Hight on his game at Northwest Nationals
Craig Wack, Senior Editor
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Robert Hight’s AAA Ford Mustang Funny Car has found its footing at the NHRA Northwest Nationals, and he knows with The Countdown approaching, he can’t let up for even a second.
“The top 10 cars are so bunched up, anyone can win this deal,” Hight said. “It’s a big deal being No. 1 for points, but it really means nothing. No matter (where you qualify) in Funny Car, you’ve got a tough race.”
Other No. 1s at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle include Doug Kalitta in Top Fuel and Mike Edwards in Pro Stock.
It didn’t cool off as dramatically as was expected so Hight’s best Friday night run of 4.194 seconds at 291.57 mph held up. He faces Jeff Diehl in the first round on Sunday, and as Hight said he’ll have his guard up, no matter who is in the next lane.
“We take (Diehl) lightly and he’s going to put us on the trailer,” Hight said.
Kalitta was on top of the Top Fuel ladder for the first time in nearly four years after his pass of 3.884 seconds at 313.58 mph. Kalitta gets a bye run in the first round. He will face the winner of the race between Morgan Lucas and Steve Torrence in Sunday’s second round.
“The whole team is happy,” Kalitta said. “It’s been a while. Hopefully this will be the beginning of something good for us.”
Edwards said he did some experimenting on Friday, but righted the ship in time to vault into the No. 1 spot in Pro Stock with a pass Saturday of 6.598 seconds at 209.75 mph in the Penhall Pontiac. He faces Jim Cunningham’s Ford Mustang, which ran a 6.741 at 206.42 mph, in the first round of eliminatons.
“We stepped outside the box and tried a few things, and didn’t like what we seen,” Edwards said. “We went back (Saturday) and kind of ran the thing the way we ran it here last year.”
Eliminations for the NHRA Northwest Nationals begins at 11 a.m. PDT on Sunday.
SUNDAY’S PAIRINGS
Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.884 seconds, 313.58 mph vs. Bye; 2. Larry Dixon, 3.896, 311.77 vs. 15. Terry Haddock, 6.702, 101.90; 3. Cory McClenathan, 3.921, 308.35 vs. 14. Mike Strasburg, 4.472, 188.67; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.937, 305.29 vs. 13. Ron Smith, 4.430, 263.15; 5. Antron Brown, 3.964, 303.03 vs. 12. Steven Chrisman, 4.251, 241.02; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 3.976, 299.06 vs. 11. David Grubnic, 4.056, 269.62; 7. Shawn Langdon, 3.993, 300.00 vs. 10. Terry McMillen, 4.035, 292.58; 8. Morgan Lucas, 4.002, 299.00 vs. 9. Steve Torrence, 4.008, 299.60.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.194, 291.57 vs. 16. Jeff Diehl, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.120, 151.20; 2. Del Worsham, Toyota Solara, 4.202, 293.54 vs. 15. Brian Thiel, Chevy Impala, 4.516, 267.27; 3. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.220, 292.08 vs. 14. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.331, 254.90; 4. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.222, 286.38 vs. 13. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.321, 277.66; 5. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.225, 287.23 vs. 12. Gary Densham, Impala, 4.285, 285.11; 6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.257, 287.35 vs. 11. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.277, 287.23; 7. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.258, 275.79 vs. 10. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.276, 284.39; 8. John Force, Mustang, 4.269, 285.35 vs. 9. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.275, 284.03. Did Not Qualify: 17. Grant Downing, 5.171, 198.38.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.598, 209.75 vs. 16. Jim Cunningham, Ford Mustang, 6.741, 206.42; 2. Johnny Gray, GXP, 6.599, 209.92 vs. 15. Larry Morgan, Mustang, 6.725, 207.66; 3. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.601, 210.28 vs. 14. Bob Yonke, GXP, 6.675, 207.62; 4. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.610, 209.20 vs. 13. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.659, 208.10; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.611, 210.01 vs. 12. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.645, 208.59; 6. Jason Line, GXP, 6.612, 209.04 vs. 11. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.639, 208.91; 7. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.617, 208.94 vs. 10. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.636, 209.82; 8. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.631, 208.42 vs. 9. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.635, 208.30. Did Not Qualify: 17. Erica Enders, 6.745, 207.50.
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