Matt Hagan took over the qualifying lead in Funny Car Saturday at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway outside of Denver. Friday leaders Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), and Michael Phillips (Pro Stock Motorcycle) held onto their leads.
A cooler day led to a number of improvements over Friday’s initial qualifying efforts as racers jockeyed for favorable starting positions for Sunday’s final eliminations at this, the final leg of the three-race Western Swing. The race is a crucial one as it is the second to last in the Countdown to the Championship’s 17-event regular season that will set the 10-car fields for the Countdown to 1 playoffs that begin Labor Day weekend at the Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Antron Brown
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Brown scooped up his fourth No. 1 qualifying honor of the season as the defending event champ rode to the pole on the strength of his Friday pass of 3.961 after failing to make a full run on either pass Saturday. The driver of the Matco Tools dragster now has 26 No. 1 qualifying efforts in his combined Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle career.
“You’ve got different conditions happening,” said Brown. “You’ve got a really [good] starting line, then you get to the other stuff that’s hot and slick and you have to navigate that, so it makes it tricky. Today we were trying a few things, trying to get our car ready for the Countdown, but we thought it would run better. The car wanted to run a .92 or .93, but the track didn’t want any part of it. We were just too aggressive too far down the racetrack.
“We need to be a little more aggressive sooner, so tomorrow we’ll make those adjustments tomorrow and try to go A to B because that’s what it’s going to take. And if the sun it out it’s going to be even more tricky. But never in a million years would I have thought that our .96 would stay No. 1.”
As he was Friday, Doug Kalitta remained hot on Brown’s tail as he also failed to make a full run Saturday. His 3.962 earned him his forth No. 2 start this season with the Kalitta Air machine. Kalitta’s teammate, “Aussie Dave” Grubnic is one spot “down under” him in the No. 3 position with a 3.970.
Tony Schumacher made a substantial march forward Saturday with his U.S. Army dragster going from ninth Friday to fourth Saturday with a 3.974 at 312.42 that moved him ahead of perennial rival Larry Dixon, who also ran 3.974 albeit at a slower speed of 297.61. Shawn Langdon used his Friday 3.982 to rank sixth, just holding off Steve Torrence’s improved 3.983. Brandon Bernstein rounds out the top eight and the last of the three-second qualifier with a 3.992.
Terry Haddock placed his Acme Refining dragster in the field’s final position with a 4.356 that earns him a first-round date with Brown.
Matt Hagan
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Hagan made the quickest and fastest Funny Car pass of the weekend, a 4.161 at 301.33, on his final pass to steal the No. 1 spot from Friday leader John Force. Hagan, who scored his first two career wins earlier this season, also was the No. 1 qualifier in Gainesville in March with his special Mopar-edition DieHard Dodge Charger.
“We have a really great race car,” said Hagan. “[Crew chief] Tommy DeLago is doing such a good job, and I can’t say enough about the crew guys. They’ve really come a long way from where they were last year, and I’m really, really proud of them.
“Tommy told me to hold on because he was going to get after it. It felt like just another run, but when [the clutch] went one to one it really took off. All I had to do was keep it in the groove and hold on. For us to be No. 1 in Funny Car and Allen Johnson No. 1 in Pro Stock, how does it get any better than that?"
Force, a five-time winner in Denver, held the qualifying lead for three of the four sessions before relinquishing it to Hagan after being unable to improve upon his Friday-leading 4.191 pass, chalking up a 4.199 on his final effort. Del Worsham’s Al-Anabi Camry is third at 4.191 and is followed by Robert Hight (4.218), defending event champ Ron Capps (4.221), Cruz Pedregon (4.238) and the Fords of Bob Tasca III (4.240) and Ashley Force Hood (4.247).
Independent Jack Wyatt qualified his Dodge Stratus in the no. 16 spot and will face Hagan in round one Sunday.
