Friday's View From Vegas II
Friday, October 28, 2011
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[10 a.m.] The sun is shining and race cars are running down The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Day 2 of the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals. After a full day of Sportsman qualifying Thursday, the NHRA Full Throttle Pros will get their first crack at the track later this afternoon, with sessions scheduled for 12:15 and 3:15 p.m.
Temperatures today are expected to reach a race-engine-friendly 73 degrees, with a gradual warm up over the weekend into the high 70s. |
The NHRA Fan Fest Las Vegas-style last night at the Fremont Street Experience was packed with NHRA race fans who got the chance to meet the stars of the Full Throttle tour, like Del Worsham and Larry Dixon (below left) and Hector Arana Sr. and Jr. (below right), and get autographs from them well into the neon-lit Vegas evening. |
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| The Al-Anabi team is helping promote international awareness for breast cancer with a special “pink out” paint scheme. The Top Fuelers driven by Larry Dixon and Del Worsham sport a pink paint scheme with pink spill plates on both the front and rear wings and the familiar pink ribbon representing breast cancer awareness. In addition, the Al-Anabi Racing autograph handout cards will be pink this weekend. The disease hits close to home with Al-Anabi team manager Alan Johnson. His sister, Pam, was treated for breast cancer in 2007 and is currently fighting a recurrence of the disease. Pam is in attendance to take part in the breast cancer awareness activities. |
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| Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown, Funny Car ace Robert Hight, and Pro Stock veteran Jason Line have been favored by the New York-New York Hotel & Casino’s race and sports book to win their classes at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals this weekend. Brown and Hight both are listed at 5/2 and Line is at 9/5. |
TOP FUEL
Antron Brown 5/2
Del Worsham 3/1
Larry Dixon 9/2
Spencer Massey 9/2
Doug Kalitta 7/1
Bob Vandergriff Jr. 10/1
Tony Schumacher 10/1
Brandon Bernstein 14/1
Field (all others) 15/1 |
FUNNY CAR
Robert Hight 5/2
Jack Beckman 3/1
Mike Neff 9/2
Cruz Pedregon 5/1
Matt Hagan 8/1
Ron Capps 8/1
Tim Wilkerson 12/1
John Force 12/1
Johnny Gray 15/1
Jeff Arend 15/1
Field (all others) 12/1 |
PRO STOCK
Jason Line 9/5
Greg Anderson 5/2
Vincent Nobile 4/1
Erica Enders 5/1
Mike Edwards 5/1
Greg Stanfield 7/1
Allen Johnson 9/1
Shane Gray 10/1
Ronnie Humphrey 15/1
Field (all others) 12/1 |
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An outstanding crowd is on hand for today's action, packing the grandstands to take in the action on The Strip, which includes the two-wheel antics of veteran Ed "the Outlaw" Jones and his Jelly Belly Candyland Stage wheelstander.
The starting line area has been painted pink in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month [story]. |
[12:45 p.m.] Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Eddie Krawiec put his Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley into the provisional No. 1 spot with a 6.952 at 193.93 mph that earned him three session bonus points and boosted his championship lead over Hector Arana Jr. to 13 markers. Arana wasn't among the session's quick three.
Jerry Savoie's 6.970 was second quick, and Hector Arana Sr.'s 6.980 was third.
