After the shakeup in the Funny Car points after Phoenix, Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang, had a week to stew how he was going to stick his nose into the that mix a little stronger. Thankfully, he had a lot of work to do at the shop.
Hight, president of John Force Racing, has been getting 27 of Force's old Funny Cars ready for a display at Pomona in two weeks.
Plus, Hight and Force made an appearance at the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion last weekend.
So Hight hasn't given much thought to the Funny Car Championship battle, right?
"No, it's in the back of my mind, trust me," Hagan said. "I've got to be careful and not over-think it. You saw what I did last week: I red-lit for the first time. It doesn't do any good to worry about it and think about it. You get back out here and race and do the best you can."
Hight was in the first pair of in the second round of qualifying and he put up a numbers - 4.085 seconds at 311.27 mph – that no one else could touch to take the provisional No. 1 spot Friday at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Other provisional No. 1s are Brandon Bernstein in Top Fuel, Jason Line in Pro Stock and Hector Arana Sr. in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Perhaps the driver most surprised by his run was … Hight.
"That's one reason why I don't gamble when I come to Vegas because I would have bet anybody that wouldn't have stuck," Hight said. "(Crew chief) Jimmy Prock and I talked about it, and we were just hoping for a run, since we didn't get down the first time, that would be top-four. That's where you need to be on race day to have lane choice, to not be up against your teammates.
"But I would have never bet on that. There were a lot of good cars behind me, but it stuck."
Hight is fifth in the Funny Car standings but gained three points on leader Jack Beckman with by being fastest in Q2. He's 55 out of first place and needs a big day Sunday to gain more ground.
"What we really need is four of those 4.08s on Sunday, because that's what it's going to take to beat (Matt) Hagan and Beckman and those guys," Hight said.
Bernstein took the provisional No. 1 in the Copart dragster during a wild Q2 for Top Fuel, where the top two qualifiers from Q1, Del Worsham and T.J. Zizzo, respectively, ended up ninth and 14th.
"It felt great," Bernstein said. "Really, the car seemed like it didn't even move. It was really a straight run. At 321, with that speed, you always know it's a great run."
Bernstein ran a 3.833 second pass at 321.27 mph.
Line, who should clinch the Pro Stock title this weekend, made a best pass of 6.624 seconds at 207.66 mph which is an important first step in finishing off his title quest in the Summit Racing Pontiac with a race in the bank.
"Greg (Anderson) clinched the title here last year and I'd like to do the same thing myself," Line said. "The only thing that is holding me back is me.
"It's a great way to start. We haven't traditionally been strong in places like Vegas, but our goal is to make a big rebound from our disappointment in Phoenix."
Arana Sr. blistered The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway aboard the Lucas Oil Buell with a best lap of 6.924 seconds at 190.86 mph – which is .016 seconds better than his closest competitor.
"It feels good to me," Arana said. "I've been working hard and it finally seems like everything is lining up and going my way."
There will be two more qualifying sessions on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. PDT from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Top Fuel -- 1. Brandon Bernstein, 3.833 seconds, 321.27 mph; 2. Spencer Massey, 3.856, 319.67; 3. Steve Torrence, 3.856, 317.49; 4. Bob Vandergriff, 3.858, 321.88; 5. Antron Brown, 3.863, 318.54; 6. David Grubnic, 3.864, 311.41; 7. Larry Dixon, 3.866, 321.42; 8. Doug Kalitta, 3.872, 313.29; 9. Del Worsham, 3.879, 316.97; 10. Rod Fuller, 3.884, 317.79; 11. Dom Lagana, 3.885, 314.46; 12. Clay Millican, 3.890, 316.97. Not Qualified: 13. Ron August, 3.899, 316.90; 14. T.J. Zizzo, 3.899, 310.13; 15. Tony Schumacher, 3.902, 318.24; 16. Shawn Langdon, 3.903, 316.15; 17. Morgan Lucas, 3.937, 314.68; 18. Thomas Nataas, 3.939, 308.14; 19. Terry McMillen, 3.944, 312.64; 20. Troy Buff, 3.961, 304.05; 21. Cory McClenathan, 3.964, 307.79; 22. Ike Maier, 3.965, 305.36; 23. Pat Dakin, 3.967, 298.14; 24. Keith Murt, 4.006, 296.18; 25. Chris Karamesines, 4.032, 286.56; 26. Steven Chrisman, 4.195, 237.50; 27. Mike Salinas, 5.459, 138.34.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.085, 311.27; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.093, 310.05; 3. Melanie Troxel, Toyota Solara, 4.103, 310.20; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Solara, 4.121, 305.15; 5. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.126, 311.99; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.126, 308.00; 7. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.141, 308.78; 8. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.145, 309.98; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.148, 299.46; 10. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.149, 303.64; 11. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.162, 305.29; 12. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala SS, 4.166, 297.48. Not Qualified: 13. John Force, 4.180, 305.70; 14. Bob Tasca III, 4.187, 300.53; 15. Bob Bode, 4.193, 302.01; 16. Todd Lesenko, 4.198, 296.89; 17. Gary Densham, 4.234, 296.11; 18. Paul Lee, 4.269, 303.16; 19. Jeff Diehl, 4.337, 249.35; 20. Terry Haddock, 5.415, 136.47; 21. Jim Head, 6.723, 97.24.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 6.624, 208.07; 2. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.627, 208.33; 3. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.633, 208.14; 4. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.638, 208.33; 5. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.650, 206.76; 6. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.652, 207.56; 7. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.654, 208.07; 8. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.655, 207.50; 9. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.669, 206.95; 10. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.677, 206.86; 11. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.683, 207.18; 12. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.683, 206.61. Not Qualified: 13. Steve Kent, 6.687, 206.07; 14. Shane Gray, 6.688, 206.35; 15. Warren Johnson, 6.693, 206.76; 16. V. Gaines, 6.701, 206.51; 17. Mark Wolfe, 6.708, 206.35; 18. Buddy Perkinson, 6.736, 204.63; 19. Grace Howell, 6.754, 204.82; 20. Gordie Rivera, 6.823, 202.09.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.924, 190.86; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.940, 191.84; 3. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.948, 193.93; 4. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.963, 191.62; 5. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.970, 191.24; 6. Mike Berry, Buell, 7.014, 188.41; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.018, 191.38; 8. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.019, 188.28; 9. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.030, 189.39; 10. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.031, 187.50; 11. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 7.065, 189.79; 12. Michael Ray, Buell, 7.075, 188.15. Not Qualified: 13. Bailey Whitaker, 7.076, 188.78; 14. David Hope, 7.077, 188.62; 15. Michael Phillips, 7.079, 190.43; 16. Shawn Gann, 7.085, 188.99; 17. Matt Guidera, 7.104, 187.99; 18. Justin Finley, 7.105, 186.69; 19. Karen Stoffer, 7.121, 180.16; 20. Joe DeSantis, 7.130, 184.62; 21. James Surber, 7.191, 184.22; 22. Wesley Wells, 7.244, 177.44; 23. Redell Harris, 7.262, 185.10; 24. Scotty Pollacheck, 7.265, 180.84; 25. Katie Sullivan, 7.281, 39.68; 26. Freddie Camarena, 7.307, 183.22; 27. Dawn Minturn, 7.363, 161.88.
