Matt Hagan made a massive statement in his to-the-wire Funny Car championship battle with John Force by taking the first-day lead at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. Larry Dixon, Jason Line, and Hector Arana also finished atop their fields after the first of four qualifying sessions at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
All four Full Throttle championships will be decided at this week's season finale, and qualifying may play a large role in how Sunday's final eliminations and those coronations take place. Though the battles in Top Fuel and Pro Stock have almost mathematically been decided, the fight for the titles in Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle – where the incoming leads were less than 40 points (or less than two rounds of racing) – may well go into Sunday's late rounds. The event's unusual schedule calls for just one qualifying pass each day Thursday and Friday and the final two passes Saturday to set the 16-car fields.
Matt Hagan
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Many Funny Cars struggled to get down the track; only a handful made full passes, but Hagan and crew chief Tommy DeLago, running in the final pair, came through in the clutch. Hagan grabbed three very important session bonus points by leading the way in the DieHard Dodge with a 4.139 that pushed his lead over Force to an even 40 points. Force ran 4.170 for the fourth-best pass and earned no points, and because Hagan has the tiebreaker (most rounds won in the Countdown), Force will need to nibble away some points in the rest of qualifying or face the prospect of having to win three more rounds than Hagan Sunday.
“That sounds great right now, but we’ve got a lot of qualifying left. Anything can happen with these cars,” said Hagan. “I’m just proud of Tommy DeLago and my guys. They’re doing a great job in putting the car together well. I was watching everybody make their runs, and not a lot of people were sticking out there. I had a lot more confidence when Jack [Beckman] went that .14. I knew that our car was capable of running that or a little better. I doubt that will stick for No. 1, so we’ll just have to go back up there and still try to be aggressive and try to pick up every point we can.
“There’s pressure no matter what. I definitely feel pressure. I know Tommy feels it. Everybody feels it. We want to win this. We’re so close we can taste it. You just don’t want to do anything to mess it up or just let it slip through your fingers. Me and Tommy talked, and at the end of the day, if we can look in the mirror and feel like we left it all out there and we didn’t leave anything on the table, then that’s all we can do. A lot of it has to do with fate and what’s going to happen. You can’t control everything. I think as long as we give it our best up there and try to do the best job that we can and he tries to put the best race car under me, that’s all we can ask for.”
Hagan's Don Schumacher Racing teammate Beckman placed the MTS/Valvoline Dodge in the No. 2 spot with a 4.144, and Paul Lee, in Jim Dunn's Canidae entry, is a season-high No. 3 with a 4.167.
After fourth-ranked Force is Bob Tasca III with a 4.190, then it's a big leap back to Jim Head's 4.75 in sixth. The top eight is rounded out by Ashley Force Hood (4.98) and Robert Hight (5.56). SoCal veteran Gary Densham has the No. 12 spot with a 6.31. Nineteen Funny Cars made passes today.
Larry Dixon
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Dixon increased his Top Fuel lead over Tony Schumacher by one point to 86 as they qualified 1-2 as expected. Dixon's Al-Anabi rail, with eight No. 1s this year, roared to a 3.813 to grab the top spot. Schumacher's Army dragster slid into No. 2 with a 3.840.
“Really, all I think I did was get us qualified,” said Dixon. “We’ll be in the show with that run no matter what happens. With oildown penalties and stuff like that, anything can happen, but we’ll be in the race. That’s all I’ve really got right now. I think Alan [Johnson, team manager] and Jason [McCulloch, crew chief] did an awesome job because there were some cars that had trouble getting down and others ran well. Everybody just did their thing, and it was nice to make a clean run.
“I’m glad I’m in the fight. He was the champ for a reason. It’s a good car, good team, and all of that, but I like my car and my team, too. We’ll just put the gloves on and go fight Sunday. I’ve got a great team of guys with me and all the confidence in the world in what they’ve done in the past, and it’s addictive as far as raising your game. Alan and Jason and the entire crew are awesome. I watched Alan for a number of years, even before [Gary] Scelzi and Tony, with [late brother] Blaine do some incredible things at this racetrack, and it’s great to be on his team. I’m calm. I’ve got a great team I’m with.”
