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FORCE HOOD, DIXON, COUGHLIN AND JOHNSON LEAD QUALIFYING AT SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS
Jun 26th
NORWALK, Ohio – Ashley Force Hood raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
Larry Dixon, Jeg Coughlin and Steve Johnson also paced qualifying in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Force Hood powered her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a track record time of 4.032 seconds at 311.99 mph to grab the top spot in the 7,000-horsepower category at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
“The track really was perfect conditions, and everybody knew that going up there,” Force Hood said. “We were really excited that we got to run later in the pack, and we wanted to take advantage of it. It was our best run that we ever made. It felt really good. I am surprised that [Matt] Hagan (second, 4.043) and Robert [Hight] (fourth, 4.067) didn’t go around me. When I saw their flames going right down the track as we were towing back, I was like, ‘If they’re going all the way down, they’re doing it,’ but we managed to hang onto it.”
Also in Funny Car, Del Worsham posted a track speed record of 313.15 mph in his Al-Anabi Racing Toyota and is qualified sixth with a time of 4.087 seconds.
Series leader and two-time world champ Dixon was quickest in Top Fuel and posted a track record performance of 3.780 at 320.43 in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to lead his category.
“That was a great run by the Al-Anabi team,” Dixon said. “You have to bring it on Friday night to get the pole or to even get close to it. We looked at the computer data after the run, and we definitely got all of it. There wasn’t much left. I’m still learning to drive this car. That was a really nice run. It’s normally a handful on really good runs. It had a lot of grip tonight, though.”
Ohio native Coughlin led Pro Stock with a track record time of 6.592 at 208.97 in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt.
“We made some good runs today,” Coughlin said. “As the track was getting cooler and the sun was going down and that full moon was blaring its head out there, the crew chiefs were back in the pits changing the Pro Stock cars. You could hear the air wrenches flying and just a lot of changes for tonight. The key to tonight was keeping the car in the center of the groove, and really, that’s something we’ve struggled with with the car, but the last four or five races, we’ve got the car running extremely straight and pretty efficient. That was key tonight, and we were able to be the only car in the 6.5s, which was stellar.”
Coughlin is one of eight drivers who will compete for the $50,000 winner’s share in the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a special bonus race for Pro Stock teams on Saturday. He is qualified fifth and will meet Jason Line in the first round.
“This certainly gives us a little shot in the arm, heading into the $50,000-to-win K&N Horsepower Challenge,” Coughlin said. “It’s a best of the best shootout. We’ve got a tough road to hoe without question, but today’s run certainly helps us get in the right mindset for tomorrow.”
Series points leader Mike Edwards, winner of the last four races and eight this season and the No. 1 seed for the K&N Horsepower Challenge, is qualified 14th with a 6.641 at 207.88 in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP after the first day of qualifying.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Johnson continued his recent surge by powering his Steve Johnson Racing Suzuki to the top spot with a track record performance of 6.929 at 193.60.
“The conditions are awesome,” said Johnson, whose only career No. 1 qualifying position came back in 1995 at Atlanta Dragway. “We didn’t want to make another run because we’re on a major budget program and it was going to be hot, but with the situations that had been happening on the track, it got cooler and cooler and cooler, and it was like, ‘Hey, there’s probably going to be a better run,’ plus your first run isn’t going to be your best run. The track’s great, the weather conditions were better, and we had a good tune-up in the motorcycle to make a great run.”
Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 12:10 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The K&N Horsepower Challenge starts at noon.
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NORWALK, Ohio — Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the Fourth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, 13th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Larry Dixon, 3.780 seconds, 320.43 mph; 2. Antron Brown, 3.795, 318.99; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 3.848, 312.42; 4. Bob Vandergriff, 3.872, 308.50; 5. Cory McClenathan, 3.889, 308.57; 6. Doug Foley, 3.896, 314.24; 7. David Grubnic, 3.898, 309.42; 8. Morgan Lucas, 3.904, 305.70; 9. Tony Schumacher, 3.920, 308.92; 10. Shawn Langdon, 3.931, 305.91; 11. Doug Kalitta, 3.940, 313.00; 12. Steve Torrence, 3.950, 305.49. Not Qualified: 13. Tim Cullinan, 3.988, 278.75; 14. Terry McMillen, 4.031, 291.63; 15. Luigi Novelli, 4.073, 282.54; 16. Scott Palmer, 4.923, 144.35; 17. Terry Haddock, 6.102, 106.32; 18. Troy Buff, 6.271, 97.13; 19. Pat Dakin, 7.524, 88.16.