Track records are 6.909 by Hector Sr. and 196.02 mph by Krawiec, both set at this event last year. |
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Justin Finley’s Next Level Suzuki is wrapped in pink this weekend, lending his support to National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Finley got the idea to participate in the promotion after hearing the inspirational story of breast cancer survivor Kari Neely, the human resources manger at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, who was diagnosed with breast cancer May 30, 2008. She is the fourth generation in her family to fight the disease but is currently in remission. In 2008, Neely created Team LVMS to raise funds and awareness. To date, the team has raised more than $20,000, which has been presented to the American Cancer Society. |
[1:15 p.m.] Pro Stock points leader Jason Line, who can clinch his second career Full Throttle championship this weekend, is off to a good start, earning three bonus points by being the first session’s qualifying leader after posting a 6.624 with his Summit Pontiac. Line’s pass was just a thousandth of a second shy of the track record, held by Mike Edwards at 6.623. Edwards qualified No. 2 with a 6.627 and Ron Krisher third at 6.638, and both broke Allen Johnson’s track speed record of 208.04 mph with matching speeds of 208.33. |
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[1:45 p.m.] Matt Hagan cut the distance between he and his Funny Car points-leading teammate Jack Beckman to just two points in collecting three markers as the No. 1 qualifier in the first qualifying session with a 4.142 from his DieHard Advanced Gold Charger.
Mike Neff finished No. 2 with a 4.145, an e.t. that matched Alexis DeJoria’s session-opening pass but got the higher spot based on speed, 309.98 to 302.96. It's DeJoria's first session bonus point in her three-race nitro career. |
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| [2:45 p.m.] Del Worsham (above) had the best pass of the first Top Fuel session with a 3.879 to cut into points-leader Antron Brown’s advantage. Worsham is fourth, 48 points back, behind teammate Larry Dixon (-20 to Brown) and Spencer Massey (-25). T.J. Zizzo (right) was the session’s pleasant surprise with a 3.899 that held on for the top spot for most of the session before bettered by Worsham. Tony Schumacher had a third-best 3.902. |
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NHRA legends Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen, left, and Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, who are the event’s grand marshals, took part in an autograph signing after the first qualifying session, signing specially designed hero cards (below). The duo also will take part in Sunday’s Track Walk. |
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[4 p.m.] Hector Arana Sr. took over the Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying lead with his Lucas Oil Buell, ripping to a 6.924 for the No. 1 spot. Arana has qualified fourth or better in the last four races, qualifying No. 2 in the most recent NHRA race in Phoenix. Andrew Hines leapfrogged first-session-leading, Harley teammate Eddie Krawiec with a 6.940 for No. 2. Krawiec, the points leader, had the session's third-best pass, a 6.948. |
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[4:30 p.m.] Greg Anderson, who has pretty much capitulated the Pro Stock championship to his points-leading teammate Jason Line and is now concentrating on a Team Summit 1-2 finish, couldn't better his teammate in the second session; he posted a 6.633 behind Line's 6.631.
Mike Edwards has the round's third-best time, a 6.641, but remained second to Line based on their respective first-session times of 6.624 and 6.627. |
| Buddy Perkinson, left, is wheeling a second Pro Stock Mustang for veteran owner/driver Larry Morgan. Morgan’s Lucas Oil Ford in qualified No. 10 with a 6.677, and Perkinson’s TuffRail.com machine is outside the top 12 after posting a 6.736. |
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[5:20 p.m.] (Above) After making the first session’s worst pass (8.161) in Funny Car, Robert Hight had to lead off the second session but did it in style with a 4.085 that took the No. 1 spot and stayed there throughout.
The newly clean-shaven Tommy DeLago (left) tuned Matt Hagan to a 4.093 that was the second-quickest pass of the session, but, more importantly, it earned him two points, which ties him for the lead with teammate Jack Beckman.
Melanie Troxel's 4.103 was the round's third-best time. |
[6:20 p.m.] Brandon Bernstein (above), who qualified No. 1 earlier this year in Bristol, is halfway to his second pole of the season after driving his Copart Top Fueler to a 3.833 to lead the second session. (Below) Spencer Massey, coming off a staggering DNQ two weeks ago in Phoenix, is the No. 2 qualifier after a 3.856; Steve Torrence also ran 3.856 in the session, but Massey's FRAM dragster got the higher seed based on speed, 319.67 to 317.49. |
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Danny Sutton and the MAVTV Missile jet dragster closed the day with a flame-throwing pass. |