INDIANAPOLIS -- NHRA Top Fuel racer Brandon Bernstein will put his cooking skills to the test as he will face Indiana First Lady Cheri Daniels at the IU Health Healthy Hoosier Throwdown at the Indiana State Fair on Aug. 12th. This program is designed to overcome diabetes and obesity by showing fairgoers the ease and fun of making healthy dishes.

Bernstein and Daniels will go head to head to create a pre-determined dish from common ingredients and will have 30 minutes to create the dish and before a panel of judges declare a winner.

"I've got a kinesiology background (it's what I went to college for), so I've always been interested in fitness and thinking what is best for your body. I try to eat as healthy as I can, but it's hard to do that sometimes. I'm into it right now, I'm going to our Pit Fit activities and working out every day,” Bernstein said. "It's going to be great to do this event at the State Fair. It's a chance to show people in Indiana that you can eat healthy but not sacrifice food that tastes good. It's going to be a lot of fun."

The cook-off will take place at 2 p.m. on Aug. 12 at the Indiana University Health Booth, just south of the Gazebo Gift Shop, off State Fair Boulevard.

Bernstein is one of many NHRA drivers who currently call Indianapolis home and will be competing at the Mac Tools U. S. Nationals presented by Auto Plus taking to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis on Aug. 29-Sept. 3. The biggest names in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will blast their way toward the finish line in search of the most coveted victory in all of drag racing.

Tickets for the Mac Tools U. S. Nationals can be purchased by going to NHRATix.com or by calling 1-800-884-6472.

One of five drag racing facilities owned and operated by the National Hot Rod Association, Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis was built in 1960 and has presented organized racing events since 1961. From March through October, the facility hosts more than 120 dates of racing on three tracks, a quarter-mile drag strip, a .686-mile paved oval and a 2.5-mile road course. Home to drag racing’s biggest event, the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend, the drag strip runs more than 50 days of point-to-point action, from national events to street legal community programs. The oval track draws racing’s biggest events, including annual visits from the NASCAR Nationwide, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and annual USAC races. The road course provides a home for several racing sanctions, while providing an ideal resource for driving schools, corporate outings and open-road tests for professional drivers.