News and notes from Sunday at the 23rd annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. Compiled by the National DRAGSTER staff.
SUNDAY (Previous: Friday I Saturday)
Last update: 4:40 p.m. Central (click to latest)
It's race day! (8:55 a.m.): The weather in Texas is known for being ever-changing and unpredictable, and this weekend has certainly proven that. The good news for us is that today's weather is a complete 180 from what greeted us yesterday morning. The skies are blue, the sun is shining, and the only clouds we are seeing are of the light, whispy variety. The local forecasters (if you really believe them after yesterday's miss) are saying all should be well today. There is a system off the coast, but it is expected to stay off shore, and we should have a very nice day.
Right now, the Safety Safari is out on the track doing some work to prepare for the Lucas Oil classes, which will make up some of the lost action from yesterday. This morning's schedule includes round two in Top Dragster and Comp and rounds two and three in Super Stock, Super Comp, and Super Gas. Action is slated to begin at 9 a.m., but there is still a lot of activity near the quarter-mile mark right now, so there may be a delayed start. An abbreviated pre-race is slated for 10:30 a.m., and first round of Top Fuel should hit the track at 11 a.m.
We're racing (9:20 a.m.): It's a little later than originally planned, but the race day has officially begun at Houston Raceway Park. The first Super Stocker is at the starting line.
TV schedule update (9:30 a.m.): ESPN has announced two schedule changes for its television programming package for this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. The re-air of the qualifying show on ESPN2 has been moved to noon ET Sunday, April 11, and expanded to a two-hour show. In addition, NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, the 30-minute magazine preview show on ESPN2, has moved up a half-hour, to a 2 p.m. ET start time on Sunday, April 11.
Pre-race is starting (10:40 a.m.): It was a little delayed after the little later than expected start this morning, but the stage has rolled out in front of the tower, and pre-race is getting started. The abbreviated ceremony will include the introduction of the No. 1 qualifiers in the four Full Throttle classes and the usual intros of event VIPs. Among this race's special guests is astronaut Mark Edward Kelly, who is the event's grand marshal. The activities will be capped by the national anthem, played by the University of Houston Cougar Marching Band. Top Fuelers will roll to the line at 11 a.m.
Special awards (10:45 a.m.): Part of this morning's pre-race activities was awarding the special awards for the event. Pro Stock racers Rickie Jones and Mike Trumble Jr. received the Best Appearing Car for their Elite Motorsports entry. Danny Rowe and the crew on his Pro Mod car were named Best Appearing Crew, and the Top Dragster of Britt Cummins was judged Best Engineered.
Top Fuel, round one (11 a.m.): Here we go! Terry McMillen and Dave Grubnic just made their burnouts and are backing up to kick off eliminations.
The first round of the dragsters produced a mixed bag of results with some nice passes, more tire smoke than we've probably seen all weekend, and a stunning upset. Strange as it sounds, the biggest upset of the round was Brandon Bernstein's victory over Tony Schumacher. Bernstein's team struggled all weekend but were able to make a full pass to defeat "the Sarge," who struck the tires almost immediately. This loss is particularly costly for Schumacher because Doug Kalitta and Larry Dixon both won, moving them around him and dropping the reigning world champ to spots in the standings, to fourth. No. 1 qualifier Dixon once again paced things with a 3.853 that was five ticks better than Antron Brown's 3.858.
Second-round pairings (lane choice in bold):
Dixon vs. Dave Grubnic
Kalitta vs. Cory McClenathan
Brown vs. Shawn Langdon
Bernstein vs. Morgan Lucas
Funny Car, round one (11:50 a.m.): The wild action continued in Funny Cars with a couple of pedalfests, some good runs, and big upsets. The highly anticipated match between John Force and Tony Pedregon lived up to the hype, but not in the way everyone thought. The race did not produce big times, or a national record for that matter, but the two put on a very exciting show after they each experienced troubles and got into a pedalfest. Pedregon was able to outmaneuver Force on the top end and win with a 4.708. Oddly, that was enough for Pedregon to get lane choice because Tim Wilkerson and Jack Beckman had a strange, tire-smoking match that ended with Wilkerson winning on a holeshot, 5.051 to 5.030. Robert Hight was low of the round with a 4.108.
