Saturday's Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals photo blog
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Preparations are already under way for the second day of NHRA Full Throttle qualifying, such as Funny Car's Bob Tasca III's crew pulling cars out of the haulers and working on initial tune-ups, and the loyal Pennsylvania NHRA fans are also starting to fill the pits at Maple Grove Raceway. The NHRA Full Throttle cars are scheduled to hit the track at 11:15 a.m., and with cooler temps and overcast skies, improvements are expected across the board. |
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The quest for Wallys is officially under way in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, which have been on track since 8:30 this morning, running the opening couple of rounds of eliminations. |
| Diane Konas is helping man the Maple Grove Raceway souvenir shop, which in addition to its regular items has special items celebrating the track's 50th anniversary, again this weekend. Konas has worked at Maple Grove for more than 30 years. |
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[12:05 p.m.] Andrew Hines paced Pro Stock Motorcycle's third session, running a 6.840 that was a hundredth quicker than teammate Eddie Krawiec. Hector Arana Jr. was third quickest with a 6.898. |
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[12:05 p.m.] Veteran rider Craig Treble is returning to Pro Stock Motorcycle racing this weekend on a Buell owned by Hector Arana Sr. Treble, who has kept his skills sharp bracket racing, enters the final qualifying session on the bump at 7.269. |
| [12:10 p.m.] Though there was very little improvement in Pro Stock in Q3, Jason Line (below) ran just .005-second off his qualifying time to lead the session and tally three bonus points. Erica Enders (right) ranked second in the session, followed by Allen Johnson. |
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[1:55 p.m.] Tony Schumacher (left) shot to the top of the Top Fuel charts when he posted a 3.736, a run just .001-second off the national record set by Del Worsham at this event last year. The run came moments after Brandon Bernstein (below) had jumped to the No. 1 spot with a career-best run of 3.758 at 326.48 mph. |
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| [1:55 p.m.] Doug Kalitta has been consistently quick, running in the 3.7s on all three passes and collecting four qualifying bonus points, which ties him with Tony Schumacher for the most in Top Fuel through three sessions. |
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[2:10 p.m.] Cruz Pedregon (below) became the fourth member of Funny Car's three-second club, pacing the third qualifying session with a 3.997 (left). |
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| [2:10 p.m.] Jack Beckman is now in position to leave Maple Grove Raceway with a national record and the 20 extra points that come with it, after he posted a 4.003 in this morning's session to back up his 3.989 from last night. |
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[2:10 p.m.] In addition to the many Breast Cancer Awareness entries this weekend, Funny Car racer Johnny Gray is bannering a good cause on his entry, Alex's Lemonade Stand. Gray, who last year earned his first career No. 1 at this event, was one of several drivers to improve in Q3, running a 4.039 to move into the top half of the field. |
[3:05 p.m.] Between Pro qualifying sessions today, NHRA announcer Bob Frey, right, hosted a Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins story session in the pits featuring, from left, Joe Lepone Jr., Joe Tryson, and Larry Lombardo. |
| [3:05 p.m.] The grandstands are once again packed at Maple Grove Raceway as the fields are set for tomorrow's eliminations. |
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[3:15 p.m.] Eddie Krawiec, left, and crew chief Matt Hines had plenty of reason to smile by laying down a 3.799 to secure the Pro Stock Motorcycle No. 1 starting spot. Krawiec tallied a total of 10 bonus points over the weekend. |
| [3:15 p.m.] LE Tonglet made a nice move in the final Pro Stock Motorcycle session, moving from ninth up to fifth after posting a 6.877. He faces John Hall in round one. |
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[3:25 p.m.] Last year at this event, Jason Line set a new Pro Stock national e.t. record. He's back to strong performances on the Maple Grove Raceway dragstrip, grabbing the pole with a 6.515 run in the final session. |
| [3:25 p.m.] Dave Connolly had a great final Pro Stock qualifying session. Not only did he help tune Erica Enders to the second-quickest run of the round, but he ranked third with his 6.539 that was a thousandth slower than Enders' time. |
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[3:25 p.m.] One of the most intriguing matches of tomorrow's opening round in Pro Stock is the pairing of quasi-teammates Allen Johnson and Vincent Nobile (pictured). Johnson will have lane choice. |
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[4:05 p.m.] For the first time since the St. Louis event in 2008, David Grubnic will lead Top Fuel into eliminations after tying the quickest run in NHRA history, 3.728, on his final qualifying attempt. |
| [4:05 p.m.] While teammate David Grubnic was tying the quickest run ever, Doug Kalitta was posting the second-fastest speed in Top Fuel history, 331.45 mph. Both Grubnic's e.t. and Kalitta's speed are new track records. |
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[4:05 p.m.] There will be a little throwback to the days of the "Beer Wars" when Larry Dixon (pictured) and Brandon Bernstein line up side by side in the opening round of Top Fuel. Bernstein has lane choice based on his 3.758 run that placed him sixth on the ladder. |
[4:05 p.m.] Though David Grubnic went quicker, Morgan Lucas at this moment is the owner of the national e.t. record in Top Fuel because his 3.733 in the final session was backed up by a 3.760 earlier. |
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[4:25 p.m.] The father-daughter duo of John (below) and Courtney (left) Force were among the stars of the final qualifying session, both posting 4.04s. John was .005-second quicker than his daughter, earning him one bonus point behind leaders Jack Beckman and Johnny Gray. |
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| [4:25 p.m.] After struggling on his first three attempts, of which he never made it down the track fully under power, Ron Capps ran a clutch 4.055 on his final attempt to secure a spot in the top half of starting field. When Capps bumped in, he knocked out fellow Funny Car Countdown runner Tim Wilkerson, whose best of 4.273 fell just short. |
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