NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

TOP FUEL ROUND 1

Clay Millican, perhaps the current driver with the most experience and success at Rockingham, having won 11 times in 14 raceday appearances here during his IHRA days, didn't make it down on a full pass on any of his four qualifying runs, but new crew chief Rob Wendland got it sorted for round one, where their 3.80 upset No. 2 qualifier Tony Stewart, whose pipes went wet down track.

Entering raceday, Shawn Langdon’s lead was just five points over teammate Doug Kalitta, but Langdon’s Kalitta Air dragster only made one solid run in four shots in qualifying, the complete inverse of the team’s season-long profile that had them completing 74% of all runs. All of that was forgotten after a blistering 3.71 to beat Cameron Ferre, who posted a competitive 3.93. Fans will be able to see Ferre and the Jerry Freeman team at the remaining four events of the schedule.

In round two, Langdon will take on Billy Torrence, who posted a fine 3.74 in taking down Canadian Dan Mercier.

Kalitta kept pace with his teammate as he cruised past longshot Rit Pustari with a workmanlike 3.74.

Justin Ashley was a psychic .010 on the Tree -- he’d left on 24 of the 26 drivers he’s faced and had the event’s quickest reaction time on nine occasions over 15 races and scored a class-high three holeshot wins --- and was leading Maddi Gordon (who also had a great light with an .037) until the blower on Ashley's Scag machine backfired and allowed the rookie phenom to squeeze by and take the win with a 3.75. It's her first win against Ashley in three races so far this season.

"Man, that's so awesome," said the ever-excitable Gordon, who lost in round one last weekend in Michigan. "That's exactly what we needed. Justin has set the bar in Top Fuel, so I knew it had to be up on it."

Will Smith, coming off a season-best 3.69 in Martin, added another win light to his first Countdown highlights, defeating Josh Hart, 3.76 to 3.82. Smith, second only to Ashley in reaction-time average, was also on time with a .015 light. In round two, Smith will take on Leah Pruett, whom he beat in round one last weekend, after Pruett took down Tony Schumacher in a great 3.77 to 3.77 race.

"I'm just working on trying to be a driver," Smith said. "I've sucked lately getting the car down through there straight. Had some challenges, but I'm working through it. Just getting better, more repetition, more runs. That Bluebird Turf team is doing a great job. Two weeks in a row, we've collected first-round wins."

Hart's loss will end up costing him at least two spots in the standings.

Shawn Reed closed the frame with a victory over Antron Brown, his first in four tries this season against the four-time world champ. It's the first round-win for new Reed crew chief Ryan Elliott. With Brown's loss, Pruett moved past him and into fourth place in the standings.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Doug Kalitta vs. Maddi Gordon; Will Smith vs. Leah Pruett; Clay Millican vs. Shawn Reed; Shawn Langdon vs. Billy Torrence

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 1

Martin winner Jordan Vandergriff ran his Countdown record to five straight wins with a stout 3.86 to 3.91 victory over Chad Green for the fourth time in six meetings this season. Vandergriff, who’s had the quickest reaction time of the event four times and collected a pair of holeshot wins, was a solid .045 on the Tree, better than his .063 season average.

Reigning world champ Austin Prock raced to a solid 3.892 to beat longshot Jon Capps, which will set him up for a second-round date with Vandergriff and a chance to avenge his first-round loss last weekend where Prock went red against Vandergriff and his former team.

Points leader Matt Hagan kept his run going with a 3.91 victory over Dave Richards and, in a points-crucial monster battle, with take on low qualifier Ron Capps, who raced to a 3.892 on his first-round bye. Capps has lane choice..

Alexis DeJoria, looking especially strong during qualifying this weekend in the Bandero Cafe Ford ("We made Saturday our bitch," she grinned), advanced to round two with a 3.95 despite having a cylinder or two out, trailering John Smith and the Rockingham-sentimental Steve Earwood Motorsports entry. It's her fourth straight race with a round-one win following a pair of first-round exits on the Western Swing. She'll cede second-round lane choice to Paul Lee, who ran 3.93 to beat Cruz Pedregon.

Daniel Wilkerson eked past Jack Beckman by .004-second on a holeshot, 3.931 to 3.916. D-Wilk hasn’t gotten the pub he deserves for his starting-line prowess (unlike his Scag Top Fuel teammate Justin Ashley), but coming into this race he had left on 22 of 26 opponents this year (84.6%) and leads the class in reaction-time average at .059. He was .026 this time to Beckman's .047 (reaction times at this event are being impacted somewhat by the timing system). Beckman's loss and Capps' win moved Capps into third place in the standings.

J.R. Todd, whose DHL Toyota went down the track on all four qualifying passes (the team leads the class in completed-run percentage at about 70%), took an easy 3.91 victory over Spencer Hyde, who had to step off the gas in Jim Head's entry after it dropped cylinders. Todd's win ties him for fourth place now with Beckman, who was the only one of the top eight drivers to exit in the opening stanza.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Ron Capps vs. Matt Hagan; J.R. Todd vs. Daniel Wilkerson; Paul Lee vs. Alexis DeJoria; Jordan Vandergriff vs. Austin Prock

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PRO STOCK ROUND 1

Greg Stanfield ran his record against his son, Aaron, to 5-1 this season (6-1 career) after the youngster, one of the best leavers in the class, blatantly fouled against him with a -.299 reaction. For the record, the top four leavers in the class are Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield (.029) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Dallas Glenn (.030).

Stanfield will take on Matt Latino, whose 6.507 victory over Kenny Delco (who's been racing Pro Stock since before Latino was born) was quicker than Stanfield's 6.511.

Martin winner Troy Coughlin Jr. continued to use Eric Latino as his personal punching bag, beating him for the fourth time this season and doing it this time on a holeshot, 6.517 to 6.514, in a class Elite vs. KB Titan matchup. T.J.'s uncle, Jeg Coughlin Jr., wasn't as fortunate, as he hammered the tires on the launch then stayed with the sashaying yellow Camaro until he was about to lose the handle and shut off, giving Stephen Bell a rare round win.

Troy Jr. will have second-round lane choice against points leader Matt Hartford, who ran a thousandth slower with a 6.518 on his bye run.

Dallas Glenn kept pace with Hartford with a 6.499 against Shane Tucker's keeping-him-honest  6.528, the Aussie's best run of the weekend.

Greg Anderson will face his son, Cody, in round two after respective wins over Deric Kramer and Erica Enders. It's rookie Cody's second victory over the six-time world champ in five meetings this season.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Troy Coughlin Jr. vs. Matt Hartford; Greg Anderson vs. Cody Anderson;Dallas glenn vs. Stephen Bell; Matt Latino vs. Greg Stanfield