Second-round pairings (lane choice in bold):
Tony Pedregon vs. Wilkerson
Cruz Pedregon vs. Matt Hagan
Ashley Force Hood vs. Del Worsham
Hight vs. Jeff Arend
Pro Stock, round one (12:15 p.m.): After a strange start to things, in which three bottom-half qualifiers were victorious, including Shane Gray over Jason Line, things returned to normal. Mike Edwards once again was class of the field with a 6.572. Jeg Coughlin Jr. was second quickest, one-hundredth back with a 6.582. Greg Anderson also won his pairing, setting up a big-time match between Coughlin and Anderson in round two.
Second-round pairings (lane choice in bold):
Edwards vs. Rodger Brogdon
Coughlin vs. Anderson
Ron Krisher vs. Shane Gray
Allen Johnson vs. Ronnie Humphrey
Pro Stock Motorcycle, round one (12:20 p.m.): Things returned to normal in the two-wheel class with seven of the eight top-half drivers advancing, including No. 1 qualifier Hector Arana, who was low of the round with a 6.871. Equally impressive was Craig Treble, who guided his Suzuki to a 6.885. Next round, Treble will face Matt Smith, who defeated wife Angie in the opening round.
Second-round pairings (lane choice in bold):
Arana vs. Jim Underdahl
Treble vs. Matt Smith
Eddie Krawiec vs. Michael Phillips
Andrew Hines vs. Karen Stoffer
Next up is Top Alcohol Funny Car and Top Alcohol Dragster, then it should be right back into Top Fuel.
Top Fuel, round two (1:10 p.m.): Larry Dixon continues to show the way in Top Fuel, clocking a best-of-the-round 3.854. Cory McClenathan wasn't far behind with a 3.857, but, unfortunately for him, he is on the same side of the ladder as Dixon and will surrender lane choice in the semi's. The other side ofthe ladder was a little odd. First, Brandon Bernstein was unable to back up after his burnout, giving the automatic win to Morgan Lucas, who smoked the tires immediately. Antron Brown came out victorious in his match with Shawn Langdon, but his run was far from perfect as mechanical issues plagued him from the burnout.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice in bold):
Dixon vs. McClenathan
Brown vs. Lucas
Funny Car, round two (1:25 p.m.): A warmer track (the temp was about 116 degrees) meant trickier conditions and slower times. The lone exception to the rule was Matt Hagan, who powered to a 4.183 in the less-preferred right lane. He will square off against Tony Pedregon who beat Tim Wilkerson on a holeshot, 4.225 to 4.213; those were the next-best runs of the round behind Hagan. On the other side of the ladder, things got really rough for Team Force as Ashley Force Hood and Robert Hight both lost, falling to Del Worsham and Jeff Arend, respectively. All three Force cars are now on the sidelines.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice in bold):
Pedregon vs. Hagan
Worsham vs. Arend
Pro Stock, round two (1:40 p.m.): Though the semifinals has now the top four qualifiers, but getting the four there wasn't as smooth as it might sound with oddities continuing. The first pair out of the gate was Allen Johnson and Ronnie Humphrey, and both had troubles on the run and were out of power by about mid-track. Johnson kept power a little longer and was able to coast across the line first and with a 12.13. The other three matches were pretty par for the course with high 6.5s and low 6.6s. The other surprise of the round was Mike Edwards was not low e.t. of the round; that honor went to Jeg Coughlin Jr., who posted a 6.58 and will have lane choice over Edwards, who could only muster a 6.612 that ranked third in the round. Ron Krisher was second-quickest of this go-round with a 6.60.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice in bold):
Edwards vs. Coughlin
Krisher vs. A. Johnson
Pro Stock Motorcycle, round two (1:50 p.m.): A quartet of former world champs now remain in the two-wheel class with Hector Arana, Matt Smith, Eddie Krawiec, and Andrew Hines all advancing. Hines was tops among the winners with a 6.938 run that gave him the victory against Karen Stoffer. Arana was second-best of the round with a 6.941, with Krawiec about another hundredth back with a 6.952.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice in bold):
Arana vs. Smith
Krawiec vs. Hines
The Pro Mods just finished their second round as well, and now it's into more Lucas Oil Series eliminations as the Full Throttle teams do their between-round service in preparation for the semi's.
