All day Friday at the ADRL Independence Drags in Topeka, Ks., Mike Castellana’s 1969 Camaro was good, very good.
So, it came as no surprise when Castellana’s Al-Anabi Racing entry was the top qualifier in the Pro Nitrous class. Castellana clocked a 3.898-second run at 192.28 mph. Castellana’s teammate, Shannon Jenkins, was second in qualifying at 3.921-seconds at 191.173 mph.

As any knowledgeable race fan will tell you, a Top Fuel dragster is a specifically built machine designed to get form point A to point B as quickly as possible without much else in the middle.

Burnouts are typically quick, staging is usually quicker and the time from startup to shutdown is carefully monitored by each team to maximize every inch of their nitro-burning machines potential.

Big Dog racer Jason Harris suffered a high speed crash in the shutdown area of Piedmont Dragway. A year later he gave them something to cheer about.

Harris fought back emotion as he reached the winner's circle on July 1 at the most recent Big Dog Shootout at Piedmont. Just to think, he was ready to quit after the wreck.

"I've got people in my life who believed in me more than I believed in myself, because I wanted to quit and quit bad," Harris said.

Mike Castellana was simply looking for one good run in Pro Nitrous on Friday at the ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park Topeka.

When that came on his very first run, Castellana delivered in an even bigger way to cap his evening under the lights.

Castellana and his ’69 Camaro wowed the energetic crowd with his third qualifying run, staying in first after three sessions with a pass of 3.89 at 192.28 miles per hour.

The last time David Jaynes was competing at an ADRL event was at the World Finals in Ennis, Texas in October of 2008.

That was until Friday.

Janes was back driving in the Extreme 10.5 class in a Dodge Avenger at the ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan.

“I took off last year to help Shannon Jenkins,” said Janes, who last won an ADRL event at Norwalk, Ohio, in 2008. “He was running a car of mine, and I just dedicated myself to going to races with him. I’m running a customer’s car (this weekend). The customer has not licensed yet, and the car is ready to go and we need some test time anyway. It is close to home and I got to come out here and see all my old buddies and race out here on a good racing surface and see what we can do.”

Spiro Pappas expects excellence.

He reached his goal last year by taking home the coveted Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 world championship in his Jerry Bickel-built 2009 Pontiac GXP.

This season, Pappas has had his share of struggles, through four American Drag Racing League events he is third in the Extreme 10.5 point standings.

Pappas, however, is upbeat his fortunes will change Friday and Saturday at the ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan.

Racing by nature, is inherently dangerous.

Bubba Stanton experienced the danger firsthand Friday during the first round of Pro Extreme qualifying at the American Drag Racing League’s Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan.

Blake Housley and crew will surely be among the emotional favorites this weekend (July 2-3), at Heartland Park Topeka as they return to ADRL Pro Nitrous action from a two-month layoff following the death of team co-owner Mike Walker.

In a freak pit-side accident, Walker was struck and killed by an errant nitrous bottle during the ADRL event in April at South Georgia Motorsports Park, near Valdosta.

“We sat down as a family and talked it over and said we wouldn’t come back until we had regained confidence,” said Housley, who dates Walker’s daughter, Sara, and continues to own the team with her stepmother, Melanie.

Back in 1967, Ben Wenzel Sr. had a crowning moment as an NHRA competitor.

Wenzel won the B Stock Eliminator class at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

“That was as good as it gets,” Wenzel said of his Indy victory.

Fast-forward 43 years and Wenzel returned to the NHRA national event winner’s circle when he captured the Stock Eliminator crown at the Fourth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, last Sunday.

click on graphic to vote

It’s time to rally the troops.

One of our own is up for an ESPY award and this time we feel the best motorsport in the world should be properly recognized. Not to take anything away from the other forms of motorsports, but we know what is required in drag racing and while the drivers representing the other forms of auto racing might not say it, many of their fans feel there is no skill needed to go in a straight line, even if the car races at 320 miles per hour.

We all know what Tony Schumacher has accomplished in the last two seasons on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing tour and for him not to win last year was just plain wrong. Once again Tony is up for Best Driver.