Funny Car — 1. Ashley Force Hood, Ford Mustang, 4.032, 311.99; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.043, 307.09; 3. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.060, 310.27; 4. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.067, 310.05; 5. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.069, 306.40; 6. Del Worsham, Toyota Solara, 4.087, 313.15; 7. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.110, 304.46; 8. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.124, 300.26; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.135, 293.28; 10. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.140, 297.16; 11. Bob Bode, Impala SS, 4.191, 295.46; 12. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.233, 291.95. Not Qualified: 13. John Force, 4.256, 291.89; 14. Cruz Pedregon, 4.396, 208.07; 15. Jeff Diehl, 4.829, 172.32; 16. Jim Head, 10.199, 75.22; 17. Justin Schriefer, 12.690, 62.66.
Pro Stock — 1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.592, 208.97; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.602, 209.30; 3. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.602, 209.17; 4. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.609, 208.68; 5. Jason Line, GXP, 6.620, 208.62; 6. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.620, 208.17; 7. Bob Yonke, GXP, 6.620, 207.85; 8. Johnny Gray, GXP, 6.623, 208.23; 9. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.627, 208.42; 10. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.631, 207.27; 11. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.634, 208.17; 12. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.636, 207.69. Not Qualified: 13. Rickie Jones, 6.636, 206.80; 14. Mike Edwards, 6.641, 207.88; 15. Rodger Brogdon, 6.648, 207.59; 16. Shane Gray, 6.656, 207.27; 17. Justin Humphreys, 6.659, 206.76; 18. Erica Enders, 6.663, 206.39; 19. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.692, 206.80; 20. Bob Benza, 6.750, 204.17; 21. John Gaydosh Jr, 6.843, 200.35; 22. Jim Cunningham, 13.881, 60.98.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.929, 193.60; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.953, 191.38; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.959, 194.49; 4. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.973, 192.82; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.973, 190.19; 6. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.974, 191.24; 7. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.982, 192.71; 8. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.993, 191.08; 9. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.028, 189.28; 10. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.036, 188.60; 11. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.047, 191.46; 12. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.052, 192.91. Not Qualified: 13. David Hope, 7.068, 191.32; 14. Joe DeSantis, 7.140, 186.28; 15. Junior Pippin, 7.141, 189.36; 16. Wesley Wells, 7.236, 185.46; 17. Mike Berry, 7.432, 181.30.
Payne hoping to take his FireIce Mustang one step further in Norwalk
Jun 26th
NORWALK, Ohio (June 25) — Fresh off a runner-up finish at last Sunday’s race in Bristol, Tenn., multi-time champion drag racer Jay Payne knows his FireIce/BAE Ford Mustang is in top form for this weekend’s Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series event at Summit Motorsports Park in northern Ohio.
“We had a chance in Bristol,” Payne said. “But we just missed it. That’s okay. The key is putting yourself in a position to win. If you do that on a consistent basis, the wins will come. The car’s running great and we really didn’t have much to do to it between races, which was fortunate because you don’t have a lot of time when you have all these races in a row and your driving across the country.
“We’re excited to get back after it. The weather is going to be warm but we’ve been running in the heat for more than a month now so I think we’ve all got it figured out. Hopefully we pick up right where we left off.”
As one of the newest tracks added to the NHRA schedule, Norwalk is one of the few drag strips in North America where Payne has yet to score a victory. Including action in Pro Mod, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Top Alcohol Dragster, and Super Stock, Payne has won a remarkable 107 national and divisional trophies. He’s also claimed two national championships and 11 more divisional crowns.
“It’s a wonderful facility,” Payne said. “We’ve always heard that the track owners, the Bader family, really takes car of the racers and the fans and that they take a lot of pride in the racetrack and that’s certainly my first impression. I think it would be really neat to win a race here and see if we can’t give Von (Smith, points leader) something to think about.”
In conjunction with his title sponsor, FireIce, Payne will salute the Great Falls (Mont.) Fire Department throughout this weekend’s event. At each stop on the NHRA tour, Payne hosts a group of firefighters at the track as a way of thanking them for their service.
FireIce is an environmentally friendly fire suppression gel firefighters add to water in pumper trucks, helicopters, fire planes, and handheld extinguishers to help extinguish fires much quicker than with water alone. Aside from supporting Payne’s racing efforts, GelTech, a publically traded corporation (OTCBB: GLTC), is a corporate partner to the Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which helps firefighters in need.
“The marketing partnership we have with Jay Payne and Brad Anderson has been a big hit,” said GelTech CEO Michael Cordani. “It’s important to acknowledge the 1.1 million firefighters in this country for the incredible service they provide to all of us and we can do that with this racecar. We wish Jay and Brad good luck in Norwalk.”