Top Fuel, semifinals (2:55 p.m.): Yesterday, they battled for the top qualifying spot. Now, Larry Dixon and Antron Brown will battle for the race victory. Dixon defeated Cory McClenathan, and Brown ousted Morgan Lucas to set up a final round between the Nos. 1 and 2 qualifiers. Brown will have lane choice after posting a 3.873 to Dixon's 3.891.
Funny Car, semifinals (3 p.m.): Well, neither one of those pairings was pretty, but for Jeff Arend and Matt Hagan, their efforts got the job done. Arend was the best of the round with a 4.408 that moved him around Del Worsham, and he'll select his lane against Hagan, who turned in a 4.632 in his win against Tony Pedregon.
Pro Stock, semifinals (3:05 p.m.): Mike Edwards' run of consecutive finals ends at four because the reigning world champ had troubles on his semifinal run and was unable to make it downtrack under power. In the other lane, Jeg Coughlin Jr. was sailing straight down the quarter-mile, posting a 6.601 that not only turned on the win light but also gives him lane choice for the final. Awaiting Coughlin in the title round is Allen Johnson, who overcame his struggles of the second round and posted a 6.628 to trailer Ron Krisher.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, semifinals (3:10 p.m.): The battle of world champs in the semifinals ended with the reigning world champ, Hector Arana, and a three-time world titlist, Andrew Hines, coming out victorious and advancing to the final. Arana had low e.t. of the round, 6.888, as he defeated Matt Smith, giving him lane choice over Hines, who defeated teammate Eddie Krawiec in a nice 6.905 to 6.913 battle.
Pro Mod update (3:15 p.m.): She may have made an early exit in Funny Car, but Melanie Troxel has extended her day in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series, advancing to the final. Troxel just qualified for the Pro Mod field, landing 16th on the ladder, but she's made the most of the opportunity, knocking out opponent after opponent. She'll square off against Danny Rowe when the Pro Mod final runs just ahead of the Full Throttle Series title rounds later today.
Pro Stock Motorcycle final (4:30 p.m.): Hector Arana makes things easy for Andrew Hines, going way red (-.102). Hines powers to a 6.998 to earn win No. 19.
Pro Stock final (4:30 p.m.): Jeg Coughlin Jr. works his magic on the starting line, and he definitely needed it. Allen Johnson was a little better on the track, 6.596 to 6.599, but Jeggie gets the win based on his light.
Funny Car final (4:35 p.m.): No matter the outcome, this will be a feel-good ending. Scott Kalitta won his only nitro Funny Car title here, so a Jeff Arend win will carry added significance, and of course, Matt Hagan is going for his first ever. And Hagan gets No. 1 when he out-pedals Arend, 4.390 to 4.714.
Top Fuel final (4:40 p.m.): It wasn't side-by-side .77s, but the latest head-to-head by Larry Dixon and Antron Brown was another exciting one. Both cars had troubles and had to pedal the car. Dixon's troubles started earlier, and it appeared Brown would finish ahead, but Dixon never gave up and was rewarded for his efforts. Despite the fact his engine was on fire as he crossed the finish line, Dixon was able to move around Brown as they crossed the stripe and win in a 4.541 to 4.638 battle.
SATURDAY
A wet start (11:05 a.m.): Well, after an absolutely fantastic day yesterday, Mother Nature has once again shown how mean she can be with rain showers over Houston Raceway Park this morning. According to local forecasters, the storm that is in the area is a very small one and only affecting small parts of the Houston area (which naturally includes the racetrack ... argh) and is expected to clear out pretty quickly. We'll see how accurate they are because the radar isn't looking quite as optimistic at this point. Right now, rain continues to fall. It was a very light rain, but it has now picked pack up. The Safety Safari was out on the track trying to work their magic, but the heavier rain now has them leaving the strip and heading for cover. The first Full Throttle qualifying session of the day was slated for 11:30, but that will definitely not happen. There was some activity before the rain began this morning, and once things clear up, the remaining Comp racer that was on deck, David Rampy, will return to make his qualifying run, then it will be Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Top Dragster, Top Alcohol Dragster, and Top Alcohol Funny Car were slated to make a qualifying run this morning, but due to the rain, that run has been cut, and the fields are now set in those classes.
Weather update (12:30 p.m.): The skies are looking a little brighter, but that doesn't mean it has stopped raining. The wet stuff is still falling; right now it is a moderate rain, but that has been changing all morning, from light to downpours. The Safety Safari is still on hold waiting for things to clear. One truck is stationed past the finish line, just waiting for things to clear or lighten up enough to begin the drying process. The radar is starting to look a little better, so hopefully this will end soon.
