News and notes from Sunday at the 29th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd Int'l Raceway. Compiled by the National DRAGSTER staff.
SUNDAY (Previous: Friday | Satruday)
Final update: 4:45 p.m. (Click to latest)
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday: Welcome to final eliminations day at the 29th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, and I hope you brought your jackets. It's brisk out there today – 62 degrees at 9 o'clock – and headed for a high of just 69 degrees. There's also an on-again, off-again but very brisk tailwind brewing. It was sprinkling just a few minutes ago, but that was brief . Dark clouds are overhead, but there's only a 10-percent chance to rain forecast … and a 100-percent chance at track record breaking.
Pre-race ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m. with driver introductions and the usual hoopla, then we'll get into the business of not only deciding race champions but finalizing the 10-driver fields for the Countdown to 1 championship playoffs.
Playoff scenarios: OK, here's we stand heading into the first round: There is one spot available each in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock, and two spots open in Pro Stock Motorcycle. All of the scenarios listed do not include the (very slim) chance to a driver setting a national record.
In Top Fuel, David Grubnic (642 points) currently holds the last spot, but he's only 20 points ahead of Terry McMillen, and we all know 20 points is exactly one round of racing. McMillen will need to go one round further than Grubnic to steal his spot. That would mathematically tie them, but T-Mac owns the tiebreaker (based on the first tie-breaker, round wins; they're currently tied at four). If he goes a round further as needed, he'll be one ahead. Grubnic has the easier draw in round one versus Terry Haddock while McMillen must tangle with world champ Tony Schumacher.
It's basically down to Tony Pedregon and Jeff Arend in Funny Car although Cruz Pedregon also is mathematically still in the hunt. T-Ped (764 points) leads Arend by 31 so Arend needs to go two rounds further to pass him. Cruz Pedregon would need to win the race and have brother Tony lose in the first round AND have Arend lose in the first or second round.
In Pro Stock, Rodger Brogdon (677 points) clinches if he wins the first round or if Kurt Johnson (-80 points) does NOT win the race. If Johnson wins the race and Brogdon loses in the first round, K.J. would get the 10th slot as he would own the tie-breaker (10 round wins to eight).
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, ninth-place Karen Stoffer (543 points) clinches if she wins a round OR as long as Shawn Gann does NOT win AND set the national record AND 10th place Craig Treble does not reach the semifinals. Treble is 56 points ahead of 11th place Gann, so Gann needs to go three rounds further than Treble to pass him.
Simple, right?
And furthermore: We've also got two battles still raging for the top seed in the playoffs, which earns the No. 1 racer a 30-point bonus heading into the six-race playoffs that begin at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
In Funny Car, John Force has a 21-point edge on teammate Robert Hight, meaning Hight will have to go two rounds further than the boss to steal the No. 1 spot. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, low qualifier Andrew Hines is 47 points back of Hector Arana so he'll need to go three rounds further than the defending world and event champ. The good news for Hines is that he may control his own destiny as if both win their first-round matches (Hines versus Buddy Robinson and Arana versus Karen Stoffer), they'll meet in the second round.
 |
Drag racing in "The State of Hockey": As most Minnesotans will tell you, the sport of hockey is so ever- present in their home state, with outdoor and indoor rinks dotting the landscape as commonly as baseball diamonds can be seen in other parts of the country, the residents in the Land of 10,000 Lakes have proudly proclaimed their home as "The State of Hockey."
This weekend, the NHL and NHRA have come together in Tim Wilkerson's pit, as Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jeff Finger is in the house, along with his father John. The former St. Cloud State Husky was born and raised in Michigan, but spent his college years in Minnesota, attending the Brainerd race every year. He was originally drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, but signed a free agent contract with the Maple Leafs before the 2008/2009 NHL season. The drag racing fanatic has been Wilk fan since meeting Team Manager Bob Wilber on airline flight after the Denver race in 2008.
