Payne only recently added FireIce as the title sponsor of his 260-mph hot rod but he's already felt the embrace of firefighters from coast-to-coast.

"I've always admired and respected our nation's firefighters and to have a car that is designed to basically say 'thanks for all you do' is a really cool thing for our team," Payne said. "There are firefighters all over the country so we have a built-in fanbase everywhere we go, and New York City has one of the largest departments in the world so we're really excited to be here with our new 'teammates.'"

Aside from sponsoring Payne's racecar, FireIce, a subsidiary of GelTech, a publically traded corporation (OTCBB: GLTC), has committed to making sizable donations to the Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Federation of Burn Foundations who frequently come to the aid of the 300,000 firefighters in this country, including all the FDNY members.

"It's important for GelTech and FireIce to make a difference in the lives of the firefighters and their families, specifically the ones that need our help," said Michael Cordani, CEO of GelTech. "These men and women literally put their lives on the line for all of us every day and when they get hurt, or God forbid, lose their lives in the line of duty, we need to remember the sacrifices they made and take care of them and their families.

"The Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Federation of Burn Foundations do a remarkable job of taking care of the firefighters that need help so we support their efforts. Sure, we're promoting our product through this association with drag racing, but even FireIce itself helps make firefighters safer. It's something that's very near and dear to us."

FireIce is a non-toxic, environmentally-friendly fire suppression gel that firefighters add to the water in pumper trucks, helicopters, fire planes, and handheld extinguishers to help extinguish fires drastically quicker than water alone. "The quicker a fire is extinguished, the quicker the firefighters are out of harm's way," Cordani said.

As a driver, Payne earned his first national championship in 1995 and has 11 divisional crowns to his credit, including the last five Southeast Division titles in a row. He's also a JEGS Allstars champion and his 36 national event victories ranks him a lofty 24th on NHRA's all-time list, which dates back to 1951.

"I'm not even going to let myself think about how cool it would be to win one in honor of the FDNY, but that's exactly what we're going to try and do this weekend," Payne said.

Visit http://www.FireIce.com for more information.

Courtesy of Rob Geiger