Phase
two of the multi-million-dollar, multi-phase renovation project at
Gainesville Raceway is underway, with the new race control tower and
media center quickly taking shape.

McMillen Provisional No. 1 Top Fuel Qualifier At Canadian Nationals
presented by PartSource

Terry McMillen,
Elkhart,
Ind., drove to the provisional No. 1 Top Fuel
qualifying position Friday evening during the IHRA Canadian Nationals presented
by PartSource. McMillen covered the quarter-mile at
Toronto
Motorsports
Park in 4.659 seconds at 311.92 mph
to take the top spot and Last Man Standing.

Other
provisional No. 1 qualifiers include Jack Wyatt (Nitro Funny Car), Scott Cannon
Jr. (Pro Modified), Terry Munroe (Alcohol Funny Car) and John Montecalvo (Pro
Stock).

In Knoll Gas
Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Top Fuel, McMillen is trailed by Bruce Litton,
4.664, Scotty Cannon, 4.736, Jeff O’Neill, 4.762, and Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.915.
Paris, Ontario-native Todd Paton is currently not in the field.

If there was a defining
moment in Floyd Cheek’s decade-long career in IHRA Pro Stock competition, it
certainly came in 1991. The milestone for the former IHRA sportsman champion
(1988 - 8.90 Quick Rod) was reached that year at St. Louis, Missouri,
during one of his first events as a competitor in the mountain motor division.
He and fledgling team owner Alvin Whaley not only qualified No. 1, but also
reached the final round before losing to the iconic Rickie Smith.

“That’s when I really
realized that we could kick some serious butt doing this,” Cheek said. “I shook
the tires on that run, but it really woke me up to doing this.”

Cheek quickly climbed the
ladder of success and in his career reached 16 final rounds with eight national
event victories. He won two of those events in 1997 when he won the world
championship.

Kenny
Bernstein is arguably among the most important competitors on the NHRA
POWERade Series circuit.  As the president of Pro he wields
considerable influence with both his fellow racers and the NHRA, and
his two decades-plus relationship with Budweiser cant be ignored.  Last
year, for example, Bernstein was brought into the initial discussions
about the Countdown program with the NHRA hierarchy, although he was
sworn to secrecy.  When his fellow racers found out he’d been involved
in the discussions fro the very beginning, they weren’t happy until
they realized that it was better to have had at least one racer’s voice
o the panel than to have none at all.  But, that’s not to say that he’s
totally pleased with the way the Countdown program has been structured
thus far.
 
We asked him if he’d like to see some changes for 2008, and he didn’t
hesitate in responding.  “Absolutely I’d like to see some tweaking to
the system for next year.  I would like to see, and I think all of us
on the PRO side would like to see something like this:  A 10-car
situation instead of eight, maybe even 12, but 10, and run it from Indy
until the end of the year, with no more step-down with the four and the
two.

When you win Indy... cool things happen.

Team owner Don Schumacher
has confirmed with Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com that he has reached a tentative
agreement for Gary Scelzi to remain with his team through the 2008 season.

“We have come to terms and
Gary will be
driving the Mopar/Oakley Funny Car next year,” Schumacher said. “He has agreed
to drive the car but I know that things come up. If you give someone a definite
answer like the news media and something comes up in the personal life and the
business then you look like a fool.

“Gary will drive the Mopar/Oakley Funny Car in
2008. Ken Black has been kind enough to assist Gary at some of the races (reportedly 10) to
get him in and out of the races so he can take care of his business
responsibilities back at home. That will make it comfortable for Gary to continue on.”

The Black arrangement
provides Scelzi an extra 20 days at home with his business.

Scelzi’s simply said,
“Yee, Haw – I’m driving a Funny Car.”

He continued, “I am
excited about coming back to work with Todd Okuhara, Phil Shuler and my boys
that have been with me for a long time.”

Brandon Bernstein, one of eight Top Fuel drivers vying for a spot in
the Countdown to Four in the new NHRA Countdown to the Championship
format, will debut a special Budweiser Countdown paint scheme at
Memphis Motorsports Park.

The O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals Sept. 14-16 is the second event, or
the halfway point, before the four who are eligible to challenge for
the coveted NHRA Top Fuel Championship are named. The elite field of
drivers will be those who are the top four in points.

“We are so excited to debut a new Budweiser Countdown paint scheme at
Memphis,” said Bernstein.  “As far as I know, we’re the only team that
will have a specialty car for the ‘playoffs’ and we owe a big tip of
the helmet to Budweiser for initiating the concept.  It’s the car we’ll
campaign for the five remaining races this season.”

“Brandon and the Bud King team are long-time partners, and Brandon is
having an amazing season with a career-best five wins,” said Randall
Blackford, director of Budweiser marketing.  “Week in and week out,
Brandon is a tremendous ambassador for Budweiser and for the sport, and
we’re excited to celebrate his push for the title with a special red
and silver-flamed paint scheme for the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel
dragster.”

Cory McClenathan said he knows a coin has two sides. He’s discovered both of
them as a veteran driver and fledgling team owner.

McClenathan said he’s
experienced both sides of the frustration starting with a driving miscue during
Friday qualifying in Indy. For him, accidentally shutting off the car was the
tip of the hat in what has been an extremely stressful month.

McClenathan’s temper
redlined after the incident. He said he chewed the man most responsible for the
snafu – the man in the mirror.

“It’s difficult, frustrating
and at the same time very good because at least I know what my destiny is,”
McClenathan said. “The thing I find myself doing is remaining so busy with the
other tasks that I make mistakes. Friday was a perfect example. You’re here in
Indy. Best air … best conditions, the one you have looked forward to all night
all year. What do I do? I go up there and as I backing up, I go to reset the
clutch and accidentally hit the trigger switch. There was no one to blame but
myself.