"I love this sport, and it's been really great to get to know these guys and get inside the ropes and up close," Finger said. "It was just pure luck that Bob and I were on the same flight that night, and now my dad and I get to experience this from a place we never dreamed of being. All these years of being such a huge NHRA fan, and this is as cool as it gets."
Special awards: Prior to pre-race ceremonies, the event's special awards were handed out. Travis Sorokie's Super Stocker was named Best Appearing Car while Pro Stock racer Mark Hogan's team was voted Best Appearing Crew. The Best Engienered Vehicle award was presented to Comp racer Joseph Wilczek.
Ready to roll (10:55 a.m.): With scatttered clouds overhead the sun is playing peek-a-boo and keeping the track cool, and a stiff tailwind has a chill in the air. During pre-race, many of the drivers said to expect times far quicker than qualifying, and some said that the day's conditions may even provide a chance at new national records. Stand by for Top Fuel.
Fire the first pair! (11 a.m.): And we're underway with round one of Top Fuel, Antron Brown versus defending event champ Morgan Lucas.
Top Fuel round 1 (11:50 a.m.): Antron ends Lucas' bid for a repeat and right behind them David Grubnic dodges a bullet as he breaks traction against Terry Haddock but he does an excellent pedal job while Haddock has engine woes. Terry McMillen needs to win against Tony Schumacher to keep his playoff hopes alive as he chases Grubnic, T-Mac gives it a whale of an effort, keeping "the Sarge" honest, but his 3.93 can't match Schumacher's 3.84. Grubnic earns the 10th and final sot in the Top Fuel playoffs.
Low qualifier Doug Kalitta advances with a 4.01, but he's trailing flames through the traps and some of his used-to-be-conected parts trigger the finish-line timers in the lane of opponent Luigi Novelli, whose scoreboard shows 4.04 even though he blazed the tires at the green.
We're down for oil. How bad is it? They've told the drivers in line to get out of their cars....
... and 20 minutes later, we're back.
Second-round pairings (lane choice in bold):
Kalitta vs, Brown
Larry Dixon vs. Shawn Langdon
Brandon Bernstein vs. Grubnic
Cory McClenathan vs. Tony Schumacher
Funny Car round 1 (12:30 p.m.): An upset kicks off Funny Car as low qualifier Ashley Force Hood rattles the tires and has to pedal, but she can't run down Paul Lee. She's the first driver this morning to lose out of the favored left lane. Right after that, her dad, 11-time Brainerd winner John Force falls to Bob Tasca III by .002-second.
Jack Beckman lowers the boom of Del Worsham with a 4.057, low e.t. and a track record by almost five-hundredths. Worsham left some "stuff" on the track, so we're down for cleanup.
And we're back. Robert Hight runs 4.09 and won't have lane choice against Beckman. Hight is now just one point behind boss Force for the top seed in the Countdown. Tony Pedregon lost to Hight and now his Countdown fate is in the hands of Jeff Arend, who needs to go two rounds further than T-Ped to steal the 10th spot.
Cruz Pedregon still has a chance to make the Countdown, too, but he needs to beat Bob Bode and have Arend lose in his upcoming race with Tim Wilkerson.
Well, scratch the Cruzer from the scenario as he smokes 'em against Bode, who runs a great 4.15. Ron Capps then joins Force Hood in the Got Upset Dept. as he smokes the tires at half-track and falls to Jim Head.
And now it's Arend vs. Tim Wilkerson, in a must-win race for the DHL team. They've got lane choice and stayed in the left even though Capps just lost there. It's a paimful loss for Arend -- .002-second -- as Wilk gets the win light. Tony Pedregon is in the Countdown to 1 playoffs and Arend is out.
Second-round pairings (lane choice in bold):
Lee vs. Wilkerson
Tasca vs. Bode
Hagan vs. Head
Hight vs. Beckman
Pro Stock round 1 (12:50 p.m.): Unlike the fuel cars, the Pro Stockers favor the right lane, but four win win out of the left..
