Cruz Pedregon isn't the only one who likes the heat in the Arizona desert. So does his Snap-on Toyota.
Pedregon described his Funny Car much like a human being Friday after the two took the provisional No. 1 in the class at the Arizona NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway on Friday with a pass of 4.215 seconds at 296.37 mph.
"I like the heat," Pedregon said. "The car likes it. I don't know what we're doing any different than anybody else. The car does it on its own. The car has a good personality right now, so we just try to stay out of its way."
Especially in the heat. Two races ago in the 90-degree heat in Dallas, Pedregon qualified No. 1 and won the race. That was his first victory of the season to go with five No. 1 qualifiers.
Other provisional No. 1s in Phoenix were Larry Dixon in Top Fuel, Mike Edwards in Pro Stock and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Weather conditions help differentiate the tracks on the NHRA tour, as Pedregon has proven. In the damp, cooler conditions in Reading, Pedregon qualified seventh and lost in the first round. Then comes Phoenix, which approached 100 degrees on Friday.
"The track is tricky. It has its own personality," Pedregon said. "Not all these tracks can be exactly the same. Otherwise, it wouldn't be any fun. A guy could set up a car and dominate. Thankfully there are all these different elements to keep a car like our Snap-on Toyota in the hunt."
Pedregon shrugged when asked if that run would hold up through Saturday's third and fourth qualifying sessions.
"Somebody's going to have to stick their chest out a little bit," Pedregon said. "We're going for all the little points, the top-three points. We're going to hang on and not even worry about low ET. If we can hang on, great. If not, if it's (No.) 3 or 4 going into Sunday, that's OK. The main thing is to get those top three points in each session."
Both Pedregon and Dixon didn't get any bonus points for qualifying in the top three in the first session, but both got the three points for being quickest in the second. Dixon made a lap of 3.919 second at 303.84 mph to move to No. 1 after Friday's two sessions.
"The first session, you're getting a kind of a feel," Dixon said. "Obviously, the track's very hot, but not hotter than we've seen before. We raced in that in Dallas. It's just making the adjustments for the ambient temperature, the water grains. (Crew chief) Jason McCullough and (assistant crew chief) Ronnie Thompson did a great job. We put a good run down on the board, and it stuck. I wasn't sure being earlier in the pairings, but it did, and I'm certainly happy about that."
Tony Schumacher made a pass of 3.921 seconds at 301.27 mph for the No. 2 spot, with Del Worsham third after a run of 3.936 seconds at 291.13 mph.
Edwards is another driver who seems to thrive in the heat. His Penhall Pontiac led after the first two qualifying sessions in Pro Stock, going 6.642 seconds at 209.10 mph to steal the headlines from points leader Jason Line, at least for a day.
"It's real toasty," Edwards said. "We're very familiar with (the heat). It's been hot all summer at home (in Oklahoma). We like these conditions. It seems like we run better when it's hot. I don't know why. I can't explain that, but for some reason we run a little bit better in the heat."
Edwards and Line ran identical ETs, with Edwards going 209.10 mph to grab the provisional No. 1 over Line's 207.11 mph. Line has qualified No. 1 five consecutive races, winning the last two national events.
Rookie Vincent Nobile was third at 6.658 seconds at 208.33 mph.
Krawiec and rookie Hector Arana Jr. took their Pro Stock Motorcycle championship battle to Firebird – which hosted the bikes for the first time – and traded No. 1 qualifiers in each of the two sessions.
Arana Jr. was quickest in the first session, with Krawiec second, while Krawiec took the provisional No. 1 by topping the chart in the second session. The result? Bonus points were a wash between the two, and Krawiec still leads by 35 points over Arana Jr.
"We made it down the track (with) two really good laps," Krawiec said. "We were in the top five with 60-foots both times on both runs, and for us, that's important. … It proves we've got the bottom half of the track. Second run, we worked on our tuneup, and obviously it showed. I really don't think I left a whole lot out there that run."
Krawiec went 6.939 seconds at 193.63 mph to grab the provisional No. 1, with Arana Jr. going 6.959 seconds at 195.31 mph. Hector Arana Sr. was third at 6.991 at 191.70 mph.
FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.919 seconds, 303.84 mph; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.921, 301.27; 3. Del Worsham, 3.936, 291.13; 4. Troy Buff, 3.954, 302.75; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 3.985, 298.27; 6. Rod Fuller, 4.007, 300.20; 7. Doug Kalitta, 4.012, 293.98; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 4.012, 287.35; 9. Antron Brown, 4.065, 268.54; 10. Dom Lagana, 4.068, 278.52; 11. Terry McMillen, 4.131, 253.33; 12. Shawn Langdon, 4.171, 229.74. Not Qualified: 13. Chris Karamesines, 4.242, 282.90; 14. Mike Strasburg, 4.347, 216.17; 15. Morgan Lucas, 4.740, 195.65; 16. Spencer Massey, 6.501, 91.05; 17. David Grubnic, 7.216, 90.70; 18. Cory McClenathan, 11.323, 67.80.
Funny Car -- 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.215, 296.37; 2. Jim Head, Solara, 4.238, 289.07; 3. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.251, 287.23; 4. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.279, 284.45; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.294, 275.34; 6. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.310, 277.49; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.315, 283.91; 8. Alexis DeJoria, Solara, 4.320, 274.27; 9. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.322, 282.72; 10. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.335, 287.17; 11. Todd Lesenko, Charger, 4.342, 282.48; 12. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.368, 278.46. Not Qualified: 13. Jeff Arend, 4.376, 276.80; 14. Melanie Troxel, 4.405, 234.98; 15. Tony Pedregon, 4.456, 214.45; 16. John Force, 4.959, 242.54; 17. Jeff Diehl, 5.819, 123.69; 18. Ron Capps, 6.372, 108.12.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.642, 209.10; 2. Jason Line, GXP, 6.642, 207.21; 3. Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.658, 208.33; 4. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.658, 207.75; 5. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.662, 207.53; 6. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.666, 206.57; 7. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.669, 207.18; 8. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.691, 207.94; 9. Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.696, 209.20; 10. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.708, 207.40; 11. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.712, 206.92; 12. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.714, 207.50. Not Qualified: 13. Rodger Brogdon, 6.722, 206.54; 14. Greg Stanfield, 6.723, 206.48; 15. V. Gaines, 6.742, 207.02; 16. Gordie Rivera, 6.861, 201.94; 17. Steve Kent, 14.921, 55.68; 18. Grace Howell, 23.253, 26.24.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.939, 193.63; 2. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.959, 195.31; 3. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.991, 192.30; 4. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.994, 190.19; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.015, 191.84; 6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.018, 191.97; 7. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 7.046, 190.75; 8. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.055, 190.24; 9. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.068, 193.10; 10. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.081, 188.31; 11. Justin Finley, Suzuki, 7.083, 190.81; 12. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.117, 187.03. Not Qualified: 13. Jim Underdahl, 7.118, 189.71; 14. Matt Guidera, 7.134, 186.07; 15. Bailey Whitaker, 7.156, 187.50; 16. Mike Berry, 7.171, 187.44; 17. Steve Johnson, 7.200, 188.91; 18. James Surber, 7.229, 185.28; 19. Freddie Camarena, 7.232, 186.85; 20. Redell Harris, 7.245, 186.87; 21. Joe DeSantis, 7.290, 185.97; 22. Wesley Wells, 7.304, 181.74; 23. Katie Sullivan, 7.308, 186.15.
