The first round of eliminations is rife with subplots of teammates racing one another with a playoff berth on the line or battles between the actual playoff hopefuls themselves.

Bob Vandergriff Jr.

The battle for the final spot in Top Fuel is down to three players with 10th place Bob Vandergriff Jr. clinging to a nine-point lead over Clay Millican and 76 over Khalid alBalooshi. alBalooshi, who is just barely mathematically alive, could take a huge step in his monumental task by beating Vandergriff in their round-one race. Millican faces No. 2 qualifier Spencer Massey in round one and, should he win, will face the winner of the Vandergriff vs. alBalooshi bash.

After John Force and Cruz Pedregon both clinched their playoff berths in qualifying, the Funny Car battle is now for the final two spots. Jeff Arend is currently ninth, and Bob Tasca III is 10th, but both have intriguing first-round matches. Arend will face his Kalitta Motorsports teammate, Alexis DeJoria, and Tasca takes on former technology partner Tim Wilkerson, who is in the 12th spot, 22 points behind Tasca. DeJoria already has been eliminated from Countdown contention, but Arend is just 17 points ahead of Tasca.

Reigning world champ Matt Hagan also is in the mix and also with an interesting first-round match against his teammate, Ron Capps. Hagan is in 11th place, just 19 points behind Tasca, and with a Tasca loss and a Hagan win, he could pass Tasca. Capps, meanwhile, is battling Robert Hight to try to earn the top seed in the playoffs and the crucial bonus points that go with it.

Barring a miracle comeback by Rodger Brogdon, the Pro Stock top 10 is sealed, with V. Gaines and Jeg Coughlin Jr. grabbing the final two spots after Shane Gray failed to qualify and fell from eighth to 11th place. In another interesting turn, Brogdon faces Coughlin in round one. Should he defeat Coughlin and go on to win the event, he will be tied in points with Coughlin. The first tiebreaker is a head-to-head record, and they would be even at 1-1. The second tiebreaker is rounds won, and Brogdon would get the nod, 9-8, if he wins the event.

Shawn Gann

Shawn Gann holds a 22-point edge on John Hall and 57 on Steve Johnson in the battle for the 10th spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle, and all three are on the same side of the ladder. Gann, the No. 10 qualifier, races No. 7 Michael Ray. Johnson, No. 14, must race No. 3 qualifier Eddie Krawiec, and No. 11 Hall must race his Sovereign/Star Racing teammate Scotty Pollacheck, the No. 6 qualifier.

If Johnson and Hall should both win their first-round races, they will face one another in round two. If Gann wins, he’ll face the winner of the Hector Arana Sr. vs. Jim Underdahl race.

Pollacheck and LE Tonglet also clinched their berths in qualifying, but, mathematically at least, eighth-place Michael Ray and ninth-place Matt Smith also are vulnerable to being bumped from the playoffs.

After a devastating, body-destroying blower explosion yesterday, the Jim Dunn/Grime Boss Racing Funny Car team, as promised, will be ready for today's final eliminations. The massive explosion was caused by a rocker arm that broke 3.5 seconds into the run. (Left) Driver Todd Lesenko and Dianne Dunn fueled up their effort this morning. The team's spare body will be atop the same chassis that Lesenko rode out the explosion.

In the calm before the storm, Funny Car playoff contender Tim Wilkerson posed for photos with some of his fans.

Ron Capps, whose wonderful career is lacking only two major accomplishments — a U.S. Nationals win and a world championship — has his eyes set on both this year. He entered this event as the Funny Car points leader and would love to hold off second-place Robert Hight to earn the top seed — and the crucial bonus points that go with it heading into the Countdown playoffs — but to do so, he'll have to end the playoff dreams of his teammate, reigning world champ Matt Hagan, his first-round opponent. Capps insists his focus is on winning the Big Go above all. "We're just focusing on winning Indy," Capps said. "Since [crew chief] Rahn Tobler took over our NAPA team, I believe when we roll in on Sunday mornings it's our race to lose because we have such a great race car and team. I just want to have the best U.S. Nationals I can have." Said Hagan, "We'd prefer not to have to worry about getting into the Countdown by what happens on Sunday, but, you know, this is what racing is all about. It will be a good, old-fashioned gunfight, and there's nothing better than that for the fans."