Rodger Brogdon needs to beat low qualifier Mike Edwards to lock up the final Pro Stock Countdown berth and does it in style, holeshotting Edwards, 6.647 to 6.593. Edwards broke his own 6.630 track record, but in a losing cause.
Edwards' incoming 6.630 track record also was exceeded earlier in the round by Jeg Coughlin (6.612) and Greg Anderson (6.625) and later by Jason Line (6.628).
Despite losing themselves, Karen Stoffer and Craig Treble lock up the final two spots in the Countdown field with Shawn Gann's loss.
Second-round pairings (lane choice in bold):
Brogdon vs. Anderson
Line vs. Coughlin
Johnny Gray vs. V. Gaines
Allen Johnson vs. Shane Gray
Pro Stock Motorcycle round 1 (1 p.m.); Lots of upsets in the Pro Stock Motorcycles, too, as a slew of higher-qualified entires bow out, incluiding No. 2 qualifier Matt Smith, who got blasted by Joe DeSantis' perfect light and loses, 7.10 to 7.03.
Andrew Hines lowers his own low e.t. with a 6.904 and will face Hector Arana in round two with major top-seed inplications,
Second-round pairings (lane choice in bold):
Hines vs. Arana
Steve Johnson vs. Angie McBride
DeSantis vs. Jim Underdahl
Mike Berry vs. David Hope
Top Fuel round 2 (2 p.m.): Although the Countdown fields have all been set, there's still some position jockeying available. With each spot worth 10 more points when the points are reset for Indy, it matters to these guys.
Well, not for the first pair. Larry Dixon, who already has the top seed sewed up, runs low e.t. of the meet with a 3.823 to beat Shawn Langdon, who was pretty much locked into the seventh spot anyway. David Grubnic then upsets Brandon Bernstein and can move to ninth place in points if he wins the event,
Tony Schumacher versus Cory McClenathan, and a battle between teammates for the No. 2 seed. "The Sarge" is second, just 27 points up on Cory Mac ... and it's a HUGE win for McClenathan, 3.831 to 3.833. If Cory Mac wins his semifinal race with Grubnic, he'll earn the No. 2 seed. That also was Cory Mac's 500th career round win in Top Fuel.
Doug Kalitta ends the round by taking his low e.t. back from Dixon with a 3.822.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice in bold):
Kalitta vs. Dixon
Grubnic vs. McClenathan
Funny Car round 2 (2:05 p.m.): Tim Wilkerson survives Paul Lee's holeshot (Terrible driving job," assesses Wilkerson from the big end) and moves to within a round win of passing Ron Capps for the No. 5 spot in points.
Bob Bode pulls off another upset, running a career-best 4.140defeating Bob Tasca III on a holeshot by .008-second. with Tasca's loss, positions 7-10 are finalized for the Countdown (Tasca, Ford Hood, Worsham, T. Pedregon)
Jim Head continues to crazy outcomes as he upsets tire-smoking Matt Hagan to advance to the semifiinals for the second time this season; the other was in Topeka.
Robert Hight comes to the line knowing a win over Jack Beckman earns him the No. 1 seed. Beckman knows a win moves him closer to taking Hagan's third spot. And it's Beckman with a 4.080, which locks up the top seed in the Funny Car playoffs for John Force. bckman is just one point out of third now.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice in bold):
Wilkerson vs. Bode
Head vs. Beckman
Pro Stock round 2 (2:10 p.m.): Both Johnny and Shane Gray advance to the semifinals, where they'll race in a rematch of their Englishtown bash, which was won by Shane. If Johnny beats Shane, he'll pass Greg Stanfield for eighth place, as Shane did earlier in this event for seventh.
