John Force powered his way to the top of the Funny Car speed charts in Saturday’s qualifying for the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Photo courtesy NHRA Media
Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force collected his first No. 1 qualifying position of the season on Saturday with a record-breaking run in the final round of qualifying for Sunday’s 15th annual Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.
Tony Schumacher took the pole in Top Fuel, while Erica Enders took the top spot in Pro Stock.
Both of Saturday sessions were delayed by scattered rain showers that pushed qualifying into the late evening hours, bringing cooler track temperatures and record-breaking speeds in the final round.
John Force rallied from 13th after the opening session to jump straight to the top of the ladder with a record-shattering run of 3.978 seconds at 323.43 mph, breaking both the track ET and speed records.
Force, who hadn’t posted a time under 4.1 seconds all weekend, was one of three drivers to eclipse the 3-second mark in the final session, knocking Tim Wilkerson from the no.1 spot all the way to sixth.
The pole-winning run was the 153rd of Force’s career and best start of the season since qualifying second at Atlanta last month.
“This Chevy muscled right through there and I thought we were trucking. It was a great feeling. It is like hitting a home run. I didn’t know if it was going to stay low but I knew it was going to be really quick. This was a cool day for me,” said Force. “I have set a lot of records but what makes this special is one it is Father’s Day tomorrow and secondly it is special to see a team led by (rookie crew chief) Jon Schaffer. We rallied a bunch of kids to work on the car – we watched it struggle to start the year but a couple of weeks ago I told them we didn’t win the race but we looked good out there. I was really proud,”
Matt Hagan took second place clocking in with a 3.996, 322.04. Jack Beckman (3.996, 319.60), Del Worsham (4.006, 322.58) and Alexis DeJoria (4.025, 314.90) rounded out the top five.
Terry Haddock took the final qualifying spot over Paul Lee and will face Force in the opening round.
In Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher set a new track record while scoring his third top qualifier of the season and his second straight following his weekend sweep last week at Epping, NH.
Schumacher ran the lowest ET in three of the four qualifying sessions, breaking the track ET record of 3.775 seconds in the second round, then breaking his own record in the final session with a run of 3.745 seconds at 326.08 mph to secure the No. 1 spot.
Schumacher’s pole was the 79th of his career and gives him 10 straight top-five starts this season – his only start outside the top five being a sixth-place at the season-opening event in Pomona. Both of his two victories this season have been from the No.1 qualifier position.
“It was the best one that’s ever been seen here,” he said of his record run. “It’s great except it was on a 91-degree racetrack and we won’t see that unless we were racing tomorrow night,” said Schumacher, who is a five-time Bristol winner. “Those runs last week in the heat are going to be just as much if not more important for us tomorrow. This morning, we tried some different stuff that didn’t work and we learned. When you go out and run fastest in your first and second runs, you can do that.”
Second quickest was Doug Kalitta with a 3.750, 329.50, followed by Shawn Langdon (3.767, 322.42), Spencer Massey (3.768, 326.63) and Larry Dixon (3.769, 331.04)
The bump spot went to Troy Buff who will take on Schumacher in the first round on Sunday.
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Defending Pro Stock winner Erica Enders won her fourth No. 1 qualifier of the year with a comeback run in the final session to knock Greg Anderson off the top spot.
Enders, who led Friday’s opening round before losing the top spot to Chris McGaha, fell to third after Anderson landed on the pole in the opening round on Saturday.
Coming into the final session, Enders had fallen all the way to sixth but rallied back with to post the quickest run of the weekend, going 6.632 at 207.59 mph, easily beating out Anderson, to earn her 16th-career pole.
“It was definitely a long day,” said Enders, who will face John Gaydosh, Jr. in the opening round of eliminations. “We went out there and we knew that the air got better and that the racetrack was in the best condition it’s been all weekend. We went after it but still was conservative. My crew chiefs did a great job.”
Anderson held second with a time of 6.646 at 206.83 mph. McGaha (6.647, 207.02), Shane Gray (6.651, 207.82) and Allen Johnson (6.652, 206.89) rounded out the top five.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Bristol Dragway – Bristol, TN
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals – June 20, 2015
Sunday’s First-Round Pairings
Top Fuel — 1. Tony Schumacher, 3.745 seconds, 326.08 mph vs. 16. Troy Buff, 3.961, 300.86; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.750, 329.50 vs. 15. Terry McMillen, 3.897, 315.86; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.767, 322.42 vs. 14. Pat Dakin, 3.885, 310.98; 4. Spencer Massey, 3.768, 326.63 vs. 13. Leah Pritchett, 3.861, 319.60; 5. Larry Dixon, 3.769, 331.04 vs. 12. Clay Millican, 3.812, 318.17; 6. Antron Brown, 3.770, 320.66 vs. 11. Richie Crampton, 3.805, 318.47; 7. Dave Connolly, 3.778, 323.81 vs. 10. Steve Torrence, 3.791, 324.75; 8. Brittany Force, 3.787, 316.82 vs. 9. J.R. Todd, 3.790, 318.62.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris Karamesines, 3.976, 300.53; 18. Cory McClenathan, 3.993, 302.35; 19. Jenna Haddock, 4.232, 219.36.
Funny Car — 1. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.978, 323.43 vs. 16. Terry Haddock, Toyota Solara, 5.156, 159.85; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.996, 322.04 vs. 15. Jeff Diehl, Solara, 4.521, 263.77; 3. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.996, 319.60 vs. 14. John Hale, Charger, 4.227, 294.31; 4. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 4.006, 322.58 vs. 13. Chad Head, Camry, 4.121, 303.23; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.025, 314.90 vs. 12. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.109, 307.72; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.027, 318.32 vs. 11. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.070, 306.33; 7. Courtney Force, Camaro, 4.046, 316.82 vs. 10. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.052, 305.91; 8. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.048, 317.49 vs. 9. Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 4.049, 318.02.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Paul Lee, 6.321, 273.83.
Pro Stock — 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.632, 207.59 vs. 16. John Gaydosh Jr, Chevrolet Camaro, 6.743, 203.86; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.646, 206.83 vs. 15. V. Gaines, Dodge Dart, 6.739, 205.82; 3. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.647, 207.02 vs. 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.714, 204.60; 4. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.651, 207.82 vs. 13. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.691, 205.85; 5. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.652, 206.89 vs. 12. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.686, 206.64; 6. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.653, 206.45 vs. 11. Richie Stevens, Dart, 6.685, 206.16; 7. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.654, 207.27 vs. 10. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.666, 205.85; 8. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.656, 207.30 vs. 9. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.659, 206.35.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Alan Prusiensky, 6.771, 203.19; 18. Dave River, 6.835, 202.48.
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