NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Robert Hight took his Auto Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro to the top of the sheet with the only 3-second run of the opening Funny Car session at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. He made a 3.998-second hit at 318.99 mph, leading Tommy Johnson Jr. by .027-second to earn three points and the right to make the last pass in the second qualifying session later this evening. 

RELATED: Funny Car Q1 Detailed Results

Johnson, to his credit, made the second-quickest and fastest pass of the session and sits three-hundredths of a second to the good of Shawn Langdon in his Make-A-Wish Funny Car. He’s also the highest-qualified Don Schumacher Racing driver, as Matt Hagan sits fourth, Jack Beckman is in seventh and Ron Capps rests in 10th after the opening session. 

The second qualifying session is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast live on FS1. You can also catch it on NHRA.tv. 

Tim Wilkerson holds down the quick half of the field with a 4.497, though he did not make it down the track under power. Defending Funny Car champion J.R. Todd ranks fifth with a 4.079-second pass. That marks the end of runs to the end of ever-tricky Bristol Dragway under power, despite very good conditions and a track temperature of around 120*. 

The final session promises to be even better as the Sun dips behind the large grandstand nestled into the mountains.  You can see the full qualifying order embedded below.