After 16 races and almost seven months of chasing a starting position in NHRA’s Countdown to 1 six-race championship playoffs, Steve Torrence isn’t about to let his season-long effort end without that all-important top 10 finish.

Torrence and the Capco Racing/Tuttle Motorsports team have been holding steady in ninth place since June and don’t plan to surrender it in the Lucas Oil Nationals, the regular-season finale this weekend at Brainerd, Minn.  He leads David Grubnic by 64 points, 673-609.   

The quickest path for Torrence to make it official would be to qualify for the race and win the first round.  It wouldn’t matter what Grubnic did.

Two years ago legendary sportsman competitor Peter Biondo made the conscious decision to scale back his personal racing efforts to a degree, in an attempt to focus on other interests.  While one could certainly argue that the five-time NHRA world champion and multiple big dollar bracket winner has nothing to prove behind the wheel, Biondo says that isn’t necessarily the reasoning behind his decreased on track schedule.
 
“Racing has been very, very good to me and my family,” he said.  “But I chased points and big dollar events, and I raced nearly every weekend during the season for nearly two decades.  I had a lot of other interests that I put on the back burner for so long I felt like it was time to re-prioritize.”
 
Some of Biondo’s endeavors outside the drivers seat include a key role in his families longtime business, Biondo Racing Products.  Biondo Racing Products is the exclusive drag racing dealer for Sparco safety equipment, and carries a variety of racing components and accessories for the sportsman racer.  Peter is joined at the family business by his brother Sal (also a former NHRA Champion), family patriarch Sam, and a host of talented employees.

After a brief hiatus, the NHRA’s Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to action this weekend with the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, MN.  As the last race before the start of the Countdown to One championship playoffs, there is a tremendous amount at stake in all four professional categories.  

However, for Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson, the event carries added significance as it represents an opportunity to race in front of a hometown crowd.  Although his 62 career national event wins include some of the biggest in the sport, it can be argued that the Duluth native’s twin successes at Brainerd International Raceway rank among his favorites, a total he looks to add to this weekend.  As he prepared to head to the North Star State, Anderson took time to answer a few questions about racing in his home state, as well as his take on his 2010 season to date.

Chuck Demory had no idea. From the outside everything looked normal.

Demory was on a lazy ride on his golf cart down the strip to retrieve his driver, his son, Chuck Demory Jr., after the NMCA Nostalgia Pro Street racer had just finished racing Kevin Parent in eliminations during the NMCA/NMRA All-Star Nationals at zMax Dragway.

When he  started the long trek, Barbara Nesbitt launched on a single pass. By the time Demory reached the top end, Nesbitt’s car was at a stop in the shutdown area short of the turn off, sitting still in the middle of the track.

Nesbitt has been a friend to the Demory family for years, so once he’d driven his admittedly “slow” golf cart to the final turn-off, he handed his son his time slip, then drove 400 feet further up track to give his friend a ribbing.

Most NFL players use an off day from training camp to rest and prepare for the rigorous demands of the coming season - not Tyler Brayton, the defensive end for the Carolina Panthers.

Saturday was an off day for the team but not for Brayton who used his time off to keep his competitive juices flowing. Brayton drove to Mooresville, NC, to participate in one of the weekly drag races with his 1964 Chevelle.

Brayton won first place in the Footbrake division at Mooresville Dragway. This is a class void of any electronic devices to aid a driver scoring a better reaction time. Brayton didn’t need any devices because his foot worked just fine.

A major realignment of the 2011 NASCAR schedule could have important ramifications for the NHRA Full Throttle series.

One event certain to be impacted is the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway. That race has traditionally been run the last weekend of February, but the Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that NASCAR is moving its post-Daytona 500 event to Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, Feb. 27.

NASCAR considers that date to be prestigious because the race one week after Daytona typically receives increased national media attention and strong TV ratings.

When Terry McMillen made his NHRA Top Fuel debut this season, there wasn’t much fanfare. After all, McMillen wasn’t a top-name driver joining a powerhouse multi-car team.

McMillen, however, having flown under the radar this year, now has a legitimate chance of making into the Countdown to 1 playoffs. McMillen is in 11th place in the point standings, 19 points behind David Grubnic, who competes out of the Kalitta Motorsports stable.

The Countdown to 10 regular season concludes at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 12-15 at Brainerd, Minn. The Countdown to 1 playoffs begin at the U.S. Nationals Sept. 1-6 in Indianapolis.

After a weekend of intense racing, Richard Putz and Kirk Williams took home top honors at Cordova Dragway Park for this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Summer Showdown presented by Matco Tools.   

Putz, from Earlville, Iowa, qualified in the second position in Top Alcohol Dragster and defeated Randy Meyer, Spring Hill, Kan., sending himself to the semi-finals to face Jared Dreher, Clinton, Ind., who qualified in 6th.  The NHRA West Central Division leader in points, Putz outran his opponent with a time of 5.571 seconds at 254.71 mph and advanced to the finals.  There he ran his best time all day, 5.537, 256.11 and defeated, Edwin Schmeeckle, 5.612, 242.10, from Gothenburg, Neb., in taking home the “Wally” trophy.

The first time Melanie Troxel got a taste of drag racing outside North America was at last year's FIA Nitrolympx at the Hockenheimring, albeit as a spectator in the grandstands.

"I was still impressed with the level of competition over there," Troxel said. "There was a huge diversity of classes and cars. Plus, Hockenheim is a beautiful facility."

This weekend Troxel is returning to the Nitrolympx as a competitor in the Pro Mod class, her second foray into European drag racing this year.

The second Annual Nitto NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals hosted some amazing performances and upsets at zMAX Dragway, which made for a seriously exciting race weekend.

Turbonetics Pro Outlaw 10.5 only had three entries, but put on quite the show. Mike Murillo took the number one spot with a 7.22, giving him the bye straight into the final round on Sunday. On the other side of the ladder, Dwayne James got a single when Conrad Scarry succumbed to engine problems and didn’t make the call. In the final, Murillo took the win light, 6.98 to 7.32.

ProCharger Super Street Outlaw action saw Sam Vincent shatter the record in qualifying, running a 7.262 – the quickest pass ever for the class – for the number one spot. In the semis, John Macdonald had the bye into the final while John Urist defeated Vincent on a holeshot in a wild side-by-side battle to meet Macdonald in the final. The final round ended before it started as Urist were .053 red, giving Macdonald the win.