Cruz Pedregon made a record setting pass in Friday Funny Car qualifying at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Photo courtesy NHRA Media
ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – Cruz Pedregon raced to the quickest Funny Car run in history Friday to take the qualifying lead in a record-setting day of action at the Toyota NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event.
Pedregon, the two-time Funny Car world champion, powered his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry to a track record performance of 3.959 seconds at 310.48 mph to lead the field. Pedregon’s time, the quickest ever in the 10,000-horsepower category, will become an NHRA national record if he can certify the run by posting another time within one percent of the mark during the weekend. Pedregon has had a lot of success at Englishtown in his career, securing two wins and four career No. 1 qualifying positions.
“It would mean more than words could say,” said Pedregon about the possibility of setting the national record at this event. “Even if we don’t back it up, to have the quickest time slip for Funny Car is an honor. It’s something that my team and I have worked really hard for.”
Pedregon has struggled to start the season but has recently shown signs of reversing that trend. He reached the final last weekend in Topeka, running consistent 4.09 second passes in the first three rounds, but was stopped short of claiming his first win of the season by a mechanical failure near the end of the final against Courtney Force.
“We’re on a roll right now, and had it not been for a supercharger issue that we had in the (Topeka) final, the car should have run another 4.09 without even a problem,” Pedregon said. “We came out here, unloaded, 4.05 and then 3.95. We’re not doing anything different. I guess all those tire smokes, cylinder dropping, and all those runs, they teach you something. We’ve got to get it right eventually.”
Del Worsham’s DHL Toyota Camry had set both Englishtown Funny Car track records on the run before Pedregon’s with a 3.959 at 321.04. Worsham’s track record speed held up as he currently sits No. 2 in qualifying.
Kalitta paced the Top Fuel field with a 3.756 at 327.03 in his Mac Tools dragster, earning the spot on the last pass of the day in qualifying. Kalitta’s run was good enough to knock Steve Torrence to the current No. 2 qualifier.
“It’s always good qualifying up front,” said Kalitta, who heads the Top Fuel point standings and has one win this season. “It just kind of sets the stage for how things are going. I’m just real proud of my guys. They’re working their butts off on this thing, and they’re just really making it run well. That was definitely a good start for today with qualifying so far.”
Kalitta noted that track conditions tomorrow will make it possible for teams to go even quicker. Cool conditions are forecast at Raceway Park on Saturday.
“Not real comfortable,” said Kalitta, when asked of the potential of his Friday run staying on top. “We’re up for the challenge. If other cars are running good, Jim and all the guys will tune it up and try to stay with them. It seems like they’ve got a good handle on the adjustments to make it run good.”
Johnson, coming off a win last weekend in Topeka, rushed to top of the Pro Stock qualifying order with a 6.502 at 213.00, setting the track record elapsed time. The conditions at Englishtown were different than Topeka, but Johnson’s Magneti-Morelli/Team Mopar Dodge Dart team was able to make the correct adjustments.
“We picked up where we left off last week but we had completely different conditions,” said Johnson, whose Topeka win was his third of the season. “Last week it was warm and here it was a lot cooler. That’s a testament to my Mopar Dodge crew. Hats off to them.”
While Johnson took advantage of the track conditions, others in the factory hot rod class struggled to find the correct setup.
“To some extent the track was too good,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to spin the tires just a bit and if you miss the set-up, the car will square the tires and start shaking. It’s a fine line, but we managed to figure it out.”
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Krawiec set a Raceway Park Pro Stock Motorcycle speed record with his 6.801 at 197.80 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. Krawiec, a New Jersey native, holds Englishtown high on his list of tracks on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuits.
“I try not to treat this race any differently than usual, but that’s easy to say and hard to do,” Krawiec said. “I like to spend time with my friends and family, but obviously I still have a job to do. Still, it’s always a really good thing to come back here and race.”
Krawiec, a former track manager at the famed Englishtown dragstrip, has one victory at the track coming in 2012. His teammate, points leader Andrew Hines, sits second after the first qualifying session.
Qualifying continues on Saturday at 12:45 and 3:15 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park – Englishtown, NJ
NHRA Summernationals – May 30, 2014
Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.756 seconds, 327.03 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.777, 324.51; 3. Brittany Force, 3.777, 324.44; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.784, 316.75; 5. Antron Brown, 3.786, 313.73; 6. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.792, 320.66; 7. Richie Crampton, 3.794, 321.73; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 3.804, 319.75; 9. Leah Pritchett, 3.812, 314.75; 10. Morgan Lucas, 3.833, 319.82; 11. Terry McMillen, 3.841, 321.19; 12. Spencer Massey, 3.865, 315.86.
Not Qualified: 13. Dom Lagana, 3.983, 276.52; 14. Shawn Langdon, 4.022, 223.65; 15. J.R. Todd, 4.533, 166.95; 16. Clay Millican, 6.532, 99.62.
Funny Car — 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 3.959, 310.48; 2. Del Worsham, Camry, 3.994, 321.04; 3. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.014, 316.45; 4. John Force, Mustang, 4.015, 310.48; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.027, 314.31; 6. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.030, 319.07; 7. Tommy Johnson Jr., Dodge Charger, 4.048, 311.27; 8. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.054, 313.58; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.055, 305.49; 10. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.071, 310.63; 11. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.074, 307.65; 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.080, 308.50.
Not Qualified: 13. Chad Head, 4.093, 310.13; 14. Bob Tasca III, 4.129, 303.64; 15. Tony Pedregon, 4.160, 260.31; 16. Mike Smith, 4.364, 84.68; 17. Terry Haddock, 4.383, no speed.
Pro Stock — 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.502, 213.00; 2. Rodger Brogdon, Chevy Camaro, 6.508, 213.00; 3. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.516, 213.40; 4. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.520, 213.27; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.520, 212.66; 6. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.539, 213.33; 7. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.561, 212.76; 8. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.611, 208.46; 9. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 7.792, 128.80; 10. John Gaydosh Jr, Pontiac GXP, 8.593, 120.29; 11. Val Smeland, Chevy Cobalt, 10.061, 86.65; 12. Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 12.160, 71.90.
Not Qualified: 13. Dave Connolly, 13.456, 98.72; 14. Chris McGaha, 14.718, 77.19; 15. Kenny Delco, 17.677, 45.94; 16. V. Gaines, 19.577, 57.43.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.801, 197.80; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.835, 194.94; 3. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.849, 194.58; 4. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.871, 193.82; 5. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.872, 195.17; 6. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.883, 192.30; 7. John Hall, Buell, 6.884, 194.18; 8. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.929, 193.29; 9. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.933, 192.08; 10. Chaz Kennedy, Buell, 6.961, 191.32; 11. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.975, 195.59; 12. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.991, 170.54.
Not Qualified: 13. Michael Ray, 6.992, 190.83; 14. Justin Finley, 7.064, 192.25; 15. Junior Pippin, 7.074, 186.48; 16. Adam Arana, 7.133, 153.21; 17. LE Tonglet, 7.360, 189.82; 18. Elvira Karlsson, 7.382, 141.68; 19. Matt Smith, 12.980, 81.36; 20. Joe DeSantis, 16.784, 43.53.
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