No changes at the top after hot, then rainy day in Ohio
Rob Geiger, Managing Editor
Saturday, 26 June 2010
 Larry Dixon |
Saturday's increased heat and a late rain shower kept all four Friday leaders on top of their respective classes at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
Top Fuel's Larry Dixon, Funny Car's Ashley Force, Pro Stock's Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Pro Stock Motorcycle's Steve Johnson were mostly unchallenged as team's shifted their attention from hero runs to figuring out the best combination for a sun-drenched racing surface, which most expect to see Sunday.
A late rain shower that prevented the last few Funny Cars from making a fourth qualifying pass likely didn't change a thing on the qualifying sheets and NHRA officials were quick to call it a day after the stands emptied.
Dixon's fourth pole of the season and 44th of his career looked effortless as he cruised his Al-Anabi Racing dragster down the 1,000-foot course in 3.780 seconds at 320.43 mph in Round 2.
"The Friday night run was good but I'm probably happier with the runs we made today," Dixon said, referring to the 3.856 and 3.873 he posted in the sunshine. "It's Norwalk and you might have sun or you might have cloud cover and rain. You just never know. The one thing that's usually there is the heat and humidity.
"After a good rain shower like this you do get a little anxious. You don't know if the rubber is going to lift and peel up. It makes it a challenge for the crew chief to adjust to the conditions and set the clutch. You kind of just give it your best educated guess and go for it."
Dixon has a huge performance advantage over first-round opponent Troy Buff, who anchored the field with a 4.067 at 294.75 mph.
Probably the biggest surprise in Top Fuel is last weekend's winner Tony Schumacher limping to a 12th-best 3.920 at 308.92 mph in his U.S. Army rail.
Force Hood seemed pleased with the 4.185 at 298.07 mph she ran Saturday in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. She was part of the group that missed a second chance due to the rain storm but her previous pass of 4.032 at 311.99 kept her comfortably on top.
"You get a lot of confidence from running well in the hot sessions," Force Hood said. "It shows we are able to adjust to what was thrown at us. You can't control the weather. You can only control your car and how you adapt.
 Ashley Force Hood |
"I was belted up and ready to go and then the rain just started pouring. It surprised all of us. I think the locals all knew because someone said the stands cleared out before it started raining really hard. We were going to try and make another really strong run but in that heat I don't think we would have been trying to improve too much on our time."
For all of her hard work, Force Hood draws her father, points leader John Force and his identical Mustang, in Sunday's opening session. John's best pass was a 4.238 at 293.03 mph.
"The car doesn't know who is in the other lane whether it is dad, my brother-in-law, my best friend, or someone you don't like," Force Hood said. "It just doesn't know the difference. That is how we race and especially when we race my dad.
"He talks so much and I do think he tries to mess with me. I don't think he does it on purpose but he is constantly talking about everything to do with the runs. I want to tell him, 'Dad, you just do your thing you've been doing for over 30 years and I'll do my thing.' Whoever has the best car will go on to the next round and most importantly whoever wins should go out and win the race."
Coughlin earned his second low qualifier award of the season with a 6.592 at 208.97 mph in his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt but failed to defend the title of Saturday's invitation-only K&N Horsepower Challenge, which was won by Greg Anderson, leaving the four-time world champion bewildered.
"As soon as I let the clutch out against Mike (Edwards, Challenge semifinal opponent) the car immediately decelerated so we thought we had an engine problem," Coughlin said. "We swapped out motors before Q4 and it did the exact same thing again, so obviously the problem lies elsewhere.
"I'm a little shocked. Typically when you have a problem like this you can diagnose it right away and fix it. We weren't able to do that this time so we'll go over this thing from front to back and triple-check everything to make absolutely sure we're ready for tomorrow."
Runaway points leader Edwards is a distant 12th on the elimination grid after a 6.634 at 208.01 mph. The result marks the first time all season the eight-time winner hasn't qualified first or second on the grid.
