A pair of familiar faces front Funny Car and Pro Stock at Heartland Park Topeka with Ashley Force Hood and Mike Edwards sitting atop their respective fields following the first day of action at the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX. Antron Brown nabbed the provisional top spot in Top Fuel.
Force Hood and Edwards both qualified No. 1 two weeks ago in Bristol, meaning this will be their second straight start from the top spot should their times hold through Saturday’s two sessions. For Force Hood, it would be her third overall No. 1 this season, and Edwards would be the top qualifier for the fifth time in the first nine events. Brown is seeking his third top start of the season.
Antron Brown
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Brown has been strong all season, winning twice and leading the points on multiple occasions, and his solid performance continued with a 3.841 that placed his Matco Tools-backed entry in the lead in Top Fuel entering Saturday’s sessions, which are expected to be under hot, sunny conditions and unlikely to produce many improvements. That’s good news for Brown because the No. 1 has added value here due to the fact that only 15 cars entered the event, meaning the top qualifier will get a bye in the opening round.
“The run went perfect,” said Brown. “The conditions were changed dramatically with the sun going down. The track temp went down about 20 to 25 degrees from the earlier session, so we knew it was pretty stout. We went for a top three spot. The car was a little on the edge here and there, but it stuck right down there. When I went through the finish line, I knew it was going to be a good run. I was thinking more of a .85, .86, but to see that .841 was good. It was a great run, and our team did a fantastic job.
“Tomorrow’s going to be hotter, and I don’t see anybody in the top five or top six moving around. I think tomorrow the way conditions are going to be that if you run a low 3.9 you’re going to be doing awesome. You’re not going to see any cars dipping into the 3.8s tomorrow. Tomorrow’s going to get us ready for race day.”
Larry Dixon ended the first session in second, and he was able to keep himself there after clocking a 3.859 in the night session. Tony Schumacher, who was the early leader, improved to a 3.866 that gives him the third spot entering Saturday. Brandon Bernstein is fourth, followed by Clay Millican, Spencer Massey, and teammates Morgan Lucas and Shawn Langdon. Joe Hartley is the final driver who secured a spot in the provisional field with his 4.069 placing him 12th.
Doug Kalitta, Steve Chrisman, and Chris Karamesines are the three drivers who were unable to break into the top 12, and they will need to make at least one run tomorrow to break into the field.
Ashley Force Hood
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Force Hood absolutely crushed the Funny Car field with a 4.107 from her Castrol GTX Mustang that was nearly eight-hundredths better than the No. 2 finisher, her father, John Force. Despite not making a full pass, Force clocked a 4.189 to nab the provisional No. 2.
“I don’t know what Ron [Douglas] and ‘Guido’ [Dean Antonelli, crew chiefs] were pushing to run,” said Force Hood. “I know that they made the decision that they wanted to push it, so it was just like, ‘If it can go A-to-B, I think it will be a really great run, and it will have to be in one of the top spots.’ I was surprised that it was as quick as it was because it was a very smooth run and usually the good runs are like scary runs, like you think the car is blowing up or something. It ran right through there, and I thought, ‘Well, that was a good run,’ but I was surprised when they told me on the radio it ran a .10.
“It definitely is an advantage when you’re back a few pairs, and we were even though we didn’t run that great earlier — everybody struggled, so we were lucky to get to go up to the second session towards the back. You really can see what the track can take, what other teams are doing, and what our teams are doing. My crew chiefs were back and forth on the radio the whole time making last-minute decisions, and they were even asking our crew members. I think they really were on the edge of whether they wanted to push it or not. They asked my crew, and they of course were like, ‘Push it! I was in my car listening to all this going, ‘I better hold on because it sounds like it’s going to be a good run,’ and sure enough, it was.”
The Pedregon brothers follow the Forces on the sheets with Tony securing the third spot with a 4.191 and Cruz fourth at 4.194. Jack Beckman is fifth with a 4.203, and first-session leader Ron Capps slipped to sixth after posting a 4.208 in the night session. Del Worsham finished the first session in third, but the Madison and Bristol winner slipped to the 12th spot after being unable to improve on his 4.320 from earlier in the day.
Robert Hight, who missed the show in Bristol, continued to struggle, and he enters Saturday not yet qualified. There is a little less pressure on him than there was two weeks earlier, however, because there are only 16 cars on the property, meaning he just needs to make a run to make the field. Daniel Wilkerson made a solid Professional debut, piloting his Impala to a 4.330 that just missed the quick 12.
Mike Edwards
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Edwards’ torrid start to the season continued in Topeka, where he piloted his Young Life/ART Pontiac to the provisional No. 1 spot again. Edwards has four previous starts from the top spot on the ladder this season (Phoenix, Gainesville, Las Vegas, and Bristol), and with temperatures expected to be in the low 90s for Saturday’s two sessions, all bets are on his 6.674 staying low at Heartland Park Topeka. Edwards was the class of Friday qualifying, leading both sessions with 6.69 and 6.67 clockings.
“I’m living a dream right now with the way my car is running and how my team is performing,” said Edwards. “It seems like once you start jelling you go up there with confidence. I think you always have a little bit of doubt, but if you can go up there with 75 percent feeling good about the setup it’s better than going up there with 25 percent. Right now, we feel pretty comfortable with what we’re doing. You’ve got to keep the wheels on the thing. They can come off as quick as they came on. We’re working hard, and we’re trying to do our best, but, man, there’s a lot of great teams out there that will be right there.
“We made a nice run the first run, but we made quite a few adjustments after it and made a really nice run tonight. The starting line — probably the first car length — is probably the trickiest part of the racetrack, and I think everybody’s trying to adapt to that. Once they get that figured out, I think the times will be quicker. We just made some adjustments, and we feel like we got a little bit better. Hopefully we can build on that and maybe run a little better tomorrow.”
Allen Johnson is second in the provisional field after running a 6.683. Greg Anderson is third with a 6.687. Jason Line was the only other driver to run in the 6.6s, clocking a 6.698 for fourth. Defending event champ Ron Krisher is fifth, and points leader Jeg Coughlin sits sixth. Krisher and Coughlin both ran 6.712 with Krisher getting the higher spot on the speed tie-breaker, 206.01 to 204.94. Rickie Jones anchors the 12-car provisional field with a 6.744 best.
Warren Johnson just missed the top 12 with a 6.747 that placed him 13th. Other racers sitting outside the field entering Saturday’s final two sessions are Rodger Brogdon, who qualified in the top half of the field in Bristol, V. Gaines, and Dave Northrop.
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 8 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, May 30. On Sunday, May 31, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 11 a.m. (ET), and three hours of eliminations coverage at 4 p.m. (ET).