Greg Anderson keeps alive his hopes of a repeat win when Rodger Brogdon leaves the line in 3rd gear. Jeg Coughlin is low for the round with a 6.617, ending Jason Line's hopes for am all-Summit semifinal race with Anderson.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice in bold):
Anderson vs. Coughlin
J. Gray vs. S. Gray
Pro Stock Motorcycle round 2 (2:20 p.m.); Angie McBride blasts to a 7.02 after an engine change between rounds and will face Andrew Hines, who advanced on Hector Arana's foul. If Hines wins the event, he will take the top Countdown seed from Arana.
Mike Berry moves into the semifinals to face Jim Underdahl, meaning that three of the four semifinalists (Smith being the other) have never won a Wally, and all are non-playoff racers. Hines, of course, has won 21 times.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice in bold):
Hines vs. Smith
Underdahl vs. Berry
Top Fuel semifinals (3:10 p.m.): Against Dave Grubnic, Cory McClenathan runs low e,t. of the meet -- breaking his own 3.811 track record from last year -- to take the No. 2 spot in points from Tony Schumacher.
Cory Mac's record isn't even dry in the books when Larry Dixon rams the Al-Anabi machine to a 3.794 to defeat Doug Kalitta and earn final-round lane choice.
Funny Car semifinals (3:15 p.m.): Bob Bode, 17th in points, reaches his first Funny Car final after Tim Wilkerson's Shelby tries to take flight just around halftrack, forcing him to lift
Jack Beckman runs in the 4.0s again, and with the win passes teammate Matt Hagan for third in points. Beckman has final-round lane choice.
Pro Stock semifinals (3:25 p.m.): Father versus son in the Gray family semifinals, and the kid tattoos his old man, Shane running 6.660 to defeat Johnny's 6.637. Shane reaches his second final of the year (he was runner-up in E-Town earlier this year) and takes a big step forward in the rookie of the year battle and moves him past Ron Krisher and into sixth place in the standings.
Jeg Coughlin is super late reaching the staging lanes, but is ready when the order goes out to fire against Greg Anderson. He runs low e.t. of the meet with a 6.609 to earn final-round lane choice.
Pro Stock Motorcycle semifinals (3:30 p.m.): Andrew Hines runs 6.928 to reach his second straight final when Angie Smith sits up early. He'll face off with Minnesota's own Jim Underdahl, who will be competing in his first final after running 7.03 to beat Mike Berry.
If Hines wins the final, he'll take the top seed in the Countdown from Hector Arana.
Final rounds (4:45 p.m.): It's time to hand out some Wallys in the Full Throttle classes. We've got two first-time finalists (Bob Bode in Funny Car and Jim Underdahl in Pro Stock Motorcycle) and one racer (Shane Gray in Pro Stock) appearing in just his second final.
Andrew Hines runs 6.941 and the final in Pro Stock Motorcycle is never in question. Underdahl kept him honest with a 7.01 runner-up effort. With the win, Hines goes wire to wire and takes the No. 1 seed in the playoffs from Hector Arana.
The Pro Stock final is over before it starts as Gray goes red by .001-second. It probably wouldn't have mattered as Jeg Coughlin races to a 6.61 to claim the win, the 52nd of his Pro Stock career and 65th overall.
Incredible. That;s the only world to describe the Funny Car as Bob Bode bucks the odds to score his first national event when win heavy favoriite Jack beckman smokes the tires.
And in Top Fuel, Larry Dixon maintains his perfect final-round record this year, extending it to 9-0 with low e.t. of the meet, 3.78, to beat Cory McClenathan's close 3.81.
It was a fitting conclusion to a great race.
SATURDAY
Sunny day (9:45 a.m.): At this time yesterday., we were watching it rain; today, it's a bright and sunny Minnesota day ... for now. The forecast for later today will look a lot like yesterday, with rain and thundershowers, but that should be towards the end of the day, hopefully when we're mostly done.
We're running Sportsman eliminations right now. The Full Throttle cars will come to the line at 11:15 followed by the second qualifying session for the alcohol cars, then the big boys return later in the day for final qualifying.