Allen Johnson
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Johnson held on in front of his Mopar sponsors to collect his fourth No. 1 qualifying spot of the season, but it took session-best improvements on both runs Saturday for his Mopar Avenger to hold off Jeg Coughlin. Johnson led the field Friday with a 7.020 then made passes of 6.981 and 6.966 to secure the top spot as he shoots for his third win in four years on the mountain.
"On that last run, the cloud cover came over, and the track really got cool for some awesome track conditions," said Johnson. "The Mopar Dodge Avenger is cooking and we’ve got a lot of good luck charms with so many of the Mopar folks here this weekend.
"I’m hoping that this is our breakthrough weekend [for his first victory of 2010]. This season we’ve figured out every way in the world to lose every final that we’ve been in, so maybe this will be the one that we can win one for the Mopar banner and start to hone in on the championship."
Coughlin, who hasn’t won at Bandimere Speedway since 1999, also improved twice on his Friday best, going from 7.031 to 6.988 and then 6.981, but couldn’t get past Johnson’s Dodge in either session. Jason Line, runner-up last year to Johnson, posted the field’s only other six-second qualifying pass, a 6.993, for the third spot. Reigning season champ Mike Edwards made his best pass of the event on his final qualifying spot, posting a 7.002 for the No. 4 position.
The father-son duo of Johnny and Shane Gray occupy the Nos. 5 and 6 spots on the final order with respective passes of 7.002 and 7.004 while Vinnie Deceglie placed the Mountain View Tire Avenger No. 7 with a 7.005. Greg Anderson rounds out a tight top eight with a 7.007.
Phoenix runner-up Bob Yonke sits on the bump spot with a 7.049 and will face off against Johnson in Sunday’s first round. Greg Stanfield, sixth in points, is a surprise non-qualifier for the first time this season, finishing in the No. 17 spot.
Michael Phillips
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Suzukis ruled the roost Saturday as not only did Phillips’ Racers Edge machine maintain his top spot based on his Friday track-record best of 7.238, but he was joined atop the pack by fellow Suzuki riders Steve Johnson, Karen Stoffer, and Jim Underdahl. It was the second career pole of Phillips’ career; his first came earlier this year in Englishtown.
“I had predicted a best of 7.28 for today, but the weather was about 800 feet better today,” said Phillips. “I saw Karen go out and run a 7.27 and Steve ran a 7.28, so I figured that my run would at least be a 7.24. I managed to hit all my shift points perfectly and got the 7.23.
“On my 7.26 in today’s second session, I missed a shift point and the bike pulled me a little bit through the lights on the starting line, so I thought that the run should have at least have been a 7.21. If tomorrow’s weather holds up, you might see a 7.20 or even a 7.19. With our win last weekend in Sonoma, I think we’re peaking at the right time. I’m trying to stay focused and not let anything distract me. As long as I’m on my game, it’s going to be pretty hard to beat me.”
Johnson improved on his Friday best of 7.341 with runs of 7.280 and a strong 7.246 to move the Lincoln Tech machine to the No. 2 spot. Stoffer also put together a pair of great runs with her GEICO Suzuki, beating her Friday 7.33 by posting passes of 7.278 and a final 7.268 for the No. 3 spot. Underdahl, whose Suzuki Extended Protection entry finished Friday ninth at just 7.36, stepped up to a 7.280 Saturday for his best qualifying berth of the season.
Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec are Nos. 5 and 6 after respective passes of 7.286 and 7.295 on Saturday; both are former event champs here (2006 and 2009, respectively). The Buells of David Hope (7.297) and two-time Denver winner Matt Smith (7.316) round out the top eight, which is all quicker than Hector Arana’s incoming track record of 7.319, a number that Arana ironically matched for the No. 9 position in what is his worst qualifying effort of the season.
Redell Harris qualified his Buell in the field’s final position and will offer Phillips’ initial opposition Sunday.
Related story:
Friday: Johnson's Dodge tops in Denver; Brown, Force, Phillips also lead