Larry Dixon, Matt Hagan, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Andrew Hines hold the provisional qualifying leads with one day of qualifying left to go at the 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis to set the fields for Monday's final eliminations.
The event is the first of six in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship. Ten drivers in each of the four Full Throttle classes battled through a 17-race "regular season" for the right to take part in the playoffs and a chance to win a Full Throttle championship. While track records had fallen pretty easily earlier in qualifying –both ends of both nitro records and the Pro Stock speed record fell Friday-- a national record finally fell Saturday as Hines ripped off the quickest pass in Pro Stock Motorcycle history, a 6.815, in the first session, and later backed it up with the quickest pass of the evening session to make it official and, at least provisionally, add 20 more points to his lead.
Larry Dixon
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Dixon didn't set a national record, but he ran quicker than Tony Schumacher's 3.777 national mark with a 3.776 to take over the No. 1 spot on his final pass of the day. Dixon, whose earlier 3.85 best wasn't quick enough for a record backup, has three wins in six Indy finals, taking home the trophy in 1995, 2001, and 2005.
"It's like Houston air got imported into Indianapolis," said Dixon. "The weather is great, and I'm glad the car stuck. It hooked up and wasn't moving left or right. I could see the .77 on the board, and I though, 'Wow. That's nice.'
"I love having two night sessions, especially since we missed it last night. Running in these conditions again was like getting a 'get out of jail free' card. We needed that run to get out of the middle of the field. That was a clutch run by Alan [Johnson], Jason [McCulloch, crew chief], and the team."
Cory McClenathan., who still holds the quickest pass in history, 3.752 set earlier this year in Englishtown, was No. 1 coming into the final session but got knocked down after failing to improve on his 3.789. Schumacher is third with a 3.790 at 324.83, second only to his own monster 324.98 speed recorded earlier this year in Gainesville. Brandon Bernstein rounds out the top four with a 3.802.
The balance of the top eight is made up of Antron Brown (3.808), Dave Grubnic (3.823), Doug Kalitta (3.824), and Steve Torrence (3.830).
Shawn Langdon is in the No. 12 spot, the final one that will transfer to Sunday's final two passes, after recording a 3.914. With 19 cars on the grounds, there will be a good battle for the final 16 spots.
Matt Hagan
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A lot of fans and railbirds were looking to the evening session as the possible site of the sport's first three-second Funny Car run and they almost got one. National record holder Matt Hagan, whose 4.022 is the third quickest run in class history, ran 4.039, clearly shutting the DieHard Dodge down early to a speed of just 277 mph that left fans wondering what could have been but nonetheless gave him the No. 1 spot for the night.
“Wow, what a run,” said Hagan. “You know, Tommy DeLago, he really knows how to tune these race cars up. He said, ‘If it makes it past 60 foot, it’s going to haul the mail.’ It really left hard. I got somewhat of a vibration in there. I was like, ‘Man, it’s really running,’ because it blurred my vision a little bit. I could see the groove pretty good, but it got out there and it felt like it was getting a little bit towards the wall to me, and I would just as soon click it off a little early. To look at the numbers and what Tommy DeLago thinks, he thinks it may have been on a 4-flat lap.
“It would have been hard to back it up tomorrow. I think the best times are already over here. It’s going to be a little warmer tomorrow. We just had a good front come in. Hopefully, we can get in a situation where we can run that well and back something up. It was just a great run. It’s a great race car, and the guys are just doing a phenomenal job.”
Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps is a surprising second with the NAPA Auto Parts car with a 4.049 as both moved past Friday leader Robert Hight's 4.055 and John Force's 4.057. Neither of the Force Ford pilot could improve on those numbers and settled into third and fifth. Former Indy champ Cruz Pedregon wedged his way between them with a fine 4.057 in the day's final session.
The top eight is rounded out by a trio of Fords: Ashley Force Hood (4.059), Bob Tasca III (4.086), and Tim Wilkerson (4.104).