And away we go (11:15 a.m.): After an entertainng round of the the snowmobiles, we're into Full Throttle action with the second qualifying session of Pro Stock Motorcycle,
Pro Stock Motorcycle session 2 (11:35 a.m.): Second verse, same as the first. Andrew Hines, whose 6.97 was the best of yesterday's lone run, is quickest again, this time with a 6,984 while Matt Smith exactly duplicated his 7.002 to again be second quick.LE Tonglet was next quickest with a 7.019 that moved him to fourth place. Hectopr Arana, yesterday's No. 3 guy at 7.005, slowed to a 7.43 today but stayed third.
Pro Stock session 2 (12:05 p.m.): For the second straight time, Pro Stock qualifying kicks off with the mythical "Battle of Iowa," as the state's only two NHRA Pro Stock drivers, Mark Hogan of Dubuque, and David River, of Maquoketa, face off. Hogan takes this one, 6.74 to 6.93, with a run that also moved him into the field ... for now.
John Nobile had relinquished the seat of his purple Mustang to 18-year-old son Vince, who is making his debut here. He ran 6.80 yesterday and goes 6.76 that lands him on the bump ... for one run.
Here's an indicator of how much quicker it is today that yesterday: Warren Johnson just took the No. 1 spot with a 6.691 ... and he was No. 18 yesterday.
Here's another indicator. Jeg Coughlin's bump pass of 6.729 would have put him fourth yesterday.
Mike Edwards ends up on top with a 6.644 (still shy of his own track record of 6.630), an even hundredth ahead of Friday leader Allen Johnson's improved 6.654.Shane Gray earned the final bonus point with a 6.663 that moved him to third. W.J. ended up 10th.
Nitro crew chief track walk, then the fuel cars.
Top Fuel session 2 (12:35 p.m.): Doug Kalitta makes a scorching run of 3.842 to go from No. 13 to No. 1, where he stays
Teammate Dave Grubnic improves to a 3.916 as he tries to fend off Terry McMillen, who didn't make a full run for the second straight pass, for the final playoff spot.
Kalitta's run is best of the round, then Cory McClenathan's 3.848, which improved on his 3.888 but dropped him to third, thanks to Mr. Kalitta. Friday leader Brandon Bernstein didn't make a full pass. Larry Dixon's 3,863 was the round's third best. Terry Haddock is on the bump.
Funny Car session 2 (1:05 p.m.): Points leader John Force, who's trying to fend off teammate Robert Hight for the No. 1 seed in playoffs, isn't making much headway there as the 14-time champ sits on the bump spot with a 7.10 best. Hight picked up two points yesterday to cut Force's lead to 26.
Fortuately for Force, not many floppers made it down the track under power this session, so Hight didn't pick up any more points BUT if Hight stays No. 2 and Force can't climb any higher than 13 AND neither of them gets bonus points in the last session, the lead will be exactly 20 points, or one round of racing come Sunday. Time to bust out the tiebreaker formulas.
Ashley Force Hood stays No. -- meaning a potential first-round date with dad (!) -- as her 4.166 was second best this round but did no tbetter her 4.10; Matt Hagan's 4.122 was quick for the round, as turnaround from being shut off yesterday due to a loose valve cover. Ron Capps was third quick at 4.171.
Tiebreaker update (1:45 p.m.): Turns out that it won't matter if Hight gets down to 20 points even behind Force because the first points tiebreaker is rounds won. Force has 30, Hight 28, so even if Hight did go one round further than Force and tied the points, he'd still be one round-win shy. Second tiebreaker (though it won't matter here) is head-to-head record.
Pro Stock Motorcycle session 3 (2:30 p.m.): With 19 bikes on the grounds for 16 spots, we should know pretty quick who will be playing.
The three bikes outside fail to get in, so Minnesota's own Buddy Robinson will hold onto the bump spot with his 7.181.
Andrew Hines absolutely crushed it on the session's final pass, racing to a 6.915 that's a half-tenth ahead of Matt Smith's second-best 6.961. LE Tonglet was third quick with a 6.981.
