Friday professional qualifying at Milan Dragway was cancelled due to rain.

The Suzuki Motor
City Nationals presented by GM Performance Division and Heritage Newspapers will
resume Saturday at 9 a.m. Professional
qualifying will run as scheduled at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Eliminations are
scheduled for Sunday.

Friday tickets will
be honored Sunday as an even trade. Friday tickets can be used against the cost
of a Saturday ticket, with spectators asked to cover the additional $10
difference.

Doug Herbert, driver of the Snap-on
Tools Top Fuel dragster, will appear live on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain this Sunday,
August 26.

Herbert raced his way into the
Countdown to the Championship earlier this week with a victory at the
rain-delayed Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals. Coming into the event in the No. 11
position, nothing less than a win would move him into the top eight, and despite
the rain and days of waiting, Herbert and the Snap-on Tools team made it happen.

Wind Tunnel with
Dave Despain airs on SpeedTV from 9 to 10 p.m.
ET.

Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has learned that veteran crew chief Mike
Kloeber was released by team owner Evan Knoll yesterday. A source close
to the situation has said that Johnny West will continue with the
tuning duties until another full-time crew chief is brought in. A
number of crew chiefs are on the interview list this week headed into
the NHRA MAC Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Donnie and Hollie Faulkner
lost their son Eric Blake Faulkner on May 24, but in Indianapolis his memory will carry on thanks
to Mike Ashley and a cast of supporters including Torco Race Fuels President Evan
Knoll, Oakley founder Jim Jannard and revered automobile icon Chip Foose.

Ashley, driver of the
Torco race Fuels Dodge Charger R/T, will honor the Eric Blake Faulkner
Foundation through a special paint scheme designed by Foose and applied by
Illusions Custom Paint. The car is
part of a fundraising campaign for the Eric Blake Faulkner Foundation and,
after its single-race campaign, will be sold to the highest bidder at the
Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction, January 12-20, 2008 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

When the Faulkners lost
their child, they sought a way to give back to those who helped them through
the tragedy. The best reimbursement, they felt, was to create awareness for the
unselfish actions of those volunteering at the St. Vincent's Perinatal
Bereavement Program in Little Rock,
Ark.

The Faulkners said the
assistance was invaluable and the formation of the Eric Blake Faulkner
Foundation was created on the basis to help others faced with a similar
situation.

Dave Roemer makes his return to the professional ranks this weekend, debuting
his new Promodifieds.US-sponsored, Jerry Bickel built Cavalier in the Pro Nitrous ranks at
the ADRL Chevy Drags being held at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk,
OH.

Roemer Motorsports is familiar to most Pro Mod fans with their
eye-catching “Gladiator” theme race cars in IHRA competition. Roemer also
grabbed lots of attention at the ADRL Dragstock Rockingham event last fall,
running consistent 4.0’s and carding a semi-final finish in his only ADRL
appearance. After ending his partnership with Ed Steffey, Dave decided to step
away for awhile, but the itch to return to action was too strong.

Funny Car legend Tom ‘the
Mongoose” McEwen suffered a mild heart attack on Tuesday and checked into St. Joseph Hospital
located in Southern California.

McEwen underwent a number
of tests Thursday and could be released on Friday.

THURSDAY TESTING - SCELZI MAKES IT THREE-IN-A-ROW FOR
SCHUMACHER RACING  AT INDY TESTING;
BURKART FASTEST IN TOP FUEL AT THURSDAY’S TEST SESSION

Funny Car driver Gary Scelzi made it three-in-a-row for Don
Schumacher Racing at the final session of testing for the Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

Scelzi clocked a 4.846 second run at 317.87 mph, taking the
top spot for Thursday’s test session, which had been held the previous two days
of testing by Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps.

Testing his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger with newly acquired
crew chief, Todd Okuhara, Scelzi says the experience gained in this test
session should prove to be successful heading into the U.S. Nationals.

 “Todd hasn’t had a
whole lot of test time with our car,” said Scelzi. “We got here and there were
a lot of things he wanted to try with the clutch and today was mainly doing
some really wild stuff. It looked really great and that was the quickest run of
the weekend and that wasn’t the optimum conditions that we had run in the other
night.”

Scelzi feels that with conditions being cooler then the
scorching heat felt in Indy for Thursday’s test session, his team should have
an exceptional tune-up for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals beginning next week.

 “I’m very pleased and
looking very forward to coming back to the U.S. Nationals,” Scelzi said. “I’m
hoping it is hot because what we learned right now was a big thing. I’m not
worried about it when it is cold because those guys set the national record
last year with (Jack) Beckman so I’ve got that tune-up and I feel good about my
chances.”

Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels announced plans for a
new tire development program. Ken Warner, VP Sales & Marketing for Mickey
Thompson, stated, “We are excited about this new project and are devoting
resources to making it a success. We have joined forces with Bill Glidden to
tune and drive a specially prepared Pro Stock type race car so that we can have
total control and focus on the program”.

Glidden, a world champion Pro Outlaw racer will be driver
and crew chief for the new vehicle. In an interview, Glidden stated, “I’m
extremely excited to work with Mickey Thompson Tires on this new program. I’ve
used their products throughout my career and have always been impressed by
their ability to develop products that are one step ahead of the competition.”

“We have worked successfully with Billy many times in the
past to test and develop new products for a variety of drag race classes and
look forward to working with him on this new program that is specifically
designed to improve our position in the ‘big tire’ marketplace”, stated Jason
Moulton, Product Development Manager for Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels.

Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels signed a new NHRA Pro Stock
sponsorship with the Scranton Brothers Pro Stock team. The formal sponsorship
period will be launched at the 53rd annual NHRA US Nationals in Indianapolis,
August 29th-Sept 3rd, and will continue for the remainder of the 2007 NHRA
Nationals schedule. http://www.nhra.com/2007/schedule.asp

 

Brandon Bernstein will debut a commemorative Elvis paint scheme on the
Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
to celebrate the 30th Anniversary Elvis Week.

Earlier this month, Bernstein joined Budweiser Racing stable mate Dale
Earnhardt, Jr. on the lawn of Elvis’ Graceland mansion in Memphis,
where they hosted the first night of the “Music & Movies” series.

“I have become a big fan of the ‘King’ this year,” said Bernstein.  “I
was at Graceland in April for the Elvis Harley Ride and again a couple
of weeks ago.  I have a lot of respect for Elvis’ accomplishments,
showmanship, and talent.