Larry Dixon jumped to the front of the Top Fuel pack to highlight final qualifying at the 23rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil. John Force (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock), and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) remained No. 1 in their categories.
The picture-perfect conditions from Friday didn’t quite carry over to Saturday. Rain plagued the area in the morning, delaying activities until about 2:30 p.m. Though things didn’t quite begin when they were originally scheduled, officials were still able to get in both of the day’s sessions. The delay pushed the second session into the early evening, which created outstanding conditions for performance gains and big numbers. Among the highlights, fans were treated to the second-quickest and second-fastest run in Top Fuel history — Dixon’s 3.772 at 323.19 mph — and the quickest side-by-side Top Fuel passes ever when Antron Brown ran a 3.777 next to Dixon. Also, in Pro Stock, Edwards recorded the second-fastest run ever, 212.43, on his final pass, and the field upped the pace, ultimately ending with a 6.584 bump spot that made it the quickest in NHRA history.
Larry Dixon
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Dixon’s 3.77 run not only put his name second on the all-time runs list, it also netted him his 41st No. 1 start. It also continues the Al-Anabi team driver’s strong qualifying showings this season; his worst start in five events is third.
“Alan [Johnson] saw something on the track and made a last-minute adjustment,” said Dixon. “Whatever he did, it stuck. It went 286 [mph] to the 660. Cool. That’s pretty fast.
“The conditions were great, the track and the air. We did just enough to get on the pole or else Antron would be up here talking.”
Brown ended up second thanks to his 3.777, and Tony Schumacher will begin his event title defense from the No. 3 spot thanks to a 3.785 pass in the final session. Doug Kalitta, who ran a monster 322.34 speed that ranks fourth all-time, is the fourth qualifier with a 3.829. Points leader Cory McClenathan landed in the fifth position with a 3.837. Steve Torrence, Shawn Langdon, and Terry McMillen round out the quick eight.
Del Cox Jr., who only ran in the first session Saturday, was the 16th and final qualifier. Terry Haddock was unable to break into the field after he posted a 4.69 in the early session then broke on his burnout on the second pass. The most interesting match of the first round is Schumacher versus Brandon Bernstein, who has struggled all weekend.
John Force
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Though the conditions were there, Force and his Castrol-backed team were unable to back up his 4.021 from Friday for a national record, but the run went untouched through both sessions, giving the 14-time world champ his 133rd No. 1 and his second of 2010.
“First run wasn’t there — it just got too warm out there — but this [second] one had it and I thought I had it,” said Force of his attempts to back up his run for the record. “We weren’t trying to run an .02, we were trying to run a .05. I made it 300 feet, and it blew [the tires] off. The front end got awful high, and it when it sat down, it hiked the front end up once and went out and hiked it again. I think it might have the wheels crooked. It sat, turned, and blew them off. We need to keep that front end on the ground. We’ll learn from it because I’ve never had a car that really carries the front end. This car, she’s an animal, a good ol’ race car, and I’m proud to drive it.
“We may get two shots at the record tomorrow, but first we need to focus on Tony [Pedregon] because he knows how to race, so I’ve got to run good. We’ll just see how far we can push it. If the conditions are right, we will go for the record first round. If you remember, I missed out [on the first four-second run] to [Chuck] Etchells in Topeka, so I ain’t making no statement. I’ve got a real good race car and a real good team, and if I can’t do it, all Robert’s got to do is step up. We’re going to try tomorrow.”
Force’s daughter, Ashley Force Hood, was the star of Saturday, running low e.t. of both sessions, a 4.089 in the morning then a 4.042 in the night session that moved her to second in the order. Force Hood’s run knocked her teammate, Robert Hight, down to third. Ron Capps improved to a 4.059 on his final run and will start from fourth on race day. Matt Hagan is a distant fifth with a 4.091, followed by Jeff Arend (4.095), Del Worsham (4.096), and Jim Head (4.097).
Tony Pedregon anchors the field with a 4.296, setting up a highly anticipated and very intriguing first-round match between him and his former boss, Force. Todd Simpson was the lone driver who was left outside the starting field when he could only muster a 4.67.