Update (12:35 p.m.): And just as we typed the last update and posted it, the activity picked up on the track. The Safety Safari truck on the top end is now moving, and several members of the Safety Safari have started making their way onto the dragstrip with brooms, blowers, and other tools to get rid of water. The tractor also just rolled out and is now pushing water out of the way. It is still raining, but we are seeing some promising signs that it may clear: a better-looking radar, brighter skies with some spots of blue peaking through, and the activity on the strip.
Weather/track update (1:20 p.m.): Now this is more like it ... the sun is out, there is a nice mix of blue skies and clouds (more of the non-threatening type), no rain is falling, and the activity on the track is picking up with both the Safety Safari doing their thing and various crew members making their way up to check things out. The goal right now is to get both Full Throttle runs in today, and if things stay the way they are now, that should happen.
Almost ready (2:10 p.m.): Things are looking fabulous right now. Skies are blue and the sun is shining brightly, just a few whispy clouds scattered across the skies. The Safety Safari is nearing the end of the drying/track prep process -- the tractor is out dragging rubber. David Rampy, the lone Comp car that didn't run this morning, has pulled up under the tower and is waiting to make his pass. The Pro Stock Motorcycles are also back in the lanes.
The plan is to run Rampy, then the Full Throttle classes. The first round of both the Get Screened America Pro Mods and Comp will follow, then it will be right back into Pro Stock Motorcycles for the final qualifying runs to set the fields for tomorrow's eliminations. Estimated start time is 2:30.
We're running (2:30 p.m.): And just like that, we are running. David Rampy is on the track, and the first Pro Stock Motorcycle, Joe DeSantis, has rolled into the water box.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, session three (2:45 p.m.): Hector Arana just hammered the competition, clocking a 6.858 that was far and away the best of the session. Eddie Krawiec was the second-quickest of the bikes, but his 6.907 looked sluggish next to Arana's blast. Andrew Hines added one bonus point to his bank with a third-best 6.912. Angie Smith, whose team returned today after a long night of hard work to make repairs after her fire yesterday, currently sits on the bump with a 7.235.
Pro Stock, session three (3:15 p.m.): Like the bikes, the Pro Stockers were slower than last night, which wasn't a surprise considering there is more water in the air and the track is greener with the rains earlier. Mike Edwards continued to show the way with a 6.562, but the Summit team had a morale-boosting outing. Jason Line, who ran next to Edwards, was able to keep pace with the reigning champ, finishing just four-thousandths behind him wtih a 6.566. Greg Anderson, who entered the session outside the field, was the third-best driver of the outing, posting a 6.578 that moved him up to ninth heading into the final session. Rickie Jones is the current bump driver with a 6.593.
Top Fuel, session three (3:55 p.m.): The Don Schumacher teams shone during the third qualifying session of the weekend. Antron Brown capped what turned out to be a very nice session with a 3.794 that is the best run of the weekend so far and further solidified his hold on the No. 1 spot. Brown also ran 321.96 mph, the fourth fastest speed ever. Tony Schumacher was the second-best driver with a 3.818, and points leader Cory McClenathan clocked a 3.831 that moved him up in the order, to fourth.
Funny Car, session three (4:30 p.m.): All eyes were on John Force heading into this session to see if he could back up his 4.021 from last night, but his daughter, Ashley Force Hood, was the one who was the star of this session. Force Hood clocked a 4.089 to pace a challenging session that included quite a few tire-smoking runs. Matt Hagan's 4.091 was the next-best run, and Del Worsham ranked third for the session with a 4.096. Jim Head also had a 4.09 come on the scoreboards in his lane, but Paul Lee had hit the cones before Head reached the finish line, disqualifying his time (his speed also came up as 507 mph, further solidifying that Lee in fact took out the cones before Head reached the finish line).
Pro Stock Motorcycle, session four (6:15 p.m.): Hector Arana makes it a clean sweep for the day, posting a 6.861 that was the best of the final session. Eddie Krawiec wasn't far behind with a 6.866 that moved him up a spot in the order, to second. Craig Treble, who was in the first pair of bikes to run was the third-best rider of the round with a 3.874 that lifted him up to fourth, behind Andrew Hines. Steve Johnson is the 16th and final qualifier with a 7.068. Joe DeSantis was the lone rider to not qualify.
