Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Doug Horne, one of the top candidates for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future rookie of the year award, solidified that standing by collecting his first No. 1 qualifying spot to highlight final qualifying at the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals. Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Tony Pedregon (Funny Car), and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) also qualified No. 1 at the event, the 10th of 24 on the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule.
While Horne is a newcomer to the top spot, the same can’t be said for his fellow low qualifiers at Route 66 Raceway outside of Chicago. Brown notched the top spot in the fuel dragster class for the fourth time this season, while Edwards collected his sixth K&N Horsepower Challenge low qualifier award, and Pedregon grabbed his second No. 1 of the year and 36th of his career.
Antron Brown
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Brown grabbed the No. 1 spot in the second session with 3.826 from his Brian Corradi- and Mark Oswald-tuned Matco Tools dragster and never relinquished it. Brown also was the low qualifier this year in Pomona, Houston, and last weekend in Topeka.
“Tomorrow is going to be another day, and it will be just like today,” said Brown. “It’s going to be cloudy, the track conditions are going to be great, and tomorrow we’re just going to go out and race; we’re going to take it one round at a time. That’s what you have to do out here, because every round is tough.
“We’ve got tough competitors out here doing a phenomenal job. Look at us: we’re all going tit for tat right now. I’m excited because now it’s getting interesting; it’s going to be whoever leaves off the line and whoever has the hot car setup because the track conditions are actually good out there. There are a lot of good race cars out there, and I’m just stoked to be a part of our Matco Tools race car, and I’m ready and excited for tomorrow.”
Hometown favorite Tony Schumacher, the defending event champ and one of five Illinois racers attempting to make the field, ended up No. 2 in a dramatic last-run pass with a 3.836 from his Mike Green-guided Army dragster, stealing back the No. 2 spot from Larry Dixon’s Al-Anabi machine, which had taken it from him the run before with a 3.843. Clay Millican also waited until the final session to make his best pass, a career-topping 3.854 that booted Mark Pickens’ Hope4Sudan ride to the No. 4 spot. Lucas teammates Shawn Langdon and Morgan Lucas qualified 5-6 with 3.87 passes.
Rod Fuller and J.R. Todd, two drivers making their first starts of the 2009 season, both qualified. Fuller, runner-up here the last two years straight, pushed Bob Vandergriff Jr.’s digger into the No. 8 spot at 3.889, while Todd qualified David Baca’s Mach 1 entry No. 13 with a 3.947 best. Luigi Novelli was the only other Illini to join Schumacher in the field as his 4.09 held down the bump spot. He’ll face Brown in round one.
Tony Pedregon
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Pedregon, the defending event champ with his Dickie Venables-tuned Quaker State Chevy, led qualifying from the first session on, but had to survive a series of hard charges in the cooling air Saturday night and did it in impressive fashion with his best run of the meet, a 4.079 that was a hundredth better than his previous best.
“It used to be that you qualify No. 1 and you get a pretty good draw; I won’t mention any names but not a Ron Capps,” said Pedregon. “That’s a tough draw. But we’re running good here, and they’ve got to get their problems sorted out in one run. I’d rather be in this position.
“[We had] very good conditions today. That weather rolled in and out of here. I’m glad no one took the top spot away from us. I don’t mind; I know the statistics aren’t real good that No. 1 qualifier goes and wins the race, but I’m not superstitious. I’m pleased that our car is consistent and it’s consistently quick. I think that we’ve come a long way in a week.”
Ashley Force Hood just missed her fourth No. 1 of the season as her Dean Antonelli- and Ron Douglas-wrenched Castrol GTX Mustang ran a 4.094 for the No. 2 spot. Teammate Mike Neff is hot on her heels with the Drive One Ford at 4.095. Tim Wilkerson qualified No. 4 at 4.118, and defending season champ Cruz Pedregon is fifth at 4.119. All of the top five qualifiers made their best runs in the cool air of the final session.
Points leader Ron Capps, twice this season a low qualifier, just barely held onto his spot in the field as his 4.228 was only the 16th quickest of the field. He’ll take on low qualifier Tony Pedregon in round one.
Mike Edwards
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Edwards maintained his usual place atop the Pro Stock field with his sixth No. 1 qualifying berth in 10 races this season, parking his ART/Young Life GXP on the pole with a 6.587 registered Friday. Edwards was quickest in the three final sessions, topping it with a pair of 6.59s Saturday.
“It’s an honor to be able to do this and I’m overwhelmed with everything that we’ve accomplished this year,” said Edwards. “It’s just so hard to do that in this class, and for us to come out here and have that many No. 1s, I’m amazed myself. We keep pecking away at the track; we keep getting better and better. I feel comfortable right now. We made some adjustments before that run, and hopefully we can make some more adjustments and be better even for tomorrow.
“Where I’m at right now, I’m overwhelmed. I’m in company with company I’ve never been in before, the Summit cars, the Jegs car, those kind of people, and those teams win championships. My team has overcome a lot. We made a lot of good decisions over the winter, and we made a lot of progress. A lot.”
Greg Anderson, whose Summit GXP sits No. 2 on the ladder, was also consistent, clocking a pair of 6.61s that were the second-quickest of each of Saturday’s sessions and his 6.612 in the morning session actually improved on his Friday number by a thousandth of a second. Behind Anderson sits Friday first-session leader Jeg Coughlin with a 6.616 from his Jegs Cobalt and Allen Johnson with the field’s quickest Dodge, which ran 6.621. Defending event champ Kurt Johnson is fifth at 6.622.
Rookie Ryan Ondrejko held onto his spot in the field with Jim Yates’ Wiley X Pontiac, making the starting lineup in the No. 12 spot in his class debut. Ronnie Humphrey held onto the final qualifying spot with a 6.671 and will opposed Edwards in round one.
Doug Horne
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Horne’s amazing NHRA debut season, which includes final-round showings in Houston and Atlanta, just keeps getting better as the two-time class runner-up added his first pole position to his résumé after none of his two-wheel peers could unseat his 6.936 blast Friday from his Buell.
“The conditions today weren’t as good as yesterday, so we tired some things today to learn some things for Sunday,” said Horne. “It didn’t run as good as we would have liked or quite as well as everyone else, but I think we got some data for tomorrow so we can go some rounds.
“Being No. 1 means a lot to me and gives me confidence going into Sunday, but it’s still not quite as good as the two runner-ups we’ve had already this season. Being No. 1 Saturday just means where you sit on the ladder; Sunday is what it’s all about.”
No riders cracked into the sixes on a muggy Saturday, but several made their presence known. Hector Arana remains second with a 6.954 from the Lucas Oil Buell, and he’s followed by Karen Stoffer (6.971), Matt Smith (6.978), and Andrew Hines (6.989). Hines and Harley teammate Eddie Krawiec had the two best runs of the final qualifying session with respective passes of 7.008 and 7.011.
Katie Sullivan, who is competing in just her second race in the class after making her debut in Atlanta, qualified for the field with a 7.113, making her just the seventh woman to qualify for eliminations in the category. Ironically, she’ll race Stoffer, the only other woman rider in the field, in the first round.
Wesley Wells ended up on the bubble with a 7.168 and will oppose Horne in round one.
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 10:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, June 6. On Sunday, June 7, 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).
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Friday: Brown, T-Ped, Edwards, Horne first-day leaders in Chicago