difference," said Arend, while on vacation in his hometown of Toronto. "Denver is the perfect place to try it out because you can use all the down force you can get at that altitude. Paul Smith has had some success up on the mountain over the years so I feel confident that with his knowledge and experience and the change to the Firebird body, we can turn the corner and start going rounds on Sunday."

The 25th running of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals will be Arend's first race at the beautiful Colorado facility. "I've never driven at Bandimere but I'm extremely excited to finally get a chance to compete there," said Arend. "We're expecting a lot of CMKX shareholders to visit us during the weekend and we want to put on a good show for all of the drag racing fans in Denver."