Robert Hight was fastest in Friday’s Funny Car qualifying for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park. Photo: NHRA Media
Robert Hight sprinted to the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car Friday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Richie Crampton (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Chip Ellis (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories.
Hight powered to a 3.893-second pass at 328.38 mph during Friday’s second qualifying session to lead the Funny Car pack. Hight has 47 No. 1 qualifiers in his career but has not qualified better than third so far this season.
“This was a big day for us, but it’s only one day,” said Hight, the 2009 Funny Car world champion. “We tested on Monday, me and John (Force), and it’s really hard to judge your performance and gauge because you don’t have other cars there. You don’t really know until you go to the next race track and you’ve got other cars. So, to go out there and be No. 1 two runs in a row today with all the changes we’ve made on the car, that really shows how good my team is.”
Jack Beckman is second with a 3.907 at 325.22. In third is Tim Wilkerson, who raced to a 3.912 at 325.61.
Two-time world champion Matt Hagan is fourth and is followed by Houston winner Courtney Force and reigning Funny Car world champion Del Worsham in fifth and sixth, respectively. Points leader Ron Capps is seventh while Charlotte winner and 16-time Funny Car world champion John Force is currently slotted 15th.
In Top Fuel, Crampton navigated the dragstrip in 3.733 at 323.50 to take the qualifying lead. The Adelaide, South Australia native has one No. 1 qualifier this year and four in his career.
“In the Countdown is when you want to start running your best,” said Crampton, who is 10th in points. “You can’t start a weekend much better than being on the pole and hopefully that will give us a softer first round draw on Sunday but we can’t take anyone lightly anymore either. It doesn’t mean a huge amount in the big scheme of things to me, because now it’s about what we can do in the hot weather on Sunday.”
Doug Kalitta is second with a 3.752 at 325.92. Tony Schumacher is third with a 3.757 at 320.58. J.R. Todd is currently qualified fourth and is followed by Phoenix winner Leah Pritchett in fifth. Reigning Top Fuel champion and points leader Antron Brown is in the 12th spot.
Greg Anderson took the qualifying lead in Pro Stock with a 6.607 at 209.30.
“We were right on the money and then we got the big weather swing tonight when the sun was hiding behind the clouds,” said Anderson, who won this event in 2004. “We hadn’t run a nice session like this for quite a while so we were ready to come on up here and make some minor changes from the first run today and then we got the delay and that changed everything. You’ve got to race the conditions you have and I know this isn’t going to matter for Sunday, but that position on the ladder might matter come Sunday. The good news is we’ve got a great set up for both a hot track and for when the sun goes down.”
Shane Gray is qualified second (6.609 at 209.65), followed by Alex Laughlin (6.610 at 209.14) in third. Vincent Nobile is fourth, trailed by Bo Butner in fifth and points leader Jason Line in sixth.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Ellis rode to a 6.850 at 196.53 to earn the qualifying lead.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Ellis. “This last week, we’ve just kept pinching ourselves to see if this has really happened. To come and do as well as we have so far and go low both rounds today, I’m just excited for our team. For me, it’s exciting, but for our team, I’m really excited for these guys. We work really hard and we’re a small team.”
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Hector Arana is second (6.880 at 195.34), followed by Jerry Savoie in third (6.881 at 194.88). Eddie Krawiec is fourth, followed by Angelle Sampey in fifth and points leader Andrew Hines in sixth.
Qualifying will resume Saturday with two sessions at 1:45 and at 4:15 pm. Eliminations are set to begin Sunday at 11 am.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Gateway Motorsports Park – Madison, IL
NHRA Midwest Nationals – Sept. 23, 2016
Friday’s Qualifying Results
Top Fuel — 1. Richie Crampton, 3.733 seconds, 323.50 mph; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.752, 325.92; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.757, 322.19; 4. J.R. Todd, 3.772, 322.04; 5. Leah Pritchett, 3.773, 322.42; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.783, 325.30; 7. Brittany Force, 3.790, 320.20; 8. Clay Millican, 3.798, 323.35; 9. Wayne Newby, 3.801, 318.69; 10. Steve Torrence, 3.805, 323.19; 11. Pat Dakin, 3.805, 309.06; 12. Antron Brown, 3.808, 314.39.
Not Qualified: 13. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.898, 307.79; 14. Kebin Kinsley, 3.901, 307.16; 15. Luigi Novelli, 4.106, 263.92; 16. Terry McMillen, 4.294, 201.73; 17. Scott Palmer, 4.307, 198.67; 18. Troy Buff, 6.333, 95.96.
Funny Car — 1. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.893, 328.38; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 3.907, 325.22; 3. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.912, 325.61; 4. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.914, 327.51; 5. Courtney Force, Camaro, 3.918, 324.36; 6. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 3.929, 324.75; 7. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.933, 322.81; 8. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 3.974, 323.27; 9. Chad Head, Camry, 3.994, 320.36; 10. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.009, 314.68; 11. Brian Stewart, Mustang, 4.009, 290.82; 12. John Bojec, Toyota Solara, 4.037, 293.22.
Not Qualified: 13. John Hale, 4.177, 279.09; 14. Brandon Welch, 4.257, 290.07; 15. John Force, 4.440, 193.29; 16. Tommy Johnson Jr., 4.470, 189.15; 17. Dale Creasy Jr., 4.559, 192.06; 18. Jack Wyatt, 11.019, 86.08.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.607, 209.56; 2. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.609, 209.65; 3. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.610, 209.14; 4. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.611, 209.43; 5. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.621, 209.36; 6. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.622, 209.30; 7. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.625, 208.46; 8. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.636, 208.20; 9. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.646, 207.91; 10. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.648, 207.46; 11. Erica Enders, Dart, 6.667, 206.95; 12. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.695, 206.57.
Not Qualified: 13. Mark Hogan, 6.783, 203.09; 14. Dave River, 6.925, 198.93; 15. Aaron Strong, 7.407, 135.27; 16. Alan Prusiensky, 7.489, 144.35.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.850, 196.53; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.880, 195.34; 3. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.881, 194.88; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.884, 193.88; 5. Angelle Sampey, Buell, 6.893, 195.87; 6. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.897, 193.65; 7. Cory Reed, Buell, 6.915, 194.13; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.930, 193.32; 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.950, 193.57; 10. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.955, 193.05; 11. Angie Smith, Victory, 6.968, 191.35; 12. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.974, 194.83.
Not Qualified: 13. LE Tonglet, 7.000, 193.68; 14. Melissa Surber, 7.071, 191.19; 15. Joe DeSantis, 7.111, 187.99; 16. Matt Smith, 7.149, 162.88.
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