Pro Stock session 3 (3:05 p.m.): Rickie Jones bashes his way into the field with a 6.684, bumping Jeg Coughlin, who is able to claw his way back in later.
There's quite a bit of movement and the bump goes from 6.729 to 6.962 held by Rodger Brogdon.
Johnny Gray powers to a 6.652 to go from No. 6 to No. 2 ahead of Allen Johnson and it's thebest run of the round ahead of the 6.657s of Jason Line and Mike Edwards, though Edwards will remain the No. 1 qualifier.
Top Fuel session 3 (3:50 p.m.): Despite qualifying 13th, Steve Torrence does just enough to clinch his playoff berth. It's now down to Dave Grubnic and Terry McMillen tomorrow for the final spot.
Doug Kalitta remains atop the field with his 3.842 but it's Larry Dixon who has the best run of the round, a 3.861, though he remains fourth on the sheets. Kalitta's 3.894 was second-quick and Tony Schumacher's 3.922 was the third best.
Funny Car session 3 (4:15 p.m.): There won't be a Countdown clinch here as there were in the other three classes as with only 16 cars on the grounds everyone qualified and Tony Pedregon and Jeff Arend will battle it out tomorrow for the final spot.
Ashley Force Hood not only stayed No. 1 but had the best run of the round at 4.125. Bob Tasca III ran 4.138 and Jack beckman 4.141 for the round's other highlights.
John Force finished 13th, his worst effort ever in Brainerd; his previous "worst" was sixth.
FRIDAY
Waiting and hoping (11 a.m.): To this point in the day, all we have to count to our credit is a few Stocker passes as rain that blasted the area last night has returned, but at least it's only sprinkling. Sure, sprinkling enough to not allow race cars to run, but at least the skies haven't opened up akin to last night's shock-and-awe thunderstorms that followed a day of Sportsman qualifying.
Today's schedule originally called for Comp at noon, alcohol at 1:30, and the Full Throttle teams at 2:35 p.m., but that's obviously subject to change.
The jet dryers are working the top end and the tractors the starting line to half-track area. Stand by.
Programming alert: Race fans should be aware that there is a possibility that the start of Sunday's final-eliminations coverage on ESPN2 may be delayed depending on the network's live coverage of the Little League World Series. Race coverage is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET, but we should be able to update the status of that as Sunday's game progresses.
And away we go (11:30 a.m.): The Stock racers who have been waiting patiently just behind the water box have fired 'em up, and we're ready to resume qualifying.
OK, I guess that was a bit premature. After one pair, the sprinkles have returned, and we're on hold again.
All on the line: This event is the 17th and final race of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series regular season and will set the final 10-driver fields for the Countdown to 1 playoffs that begin at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Positions are still open in all four Full Throttle classes, and some of the berths may be secured during qualifying, so we'll work to keep you up to speed. For a recap of the current scenario, click here.
While we're watching it rain, here's the Reader's Digest version: In Top Fuel, Steve Torrence clinches if, when qualifying concludes, his lead over Grubnic is 61 or more (currently at 64) and his lead over McMillen is 81 or more (currently 83). In Pro Stock, Johnny Gray will clinch by qualifying (and maintaining a minimum 101-point lead over 11th place; he’s currently up by 114). In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Eddie Krawiec clinches by making a qualifying pass, and LE Tonglet clinches by qualifying for the show in any position. David Hope will clinch if he maintains a lead of 101 points or more when qualifying is completed (current lead over 11th-place Gann is 102). Karen Stoffer clinches if she increases her lead over Gann to 101 or more (current lead over Gann is 93). There won’t be any clinches in Funny Car unless Jeff Arend and Cruz Pedregon both DNQ.
Getting close again (12:30 p.m.): The sun is actually shining (although based on surrounding clouds, that may be a brief appearance) and the Safety Safari is diligently working the track. We haven't had any rain for a good, oh, 15 minutes. The Stocker drivers arer wiping down their machines of any stray wet stuff. and we should be running again soon.