[11:15 a.m.] Top Fuel rookie Khalid alBalooshi defeated 10th place Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the first round to keep his slim playoff hopes alive. With 11th place Clay Millican's first-round loss to Spencer Massey, alBalooshi can steal the 10th and final spot away from Vandergriff should he win the event. He has lane choice over No. 2 qualifier spencer Massey. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Brandon Bernstein vs. Shawn Langdon, Morgan Lucas vs. Tony Schumacher, and Antron Brown vs. J.R. Todd.

[11:30 a.m.] Matt Hagan upset teammate and No. 3 qualifier Ron Capps in round one of Funny Car to keep his playoff hopes alive. Capps smoked the tires in his NAPA Charger just off the line and watched Hagan power away to a 4.10.

Incredibly, for the second straight run, rookie Funny Car driver Todd Lesenko’s Grime Boss/Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car ended a pass in pieces with a body-shattering blower explosion; this one while defeating a tire-smoking Jack Beckman in round one. Last night, Lesenko (below, right, with ESPN2's Gary Gerould) made the field on a similar explosion and rebounded, but the team has announced that they do not have enough pieces to contest the second round, meaning a bye run for the winner of the Tony Pedregon vs. Mike Neff race.

[12:15 p.m.] The Countdown drama ratcheted up in round one of Funny Car, where five of the eight lower-qualified entries advanced to round two, led by Jeff Arend (left), who defeated Kalitta Motorsports teammate Alexis DeJoria to help protect his ninth spot in the standings and solidify his place in the Countdown standings. Arend will now cede lane choice in round two to Tim Wilkerson, who defeated Bob Tasca III on a holeshot, 4.13 to 4.12, to bump 10th-place Tasca from the playoffs by one point. The battle for the final two spots is now between Arend, Hagan, and Wilkerson. Arend is 36 points ahead of 10th place Hagan and 37 in front of 11th-ranked Wilkerson. Hagan has lane choice against Robert Hight. The final quarterfinal race will pit low qualifier Courtney Force, with lane choice, against Johnny Gray.

[12:40 p.m.] Rodger Brogdon scored a huge holeshot win over Jeg Coughlin Jr. in round one of Pro Stock, 6.63 to 6.60, and can now bump Coughlin from the top 10 if he wins the event. Should he win the race — which would be his first Pro win — Brogdon would tie Coughlin in points at 635 but advance to the Countdown playoffs on the second tiebreaker (rounds won, 9-8; the first tiebreaker, head-to-head record, is tied at 1-1). Brogdon’s road will be a tough one though because he faces low qualifier and fellow Houstonian Erica Enders in round two; Enders has lane choice. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Ron Krisher vs. Dave Connolly, Allen Johnson vs. V. Gaines, and Vincent Nobile vs. Larry Morgan.

[12:55 p.m.] In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Scotty Pollacheck (left) had the unfortunate task of eliminating his Sovereign/Star Racing teammate John Hall from playoff contention with his first-round victory over Hall. There was plenty of drama in the pairing when Hall’s bike initially failed to fire, but Pollacheck waited for him, then beat him to the finish line. Hall’s loss set the top 10 for the playoffs. Matt Smith’s loss to LE Tonglet relegates him to 10th, and Shawn Gann’s victory over Michael Ray boosted him one spot to ninth; he can get as high as eighth (passing Ray) by winning the event. Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Andrew Hines vs. Karen Stoffer, Hector Arana Jr. vs. Tonglet, Hector Arana Sr. vs. Gann, and Eddie Krawiec vs. Pollacheck.

[1:35 p.m.] Spencer Massey's second-round defeat of Khalid alBalooshi ended the rookie driver's Top Fuel Countdown playoff hopes and gave Bob Vandergriff Jr. the No. 10 spot in the playoffs. Both Massey and Antron Brown, who beat J.R. Todd, ran 3.802, but Massey will have lane choice based on his superior speed. Brown's win also locked up the No. 1 playoff seed and the 20 bonus points. The other semifinal will pit Shawn Langdon, with lane choice, against Tony Schumacher.