Mike Edwards
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Edwards continued to show the way in Pro Stock, posting low e.t. of both of Saturday’s runs with 6.562 and 6.542 passes. Neither one eclipsed the 6.539 he posted on Friday night that earned the Penhall/Interstate/K&N-backed driver his 26th No. 1 start and his fourth in five events this season.
Edwards’ engine customer, Ron Krisher, rebounded from his unexpected DNQ in Charlotte in a big way, guiding his Valvoline Cobalt to a 6.548 to nab the No. 2 spot. Allen Johnson earned the No. 3 starting spot with a 6.549, and Jeg Coughlin Jr., who entered the final qualifying session second, slipped to fourth even though he improved on his final pass to a 6.555. Greg Anderson began the day outside the field, but he made big gains during the day, bumping into the bottom half on his first attempt then jumping up to the fifth starting spot when he posted a 6.560 on his last run. V. Gaines (6.563), Jason Line (6.566, 211.43), and Greg Stanfield (6.566, 211.30).
Rickie Jones was the final driver to make the field, posting a 6.584 that earned him the 16th position and a first-round match with Edwards. With 26 Pro Stock teams on the property, the list of non-qualifiers was long and filled with recognizable names such as Larry Morgan, Warren Johnson, and Erica Enders, who made the field at the last event in Charlotte but came up short at her home track.
Hector Arana
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Though he didn’t better the 6.856 he recorded Friday night, Arana solidified his position as the rider to beat in Houston. Arana’s Lucas Oil Buell paced both of Saturday’s sessions with runs of 6.858 and 6.861 to sweep the bonus qualifying points for the day and bring his total for the weekend to 11, one shy of the maximum a racer can earn. This is the 10th career No. 1 for Arana and his first of 2010.
“I had some spectacular runs today so I’m really pleased,” said Arana. “Yesterday, the weather was perfect, and today was supposed to be perfect. It started that way, and then there was the rain, but it turned out to be a great day. It was a higher humidity today, and the vapor pressure was up, and the water grains were definitely up, so it wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be. The track was better. If we would have had the weather conditions like we had yesterday with track conditions as we did today, who knows, you probably would have seen better numbers out there, not just me but there are plenty of bikes out there capable of running faster than I am running now.
“This is Texas, and you never know what can happen here, but I still got all my books open, and I’ll be ready for tomorrow. We’ve really been working at it hard and really been paying attention. I got to give credit to my crew guys. They’re the ones who go check the lanes hours before we even get to run so that we can make the proper call on the tune-up, and they’ve been doing an awesome job paying attention to the track and the weather.”
Arana is followed on the sheets by the Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team of Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines. Krawiec will start race day from the No. 2 spot after posting a 6.866 in the final session. Hines was pushed back to third by his teammate when he couldn’t better his 6.870. Craig Treble moved from the bottom half of the field up to the fourth starting spot with an impressive 6.874 that ranked third overall in the final session. Matt Smith finished fifth with a 6.881 and is followed on the sheets by LE Tonglet (6.910), Michael Phillips (6.919), and Jim Underdahl (6.932).
Joe DeSantis was the lone rider who was unable to break into the field. Steve Johnson’s 7.068 put the veteran rider on the bump and gives him a first-round date with Arana. The most intriguing match of the first round is the husband versus wife battle of Matt and Angie Smith.
Jay Payne raced to his first career No. 1 qualifier in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series as qualifying came to an end. Payne drove his 1968 supercharged Camaro to a 5.813-second run at 246.21 mph to take his first career No. 1 in the series, but Payne was unable to get around Melanie Troxel in the first round of eliminations.
Troxel, who also competes in the Funny Car class in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, was able to pull away from Payne in the first round, driving her 1963 Corvette to a 6.222 at 242.50. Troxel had qualified 16th, barely making the field, but was able to power past Payne to advance.
“You say never give up on race day, but there comes a time, especially in the Pro Mod class, because the window of what you can get away with in those cars is smaller than most classes,” said Troxel. “The second time I pedaled the car (Jay Payne) was at least eight car lengths ahead of me. I thought, ‘This is stupid, pedaling the car when he is that far out from me.’ It cleared up by half track and I decided to run it on through. By the time I got it in high gear, I thought I was reeling him in awfully fast.”
Eliminations will continue on Sunday.
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Brown, Force, Edwards, Arana pace opening day in Houston