Steve Dillman is sporting a banner at this weekend's NHRA U.S. Nationals for Indiana Rain, the new album by Sandy Kastel, on the side of his gorgeous black Super Gas '67 Chevy II. Kastel will also be singing the national anthem on Monday during the pre-race ceremony.

“Sandy's husband, Harold Stout, and I have been friends since we were about 18 years old,” said Dillman. “Sandy came out with her new album and wanted to know if I'd be interested in helping them promote it. It's really a win-win situation for us both; I get to race, and they can promote their album.”

Dillman has been racing for more than a few years, and he said he was at the first race here at Indy.

What do Tom Brady and Mike Ditka have to do with drag racing? Well, nothing, really, except to serve as inspiration for a couple of Top Fuel racers. Larry Dixon, a nine-time winner this season in the Al-Anabi Dragster on his way to securing the No. 1 ranking heading into the Countdown, identifies with the New England Patriots quarterback.

Said Dixon, "I feel very proud that we've done as well as we've done and won as many races as we have in the regular season. I'm proud of the Al-Anabi team. But ask Tom Brady about his undefeated regular season (2007-08) and ask him where that ranks in his career accomplishments. I think he would say that's not among his top memories, because he didn't win the Super Bowl. (The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 17-14 in the Feb. 3, 2008 Super Bowl.) Any of the 10 teams in the countdown has a good shot at winning the Full Throttle championship, and at this point, the championship is all that really counts. It would be an honor to win a Full Throttle championship for the Al-Anabi Racing team, His Highness Sheik Khalid and the people of Qatar. We have a long way to go, but it all starts this weekend."

The NHRA announced Saturday morning that it had fined John Force Racing $5,000 for a pit incident that took place on Wednesday, Aug. 24, at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

But anyone who wasn't watching testing last Thursday at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis hasn't seen it -- yet.
 
Don Schumacher Racing, in partnership with Indiana University-Purdue University - Indianapolis (IUPUI) and its unique School of Engineering and Technology motorsports program, gave the canopy-like windshield its maiden voyage and a couple further test runs last week.
 
The purpose of the project, according to DSR Team Manager Lee Beard, "is to make it a safe environment for the driver [by] trying to prevent fire from moving forward into the driver's compartment in the event of an engine explosion."

Bob Glidden’s return to the Indianapolis quarter-mile resembled something more like a rodeo than a traditional run in a Pro Stocker. As the first car out in the first session of NHRA U.S. Nationals qualifying, Glidden launched and immediately the car swerved to the right before the ten-time champion finessed the bucking Mustang back into the groove for a 6.78 elapsed time.

With nine Indy victories in 15 final rounds, how did the ten-time NHRA Pro Stock champion prepare for his first Indy since retiring from active competition in 1994?

Just like any other race. His full thrust of preparation went into the car.

“You just get up like you get up every morning; go to the racetrack and do what you need to do and that's it,” admitted Glidden.

Jim Daniels started off having a little bit of a bad day, but it all turned right when he scored the title in the NHRA Mopar Hemi Challenge competition.

At the conclusion of the parade of classic Hemis that would challenge one another for SS/AH honors, flames leapt from the engine compartment and Daniels dashed out of line to fix a problem with the intake. Daniels, a dentist by trade, put the fire out and used dental impression material to seal the intake because the five-minute drying time was much quicker than traditional silicone.

Late to the staging lanes and likely with heart racing, Daniels geared up for a stellar performance that would include a slew of great reaction times and a consistent '68 Dart worthy of the title.

Roger Burgess raced to the qualifying lead in the Get Screened America Pro Mod portion of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Friday at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

Burgess powered his ProCare Rx ’68 Camaro to the front of the 16-car field with a performance of 5.926 seconds at 244.74 mph.

Burgess won the Pro Mod race here one year ago, when it was an exhibition event. Now he’s hoping to defend his victory since the category has become an official NHRA touring series.

Defending U.S. Nationals champion Roger Burgess is off to a fast start in his ProCare Rx Camaro, zooming to the top of the Pro Mod qualifying charts Friday evening at Indy with a 5.926 at 244.74 mph at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

"Al (Billes, crew chief) got the tune-up right and we pretty much went straight down the track," Burgess said. "We may have left a little out there so that gives us something to shoot for the rest of the weekend. We want consistency first and foremost and we want to improve as well. I think the weather tomorrow should give everyone a chance to go quicker. If conditions get better we'll all go for it."

For the first time in history, competitors in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series are vying for a coveted Wally trophy at this year's event.

Timing has been Andrew Hines’ best friend lately.

Hines, a three-time world champion Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, ended the NHRA regular season on a hot streak and he didn’t cool off Friday at the U.S. Nationals in O’Reilly Raceway Park.

Hines rode his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to the provisional pole with a 6.974-second pass at 185.69 mph.

“This is a different weekend with a four-day event and getting an extra qualifying run on Friday, which could be huge for our team,” said Hines who begins the Countdown to 1 playoffs from the No. 1 spot. “We need all the runs we can get and we still have a two-bike team, so we get a lot more data than a lot of other teams and that makes a big difference for us. It looks like the weather is going to be fairly consistent through qualifying, but it may throw us a curve ball on Monday, so you can throw all of your information out the window for that day.”

Mike Edwards admitted he came into this weekend’s NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis down on horsepower and equally down on confidence. Once again, the defending Pro Stock series champion pulled a rope-a-dope on the media and the Pro Stock contingent.

Edwards drove his Pontiac to the top of the qualifying list during Friday’s lone qualifying session with a 6.596 at 208.46.

“This was a great run, a great start for us,” said Edwards, whose run if it stands would be his 12th pole of 2010. “I was really concerned with the trouble some of the cars were having off of the line early in the session.”

Worried or not, Edwards admitted, “It made a fast run, it could have been a little bit better.”