Tony Schumacher, seen here from earlier action, led Top Fuel qualifying on Friday for this weekend’s Gatornationals in Gainesville, FL. Photo courtesy NHRA Media
Defending world champ Tony Schumacher raced to the qualifying lead in Top Fuel Friday at the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville in Gainesville, FL.
Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were the leaders in their respective categories at the third of 24 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events.
Schumacher had a great start to the weekend, leading both qualifying sessions and piloting his U.S. Army dragster to a performance of 3.796 seconds at 323.43 mph during the second session.
“We’ve got a great car,” said Schumacher, who is looking for his 77th career top qualifying start and third at Gainesville. “We’re not coming off a bad race either. We won in Phoenix and performed decent in Pomona. I think the changes we made early on, for once, really worked. It’s setting a good trend on a tune-up that we needed to find quicker than last year.”
Brittany Force had an impressive run during the second session in her John Force Racing dragster, running a 3.817 at 318.09, good enough for the current No. 2 spot. Spencer Massey sits third after the first two sessions with a 3.841 at 323.66 in the Red Fuel dragster.
In Funny Car, Pedregon was quickest with a 4.022 at 312.13 in the Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry. A two-time world champ, Pedregon is going for his fourth consecutive top qualifying spot at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
“I wish I could tell you because I would do it at all the tracks,” said Pedregon about his qualifying luck in Florida. “It just works out that way. There’s been a few changes to the car mechanically even since last year. The four years in a row that we have managed to stay No. 1, all four of those were done with slightly different setups on the car.”
Del Worsham continued his positive early season momentum with a 4.057 at 312.57, good enough for the provisional No. 2 spot John Force, the winningest Funny Car driver in Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville history with seven career wins, sits third with a 4.075 at 314.02. Defending world champ Matt Hagan drove his Mopar Express Lane Dodge R/T to the current No. 8 position.
McGaha led the Pro Stock category after two sessions with a run of 6.507 at 212.73 in the Harlow-Sammons Chevy Camaro. McGaha, who set career-bests for both time and speed at Gainesville, is going for his third No. 1 qualifying effort of his career.
“We’re finding our way back,” said McGaha about last season’s struggles. “We had issues in the engine department and slowly overcame those. We started finding it towards the end of the year. This winter, we really found the mojo.”
Phoenix winner Rodger Brogdon continued his strong performance in his RoofTec Chevy Camaro, claiming the current No. 2 position with a 6.525 at 212.93. Shane Gray was third with a 6.526 at 212.26 in the Gray Manufacturing Camaro. Defending world champ Erica Enders-Stevens sits in the seventh position in her Elite Motorsports Camaro with two sessions remaining.
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“Over the off season, I think the ankle injury actually was a blessing in disguise,” said Sampey, who rejoined the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour in St. Louis last September after a six year absence. “It really made me work hard over the off season to improve mentally and physically.”
Karen Stoffer, who last raced at Indianapolis in 2013, qualified No. 2 on Friday with a 6.904 at 193.18 on her Stoffer Enterprises Suzuki. Defending world champ Andrew Hines drove his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a 6.905, 192.91 putting him in the third provisional position.
Qualifying continues for the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Noon and 3 pm. Sunday’s eliminations start at 11 am.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville – Gainesville, FL
AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals – March 13, 2015
Friday’s Qualifying Results
Top Fuel — 1. Tony Schumacher, 3.796 seconds, 323.43 mph; 2. Brittany Force, 3.817, 318.09; 3. Spencer Massey, 3.841, 323.66; 4. Larry Dixon, 3.851, 319.52; 5. Richie Crampton, 3.853, 271.35; 6. Antron Brown, 3.854, 310.63; 7. Shawn Langdon, 3.875, 316.97; 8. Leah Pritchett, 3.920, 303.16; 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.949, 284.87; 10. Chris Karamesines, 4.014, 305.98; 11. Morgan Lucas, 4.054, 223.21; 12. Ike Maier, 4.137, 243.06. Not Qualified: 13. Shawn Reed, 4.206, 288.27; 14. Steve Torrence, 4.501, 173.61; 15. Clay Millican, 4.546, 179.64; 16. Cory McClenathan, 4.883, 147.21; 17. Terry McMillen, 5.120, 140.74; 18. Dave Connolly, 5.247, 127.49; 19. J.R. Todd, 5.439, 274.61; 20. Pat Dakin, 9.725, 72.43.
Funny Car — 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 4.022, 312.13; 2. Del Worsham, Camry, 4.057, 312.57; 3. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.075, 314.02; 4. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.080, 311.92; 5. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.081, 309.56; 6. Courtney Force, Camaro, 4.104, 312.13; 7. Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 4.113, 310.05; 8. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.132, 308.43; 9. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.299, 237.96; 10. John Hale, Charger, 4.304, 234.04; 11. Blake Alexander, Charger, 4.456, 194.97; 12. Dave Richards, Toyota Solara, 4.464, 219.15. Not Qualified: 13. Chad Head, 4.564, 193.07; 14. Tommy Johnson Jr., 4.995, 152.16; 15. Ron Capps, 5.618, 224.40; 16. Jeff Diehl, 7.612, 85.32; 17. Alexis DeJoria, 10.877, 75.53.
Pro Stock — 1. Chris McGaha, Chevy Camaro, 6.507, 212.76; 2. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.526, 213.06; 3. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.526, 212.93; 4. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.529, 212.90; 5. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.532, 213.13; 6. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.534, 212.90; 7. Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 6.551, 211.79; 8. Jimmy Alund, Pontiac GXP, 6.567, 211.93; 9. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.587, 212.19; 10. John Gaydosh Jr, GXP, 6.636, 209.52; 11. V. Gaines, Dart, 6.648, 211.33; 12. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Avenger, 6.662, 208.94. Not Qualified: 13. Larry Morgan, 12.137, 86.57; 14. Vincent Nobile, 14.409, 73.59; 15. Jonathan Gray, 21.817, 36.18.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Angelle Sampey, Buell, 6.891, 192.93; 2. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.904, 193.18; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.905, 192.91; 4. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.912, 191.57; 5. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.918, 191.57; 6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.923, 193.68; 7. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.944, 193.90; 8. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.957, 189.26; 9. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.967, 192.80; 10. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.974, 190.89; 11. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.976, 190.40; 12. Chaz Kennedy, Buell, 6.985, 190.27. Not Qualified: 13. Mike Berry, 7.010, 188.54; 14. Shawn Gann, 7.025, 187.86; 15. Hector Arana, 7.026, 186.59; 16. Angie Smith, 7.056, 186.85; 17. Redell Harris, 7.091, 190.92; 18. Fredrik Fredlund, 7.125, 188.99; 19. Roy Olsen, 7.392, 180.02; 20. Lance Bonham, 7.544, 177.25; 21. Eddie Reed, 7.632, 131.38; 22. Brian Pretzel, 14.051, 54.53.
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