PEDREGON SETS TRACK RECORD EN ROUTE TO NO. 1; BROWN, LINE, HINES ALSO NO. 1 AT MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS
CLERMONT, Ind. – Cruz Pedregon set a track record for time as he raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car on Sunday at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
Antron Brown, Jason Line and Andrew Hines also took the top spots in their respective categories at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
Pedregon, who was quickest in four of the five qualifying sessions, powered his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry to a blazing 4.026-second run at 314.24 mph. It is his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 43rd of his career. Pedregon also set the track record for time at Lucas Oil Raceway in Funny Car.
“We got it all on that one,” said Pedregon. “The car ran our career best speed at halftrack. I’ve got to always credit the track because you can’t do that when the track isn’t there, but the track and weather were there for this run.”
Mike Neff clinched the No. 1 spot in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship with his ninth-place qualifying position in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. Neff will face John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight in the first round of eliminations Sunday.
Antron Brown stayed in the No. 1 spot in Top Fuel as qualifying came to an end. Brown drove his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.818 at 322.96 to get his second No. 1 qualifier of the season, second at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis and 28th of his career.
“I think we’re ready for tomorrow for sure,” said Brown. “Tomorrow is going to be just like this but the conditions will be even better. So we have to go back and go to work because tomorrow is going to be a whole new day. And it’s race day; it’s work day.”
Al-Anabi Racing dragster pilot Del Worsham clinched his top spot in the Countdown to the Championship with his second-place qualifying position, while GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster driver Morgan Lucas secured his spot with his ninth-place qualifying position.
In Pro Stock, Line came out on the last pass of Pro Stock qualifying and took the No. 1 qualifier away from his teammate Greg Anderson. Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a 6.603 at 209.01 to get his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 21st of his career.
“To be honest, I have not done a very good job driving all weekend,” said Line. “I’ve struggled here in the past and I’d really like to get it out of my head, straighten it out and actually do a good job here. I have a good car so if we don’t tomorrow then it’s all on me. That being said, we’ve got a great hot rod and we just have to go up there and get it done.”
Service Central Pontiac GXP driver Shane Gray clinched his spot in the Countdown after qualifying 14th in the field.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hines took the top spot with a stellar run in the final qualifying session. Hines powered his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a 6.909 at 193.90 to get his first No. 1 qualifier of the season, 29th of his career, and second at Lucas Oil Raceway.
“The two runs today were near flawless,” said Hines. “The V-Rod was going nice and straight down the track and that’s all due to the testing we did last week. We were able to work on things during testing and I think it really showed out there today.”
Hector Arana Jr. clinched his spot in the Countdown when he drove his Lucas Oil Buell to the fifth qualifying spot, while Michael Phillips run to the ninth spot in qualifying also clinched his berth in the Countdown to the Championship.
Eliminations for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals will begin Monday at 11 a.m.
CLERMONT, Ind. -- Monday's first-round pairings for professional eliminations for the 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, the 16th of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Sunday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Antron Brown, 3.818 seconds, 322.96 mph vs. 16. Shawn Langdon, 3.936, 311.63; 2. Del Worsham, 3.836, 321.12 vs. 15. Troy Buff, 3.930, 305.77; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 3.846, 318.99 vs. 14. T.J. Zizzo, 3.919, 301.27; 4. Spencer Massey, 3.848, 321.19 vs. 13. Brady Kalivoda, 3.919, 308.64; 5. Larry Dixon, 3.850, 319.60 vs. 12. David Grubnic, 3.913, 310.91; 6. Tony Schumacher, 3.856, 320.36 vs. 11. Bob Vandergriff, 3.905, 316.01; 7. Rod Fuller, 3.885, 319.37 vs. 10. Terry McMillen, 3.893, 317.64; 8. Doug Kalitta, 3.888, 318.54 vs. 9. Morgan Lucas, 3.891, 313.80.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Keith Murt, 3.949, 305.91; 18. Bruce Litton, 3.971, 311.70; 19. Clay Millican, 3.974, 301.27; 20. Pat Dakin, 4.012, 305.42; 21. Cory McClenathan, 4.057, 308.35; 22. Fred Farndon, 4.070, 286.38; 23. Chris Karamesines, 4.085, 279.61; 24. Luigi Novelli, 5.565, 279.09; 25. Scott Palmer, 9.332, 162.94.
Funny Car -- 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.026, 314.24 vs. 16. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.195, 299.60; 2. Melanie Troxel, Solara, 4.068, 313.73 vs. 15. Bob Bode, Solara, 4.185, 295.79; 3. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.069, 314.31 vs. 14. Jim Head, Solara, 4.147, 305.63; 4. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.071, 309.13 vs. 13. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.138, 302.96; 5. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.082, 312.93 vs. 12. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.136, 307.86; 6. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.090, 307.37 vs. 11. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.124, 308.85; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.097, 313.15 vs. 10. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.120, 309.06; 8. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.098, 312.06 vs. 9. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.118, 309.63.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Tony Pedregon, 4.208, 299.26; 18. Jon Capps, 4.230, 287.53; 19. Terry Haddock, 4.276, 296.24; 20. Justin Schriefer, 4.415, 279.79.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 6.603, 209.01 vs. 16. Buddy Perkinson, Ford Mustang, 6.674, 206.70; 2. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.610, 208.55 vs. 15. Mark Martino, GXP, 6.671, 206.54; 3. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.613, 208.59 vs. 14. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.665, 206.51; 4. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.623, 208.33 vs. 13. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.663, 206.61; 5. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.630, 207.88 vs. 12. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.662, 207.72; 6. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.633, 208.42 vs. 11. Chris McGaha, GXP, 6.656, 206.95; 7. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.637, 207.15 vs. 10. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.648, 207.53; 8. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.645, 207.43 vs. 9. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.646, 207.62.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Steve Kent, 6.683, 206.70; 18. Larry Morgan, 6.688, 206.48; 19. Warren Johnson, 6.689, 207.02; 20. Steve Spiess, 6.702, 204.20; 21. Grace Howell, 6.715, 204.60; 22. Bob Benza, 6.726, 205.04; 23. Steve Schmidt, 6.748, 204.11; 24. Mark Hogan, 6.777, 204.76; 25. Paul Pittman, 6.788, 203.34; 26. Kevin Lawrence, 6.817, 201.46; 27. Frank Gugliotta, broke; 28. Dave River, broke.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.909, 193.90 vs. 16. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.047, 188.31; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.936, 190.97 vs. 15. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 7.041, 190.35; 3. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.940, 192.11 vs. 14. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 7.024, 190.75; 4. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.947, 190.38 vs. 13. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.022, 190.14; 5. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.950, 193.65 vs. 12. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.012, 190.73; 6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.953, 192.28 vs. 11. David Hope, Buell, 6.987, 190.30; 7. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.961, 192.55 vs. 10. Mike Berry, Buell, 6.985, 188.44; 8. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.962, 190.92 vs. 9. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.985, 193.29.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Michael Ray, 7.066, 186.74; 18. Matt Guidera, 7.066, 187.05; 19. Bailey Whitaker, 7.099, 188.10; 20. Justin Finley, 7.133, 187.44; 21. James Surber, 7.185, 185.38; 22. Dawn Minturn, 7.216, 183.29; 23. Redell Harris, 7.320, 185.33; 24. Wesley Wells, 7.354, 182.70; 25. Odolph Daniels, 7.936, 176.01; 26. Joe DeSantis, 12.146, 185.23; 27. GT Tonglet, broke.
