Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock), and Junior Pippin (Pro Stock Motorcycle) grabbed the provisional poles in their respective classes following a rain-shortened opening day at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
After rain washed out all of Thursday’s activities, it appeared the same fate awaited competitors today with rain starting early in the morning and continuing until about 1 p.m. Fortunately, skies cleared around 1:15, and the NHRA Safety Safari was able to get the track dry and in fine condition for a single qualifying run to kick off the annual East Coast opener. Though competitors and fans had to wait several hours after the original start time it was well worth it because conditions were fantastic and the runs put on the boards reflected that with both ends of the track records being broken in both of the nitro categories.
The rain did create a little more havoc than just the limiting of runs today. It further postponed the remainder of Pro Stock eliminations from the NHRA Arizona Nationals, which will now be completed entirely on Saturday. In addition, due to water in the pits, most Lucas Oil Sportsman classes have been put on hold indefinitely. Only Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Comp will make runs Saturday. If conditions permit, the other classes will return on Sunday; if not, they will be pushed to Monday.
Tony Schumacher
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Running alongside on-track nemesis and defending event winner Larry Dixon, Schumacher and his U.S. Army team made a statement with a 3.823 at 318.02 mph pass that gave him the No. 1 position and both ends of the Gainesville Raceway track record.
“The track was fine, actually a lot better than what we just ran,” said Schumacher. “There was definitely room in the car, no questions asked. That was a good run, and it was fairly soft; just a nice, easy run down the racetrack. I’m kind of surprised the other cars didn’t do better. There’s probably a lot more track than they thought. It’s a good track, a good facility.
“Three No. 1 qualifiers are defending champs? That’s a great stat that I won’t even think about on Sunday because we’ve won this race before. This is a big race. It’s like Indy and Pomona, the list of people who have won this one is amazing. People spend extra time and energy to win this one. I don’t know how we dig any deeper than we dig normally, but this is Gainesville. It’s an amazing place, an amazing crowd, a great track, and I just love winning this one. It’s a great trophy to put on your shelf.”
Sophomore runner Shawn Langdon grabbed the provisional No. 2 spot with a 3.829, and Doug Kalitta, who is running a special Coors Extra Gold scheme in honor of local hero Darrell Gwynn, is currently third after posting a 3.846. Doug Foley and the Dote Family Racing team made a strong debut with a fourth-best 3.891. Steve Torrence, Antron Brown, Morgan Lucas, and Pat Dakin occupy the fifth through eighth spots. Terry McMillen landed in the 12th spot with an 8.085.
Only 14 cars made runs today, but more, including Chris Karamesines, are expected to make attempts on Saturday. Cory McClenathan and Bobby Lagana Jr. were the two drivers who were unable to crack the top 12 and will start from scratch on Saturday.
Robert Hight
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Hight reset both ends of the Gainesville Raceway Funny Car track records when he powered his Auto Club-backed Mustang to a 4.060 at 310.13 mph to nab the No. 1 spot in the ladder for now.
“A lot of guys went out there and shook, but Jimmy Prock has got a good handle on this race car,” said Hight. “We were hurting it a little bit in Phoenix, so he decided to put a new fuel pump on it, and he was even second-guessing himself a little after we had the threatening weather and one run today. But he stuck with it, and as you can see, it ran 310. It was a flawless run. If we can get some more conditions tomorrow, maybe we can lower that a little bit because there’s a lot of other cars out there that can do that. An .06 is a great start, and it’s definitely going to stay in the top four, five.
“This was the start of our big problems last year, and we learned a lot. That’s why I’m not going to get overconfident and too excited about what we’re doing now because this sport is very humbling; you can change in a hurry. We’ve just got to work hard and stay doing what we’re doing. We’re not changing a whole lot and refining what we have, and it’s awesome. That No. 1’s also a target out there because there’s a lot of Funny Cars that want that on the side of their car next year, so we’re going to have to do a good job to regain that this year.”
Hight’s teammates, John Force and Ashley Force Hood, follow the reigning champ on the charts with respective runs of 4.093 and 4.094. The John Force Racing trio is followed by the three Don Schumacher Racing entries: Matt Hagan (4.104), Ron Capps (4.110), and Phoenix winner Jack Beckman (4.135). Jeff Diehl landed in the important No. 12 spot, and his 7.705 will be the final time that will count towards the final order.
Del Worsham, Jim Head, defending event champ Bob Tasca III, Jeff Arend, and Paul Lee are the five drivers who enter Saturday not qualified and needing to bump into the field.
