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HIGHT CONTINUES MAY MARCH WITH THIRD NO. 1 OF 2010
May 22nd
Brown, Edwards round out No. 1 qualifiers at O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals
TOPEKA, Kan. — Robert Hight continued his torrid May by qualifying No. 1 at the 22nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.
The other No. 1 qualifiers at the ninth of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season were Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock).
Hight, the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Series Funny Car world champion, earned the No. 1 qualifying position with a run of 4.095-seconds at 308.21 mph in his Auto Club Ford Mustang. The No. 1 is Hight’s third this season and he is seeking a third straight win that would give him a sweep of NHRA’s three May races (the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, the Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals and the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals).
Hight will be rewarded with an opening-round bye and then he’ll hook up with either Del Worsham or Ashley Force Hood, one of several marquee first-round matchups including Jack Beckman vs. Bob Tasca, Ron Capps vs. Cruz Pedregon and John Force vs. Matt Hagan.
“We’ll have a tough matchup second-round either Ashley or Del. There are no easy rounds. Even as good as we are running it is tough,” Hight said. “We’ll see if we can’t make it three (wins) in a row. It is going to be a lot of work to get there.”
In Top Fuel, Brown powered his Matco Tools dragster to the top of the field with a Friday pass at 3.785-seconds at 321.96 mph. The No. 1 was also Brown’s third of 2010.
“I’m just stoked because we made it down the track three of four passes,” Brown said. “That last pass we just got greedy. We were trying to run a .86 and it was on a .86 run. It was good to just before the 330, where it came unglued a little. But it ran decent. It still ran 219 (mph) and it smoked the tires before the 330, so if we back it up we should be right in the hunt with a .88 or .89. That’s what it’s going to take (Sunday). There are going to be a lot of tough rounds. You look at the ladder and we’ve got (Larry) Dixon on our side, Shawn Langdon, and (Tony) Schumacher, my teammate, so there’s going to be a whole bunch of racing going on tomorrow.”
Brown will meet Luigi Novelli in Round 1 Sunday and among the highlight first-round matchups in Top Fuel is the No. 7-10 matchup of Cory McClenathan and Morgan Lucas.
Edwards secured his NHRA-best seventh No. 1 of 2010 in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP with a pass of 6.638-seconds at 206.99 mph on Friday that easily held up Saturday in windy conditions.
“Getting a chance to race under these conditions does help us get ready for (Sunday), which from what I gather is going to be similar to what we had (Saturday),” Edwards said. “It’s going to be a matter of who makes the best adjustments is going to win this race. It won’t necessarily be the fastest car, but the team that can adapt the best.”
Edwards, who won four of the first six races this season, has slipped of late, losing in St. Louis when his car broke (vs. Warren Johnson) and in Atlanta on a holeshot (vs. Rickie Jones). He’ll be looking to regain the early season form Sunday.
There are no easy opening-round matchups in Pro Stock, which boasted a 23-car field. Edwards opens with Justin Humphreys, Allen Johnson will meet Greg Stanfield, Jeg Coughlin will meet Kurt Johnson and Jason Line faces teammate Greg Anderson.
With the fields set, final eliminations at the ninth race in the 17-race Countdown to 10 regular season will begin Sunday at 11 a.m.
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A G A T E
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TOPEKA, Kan. — First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 22nd annual O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park Topeka, the ninth of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Antron Brown, 3.785 seconds, 321.96 mph vs. 16. Luigi Novelli, 4.248, 292.27; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.849, 316.08 vs. 15. Steven Chrisman, 4.168, 282.24; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 3.886, 312.13 vs. 14. Scott Palmer, 4.148, 281.83; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.887, 312.57 vs. 13. Mike Strasburg, 4.074, 305.56; 5. Tony Schumacher, 3.896, 313.58 vs. 12. Dom Lagana, 3.987, 302.21; 6. Steve Torrence, 3.902, 305.91 vs. 11. Terry McMillen, 3.957, 303.30; 7. Cory McClenathan, 3.904, 312.13 vs. 10. Morgan Lucas, 3.946, 305.91; 8. David Grubnic, 3.915, 311.92 vs. 9. Larry Dixon, 3.915, 311.05. Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris Karamesines, 4.257, 280.54.