Melanie Troxel sits in the No. 12 spot after posting a 4.146 with her In-N-Out Burger entry, Nineteen Funny Cars have made qualifying runs thus far, and Tony Pedregon and Del Worsham are among the stars not yet in the field.
Jeg Coughlin
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Coughlin broke the incoming 6.581 record held by Mike Edwards with a 6.580 in the final session putting him close to what would be his third No. 1 berth of the season. Coughlin is the defending event champion and also won the Indy Pro Stock title in 2000 and 2002, and Super Gas in 1992.
"The biggest change in the conditions is that the barometer came up a bit and the vapor pressure came down," said Coughlin. "The Pro Stock cars really love the cool, dry air, and that was the biggest difference over last night’s run.
"The challenge for the No. 1 spot is pretty exciting, especially here at the U.S. Nationals, which is the first race for the Countdown. The track is in fantastic condition, and I think that the fans will be treated to some great side by side racing this weekend."
Edwards, who faltered on his early run Saturday, recovered to post a 6.585 to finish second a very tight pack in the top half. Behind him is Ron Krisher (6.586), Allen Johnson and Jason Line (6.587, Johnson with the higher spot based on speed), Johnny Gray (6.593), Greg Stanfield (6.954), and Greg Anderson (6.602).
Shane Gray's 6.623 is the No. 12 time. Among those outside the top 12 are perennial qualifiers such as Kurt Johnson, Bob Yonke, and Rickie Jones. Returning legend Bob Glidden, a nine-time winner here, is No. 26 with a 6.69 best.
Andrew Hines
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Hines, as he was in winning in Brainerd, was the star of the show in Pro Stock Motorcycle, opening with the 6.815 and backing it up for a national record with a 6.860 in the afternoon session. So far he's cleaned the table of points available, earning nine bonus points by leading each qualifying session.
“That 20 points [for the record] is huge when you only have a 30-point lead to start the Countdown," said Hines. "On the 6.81, I didn’t know what to expect. I saw Eddie run 6.86 and my bike had same tune-up, so I thought it would be good. We ran 4.34 at the eighth-mile and we’ve never seen that before. The air got dry and bikes like that. This afternoon, it had more moisture and we slowed down.
"I have a motorcycle that is capable of going rounds on Monday. I haven’t had one this good in a long time. I’ve also been good on the lights; I’m happy with the way I’m riding. This is my best chance to bring home an Indy Wally."
Hines' Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley Davidson teammate Eddie Krawiec is No. 2 with a 6.867 that he recorded in the day's first session but he lost a chance at a better run when his V-Rod bogged just off the line on his second pass. Behind the Harleys are reigning season champ Hector Arana's Buell (6.900) and LE Tonglet's Suzuki (6.907).
Matt Smith has the No. 5 spot with his Buell at 6.938 and he's followed on the sheets by Suzuki riders Steve Johnson (6.946), Michael Phillips (6.956), and Chip Ellis (6.982).
Karen Stoffer's GEICO Suzuki holds the all-important No. 12 time, a 7.022.
Mike Janis raced to the qualifying lead Saturday in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
Janis powered his late model Ford Mustang to a leading time of 5.887 seconds at 244.16 mph to lead the 16-car order.
Indiana native Brad Personett was second in his turbocharged ’68 Camaro with a 5.896 at a track record speed of 254.14.
Yesterday’s qualifying leader, Roger Burgess, failed to improve during Saturday’s two sessions and sits third overall with his 5.926 at 246.89 in his ProCare Rx ’68 Camaro.
Team JEGS Troy Coughlin (5.928, 238.51) and Danny Rowe (5.930, 247.16) rounded out the top five qualifiers. One qualifying session remains for Sunday at 2 p.m. before the first round of eliminations starts at 5 p.m.
Related story:
Friday: Opening-day Indy leads go to McClenathan, Hight, Edwards, Hines