Doug Kalitta matched Schumacher's e.t., but "the Sarge's" superior speed – 320.58 to 316.30 – earned Schumacher the higher position. Cory McClenathan, who also still has a small mathematical chance to win the championship, is fourth with a 3.853 in what will be his final event in the Fram dragster.
The top eight is rounded out by Steve Torrence (3.892), Bob Vandergriff Jr. (3.927), Brandon Bernstein (3.945), and T.J. Zizzo (4.004).
Dave Grubnic sits in the No. 12 spot with a 4.384.
Jason Line
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Line, the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock a few races ago in Charlotte, is on the hunt for his second pole of the season with the Summit Pontiac after clocking a 6.561 to lead the first day. His teammate, points leader Greg Anderson, made it a sweep of the top two spots with a 6.563 that earned him two bonus points and boosted Anderson's already nearly insurmountable lead over Mike Edwards to 117 points, while Line's three points helped him close on Edwards for second place.
“It could be a really big weekend for us,” said Line. “We have the possibility of moving up to second in points. That was a good round for us. We gained three points on Edwards, so it’s kind of a big deal. I’d like to finish second. Why not? A 1-2 finish would be a really good way to cap off what was a not-so-great year.
“Obviously, we want to try and win the race. I’ve never won this race in the fall. Generally speaking, KB Racing runs good here. This is a good track for us. The starting line, for whatever reason, suits our setup pretty well. I think the first run kind of shows that.”
Rookie hotshot Shane Gray is qualified No. 3 with the Tire Kingdom Pontiac with a 6.653 that matched Anderson's e.t. but at a slower speed, and Ron Krisher has the No. 4 spot with a 6.569.
The top eight is rounded out by quasi-Summit teammate Ronnie Humphrey's 6.570, the locally-based Mountain View Tire Dodge of Vinnie Deceglie (6.572), Edwards (6.576), and Bob Yonke (6.607).
Johnny Gray has the No. 12 spot with a 6.638. Twenty Pro Stockers made passes today.
Hector Arana
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Arana's hopes for a repeat championship died long ago, but the rider of the Lucas Oil Buell is going out on a high note as he's on track for his third straight No. 1 qualifying effort of the playoffs after charting a track record 6.870 to grab the provisional pole. If it holds, it will be Arana's seventh pole of the season and the 16th of his career. The old track record was 6.911, set three years ago by Angelle Sampey.
“We were struggling, and we started wondering and questioning ourselves. We started losing the confidence that we had, but we never gave up,” said Arana. “We kept on working, and to see how we’re performing now, it’s going to be great for next year. Now we can do some R&D and see what else we can improve on since we found what it was missing.
“I’m going to give it my best this weekend. It would be nice to finish and win at least the last one. I don’t have [a Wally] from Pomona, so I definitely want one sitting on the shelf. I’m going to try. Now that I have the performance, all I have to concentrate on is just to do my job at the light.”
Points leader Andrew Hines grabbed two valuable bonus points to raise his lead over second-place LE Tonglet to 36 points after qualifying No. 2 with a 6.874 aboard his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson; Tonglet had to abort his opening pass. Hines' teammate, Eddie Krawiec, whose Harley is running a special-edition salute to the armed forces, is No. 3 with a 6.893, and birthday boy Matt Smith, who turned 38 today, is fourth with a 6.896 aboard the Al-Anabi Buell.
Michael Phillips' Suzuki is fifth with 6.948, and he's followed on the sheets by teammate Craig Treble (6.958), Jim Underdahl (6.983), and Angie Smith (7.016).
Bailey Whitaker's Buell is in the No. 12 spot with a 7.090. Twenty-three bikes made qualifying passes.