Friday's View from the Valley
Friday, June 15, 2012
A traditional landmark long associated with the NHRA Ford Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway is this familiar sign that informs the fans that the city of Bristol straddles the borderline between the states of Tennessee and Virginia. |
Before the evening Pro qualifying session began at 5 p.m., the Sportsman cars, including this large contingent of Super Comp entries, had the opportunity to gather valuable data during qualifying and time runs. |
While the crews readied their cars for the opening round of qualifying, the fans had a great chance to get autographs and have pictures taken with their favorite racers, such as Funny Car newcomer Blake Alexander. |
The Nitro Harleys are making their second and final appearance of 2012. Japanese racer Tak Shigamatsu came out strong, pacing the first session with a 6.336. Shigamatsu fell to third after Joey Sternotti and Tommy Grimes improved in the second session. |
Robert Hight paced the Funny Car opening session with a 4.124 with his special-edition Elvis/AAA Insurance entry. Unfortunately for Hight, his engine let go during his Friday night run, and he slipped to ninth after day one. |
| Tony Schumacher’s U.S. Army dragster was the pacesetter in the early Top Fuel session at 3.865. “The Sarge” improved to a 3.822, but his teammate Antron Brown was a little better under the lights, putting Schumacher No. 2 after two. |
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Allen Johnson grabbed the provisional No. 1 qualifying position for Pro Stock with a new track record of 6.623. If it holds, it will be his third straight pole position at the Thunder Valley Nationals. |
Though Jason Line had a limited number of test runs on his new Pro Stock ’12 Chevy Camaro SS, he got off to a promising start with a 6.678, 206.04 to earn the No. 5 spot over Rodger Brogdon, who had the same e.t., but a slower speed. |
Mike Edwards, who has been inching up the qualifying ladder in the last three races, showed continued improvement with a 6.641 clocking that put him in the No. 2 slot in Pro Stock right behind Allen Johnson’s Dodge. |
After struggling with his chassis and clutch tune-up issues earlier this year that resulted in five DNQs and only one round-win, V. Gaines has made a 180-degree turn-around, as shown by his 6.673 performance on Friday evening that put him in the No. 4 position in the Pro Stock qualifying order. |
Bob Tasca III enjoyed the best outing of any Funny Car racer Friday, posting a second-best 4.14 in the first session, then improving to a 4.063 in the final session that has him atop the order entering Saturday. Tasca was also low qualifier at this event last year. |
After a tire-smoking run earlier in the day, Mike Neff set the tone for the night session when he powered to a 4.072 in the opening pair that ultimately held for the provisional No. 2 spot on the Funny Car sheets. |
After an early shutoff to open his weekend, Ron Capps, the hottest driver in Funny Car recently, returned to form under the lights, powering his NAPA Dodge to a fourth-best 4.091. |
Englishtown Top Fuel champ Steve Torrence, who is paying tribute to the late John Mitchell with a special Montana Express paint scheme, ran two solid 3.8s to open his weekend, clocking a third-best 3.89 in the first session then a 3.84 in the second one. |
One of the pleasant surprises of the first day in Top Fuel was Terry McMillen, who came extremely close to capturing his first No. 1 with a 3.823. The career-best run held as the top run all the way until the final pair when McMillen was bumped down to third. |
Antron Brown, who was No. 2 after the first Top Fuel session, moved up to the top spot when he reset both ends of the Bristol Dragway track record with a 3.814 at 323.12 mph in the final pair down the track. |
Friday evening’s qualifying session was capped off by a spectacular firework display, with the booming sounds echoing through the hills of the fabled Thunder Valley. |