Unsponsored Pro Stock Motorcycle leader Johnson decided not to attempt any passes Saturday to save money and wear and tear on his Suzuki. His 6.929 at 193.60 mph held for his second career pole.
"We could have run again but we decided not to, mainly because we're on such a tight budget," Johnson said. "We've got a great motor from Vance & Hines but we've only got that one motor. I don't want to beat it up if we don't have to."
Defending series champion Hector Arana nearly made Johnson pay for sitting idle, zooming to a 6.931 at 193.29 mph on the Lucas Oil Buell to finish qualifying in second place.
Results and pairings:
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.780 seconds, 320.43 mph vs. 16. Troy Buff, 4.067, 294.75; 2. Antron Brown, 3.795, 318.99 vs. 15. Luigi Novelli, 3.998, 291.76; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 3.848, 313.15 vs. 14. Terry McMillen, 3.969, 294.24; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.861, 315.93 vs. 13. Shawn Langdon, 3.929, 307.16; 5. Bob Vandergriff, 3.872, 308.50 vs. 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.920, 308.92; 6. Cory McClenathan, 3.887, 313.73 vs. 11. Doug Kalitta, 3.911, 314.68; 7. Morgan Lucas, 3.893, 306.40 vs. 10. Pat Dakin, 3.908, 309.20; 8. Doug Foley, 3.896, 314.24 vs. 9. David Grubnic, 3.898, 309.42. Did Not Qualify: 17. Tim Cullinan, 4.240, 278.75; 18. Terry Haddock, 4.577, 218.37; 19. Scott Palmer, 7.696, 144.35.
Funny Car -- 1. Ashley Force Hood, Ford Mustang, 4.032, 311.99 vs. 16. John Force, Mustang, 4.238, 293.03; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.043, 307.09 vs. 15. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.233, 291.95; 3. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.060, 310.27 vs. 14. Jim Head, Solara, 4.222, 289.51; 4. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.067, 310.05 vs. 13. Jeff Diehl, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.206, 298.67; 5. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.069, 306.40 vs. 12. Bob Bode, Chevy Impala SS, 4.142, 295.46; 6. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.087, 313.15 vs. 11. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.140, 297.16; 7. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.110, 304.46 vs. 10. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.135, 293.28; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.120, 302.48 vs. 9. Paul Lee, Impala SS, 4.124, 300.26. Did Not Qualify: 17. Justin Schriefer, 4.565, 226.43.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.592, 208.97 vs. 16. Justin Humphreys, Pontiac GXP, 6.679, 206.76; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.602, 209.30 vs. 15. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.669, 207.27; 3. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.602, 209.17 vs. 14. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.667, 207.59; 4. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.609, 208.68 vs. 13. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.636, 207.69; 5. Jason Line, GXP, 6.620, 208.62 vs. 12. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.634, 208.01; 6. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.620, 208.17 vs. 11. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.634, 208.17; 7. Bob Yonke, GXP, 6.620, 207.85 vs. 10. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.631, 207.27; 8. Johnny Gray, GXP, 6.623, 208.23 vs. 9. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.627, 208.42. Did Not Qualify: 17. Rickie Jones, 6.683, 206.80; 18. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.690, 207.40; 19. Erica Enders, 6.701, 206.39; 20. Jim Cunningham, 6.750, 203.92; 21. John Gaydosh Jr, 6.932, 200.35; 22. Bob Benza, broke.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.929, 193.60 vs. 16. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.189, 186.18; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.931, 193.29 vs. 15. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.181, 186.28; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.934, 194.49 vs. 14. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.065, 191.16; 4. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.957, 191.40 vs. 13. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.052, 192.91; 5. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.971, 194.41 vs. 12. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.036, 189.98; 6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.973, 193.74 vs. 11. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.013, 190.11; 7. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.973, 190.19 vs. 10. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.993, 191.08; 8. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.974, 193.38 vs. 9. David Hope, Buell, 6.978, 191.32. Did Not Qualify: 17. Mike Berry, 7.217, 185.77.
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