If the drag racing doesn’t work out, Bob Bode has a future as a stunt show driver.

This comes after his display of driving prowess during Saturday evening
when a fuel line came loose on his Funny Car engulfing the car in
flames.

Bode was in trouble five feet after his ride left the starting line.

Bode crossed from the left lane into the right and appeared headed
directly for the retaining wall. A last minute correction saved Bode
from hitting the wall violently.

So what caused all of this chaos?

Schedule the party.

Spencer Massey is headed to NHRA Top Fuel, at least for one race.

Massey will drive Mitch King’s Top Fuel dragster during the NHRA O’Reilly Fallnationals next month in Dallas, Texas.

Massey would have run on the NHRA tour sooner had it not have been for
his car not being legal by SFI specs adopted this season. The car was
given a back half update prior to the IHRA Northern Nationals in
Martin, Mich.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Kurt Busch made his first visit to an NHRA
event, the US Nationals in Indianapolis, the day after competing in the
Pepsi 500 at California Speedway. 
 
Attending as a guest of Don Prudhomme, Busch quickly realized how
monumental the moment was in his life. 
 
“I was walking with (Don) and I said 'stop for a second. This reminds me
of the time that I walked with Roger (Penske) on the grid for the
Indianapolis 500.' He laughed. He giggled at that.”

Bob
Gilbertson has picked Mike Kloeber as his crew chief for his
Rianni Tankless Hot Water Heaters nitro Funny Car for his return to NHRA
competition at the up-coming Carolinas Nationals Sept. 11-14 at zMAX Dragway @
Concord.

Matt Hagan has the physical stature of a linebacker and a heart to match.

The former Pro Modified racer turned Nitro Funny Car rookie tackled the
toughest assignment of his budding career by graduating to the nitro
ranks.

Hagan, from Christianburg, Va., validated the move by qualifying at the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Ed Justice Sr., the last of three brothers who founded Justice
Brothers, Inc. which would become a worldwide manufacturer and
distributor of car care additives, lubricants and cleaners, died Aug.
30 in Arcadia, Calif., of complications due to kidney failure. He was 87.

With
$2,500 profit from a racecar they built in their garage, Justice and
his brothers Zeke and Gus started Justice Brothers, Inc. in Southern California.
In turn, it was built into one of the world’s leading brands for
professional mechanics and consumers. When Justice retired 20 years
ago, the company manufactured 13 products, today the product line
numbers in excess of 100. Zeke concentrated on the mechanical side and
the formulation of the products while Gus handled the accounting and
money side. Gus retired from the business in 1974 and Zeke retired in
1980.

Steve Johnson finally did it right this time. The veteran rider finally won Indy and managed to celebrate on the same day.

He’s even got the tape to prove that he won this time.

The 2008 U.S. Nationals victory marked his fourth career victory in thirteen final rounds.

“There’s a lot that motivates people, and then I saw Michael Phelps win
those medals in the Olympics and I asked myself, ‘What inspires a
person to win like that?,” Johnson pointed out.

For a brief moment, the Top Fuel contingent thought they had a chance.

Then final eliminations began.

Schumacher bettered his previous consecutive round win mark of 21 by
three rounds to 24 by defeating Doug Kalitta in the final round.
Schumacher had tied the record with a first round win over Bob
Vandergriff, Jr.

Mike Castellana has only raced two of seven events on the 2008 JEGS ProMod Challenge schedule, but he's certainly made the
most of his appearances. After racing to a runner-up finish at the last
stop in Englishtown, N.J., Castellana went one step further Monday,
winning the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals by driving around
defending series champion and new points leader Josh Hernandez.

"It feels great to win the biggest race of the year for NHRA drivers,"
Castellana said. "This is my first Indy win, so it means that much
more. What a great day. I'm going to enjoy every minute of this."

Robert Hight doesn’t need motivation when the mission is racing the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

For the 39-year old driver from Yorba Linda, Ca, the inspiration came
while visiting his friend Eric Medlen at the cemetery on Monday morning.

Hight stopped on his way into the cemetery as he saw John Medlen on his way out.

“He stopped and rolled the window down and he couldn't even talk,”
Hight recalled. “His eyes were filled with tears. It's so tough to see
what this guy has to go through every day. All I could say was let's go
get them today. He drove off and I went and saw Eric. After I beat Mike
Neff [Medlen’s driver]  in the second round he came up to me and said,
'did you make a deal with Eric today?' I said 'whatever it takes. Yes.”