Pro Stock, session four (6:30 p.m.): Mike Edwards was again tops in Pro Stock with a 6.542, but he wasn't too far ahead of everyone as he has been in the past. Ron Krisher, who had a surprising DNQ in Charlotte, clocked a 6.548 that was the second-best time of the session and moved him up to the No. 2 starting spot. Allen Johnson ranked third in the final session with his 6.549 that gives him the third starting spot. Rickie Jones' 6.584 is the anchor time, and that makes this the quickest field in history.
Top Fuel, session four (6:50 p.m.): The dragsters are out for their final qualifying runs of the weekend. The field was set almost immediately when Terry Haddock's car died after his burnout, leaving him unable to make an attempt and therefore staying in the 17th spot. Terry McMillen is the early leader of this session with a 3.902, but that will likely be left in the dust soon as the heavy-hitters make their way up to a very cool track that could produce some great times. Right now, things are on hold after Dave Grubnic's engine let go, producing a huge ball of flame just before the 1,000-foot mark. The Safety Safari has the whole fleet of trucks out trying to clean things up right now.
Action has resumed and right away the big numbers come up. Doug Kalitta just ran a 3.829 at a whopping 322.34 mph that is the third fastest ever. Tony Schumacher and Cory McClenathan are next, and everyone is expecting some big numbers from them and Larry Dixon and Antron Brown behind them.
Well, Schumacher certainly delivered with a 3.785 at 321.81 mph that now has him No. 1. McClenathan, however, was unable to capitalize on the conditions when his engine went boom on the top end. We are down again due to stuff left behind when Cory Mac had his troubles.
It took a little extra time to get to the final two cars, but it was well worth the wait as Dixon and Brown just ran the quickest side-by-side runs ever both running 3.77s. Dixon was the best of the bunch with a 3.772 that is the second quickest run ever. His 323.19-mph speed is also the second best ever. Brown wasn't far behind Dixon with a 3.777. Floppers up next, and now everyone is wondering what we might see ... perhaps a new national record?
Funny Car, session four (7:40 p.m.): This final qualifying session is stretching out -- Tony Pedregon once again had some troubles on his run and left some stuff on the track. The good news for him is the carnage was worth it because he made it into field with his 4.296 run. We're on hold for now while the Safety Safari does its thing.
And we're back ... Tim Wilkerson and Jim Head are backing up from their burnouts now.
Well, no national record after John Force's team overpowers the track, but the session wasn't devoid of good runs. Ashley Force Hood and Ron Capps put on quite a show for all in attendance with side-by-side 4.0s, a 4.042 for Force Hood and a 4.059 for Capps; those were the best two runs of the session. Tim Wilkerson was quite a ways behind those to with a 4.119, but that was enough for him to earn one bonus point as the third-quickest run of the round.
FRIDAY
Let the fun begin! (10:35 a.m.): The 23rd annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil has officially begun, and the event should, thankfully, be a spectacular one. The weather is absolutely GORGEOUS with clear, sunny, blue skies and comfortable temperatures in the mid-70s today. The good news is local weather forecasters are calling for a repeat performance of these conditions on Saturday and Sunday, though temps will rise a little those two days to the upper-70s, near 80 degrees. Forecasters also say wind could pick up during the weekend and become a factor some, but overall, it should be a very nice weekend for racing in Houston.
This morning, the Lucas Oil competitors are on the track making time trial and qualifying runs in advance of the first qualifying passes for the Full Throttle Series competitors. Pro Stock Motorcycle is slated to run for the first time at 2:45 p.m. The second qualifying session of the day will begin at 5:15 p.m.
TV schedule update (Noon): ESPN has announced two schedule changes for its television programming package for this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. The re-air of the qualifying show on ESPN2 has been moved to noon ET Sunday, April 11, and expanded to a two-hour show. In addition, NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, the 30-minute magazine preview show on ESPN2, has moved up a half-hour, to a 2 p.m. ET start time on Sunday, April 11.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, session one (3 p.m.): The Pro Stock Motorcycles are on the track, making their first qualifying passes of the weekend. Things got off to a kind of strange start with Angie Smith's bike catching fire at the end of the run. The fire got pretty intense before the Safety Safari was able to put it out. Smith got off the bike quickly and is OK, but there is a good deal of damage to the bike, so her team will have some work to do.
