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Antron Brown, Robert Hight, and Mike Edwards are the opening day leaders at the 22nd annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas.

Race teams had to hustle to Kansas after competing last weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta as the Full Throttle teams prepare to race into an active part of the schedule. They’ll race on all four weekends in June and in three of four in July. Temperatures in the high 70s greeted the teams, a bit of a relief from the high heat and humidity in Atlanta.

In an interesting twist, all of the day’s first-session qualifying leaders were able to improve in the second session to retain their top spots and, in some cases, extend their leads over the rest of the field.

Antron Brown

Brown had the Schumacher Racing Matco Tools dragster atop the pack after his first pass but had been relegated to fourth by the time he pulled to the line at the end of the second All he did was power his Mark Oswald- and Brian Corradi-tuned machine to a tenth-quicker pass, 3.785, to nail down the No. 1 spot for the day.

“The last few races have been really hard on our whole team,” said Brown. “We were just one run behind in Atlanta. The car was there, we qualified well, and we were making gains, we just didn’t make them quick enough. We dropped a hole in first round and didn’t show what our team is capable of. We know this is a great race car. We’re getting a whole new management system worked out and it’s going well. We ran that .88 in the first session in the heat of the day, so we started with a foot forward instead of a foot behind. The first run is so important. You’ve got get a decent run down because that transfers to every other run, and this weekend we started with our best foot forward. We just want to get back up there in competitive shape, and I feel like we’re back. Now we just have to do it on race day.

“We’ve got one more day of qualifying and it’s going to be hot tomorrow. I think that second run at 3 o’clock is going to be the most important run tomorrow because that’s going to set us up for Sunday because Sunday is going to be even hotter.”

Doug Kalitta, enjoying a fine start to the season with his Kalitta Air machine with four runner-ups, currently sits a season-high-tying second with a 3.849 as he, Atlanta runner-up Brandon Bernstein, and Shawn Langdon all went around world champ Tony Schumacher, who was ranked second after the first session. Bernstein’s Copart dragster clocked a 3.886 and Langdon’s Lucas Oil ride a 3.887 to take the fourth spot.

Schumacher, who’s never won in Topeka, is ranked fifth with the U.S. Army dragster on the basis of his earlier 3.896 after smoking the tires in the second session. Behind him to round out the day’s top eight are Steve Torrence in Dexter Tuttle’s Simple Mobile entry (3.902), Cory McClenathan’s Fram dragster (3.904) and David Grubnic in the second Kalitta Air entry (3.915).

Atlanta winner Larry Dixon, a four-0time winner this season in the Al-Anabi Racing Dragster and the low qualifier in Atlanta, is a surprising ninth at 3.915. Dom Lagana holds down the 12th and final spot that will transfer into Saturday’s two sessions after putting up a 3.987 in the Tire Kingdom dragster.

Robert Hight

World champ Hight’s hot streak continued as the driver of the Auto Club Mustang, winner of the last two events on the schedule, took the No. 1 qualifying spot on his opening lap with a 4.17, then bettered it on his evening pass with a 4.095 to lead the first-day Funny Car field. He has one other No. 1 this season, in Charlotte, and 34 in his decorated career.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Hight. “These are the times you dream about. When your car can win two in a row and then you go out there and you’re No. 1 in both sessions at the next race it gives you a lot of confidence as a driver. My car is going down the track and the more runs you make the better you get, so I’ve got more confidence and it’s a lot of fun. The unfortunate truth about all that is when you run like that and dominate – and we’re kind of dominating right now – you make those other guys work harder and they’re going come back and get you. So we’ve got to be careful that we don’t celebrate and get too excited. We’ve got to stay focused and work hard because those other guys are coming.”

“Tomorrow is going to be hot and Sunday is going to be hot, but we just came from two real hot racetracks and you saw how my car preformed, so we’ve got a lot of confidence right now. And having only 15 cars here, that No. 1 spot is pretty important tonight because that’s going to give me a bye run. I don’t think anybody is going to beat that tomorrow in the heat, so having a bye run in the first round, that doesn’t hurt either.”

Tim Wilkerson grabbed the no. 2 spot in the second session, improving from an opening 4.21 to a solid 4.103 that his him breathing down the neck of fellow Ford pilot Hight. Jeff Arend is s surprising third in the Kalitta Motorsports DHL Solara after an impressive 4.104 in the evening session. Jack Beckman, No. 2 after the first session, also improved, but his 4.113 is only good for the fourth spot.

Ron Capps’ NAPA Auto Parts Charger (4.117), points leader John Force’s Castrol GTX Mustang (4.118), independent Jim Head’s Solara (4.125) and Atlanta runner-up and second-place points runner Ashley Force Hood’s Castrol GTX Mustang (4.133) fill out the first eight spots.

Two-time world champ Cruz Pedregon’s Snap-On Solara holds down the all-important No. 12 spot at 4.206.

Mike Edwards

Edwards, who relinquished the No. 1 qualifying spot to Allen Johnson last weekend in Atlanta – only the second time in the season’s first eight races that he was not on the Pro Stock pole – regained the top spot in the first session with his Penhall/K&N/Interstate GXP by posting a 6.652, then improved on that number to a 6.638 in the second session to distance himself from Johnson, who could not improve on his first-session 6.656.

“I was surprised that more cars didn’t pick up in the evening session,” said Edwards. “I really thought that Ron Krisher [who uses Edwards’ engines] would have run a 6.64 and I was surprised that [No 2 qualifier] Allen Johnson slowed down.

“I hope that our recent success in qualifying No. 1 is becoming a trend, but even though we’re running real well, it’s not like it was last year. I feel like we’re just a little bit off in a couple places. We’re always looking for a little bit more, trying to tweak a little extra performance out of the car because all the other teams are really close. Tonight’s run was awesome, though, with a .977 60-foot time. I’m real happy with the job my guys did."

Johnson’s Mopar Avenger is followed on the qualifying sheets by Atlanta winner Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s JEGS Cobalt, which ran 6.663 in the first session but, like Johnson, could not better that number in the evening session. The story is the same for No. 4 qualifier Ron Krisher, who runs Edwards power under the hood of his Valvoline Cobalt. He sits fourth with a 6.666.

V. Gaines’ Kendall Oil Avenger (6.670), Shane Gray’s Tire Kingdom GXP (6.680), Jason Line’s Summit Racing Equipment GXP (6.682), and Madison champ Warren Johnson’s K&N Filters GXP (6.684) round out the first day’s top eight.

Kansas native Bob Yonke holds down the No. 12 spot with his Adrenaline Motorsports GXP after posting a 6.692. Twenty-three drivers made qualifying attempts Friday, so there will be quite a battle to round out the field Saturday. Among those not in the top 12 are perennial qualifiers Rodger Brogdon, Greg Stanfield, and Kurt Johnson.