Todd Tutterow and the Galot Motorsports team left some scratching their heads when they converted his PDRA Pro Extreme car into Pro Boost trim, a month ago. Pro Boost, for those unfamiliar with PDRA classifications, is the equivalent of NHRA Pro Modified minus the nitrous-injected entries.

PDRA also runs eighth-mile, which is Tutterow's forte.

"We are getting our feet wet," Tutterow admitted. "Been doing pretty good. We have done some testing in St. Louis in quarter-mile. It was the first time we’d run the quarter-mile with my car period. And we made one full pass before we came here."

Deric Kramer is realistic about his 2016 NHRA Pro Stock season.

The Sterling, Colo., driver is competing on a limited schedule and one that fits best for his team.

“We tend to stay on the western half of the United States,” said Kramer, 31. “We do most of those races. We’re just a part time team so it kind of makes the most sense.”

In what is being described as a cordial, mutual split, Billy Glidden has confirmed that he will no longer serve as driver of Harry Hruska’s Precision Turbo & Engine NHRA Pro Mod Camaro – a much-talked-about partnership that was announced in late May.

“We’re just going our separate ways,” said Glidden, checking in from his shop at his home in Whiteland, Indiana. “Nothing exciting to report. It was a mutual thing; we just decided to go our separate ways.”

You may not know the name Austin Philpot yet, but with a little help from one of the greatest competitors in the history of NHRA drag racing, you soon will be familiar with the Pro Stock protégé.
 
Philpot, a former Jr. Dragster champion and Top Dragster competitor, and his family plan to debut the Philpot Family Racing Pro Stock team in the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Morgan Lucas had his own personal celebration at Indianapolis last September, winning the Top Fuel trophy at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

This month, he’ll help the entire state of Indiana celebrate its 200th birthday.

Lucas, born in Indiana’s capital of Corydon, will carry a symbolic beacon that, like in Olympic Games intercontinental-unity fashion, will snake its way 3,200 miles throughout the state’s 92 counties.

Call them grumpy old men – or just two Top Fuel drivers and pioneers of drag racing who have a great time teasing one another.

Chris Karamesines and Luigi Novelli, both from the Chicago area, had their well-honed entertainment shtick in high gear in the pits Friday before qualifying began.

Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Joe DeSantis had a familiar face in the pits helping him out at the 2016 U.S. Nationals – Michael Phillips.

“I just come and help him and try and get his bike figured out for him,” Phillips said.
DeSantis came up short with a best ET of 8.551 seconds at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
Phillips said he plans on competing on four more races this season on DeSantis’ bike in St. Louis (Sept. 23-25), 

Dallas (Oct. 13-16), Las Vegas (Oct. 27-30) and Pomona (Nov. 10-13). In 2017, Phillips expects to be back competing in Pro Stock Motorcycle full-time, something he hasn’t done since 2012.

“The plan is to go out and run my o

Spotted in the Top Fuel pits this weekend was Mike Guger, longtime nitro-class mechanic and tuner for Leah Pritchett at Bob Vandergriff Racing before the boss closed the doors and retired in April. Guger, the last to shut off the lights and lock the door at BVR because he stayed on to manage and sell some inventory, remains unattached.

That’s despite the fact he and Joe Barlam tuned Leah Pritchett to the February victory at Phoenix – which earned her a career-first performance in the Traxxas Shootout.

“I haven’t heard from anybody,” Guger said. “It’s the nature of the business. Not a lot out there right now, you know? At this point, maybe in a month or two, things will shake loose a little bit. It’s only been, what? - five or six weeks. In the big scheme of things, that’s not that much.”

If you're born into the Glidden Family, you win at Indy. That's just what you do.

Legendary Pro Stock runner Bob Glidden won the revered Labor Day Weekend an incredible ten times throughout his successful career. His oldest son Billy stands prime, and in position, to full challenge for his first.

Billy drives Harry Hruska's Precision Turbo/Mickey Thompson Tires-sponsored Camaro, and in three races has reached the finals twice, winning the most recent stop on the ten-race NHRA Pro Modified Series.

Tera Graves, who earned her nostalgia nitro funny car license in the fall of 2014, will return to the cockpit of John Hale's "One Bad Texan" with support from Road Rage Fuel Booster. Graves and company are set to compete at the Nitro Nationals at Tulsa Raceway Park on Sept 16-17th.

"I'm so excited to get back in the car and I can't thank Road Rage Fuel Booster enough for their support as well as my associate sponsors, without all of them this doesn't happen. Road Rage Fuel Booster is a virtual shot of adrenaline for your gas tank and a perfect fit to this funny car program.