When racing resumed, things got fast, well, fast. Andrew Hines ran a 6.87 at 196.93 mph, which at the time was the third-fastest ever. That lasted one pair, though, because Michael Phillips bettered it with a 197.13 run the next pair that now ranks third all-time. More to come ...
Hines' 6.87 went untouched, and he will enter tonight's session in the No. 1 spot. Hector Arana ranks second after he clocked a 6.880, and Hines' teammate, Eddie Krawiec, is the No. 3 rider with a 6.889. Krawiec also continued the fast pace with a 197.10-mph speed on his pass. Currently, Doug Horne holds down the 12th spot with a 7.01.
Next up, it's Pro Stock, and if the motorcycles are any indication, this could be a fun, fast session.
Pro Stock, session one (3:50 p.m.): The Pro Stockers lived up to the expectations with several 6.5s and a 212.23 mph run by Jeg Coughlin Jr. that ties for fifth-fastest of all time. No surprise at the top of the sheets with Mike Edwards nabbing the No. 1 spot after one run with a 6.539. Coughlin ranks second with a 6.557, and Ron Krisher is third with a 6.565.
Funny Car, session one (4:30 p.m.): The Funny Cars didn't quite put up the quick and fast times like we saw in the Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle sessions, but the floppers did deliver some nice runs and good moments. John Force was tops with a 4.121, but the run of the session was that of Jim Head, who clocked a 4.129 early in the session. After two singles to start things, Head was in the first pair of cars that ran, and he ran the 4.12 that nearly stood as No. 1, being eclipsed only by Force in the final pair of cars. Force's daughter, Ashley Force Hood, sits third entering tonight's session with a 4.132.
Top Fuel, session one (4:50 p.m.): The dragsters struggled a little bit wth the afternoon conditions and 103-degree track temps, but there were a few teams that were able to get a grip on things and put nice numbers on the board. Larry Dixon was tops with his 3.848. Points leader Cory McClenathan made a nice push for the No. 1 spot but came up short with his 3.856 that puts him second after one session. Shawn Langdon ranks third with a 3.879.
Next up, the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series for their second qualifying run, then it's right back into the Full Throttle classes.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, session two (6 p.m.): The big speeds and quick times continued in the second session of two-wheel action. Hector Arana shot up to the top of the order with a 6.856. Andrew Hines slipped to the No. 2 spot when he couldn't better his 6.870 from earlier. Hines did put up the best speed of the round at 196.96. Hines' teammate, Eddie Krawiec, and Michael Phillips also put 196 speeds up. Krawiec's came on his 6.875 pass that has him ranked third. Matt Smith is fourth, and Phillips is fifth. Jim Underdahl, Doug Horne, and David Hope round out the quick eight. Junior Pippin landed on the 12th spot with a 7.010.
Pro Stock, session two (7 p.m.): No big surprises here ... Mike Edwards continues to show the way. Though he didn't better his 6.53 from earlier in the day, Edwards was the best of the second session with a 6.550. Edwards' engine customer Ron Krisher was next with a 6.557, and Jason Line's 6.561 was the third-best run of that session.
Funny Car, session two (7:05 p.m.): A wild second session for the flopper contingent. In addition to a few 4.0s, there have been two highlight-reel moments. First, Robert Hight's engine let go after he powered to a 4.051 that has him No. 1 currently. After a somewhat wild ride as he tried to bring the car to a stop, Hight got out of the car without problem. That was nothing, however, compared to the ride Tony Pedregon just took. As he went through the lights, the engine of his Nitro Fish ride exploded, lifting the entire car off the ground and sending the body flying in the air. Pedregon was uninjured, but his car is severely damaged and a lot of stuff has been left on the track, putting things in a hold pattern.
When things resumed, the killer runs continued. John Force moved to the top spot with a 4.021 that is the second-best run ever. Hight slipped down to second, and Ashley Force Hood gave JFR a 1-2-3 finish with a 4.06 pass.
Top Fuel, session two (8:50 p.m.): Though they didn't quite find the performance their nitro brothren did, the Top Fuel teams did cap the day with some solid showings. The best was the 3.803 of Antron Brown, though Larry Dixon wasn't far behind with a 3.808. Steve Torrence recorded the third-best run with a 3.839.