Spencer Massey admits he won’t rest until November, and then he’ll kick up his feet and watch some football and relax.

Spencer Massey took over the Top Fuel points lead by winning.

Chances are while the gridiron battles rage on his television screen,
he’ll think back to the point in the season when he stopped the
veterans at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Mich., to win his
third event of the season.

Along the way he’ll reflect how he kept an uncharacteristic level head
for a rookie driver. He’ll remember how he knocked off the defending
world champion and made his first foray in the 4.6-second zone.

Massey will remember that weekend. But, that’s in the future and he’s looking anywhere but there at this moment.

He’s living by cliché, one day at a time. One round and one event at a
time is the motto for the day. No fist-pumping for the driver of Mitch
King’s Top Fuel dragster.

Mike Castellana isn’t really sure what to believe regarding his
recent performance at the IHRA Torco Northern Nationals in Martin, Michigan. The veteran nitrous Pro Modified
racer knows he’s running quicker than ever, but he’s also aware his
supercharged adversaries aren’t running as quick as they could.

Regardless of the answer, the 2006 IHRA Pro Modified world champion is
doing everything he can to gain a performance advantage while the hot
summer months favor his combination.

Castellana knows that he’s got to make hay while the sun is out.

“Hopefully if we can outrun them [supercharged racers] during the hot
months of summer, when the weather cools down maybe we can just keep
pace with them,” Castellana explained. “We have made some gains no
doubt, but the racing should be a lot closer than it has been this
weekend.”

NHRA Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly will be making his minor league
pitching debut in Duluth, Minn., Tuesday night when he

Dave Connolly makes his minor league pitching debut on Wednesday.

throws out the
first pitch for the Duluth Huskies game at Wade Stadium.

And he returns to the mound Wednesday night in Brainerd, Minn., to
deliver the first pitch prior to the Brainerd Blue Thunder game at
Stewart Mills Stadium in the second of two Charter Nights with Dave
Connolly at the ballpark.

Beginning at the next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event in Brainerd,
Minn., Aug. 7-9, veteran nitro tuner Nick Boninfante will assume the duties of
co-crew chief on the “Big Red”, 8,000-horsepower Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster
driven by 30-time NHRA national event champion Doug Kalitta for Kalitta
Motorsports.

Boninfante begins his second stint at Kalitta Motorsports. He first worked
for the team as a clutch specialist on team owner and drag racing legend Connie
Kalitta’s Top Fuel team in 1991 and 1992. From 1993 until 1996, Boninfante
served as clutch specialist on Scott Kalitta’s Top Fuel machine and won
back-to-back world championships (1994-1995) with Scott and fellow crewmen Jim
Oberhofer, currently the crew chief on the KB Racing, LLC Top Fueler driven by
Hillary Will, Jim’s brother Jon Oberhofer, who will work alongside Nick as
co-crew chief on the Mac Tools rail, and Donnie Bender, current crew chief on
the Larry Dixon-driven Top Fuel dragster.

Andy Kelley Captures First Career Nitro Funny Car Ironman

Spencer Massey (Top Fuel), Jim Halsey (Pro Modified), Laurie
Cannister (Alcohol Funny Car) and Jeff Dobbins (Pro Stock) also claim
class championships at IHRA Torco Northern Nationals

Andy Kelley was thinking about parking his car a little early this
season. Heading into the Torco Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports
Park, Kelley knew his race team was up against the wall financially. He
also knew how quickly things could change.

Kelley, a Piedmont, S.C. resident, defeated Paul Lee in the Torco
Pro Nitro Funny Car final round to claim his first career national
event victory and get the financial boost he needed to be able to
compete at the Sooner Nationals later this month.

Final round-by-round results from the Torco Racing Fuels Northern
Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park, the seventh of 10 events in the 
2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE --
Kevin Jones, 5.003, 294.95 def. T.J. Zizzo, 8.214, 99.51; Bruce Litton,
4.815, 296.96 def. Mike Strasburg, 4.810, 305.22; Terry McMillen,
4.672, 309.98 def. Tim Boychuk, 4.795, 293.35; Spencer Massey, 4.727,
306.74 def. Bobby Lagana Jr., foul;

SEMIFINALS -- Massey, 4.782, 267.59 def. Litton, 7.345, 115.05; McMillen, 5.185, 264.60 def. Jones, 5.396, 252.76;

FINAL -- Massey, 4.741, 312.57 def. McMillen, 11.957, 82.72.

Sunday's final results from the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals
at US 131 Motorsports Park.  The  race is the seventh of 10 in the 
2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Spencer Massey, 4.741 seconds, 312.57 mph def. Terry McMillen, 11.957 seconds, 82.72 mph.

Tim Wilkerson at the 31st Annual ACDelco Night Under Fire presented

The
31st Annual ACDelco Night Under Fire presented by Amalie Motor Oil
began with the spotlight on legends Shirley Muldowney and John Force.
The evening ended with kids showing up their parents, as Ashley Force
beat her father John, and Dan Wilkerson beat his father Tim to set up
an “all-kids” Funny Car final round. Dan Wilkerson prevailed to become
the 2008 Night Under Fire Funny Car Champion.

Opening ceremonies for the Night Under Fire, held at Summit Motorsports
Park in Norwalk, Ohio, began at 6:00 p.m. They included the
introduction of drag racing legend Shirley Muldowney who presided over
the race as Grand Marshal. The three-time NHRA Top Fuel World Champion
was treated to a standing ovation by the capacity crowd.

Ed Hoover was as angry as he’d ever been in his eighteen years of running Pro Modified.

The Trussell Motorsports team celebrates their $50,000 victory. (Roger Richards Photos)

The veteran driver from Gilbert, S.C., had driven a flawless
race during the $50,000-to-win Torco Pro Modified Shootout, and in the
final, he felt he’d messed up.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.