Edwards continues to just make it look easy, once again pacing the Pro Stock field with a 6.610 from his Penhall/Interstate/K&N GXP that gives him the provisional No. 1 after the first qualifying day. If it holds, this would be Edwards’ 12th straight start from the top spot, dating back to Brainerd last August.
Mike Edwards
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If there is a bright spot for Edwards’ competitors it’s that his advantage over the rest of the field isn’t too big, just six-thousandths over engine customer Ron Krisher. Rodger Brogdon ranks third with a 6.629, and Vinnie Deceglie is the current No. 4 qualifier with a 6.631. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Warren Johnson, Shane Gray, and Greg Stanfield round out the quick eight. Allen Johnson is the final driver whose time will carry over the Saturday after he posted a 12th-best 6.670.
“We figured the track would be pretty good,” said Edwards. “Of course, it rained most of the day, but when it did dry off, we had cloud cover all day, so we knew the track would be cool. So we thought the track would be pretty good, and it was. It’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t get both runs in, but tomorrow looks a lot better, so tomorrow will be a different day. I think conditions will be a whole lot better, so I think today is a little premature of what you’re going to see tomorrow.
“[With Phoenix eliminations tomorrow], the focus does change. You’re doing two things at once. It’s different. You know, you’re qualifying but you’re also racing, so your mindset’s going to be a little different, that’s for sure. It’s going to be a little nerve-racking because if conditions change a lot, we’ll have to make a lot of changes to these cars, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
One of the surprises of the first qualifying session was Greg Anderson, who had troubles early and slowed to a 12.818 that places him 22nd out of 24 cars at the event. Bob Yonke, one of the eight drivers still in contention for the NHRA Arizona Nationals title that will be up for grabs Saturday, also struggled on his run and enters Saturday outside the field. Others on the outside looking in include Kurt Johnson, Justin Humphreys, and Steve Spiess.
Junior Pippin
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Pippin’s best start in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competition is sixth, a position he started from in Reading and Las Vegas last year, but he is on his way to his first pole after posting a 6.959 that is a hundredth and a half better than the rest of his competitors.
“We just threw a Hail Mary at it to be honest with you, and, by golly, she went on down the boulevard, so I guess we’ll throw more Hail Marys at her,” said Pippin. “For the first pass I’ve made since Pomona [in November], we’re really happy and surprised. It felt good. I short-shifted a couple of gears, so there’s more in it. We’ll come out tomorrow and see if we can’t get faster because I’m sure the .95 won’t stand up, but it’s the best start we’ve had.
“We put the Pomona setup in it. This is a brand new engine and a brand new motorcycle, I mean, it’s a new chassis and everything. We’ve only made three pulls on the dyno. Rick Maney and Trent Griffin, I just can’t say enough about how hard they worked on it. These guys have worked so hard on the Pirana Z Buell. For the last two years, we’ve really worked hard on it. We’ve had some little glitches here and there, but hopefully it’s all coming together now. It’s not because of lack of effort, I’ll tell you that.”
Shawn Gann sit second after posting a 6.972 and is followed on the sheets by former world champ Matt Smith, who debuted his new Al-Anabi Racing program in fine fashion with a 6.986. Another former season titlist, 2008 champ Eddie Krawiec, is another thousandth back with a 6.987. David Hope is fifth, followed by reigning champ Hector Arana, Jim Underdahl, and Angie Smith. Darin McCurdy earned the 12th spot — the final time that transfers into Saturday — with a 7.140.
Three-time world champ Andrew Hines is among the riders who enter Saturday not qualified after he was only able to muster a 7.174. Also among those on the nonqualified list at this moment are last year’s seventh-place points finisher Karen Stoffer and veteran competitor Steve Johnson.
Jay Payne raced to the qualifying lead in the debut of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Payne covered the quarter-mile distance in 5.887 seconds at 241.28 mph in his supercharged 1968 Camaro, which is tuned by Brad Anderson.
Payne, who has 36 career NHRA victories in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car competition, will try to earn his first official Pro Mod victory Sunday when Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals eliminations begin for NHRA’s newest national touring series. Payne has seven wins in NHRA Pro Mod exhibition racing.
“It was absolutely awesome,” Payne said. “There's going to be more rubber on the track tomorrow, which is going to make it better for the guys who run in front of me. If it makes it better for them, it makes it better for us. We just have to make the power to race with them. I really didn't drive it good, but I'm not going to complain because it went real fast. There was room for improvements on my end, because it was dark and I was really amped up.”
Troxel, who also is competing in Funny Car at this event, was second in her In-N-Out ’63 Corvette with a 5.888 at 236.71. Mike Knowles powered his ’63 Corvette to the third spot with a 5.909 at 244.60.