CHANDLER, Ariz. - Race fans who were present when a woman was killed by a tire that flew off a crashing dragster said yesterday that they feel safe at the track despite the weekend accident in suburban Phoenix. Many of the fans who returned to Chandler’s Firebird International Raceway for the NHRA Arizona Nationals said it was a freak accident that won’t stop them from attending.

DINWIDDIE—Tony Schumacher grinned, turned around, and pointed to the Top Fuel bracket on the wall behind him. It was about 90 minutes before the start of eliminations yesterday at Virginia Motorsports Park, and Schumacher had his path to a seventh national title—and sixth consecutive—mapped out.

If Mike Neff’s teammates saw him out at dinner last night, it’s a good bet his check was paid for. Not a factor in the NHRA playoffs, Neff did his Funny Car team a huge favor yesterday when he took out third-place Tony Pedregon in the second round; this after then-first-place (and now second-place) teammate Ashley Force Hood exited in the first round (to Jeff Arend), and then-second-place (and now points leader) Robert Hight, another teammate, was taken out by Tim Wilkerson in the second round.

After checking on the cows, Matt Hagan sometimes putters around his 500-acre farm in Christiansburg on a 130-horsepower tractor. Top speed through the rolling hills: 6 to 10 mph. On the weekend, the 26-year-old Hagan does the extreme opposite. He pilots the 7,000-horsepower Shelor.com Motor Mile Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing.

With the fast times and speeds that were being posted during yesterday’s two qualifying sessions at Virginia Motorsports Park, drivers Larry Dixon and Jack Beckman couldn’t resist taking a peek at the other classes. “I don’t want to give up my seat, but you almost want to sit up in the stands to watch,“ said Dixon, who claimed the pole for the Virginia Nationals in Top Fuel in 3.783 seconds, the fifth-best elapsed time at 1,000 feet in NHRA history.

At the end of the day, Ron Capps enjoys walking through the front door and being greeted by the smell of his wife’s cooking. Since Capps is one of the top Funny Car drivers on the NHRA circuit, he would seem to have limited chances to experience such greetings during the 24-race season. That is not necessarily the case.

If all Antron Brown did was drive a Top Fuel dragster, he would be unusual. After all, there aren’t that many Top Fuel drivers in the country. Only 15 are here at Virginia Motorsports Park this weekend for what is normally a 16-car field. But in addition to his Top Fuel job, Brown he is an African-American in a sport where not many African-Americans make their living.

Full Throttle, an “energy drink”, is the sponsor of the National Hot Rod Association, and a more perfect combination of product and sport could not be found. Everything about the NHRA is full throttle. There is no following another driver for a couple of laps, or a couple of hundred laps, before making a move. In the NHRA—Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock or Pro Stock Motorcycles—the idea is to blast off, reach full speed as quickly as possible, maintain it and hope the parachute opens at the end of the quarter-mile track.

If she can continue her string of solid finishes, Ashley Force Hood could be blazing her way into history in the NHRA’s Funny Car class. Force Hood is trying to become the first woman to win a Funny Car title in the sport’s almost 60-year history. She goes into this weekend’s Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie with a three-point lead over Robert Hight, her John Force Racing teammate, in the Countdown to 1 playoffs.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel never trailed and won Formula One’s Japanese Grand Prix yesterday, reviving his championship hopes. Vettel finished ahead of Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Drivers’ championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP was eighth, a place below teammate Rubens Barrichello. Brawn GP all but sealed the constructors’ championship. Only a 1-2 finish by Red Bull in both of the remaining races and Brawn finishing pointless can prevent a Brawn championship in its first season.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton won the Singapore Grand Prix yesterday, and Brawn GP driver Jenson Button extended his Formula One championship lead by one point. Hamilton started from the pole and protected his lead to finish 9.6 seconds ahead of Timo Glock, who equaled Toyota’s best Formula One result by finishing second. Fernando Alonso gave scandal-hit Renault a lift by finishing third for the French team’s first podium finish of the season.

Cory McClenathan and Robert Hight shot up the playoff rankings by winning their first races of 2009 yesterday at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway. McClenathan won Top Fuel with a pass of 3.857 seconds at 312.64 mph to beat rookie Shawn Langdon and take over first place in the Countdown to 1. Hight flew from 10th play to third by beating another rookie, outpacing Matt Hagan in 4.097 seconds at 307.02 mph in his Funny Car. Regular-season champ Tony Pedregon remained in first place and Ashley Force Hood moved up a spot to second place.

His weeks are spent raising 600-pound Angus cattle and managing the business affairs of his 500-acre Christiansburg farm. On weekends, he wrestles his 8,000-horsepower Funny Car in the National Hot Rod Association. Welcome to the world of Matt Hagan. “It’s a lot of work, but [the farm work] really is my time to reflect on what I can do to be a better driver,“ he said yesterday by phone. “It’s pretty relaxing for me. The racing is so intense and adrenaline-driven. You’re focused on the weekends [driving], and do your thing on the farm. Polar opposites, but it’s a nice release.“

MORRISON, Colo.—For 30 years, Kenny Bernstein, the king of speed, has operated a dragster sponsored by Budweiser, the self-proclaimed king of beers. All the king’s horsepower is now in jeopardy after this season, when the longtime NHRA driver and team owner loses his primary sponsor. The 64-year-old, who retired from driving after the 2007 season, is scrambling for another benefactor, speaking to his buddies in the business to see if they have any promising leads.

TORONTO—Dario Franchitti won the Honda Indy on the street course in Toronto yesterday, easily holding off Penske drivers Ryan Briscoe and Will Power on a late restart for his third win of the season. It was the first race in Toronto for the IndyCar Series, and Franchitti, the pole-sitter, was lucky and good in regaining the series points lead over Target Chip Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon.