According to Nhra.com, Funny Car racer James Day, the son-in-law of mega-team owner Don Schumacher, has landed a major sponsorship deal with rock 'n' roll standout Stephen Pearcy and Top Fuel Records. Day and his DLS Motorsports race team will compete at all 24 NHRA POWERade races. Dave Fletcher and Chris Nance will share tuning duties.

Pearcy is the front man for the platinum-selling, heavy-metal rock band RATT who is continuing his involvement with NHRA Championship Drag Racing after a successful run with Top Fuel driver Clay Millican in 2007. Millican was sidelined indefinitely when his team owner, Evan Knoll, scaled back his racing interests.

"It's really exciting for me to start with a team from ground zero," Pearcy said. "They remind me of a hard-core rock band chasing something they're so passionate about. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Ratt, and 2008 is the Year of the Rat on the Chinese calendar, so we are definitely ready to Ratt 'n' Roll this season."

The 29-year-old Day is a former Sportsman racer with experience in Top Alcohol Funny Car and Top Alcohol Dragster. He also drove a Nostalgia Top Fuel rail before earning his Funny Car license last fall, after which he attempted to make the fields at the second Las Vegas race and the season-ending Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona.

"James is a very good driver," team owner Dave Smith said. "More importantly, he's a good person. He has good morals, he's a good speaker, and he has a lot of racing knowledge. I definitely think he has what it takes to succeed at this level as he's already become a key person in this operation."

Day most recently did public relations and marketing for Schumacher's race team. Early last year, Day returned to his native California and began working with Diamond Bar-based DLS Motorsports.

DLS Motorsports was formed by Dave and Linda Smith in 1996 after years of Dave being involved with a variety of race teams. The Smiths first fielded a Top Alcohol Funny Car with the California Independent Funny Car Association. After winning the CIFCA championship in 2002, the Smiths stepped up to nitro. They've competed on a limited basis while working on sponsorship opportunities since.

"I was very optimistic about putting something together," Dave said. "I was confident in the abilities of our marketing director, Tom Addy, and we were all hoping for the best. With Stephen Pearcy's backing, we not only have the chance to race the full schedule, but we have a great chance to be competitive. Stephen is going to be great for this team. He's really excited and has great ideas. He's ready to rock and roll, and so are we."
"This whole thing is absolutely awesome," Day said. "I was a big Ratt fan growing up, and it will be great to work one on one with Stephen."

Pearcy also is excited to have Day representing him. "He's a rock and roller," Pearcy said.