ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. – Robert Hight raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday night at the NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
Del Worsham (Top Fuel) , Shane Gray (Pro Stock) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also took the provisional top spots in their respective categories at the eighth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Hight, who is coming off his third win of the season two weeks ago in Topeka, drove his Auto Club Ford Mustang to a 4.090-second pass at 310.34 mph to become the provisional top qualifier in Funny Car. If it stands it would be his first No. 1 qualifier of the season, 39th of his career and second consecutive at Raceway Park.
“Jimmy Prock (crew chief) told me that we weren’t going to get crazy, but we were going to just try to get down the track because that’s what we’ve been lacking,” said Hight. “We haven’t been consistent until Sunday at Topeka. We’ve had some good luck here in qualifying but I’ve never won here, and this is one of them that you want to win. It’s as big as Gainesville and Indy because there’s so much history here.”
Points leader and Hight teammate Neff sits 14th while defending event winner Bob Tasca is third after two qualifying sessions.
In Top Fuel, Worsham drove his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to a 3.785 at 322.34 in the final qualifying session of the day to take the provisional No. 1 spot. If it stands, it would be Worsham’s second of the season and seventh of his career.
“When conditions like that come along, I’m glad that Alan Johnson is the tuner of my car because, man, what a job he and the team did,” said Worsham. “We smoked the tires the first run, and we smoked the tires the last run in Topeka, on E2, and you think they might be conservative, but a guy like Alan just went right out there for the throat. I the words of Alan, we went from the (outhouse) to the henhouse in one run.”
Defending event winner and world champion Larry Dixon will enter Saturday qualifying fourth in the field, while recent race winner Spencer Massey sits second.
In Pro Stock, Gray raced to the provisional top spot in his Service Central Pontiac GXP just one race after capturing his first win of the season. If his run of 6.510 at 212.46 stands it would be his first career No. 1 qualifier.
“Right now, I just think we are on a roll but it’s like a roller coaster and right now we’re on the top of the hill,” said Gray. “A lot of guys have it better than we do. We’re just trying to get better each day.”
Rookie Savoie rode his White Alligator Racing Suzuki to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.836 at 192.74. If it stands, it would be the first of his career.
“After our loss in Atlanta, we stumbled on a couple of things that were not exactly right with the Motorcycle,” said Savoie. “Mark (Peiser, crew chief) wanted to come to Englishtown and see what kind of progress we’ve made on the changes we’ve made. I feel very blessed to be here. This is my fourth race and they’ve all been good. I don’t know if it will hold up, but it’s good for now.”
Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at Noon and 2:30 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 42nd annual NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, eighth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Del Worsham, 3.785 seconds, 322.34 mph; 2. Spencer Massey, 3.795, 323.81; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.803, 324.51; 4. Larry Dixon, 3.810, 319.60; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 3.831, 318.77; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.859, 310.48; 7. Clay Millican, 3.863, 314.24; 8. Antron Brown, 3.866, 314.68; 9. Morgan Lucas, 3.880, 315.86; 10. Doug Foley, 3.889, 310.55; 11. Doug Kalitta, 3.904, 314.09; 12. Dom Lagana, 3.920, 309.27.
Not Qualified: 13. Terry McMillen, 3.962, 301.60; 14. David Grubnic, 4.786, 150.68; 15. Bob Vandergriff, 7.220, 92.11; 16. Luigi Novelli, 7.862, 80.78; 17. Pat Dakin, 8.285, 72.19.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.090, 310.34; 2. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.094, 306.33; 3. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.113, 305.70; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.114, 304.74; 5. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.132, 306.40; 6. Melanie Troxel, Solara, 4.135, 307.37; 7. Jim Head, Solara, 4.137, 300.93; 8. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.168, 294.56; 9. Tony Pedregon, Impala SS, 4.169, 292.77; 10. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.218, 292.77; 11. Bob Bode, Impala SS, 4.280, 281.01; 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.300, 214.52.
Not Qualified: 13. Ron Capps, 4.942, 154.49; 14. Mike Neff, 5.108, 145.83; 15. John Force, 5.136, 180.26; 16. Terry Haddock, 5.272, 140.05; 17. Johnny Gray, 5.995, 115.63; 18. Mike Smith, 6.561, 100.73; 19. John Smith, 9.538, 80.66.
Pro Stock -- 1. Shane Gray, Pontiac GXP, 6.510, 212.46; 2. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.510, 211.93; 3. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.511, 211.66; 4. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.514, 212.53; 5. Jason Line, GXP, 6.517, 212.19; 6. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.517, 212.06; 7. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.523, 213.03; 8. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.527, 211.89; 9. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.532, 210.93; 10. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.538, 211.79; 11. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.571, 211.20; 12. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.573, 212.26.
Not Qualified: 13. Warren Johnson, 6.624, 210.97; 14. Bob Benza, 6.632, 209.36; 15. Kurt Johnson, 6.648, 210.14; 16. Frank Gugliotta, 6.734, 207.46; 17. John Gaydosh Jr, 6.790, 201.67; 18. Steve Kent, 7.935, 122.49; 19. Robert Patrick, 11.404, 77.46; 20. Larry Morgan, 13.772, 62.11.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Gerald Savoie, Suzuki, 6.836, 192.74; 2. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.841, 195.39; 3. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.879, 192.93; 4. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.882, 194.97; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.885, 193.49; 6. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.889, 192.80; 7. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.893, 190.83; 8. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.938, 195.08; 9. Mike Berry, Buell, 6.942, 189.71; 10. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.943, 192.19; 11. GT Tonglet, Buell, 6.951, 191.19; 12. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.981, 191.57.
Not Qualified: 13. Shawn Gann, 6.981, 188.12; 14. Steve Johnson, 6.984, 191.97; 15. Angie Smith, 6.998, 187.81; 16. Justin Finley, 7.005, 193.79; 17. Jim Underdahl, 7.013, 190.86; 18. Bailey Whitaker, 7.026, 186.28; 19. Junior Pippin, 7.170, 186.85; 20. Wesley Wells, 7.341, 177.77.
