Two seasons ago Antron Brown experienced what could be described as one of his highest of highs as a drag racer.

The former Pro Stock Bike rider drove his way to a clean sweep of the NHRA’s famed Western Swing in just his second season as a driver.

On February 21, 2010, the usually upbeat Brown experienced his lowest of lows.

Brown’s dragster lost a tire and crashed into the wall during the NHRA Full Throttle Series event in Phoenix, Ariz. He was uninjured but the errant tire hurtled through the pits and fatally injured a first-time drag race attendee.

“The accident part didn’t hurt me,” Brown said. “I understand that we put on a show for entertainment, we’re out there racing, and we always have our mindset focused on winning. Never once do you think about endangering somebody’s life in the stands.”

Brown has talked little in the media about the days following the accident -- days, he believes, were the darkest he’s faced in his life.

The smile comes natural for Lance Larsen.

Larsen has always considered himself a happy person. He lives a different kind of happy at 64 years old. His elation comes in reaching a milestone of two decades of being drug free and sober. The vices which once consumed his life are now as distant as one end of the universe from the other.

Larsen’s personal demons of addictions and substance abuse were byproducts of the 1970s drag racing lifestyle where nitro racers and their crews were considered in many circles as one notch lower than rock stars.

“I’ve done this sport for about 40 years and I’m a child of the 1960s from southern California,” said Larsen. “I grew up with some of the problems of abuse. I grew up with both parents as alcoholics. I drank some and smoked some pot. I did other things I’m not proud of. My misspent youth went into my 40s.”

Come September there will be, not one but two, DeJoria's anxiously awaiting the start of Funny Car qualifying.

Alexa Dejoria, the driver of Patron Funny Car, and her father Paul have both marked Spetember 23rd as a very important day in their journey as a father and daughter.

“I’m very excited about it,” said DeJoria, the excitement coming through in her voice.

For DeJoria the first day of qualifying at the NHRA AAA Texas Fallnationals will represent a rite of passage. She will officially be a full-fledged nitro racer. And, even though her father was steadfastly against her driving in the NHRA, over time his attitude has changed. He has since warmed up to the idea to the point he’s eagerly looking forward to each race and to the day she takes the next step in her racing career.

The current task at hand for Alexa is becoming more acquainted with the Funny Car which burns a potent blend of nitro versus her Top Alcohol Funny Car.

The winningest team owner in Indianapolis 500 history started out as a winning drag racer.

That little-known fact about Roger Penske was revealed in an exclusive interview the 15-time Indy 500 winner did with CompetitionPlus.com. The 100th anniversary running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is this Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“As a kid, in the 1950s, I used to go to the Akron (Ohio) drag strip and take my dad’s Buick Century there,” remembered Penske.

He has three drivers in Indy’s field of 33: Will Power starts fifth; Helio Castroneves 16th; Ryan Briscoe 27th.

His all-star roster of Indy winners includes: Mark Donohue (1972); Rick Mears (’79, ’84, ’88, ’91); Bobby Unser (’81); Danny Sullivan (’85); Al Unser (’87); Emerson Fittipaldi (’93); Al Unser Jr. (’94); Castroneves (’01, ’02, ’09); Gil de Ferran (’03) and Sam Hornish Jr. (’06).

 How much does it mean to win the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 -- aside from the $100,000 prize?
 
Enough to bring an NHRA legend close to tears.
 
In 1992, Kenny Bernstein owned the Quaker State Lola-Buick Roberto Guerrero qualified on the pole with a four-lap, 10-mile average speed of 232.482 mph, then an Indianapolis Motor Speedway track record. Indy 500 qualifying is this weekend and the 100th anniversary of the first "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is scheduled for Sunday, May 29.
 
Even though Bernstein is a six-time champion, winner of 69 national events, and No. 6 on NHRA's 50 greatest drivers list, he rates the accomplishment VERY high on his personal list.
 
In the top 10?

I met Paul Page for the first time in the late 1970s at the old Trenton Speedway in New Jersey. We got to talking while waiting for the crossover gate to open at a USAC Championship Trail race. A couple of years later, when I became CART’s communications director, we started working closely together and developed a long-term friendship.

Page began at WIBC Radio in Indianapolis in 1968. In 1977, while on assignment, he was almost killed in a helicopter crash near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That same year he took over as anchor of the worldwide Indy 500 Radio Network on short notice when the legendary Sid Collins died in May; in fact, he was Sid's hand-picked successor. Paul was the race's "voice" for 15 years and also called the action on NBC's early CART telecasts.