Schedule update (12:50 p.m.): Here's the latest plan. As soon as we get running -- which is very soon -- we'll finish Stock and then run Super Gas, then the alcohol cars and Comp, then into the Full Throttle classes. Super Stock qualifying has been secured.
Back in action (1 p.m.): And we're off and running again. Although the skies are still cloudy overhead, there's plenty of blue skies to the west.
It's Pro time (2:45 p.m.): Despite the day's earlier delay, the Full Throttle teams will take the stage right on time as the Pro Stock Motorcycles hit the water box for their first of four qualifying passes.
Pro Stock Motorcycle session 1 (2:55 p.m.): Eddie Krawiec takes care of business and locks up his Countdown berth with a qualifying attempt, and it's a good one at 7.032. Unfortunately for the Harley rider, it's not the best of the round as teammate Andrew Hines runs 6.977 (the session's only six) to snag the top spot.
Matt Smith is second quick at 7.002, just ahead of world champ Hector Arana's 7.005. Krawiec is currently fourth.Minnesota's own Buddy Robinson is on the bump at 7.75.
Pro Stock session 1 (3:25 p.m.): It's plenty dark and cloudy and we're seeing a few lightning strikes off to the south, but we're still dry here as the factory hot rods take to the track.
Kurt Johnson has switched from his familiar Chevy Cobalt to his dad's old blue and yellow Pontiac in a last-ditch effort to make the playoffs and netted a nice 6.741 on his first lap that left him in the No. 6 position.
Canadian Mark Martino was impressive in his NHRA Pro Stock debut as he held top speed at 204.23 for six pairs after his session-opening 6.76 pass, which currently has him 13th
Allen Johnson takes the top spot with a 6.702, barely edging Mike Edwards' 6.704. Johnny Gray has the No. 3 spot with a 6,723.
We're down for the nitro crew chief track walk and switchover to 1,000-foot.
More rain (3:30 p.m.): Well, we're also down for more rain. The fans are fleeing the stands for cover and some of the Funny Cars in the lanes have donned their car covers.
Update (4:25 p.m.): The rain has stopped and. although there's another band of dark clouds on the horizon, the ever-ready Safety Safari crew is on th etrack beginning the drying process.
It's just been announced that all we plan to run is just one Pro session, so we'll finish )hopefully) the day with Funny Car and Top Fuel. All Lucas Oil action has been cancelled for the day.
Update (5 p.m.): The threatening clouds passed overhead with nary a drop and the Safety Safari is hard at work. The sun is even trying to help. We have a projected start time for Funny Car at 5:30 p.m. local.
Almost there (5:35 p.m.): The first Funny Cars are filtering back into the lanes and the crew chiefs are walking the track. We should be back to racing in a few minutes.
And we have nitro...
Funny Car session 1 (6:10 p.m.): Tony Pedregon is sporting purple paint and the backing of Charter on his machine. With new paint for brother Cruz (90th anniversary Snap-on) and Jack Beckman (one-race deal for Freightliner) you can't tell the players without a program.
A tough session for Team Schumacher. Ron Capps was one of the few not to make a full pass and Matt Hagan was shut off on the line after trailing oil following his burnout, leading to a prolonged cleanup.
Ashley Force Hood took the early lead with a 4.102, breaking her own 4.110 track record, but the marquee matchup came last as points leader John Force and teammate Robert Hight, who are battling for every point to become the Countdown playoffs' top seed, went at it side by side.Only Hight made it down the track though, earning two points with a 4.131 that was the round's second-best pass and cuts Force's lead to 26 points.
Top Fuel session 1 (7:05 p.m.): Brandon Bernstein hooks up a great run, a 3.846, that holds on for No. 1 even through a prolonged cleanup that held the last pair, the all-star duo of Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher, for a good 15 minutes. The drama was heightened by the delay but the performance was not as neither made it down the track.
OK, that's it for Friday in Brainerd, See you tomorrow!