Funny Car — 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.095, 308.21 vs. Bye; 2. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.103, 307.16 vs. 15. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.507, 298.60; 3. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.104, 305.84 vs. 14. Jeff Diehl, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.373, 264.70; 4. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.113, 306.26 vs. 13. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.256, 294.05; 5. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.117, 305.42 vs. 12. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.206, 286.92; 6. John Force, Mustang, 4.118, 307.58 vs. 11. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.200, 297.81; 7. Jim Head, Solara, 4.125, 296.31 vs. 10. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.195, 299.00; 8. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.133, 303.37 vs. 9. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.173, 303.78.
Pro Stock — 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.638, 207.56 vs. 16. Justin Humphreys, GXP, 6.780, 204.88; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.656, 207.34 vs. 15. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.767, 206.01; 3. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.663, 205.04 vs. 14. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.762, 206.32; 4. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.666, 206.64 vs. 13. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.757, 204.82; 5. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.670, 206.39 vs. 12. Bob Yonke, GXP, 6.692, 206.54; 6. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.680, 206.51 vs. 11. Rickie Jones, GXP, 6.686, 205.63; 7. Jason Line, GXP, 6.682, 205.94 vs. 10. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.685, 206.10; 8. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.684, 206.51 vs. 9. Johnny Gray, GXP, 6.684, 206.23. Did Not Qualify: 17. Erica Enders, 6.784, 205.01; 18. Richie Stevens, 6.810, 205.26; 19. John Nobile, 6.827, 204.73; 20. Steve Spiess, 6.845, 205.01; 21. Larry Morgan, 6.857, 205.54; 22. Mark Hogan, 6.861, 196.70; 23. Dave River, 7.014, 198.32.
GOODYEAR-SHOD CARS WIN SIX TIMES AT NHRA RACE AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY
May 18th
COMMERCE, Ga. (May 17, 2010) – Top Fuel star Larry Dixon tied Joe Amato on the all-time win list for the NHRA’s Top Fuel category as he highlighted the six drivers who won at the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at the Atlanta Dragway while racing on Goodyear tires.
The other Goodyear winners in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for professionals were Robert Hight in Funny Car and Jeg Coughlin in Pro Stock. In the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series for sportsmen, Vinny Barone, Ray Miller and Jeffrey Barker also won on Goodyear tires.
Goodyear’s win total was better than all other tiremakers combined.
Dixon’s victory was his 52nd in Top Fuel competition, leaving him even with Amato for on the Top Fuel win list. Dixon beat Brandon Bernstein in the Atlanta final. His latest win gives Dixon 767 points, best in the Top Fuel championship standings. Cory McClenathan is second with 655 points.
Hight beat teammate Ashley Force Hood in the Funny Car final. The logjam at the top of the Funny Car standings is a tour de Force: John Force leads with 671 points and two cars he owns are next. Force Hood is second with 556 and Hight, the defending series champion, is third with 551.
Coughlin’s win was his 50th in Pro Stock competition, making him the ninth driver to reach that total in the category. Coughlin beat Rickie Jones in the final. Mike Edwards leads the series with 830 points, followed by Allen Johnson with 585.
Barone won in Competition Eliminator, taking his fourth national win. In the final round, his reaction time was just .004 of a second.
Miller won his first title in a national race and did it with the same kind of attack Barone used. Miller’s reaction time was just .007 of a second.
The best final round race of the event was Jeffrey Barker’s victory in Top Sportsman. He collected his second national event win with a wafer-thin margin of victory, just .0057 of a second. Trackside observers estimated that Barker won by about 20 inches.
More information about Goodyear Racing is available at www.racegoodyear.com. More information about the NHRA is available at www.nhra.com.
