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.

For the second day in a row Brut Dodge Charger Funny Car driver Ron
Capps ran the quickest time at Wednesdays test session for the upcoming
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

Capps piloted his Funny Car to a 4.846 second run at 317.87 mph. The
current POWERade points leader in Funny Car, Capps has been excited to
see what his team can do during these testing days in Indy.

“Testing was awesome,” Capps said. “You know these conditions are those that we could see on Sunday for the Skoal Showdown.”

Capps is one of eight drivers competing in the $100,000 Skoal Showdown
at O’Reilly Raceway Park during the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Aug.
31-Sept. 3. The Skoal Showdown is a high-stake, high-speed race
featuring the eight quickest and most consistent Funny Car teams from
the last season. Capps will face Don Schumacher Racing teammate Gary
Scelzi in the first round of the event.

But Capps says that the biggest excitement surrounding this year’s U.S.
Nationals is the addition of the Countdown to the Championship.

Countdown to the Championship point standings for NHRA professional categories
following the 23rd annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove
Raceway, the 17th of 23 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series –

Wednesday’s final results from the 23rd annual Toyo Tires NHRA
Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.  The  race is the 17th of 23 in
the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Final round-by-round results from the 23rd annual Toyo Tires NHRA
Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, the 17th of 23 events in the  NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel veteran Doug Herbert
defeated “Hot Rod” Fuller in Wednesday’s rain-delayed final of the
23rd annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals to earn the final spot in the
NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship.

Funny Car racer Tony Pedregon, Pro Stock ace Dave
Connolly, and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Guidera also scored big wins in
the last regular season race of the season, while Cinderella hopefuls Del
Worsham, V. Gaines, and Chris Rivas all came up short in their bids to make the
Countdown playoffs.

In the biggest race of the event, Herbert launched with
a stellar .039-second reaction time and zoomed down Maple Grove Raceway in 4.562
seconds at 323.43 mph to take the win over a back-pedaling Fuller, who ran a
4.709 at 324.98 mph.