Del Worsham led Friday’s Funny Car qualifying for the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways. Photo: NHRA Media
Reigning Funny Car world champion Del Worsham sprinted to the provisional top qualifier in record setting fashion Friday at the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 16th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
Worsham posted a 3.886-second pass at 327.98 mph in his DHL Toyota Camry to reset both ends of the track record at Pacific Raceways and lead the Funny Car class through Friday. Worsham, who has victories at Seattle in both Funny Car (1999) and Top Fuel (2011), has 19 No. 1 qualifiers in his career and two this season. Worsham raced to the No. 1 qualifier last weekend in Sonoma and is two sessions away from securing back-to-back top spots for the first time in his Funny Car career.
“I’ve been coming here most of my life, going back to the early-80s, and this track has always been great,” said Worsham, who is fourth in points. “It’s always been fast. We’ve always come to Seattle and made usually our best runs ever. This run didn’t let anybody down. We’re making runs on 120-degree tracks that 12 months ago nobody believed you could make.”
Chad Head pushed his Head Racing Toyota Camry to the No. 2 spot with a 3.894 at 327.11. Head is 11th in points and hoping to string together a series of strong performances to move into the top-10 and qualify for the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Two-time 2016 event winner Tim Wilkerson is third in his Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang. Points leader Ron Capps, who has four victories in seven final round appearances this season and has clinched his spot in the Countdown, is fourth in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T. Courtney Force, who has also clinched a spot in the Countdown, is fifth.
Top Fuel’s Torrence also reset both ends of the track record when he navigated his Capco Contractors / Torrence Racing dragster down the dragstrip in 3.701 at 328.54. Torrence, who suffered a heart attack in late June, has eight No. 1 qualifiers so far this season and two victories in four final rounds. He is third in points and has already claimed his spot in the Countdown.
“I don’t think you could script this any better in a fairytale story book for a kid that wants to be a racecar driver,” said Torrence, who is having the best season of his career. “I’ve got a really great group of guys that stand beside me and they’ve pushed this car to the front. It takes absolute dedication and consistency for that car to go out and be able to do that time after time. I just try to not be the weak link. This track has proven to be pretty stellar right off the bat. We’ll just continue marching forward.”
Brittany Force posted a 3.729 at 325.06 at the controls of her Monster Energy dragster to claim the second spot through two sessions. Force has two wins this year and has secured a spot in the Countdown.
Clay Millican is third with a 3.733 at 319.29 and is trailed by reigning world champ Antron Brown in fourth and Doug Kalitta in fifth.
In Pro Stock, Vincent Nobile powered to the top qualifying position with a 6.549 at 211.10 in his Mountain View Tire Chevy Camaro. The 2013 event winner is pursuing his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and fifth of his career. This is the first time this season Nobile has led qualifying through Friday.
“The No. 1 qualifier is great, but more importantly I have a really fast, consistent racecar,” said Nobile, who is currently fifth in points with a runner-up finish in Denver. “First round we were No. 3 and second round we were No. 1, but in my head, as a driver, I’ve got a really good, top-five car consistently and I think that’s what really wins races. Tomorrow we’re going to do our best to hold the spot.”
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In third is Bo Butner in his Jim Butner Auto Chevy Camaro with a 6.565 at 210.11. He is followed by Shane Gray, who was the No. 1 qualifier in Chicago, in fourth and Drew Skillman in fifth.
The final two qualifying sessions of the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil will be held Saturday, Aug. 6, at 1 and 4 pm and will set the field for Sunday’s eliminations, scheduled to begin at 11 am.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Pacific Raceways – Kent, WA
NHRA Northwest Nationals – Aug. 5, 2016
Friday’s Qualifying Results
Top Fuel — 1. Steve Torrence, 3.701 seconds, 328.54 mph; 2. Brittany Force, 3.729, 325.06; 3. Clay Millican, 3.733, 319.29; 4. Antron Brown, 3.737, 323.19; 5. Doug Kalitta, 3.741, 324.98; 6. Tony Schumacher, 3.745, 318.24; 7. Leah Pritchett, 3.781, 319.45; 8. Terry McMillen, 3.792, 313.58; 9. T.J. Zizzo, 3.794, 319.22; 10. Shawn Langdon, 3.814, 316.75; 11. J.R. Todd, 3.816, 318.69; 12. Morgan Lucas, 3.836, 289.82.
Not Qualified: 13. Richie Crampton, 3.911, 278.06; 14. Bill Litton, 4.044, 268.92; 15. Troy Buff, 4.136, 227.57; 16. Ron Smith, 4.242, 259.46; 17. Scott Palmer, 6.396, 96.17.
Funny Car — 1. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 3.886, 327.98; 2. Chad Head, Camry, 3.894, 327.11; 3. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.901, 324.05; 4. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.902, 324.59; 5. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.902, 325.06; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.903, 322.73; 7. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.918, 324.75; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 3.927, 321.88; 9. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.928, 319.98; 10. John Force, Camaro, 3.940, 325.85; 11. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.941, 325.22; 12. John Hale, Charger, 4.005, 315.86.
Not Qualified: 13. Gary Densham, 4.052, 307.72; 14. Jeff Diehl, 6.609, 100.55; 15. Tim Gibbons, 7.090, 92.45.
Pro Stock — 1. Vincent Nobile, Chevy Camaro, 6.549, 211.10; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.560, 211.26; 3. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.565, 211.86; 4. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.572, 210.93; 5. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.576, 210.28; 6. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.580, 210.50; 7. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.594, 209.43; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.597, 208.97; 9. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.612, 209.07; 10. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.622, 209.14; 11. Aaron Strong, Camaro, 6.640, 208.46; 12. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.645, 207.94.
Not Qualified: 13. Deric Kramer, 6.661, 207.75; 14. Alan Prusiensky, 6.783, 203.06; 15. Erica Enders, 12.279, 70.99.
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