Cruz Pedregon led the field in Friday Funny Car qualifying at Firebird International Raceway in Arizona. Photo courtesy NHRA
Cruz Pedregon raced to the provisional top spot in Funny Car Friday night at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.
Larry Dixon, Mike Edwards and Eddie Krawiec were also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 20th of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the fourth of six races in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, the six-race playoffs to determine the world championships.
Pedregon took the provisional top spot in the field on the final qualifying session of the evening when he drove his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry to a 4.215-second run at 296.37 mph. If it stands it would be his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season, 45th of his career and second in Phoenix.
“We were a little nervous going up there because we had kind of missed it a little in the first run, even though we were fourth,” said Pedregon. “The car does it on its own, so we’re just trying to stay out of its way. The track is tricky. It has its own personality. Not all the tracks are the same. But that’s good because otherwise one team could set up its car just one way and dominate.”
Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan sits in the provisional fifth position in the field, while second-place driver in the points Mike Neff is in the third provisional spot. Defending event winner Jack Beckman currently sits in the provisional fourth spot.
Dixon raced his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to the top of the Top Fuel field with a run of 3.919 at 303.84. If it stands it would be his third No. 1 qualifier of the season, third at Phoenix International Raceway and 51st of his career.
“The track tightened up for all the teams, and that’s why the numbers picked up quite a bit for the fuel cars,” said Dixon. “In the first session the track was obviously very hot, but not hotter than we’ve seen before, like three weeks ago in Dallas. It’s just a matter of making the adjustments for the ambient temperature, water grains, and (crew chief) Jason McCulloch and (assistant crew chief) Ronnie Thompson did a great job. They put a good number on the board, and it stuck.”
Top Fuel points leader Spencer Massey sits in the provisional 16th spot after two qualifying sessions while second-place driver in the points Antron Brown sits in the provisional ninth spot.
In Pro Stock, Edwards powered his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP to the provisional top spot in Pro Stock with a run of 6.642 at 209.10. Though he posted the same time as points leader Jason Line, Edwards faster speed put the 2009 world champion in the provisional No. 1 qualifying position. If it stands, it would be his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season, 38th of his career and third straight No. 1 qualifier at Firebird International Raceway.
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Krawiec rode his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.939 at 193.63. If it stands, it would be Krawiec’s fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 10th of his career.
“It was important for me to get down the track with two really good laps,” said Krawiec. “We were a little bit nervous coming into this race, in the middle of the Countdown, with very little data for this track at this time of the year. That’s where you have to really rely on data from past years.”
Qualifying will continue today, with final eliminations slated for Sunday.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Firebird International Raceway – Chandler, AZ
NHRA Arizona Nationals Friday Qualifying – Oct. 14, 2011
Top Fuel — 1. Larry Dixon, 3.919 seconds, 303.84 mph; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.921, 301.27; 3. Del Worsham, 3.936, 291.13; 4. Troy Buff, 3.954, 302.75; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 3.985, 298.27; 6. Rod Fuller, 4.007, 300.20; 7. Doug Kalitta, 4.012, 293.98; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 4.012, 287.35; 9. Antron Brown, 4.065, 268.54; 10. Dom Lagana, 4.068, 278.52; 11. Terry McMillen, 4.131, 253.33; 12. Shawn Langdon, 4.171, 229.74. Not Qualified: 13. Chris Karamesines, 4.242, 282.90; 14. Mike Strasburg, 4.347, 216.17; 15. Morgan Lucas, 4.740, 195.65; 16. Spencer Massey, 6.501, 91.05; 17.
David Grubnic, 7.216, 90.70; 18. Cory McClenathan, 11.323, 67.80.
Funny Car — 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.215, 296.37; 2. Jim Head, Solara, 4.238, 289.07; 3. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.251, 287.23; 4. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.279, 284.45; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.294, 275.34; 6. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.310, 277.49; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.315, 283.91; 8. Alexis DeJoria, Solara, 4.320, 274.27; 9. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.322, 282.72; 10. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.335, 287.17; 11. Todd Lesenko, Charger, 4.342, 282.48; 12. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.368, 278.46. Not Qualified: 13. Jeff Arend, 4.376, 276.80; 14. Melanie Troxel, 4.405, 234.98; 15. Tony Pedregon, 4.456, 214.45; 16. John Force, 4.959, 242.54; 17. Jeff Diehl, 5.819, 123.69; 18. Ron Capps, 6.372, 108.12.
Pro Stock — 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.642, 209.10; 2. Jason Line, GXP, 6.642, 207.21; 3. Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.658, 208.33; 4. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.658, 207.75; 5. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.662, 207.53; 6. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.666, 206.57; 7. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.669, 207.18; 8. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.691, 207.94; 9. Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.696, 209.20; 10. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.708, 207.40; 11. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.712, 206.92; 12. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.714, 207.50. Not Qualified: 13. Rodger Brogdon, 6.722, 206.54; 14. Greg Stanfield, 6.723, 206.48; 15. V. Gaines, 6.742, 207.02; 16. Gordie Rivera, 6.861, 201.94; 17. Steve Kent, 14.921, 55.68; 18. Grace Howell, 23.253, 26.24.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.939, 193.63; 2. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.959, 195.31; 3. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.991, 192.30; 4. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.994, 190.19; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.015, 191.84; 6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.018, 191.97; 7. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 7.046, 190.75; 8. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.055, 190.24; 9. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.068, 193.10; 10. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.081, 188.31; 11. Justin Finley, Suzuki, 7.083, 190.81; 12. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.117, 187.03. Not Qualified: 13. Jim Underdahl, 7.118, 189.71; 14. Matt Guidera, 7.134, 186.07; 15. Bailey Whitaker, 7.156, 187.50; 16. Mike Berry, 7.171, 187.44; 17. Steve Johnson, 7.200, 188.91; 18. James Surber, 7.229, 185.28; 19. Freddie Camarena, 7.232, 186.85; 20. Redell Harris, 7.245, 186.87; 21. Joe DeSantis, 7.290, 185.97; 22. Wesley Wells, 7.304, 181.74; 23. Katie Sullivan, 7.308, 186.15.
