Persistent rain showers forced NHRA officials to postpone the completion of eliminations for the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway until Monday at 11 a.m.
Nearly two rounds of racing was completed in Top Fuel, and only one round was finished in Funny Car and Pro Stock before rain showers moved into the area Sunday afternoon.
In Top Fuel competition, series leader Antron Brown posted a national record time of 3.722 seconds and advanced to the semifinals, along with Brandon Bernstein and rookie Khalid alBalooshi. Racing will begin Monday with the final second-round pair in Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon vs. Doug Kalitta.
In Funny Car, Jack Beckman improved his national record performance to 3.986 seconds with a first-round win over Mike Smith and will meet points leader Ron Capps in a critical second round match in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Title contender Mike Neff, John Force, Johnny Gray, defending champ Matt Hagan, Todd Lesenko, and Jim Head also will race in round two.
Jason Line continued to shine in Pro Stock, posting the second-quickest and third-fastest run in history in the opening round. Line’s 6.482 at 213.64 mph was more than enough to get the victory over Shane Gray and move the defending event champ to round two. Line will face off with Ronnie Humphrey in a rematch of last year’s final round. V. Gaines, Greg Anderson, Erica Enders, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Dave Connolly, and Allen Johnson also advanced to the second round. All four rounds of racing remain in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
In addition to the completion of eliminations in the four NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series classes, three NHRA Lucas Oil Series categories will be completed as well: Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Comp.
Gates will open at 8 a.m. All Sunday tickets will be honored for admission on Monday, and kids 15 and under will be admitted free. Tickets for purchase will be available for $25. All parking will be free. For ticket information, visit www.maplegroveraceway.com.
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