Rusty Gregory - the face behind the voiceYou'll definitely know the voice and some of you will even know the name. But very few will know the face.

One of the voices of drag racing in Australia is 27 year old Rusty Gregory. An insurance broker during the working week, but come the weekend, you'll hear Rusty calling all the colour and action from Sydney Dragway and the Pro Modified Australia Slamfests.

I had the opportunity to speak with Rusty and he gave me the inside word on what it takes to be a drag racing commentator.

Aaron Tremayne - Pro StockFormer Pro Stock champion Aaron Tremayne says the team has spent the off season developing the horsepower needed to fire back into form for the start of the ANDRA drag racing championship season at Adelaide International Raceway on October 20.

Tremayne finished an uncharacteristic eighth in last season's championship chase, having won the previous four championships in a row. He was blunt in his assessment of the poor finish.

"The top eight is pretty pathetic as far as I'm concerned," he said.

The performance inspired plenty of work in the team's shop in Queensland and also in testing to regain some form both in the engine department and with his own driving, which produced three red light losses last season.

Grant Rowe - Super Sedan (Photo courtesy www.highrpm.com.au)The second last round of the Track Championship Series was run on Saturday night at Hidden Valley Drag Strip and several brackets are still no closer to having a decisive winner in the end of season point score.

More records tumbled along the way with Scott MacLean piloting the AllTools Top Alcohol Funny Car to two sub-6 second passes. A 5.829 second pass at 248mph along with a 5.934 at 245mph. It was enough to reset the TA/FC record for Hidden Valley and may be enough to secure the King of the Valley trophy for 2012.

Matt Abel also ran his personal best time for Hidden Valley with a 6.087 at 235mph alongside Peter Coles with a 6.736 at 198mph.

Alice Springs based Mark Probst suffered mechanical failure that put him out for the night.

What sounds like distant thunder is actually the sound of thousands of horses coming your way at over 500 kmh!

The fastest show on Earth – the Australian Drag Racing Nationals – is roaring back into town on November 2, 3 and 4 bringing with it more speed, excitement and entertainment than ever before!!!

With a full contingent of the fastest race cars and bikes on the planet including Top Fuel, Top Doorslammer, Top Alcohol, Pro Stock, Top Bike, Pro Stock Bike and all your favourite Aeroflow Sportsman Championship drag racers, the Australian Nationals in one of the biggest events on the Australian National Drag Racing Association’s (ANDRA) calendar.

Steve Read Top Fuel (Photo courtesy Terry Andrews)Queensland's Steve Read will return to where his nitro career began when the ANDRA Top Fuel season launches at Adelaide International Raceway on October 20.

Read's first event in a Top Fuel dragster was driving for team owner Santo Rapisarda at the South Australian venue back in 1995 and he said he has positive memories of the experience.

"I was thinking about it just the other day and remembering the debut there," he said. "I've always liked the place. It has a great atmosphere, the fans are very vocal and I used to love going there."

With a best run in his debut event of 5.38sec, Read has since come a long way. He developed his own Top Fuel operation and with a personal best time of 4.68sec performance is not an issue. Read runs his own transport business and has had limited time for racing over the past few seasons, competing at only the 2011 and 2012 Winternationals in his home state.

Steve Schruers - Super Sedan (Photo courtesy www.highrpm.com.au)This will be the month to get your drag racing fix at Hidden Valley with the penultimate round of the Hidden Valley Track Championship Series kicking off a month long dragfest with four events in only four weeks starting this Saturday.

With the majority of brackets coming down to the wire the racing is going to be hotly contested. Teams are sure to be pushing their vehicles to their limits to get a finals berth and for some this will be the last chance to bridge that divide between first and second place.

A sizeable but not unsurmountable lead exists in Super Sedan with Grant Rowe 40 points clear of Steve Schruers. With a combined 60 points available over the final two rounds of the year, Rowe is not safe yet. Rowe defeated Schruers at the last event and is yet to be defeated in any of his three finals match ups this year.