[1:55 p.m.] The already incredible drama of the Funny Car playoff battle took another uptick when both Tim Wilkerson (above) and Matt Hagan (left) both won their second-round matches. Wilkerson beat Jeff Arend, and Hagan outdueled Robert Hight. Arend remains ninth (838 points), but Hagan (822) and Wilkerson (819) are both closing in. In the semifinals, Hagan will face Mike Neff, and Wilkerson will square off with Johnny Gray, and neither of the hopefuls has lane choice. If both Hagan and Wilkerson win their semifinal races, both will pass Arend and knock him from the playoffs. If only one of them wins, that driver will make the playoffs, and the other would not. If both lose in the semifinals, Hagan, the defending national champ, will be the in the playoffs and Wilkerson will not.

[2:05 p.m.] Pro Stock low qualifier Erica Enders continues to look invincible with her second straight 6.55 to end Rodger Brogdon's long shot hopes of making the playoffs. With Brogdon's loss, Jeg Coughlin Jr. clinched the 10th and final spot in the playoffs. Enders will have lane choice in the semifinals against V. Gaines, who upset Allen Johnson. The other semi's will pit Vincent Nobile against Dave Connolly; Nobile has lane choice.

[2:10 p.m.] Low qualifier Andrew Hines, still seeking his first career Indy win, had low e.t. of round two of Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 6.900 against a red-lighting Karen Stoffer. He'll have lane choice against Hector Arana Jr., who ran a 6.981 in defeating LE Tonglet. The other semifinals will pair Hines' Harley-Davidson teammate, Eddie Krawiec, against Hector Arana Sr. Krawiec will have lane choice based on his 6.907 to Hector Sr.'s 6.951.

[3:25 p.m.] Tony Schumacher beat low qualifier Shawn Langdon on a semifinal holehot, 3.808 to 3.801, to reach his 11th Indy final. Schumacher is seeking a record ninth Indy Top Fuel victory; with a win, he will break his current tie with “Big Daddy” Don Garlits for most U.S. Nationals Top Fuel wins and would tie Pro Stock’s Bob Glidden for most U.S. Nationals victories in the Full Throttle categories with nine. Spencer Massey, who ran 3.807 to beat Antron Brown in the other semifinal round, will have lane choice and is looking for his first Indy win.

[3:30 p.m.] Tim Wilkerson (above) beat all the odds to make the Funny Car playoffs, coming from 12th place to pass Bob Tasca III and Matt Hagan thanks to a semifinal victory over Johnny Gray. Wilkerson, who beat Gray in the 2003 Funny Car final, will be gunning for his second Indy win when he takes on defending event champ Mike Neff (below) in the final. Neff’s defeat of Hagan ended the defending national champ’s hopes of a repeat.

[3:35 p.m.] Dave Connolly, who won the U.S. Nationals Pro Stock crown back to back in 2007 and 2008, will get a shot at a third title when he takes on low qualifier Erica Enders — whose car he tunes — in the final round. Enders, who ran her third straight 6.55 to beat V. Gaines, will have lane choice over Connolly's 6.596.

[3:40 p.m.] Hector Arana Sr., the 2009 U.S. Nationals Pro Stock Motorcycle champ, will be shooting for a second Indy crown after points leader Eddie Krawiec's semifinal red-light against him. Arana will face Krawiec's Harley teammate, low qualifier Andrew Hines, in the final. Hines beat Arana's son, Hector Jr., in their semi's with a 6.91.

Freddy Bear (above) won the special eight-car eighth-mile gasser challenge by defeating Ed Kasiciki (below) in the final round, 5.81 to 6.09.

Three-time world champ Andrew Hines, near lane, collected his first Indy Pro Stock Motorcycle crown, defeating Hector Arana Sr. in the final round, 6.93 to an engine-wounding 7.45. Arana was .007 on the Tree, Hines was .008.

Dave Connolly, near lane, won his third Indy Pro Stock Wally, defeating Erica Enders on a holeshot, 6.589 to 6.580. Connolly, who is the crew chief on Erica’s car, beat her off the line, .015 to .026 to win by just .002-second.

Mike Neff, far lane, ran low e.t. of eliminations and scored his second consecutive Indy win. The Castrol GTX Ford Mustang ran 4.07 seconds to hunt down Wilkerson’s holeshot-aided 4.15 in the final.

Tony Schumacher, far lane, tied Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden with nine Indy wins when the U.S. Army driver left on and outran teammate Spencer Massey in a 3.80 to 3.82 Top Fuel final.

The U.S. Nationals Full Throttle winners, from left, Tony Schumacher, Dave Connolly, Andrew Hines, and Mike Neff.

 Saturday's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals photo blog