READING, Pa. – Dave Grubnic made a little history on his way to the No. 1 qualifying spot for Sunday's eliminations at the Uni-Select Auto Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
Grubnic and Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta paired up to make the quickest run in Top Fuel history with Grubnic running a 3.728-second pass at 327.11 mph and Kalitta running a 3.739 at 331.45 mph.
"Sometimes we can get a glimpse of the scoreboard, and I did," Grubnic said. "I saw the numbers come up, and then I saw the front of Doug's car right next to me, so I figured he must have run well. When we got to the end, I them cheering about Doug running 331, and we went .72.
"We're always moving forward. The sport's very dynamic. It's great, and I'm thrilled it was both Kalitta cars that did that."
Other No. 1 qualifiers Saturday were Jack Beckman in Funny Car, Jason Line in Pro Stock and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Grubnic still doesn't own the national record and the 20 bonus points that come with it. He and the Rocky Boots dragster still need to run within one percent of that 3.72 to back up the time. Waiting in the wings is eventual No. 2 qualifier Morgan Lucas, whose 3.733 seconds at 330.96 mph in the GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster is still better than the previous mark of 3.735 set by Del Worsham here last year, and Lucas has the requisite certifying run already in hand.
All the math aside, Grubnic was overjoyed at being back at the top of the qualifying ladder.
"Obviously, it's good to be back in the No. 1 spot," the Australian said. "For those who have been fans of drag racing for a while, when I started with Connie (Kalitta) in 2004, we were No. 1 qualifier five times that year, and I think the next year we had a few No. 1s. So it's great to be back in that position."
Grubnic faces No. 16 Ike Maier in the first round of eliminations. Maier had a best pass of 4.100 seconds at 233.84 mph.
Speaking of national records, Beckman and the Schumacher Electric Dodge Charger were able to back up the Funny Car record and qualify No. 1 with a best lap of 3.989 seconds at 320.58 mph. However those 20 points are far from his as Cruz Pedregon and Mike Neff both made runs during qualifying that could serve as backups to a record run.
"Semantics: We did set the national record," Beckman said. "We want to leave with the national record."
Beckman's record pass of 3.989 seconds at 320.58 mph on Friday was backed up Saturday, giving him the 20 bonus points – should no one else go quicker in eliminations. Beckman came to Reading second in the points standings, and the record would go a long way in the title hunt.
"That 20 points would mean a whole lot to us," Beckman said. "Records are cool. We just got the speed record back from Courtney (Force), and everybody's real proud of that – and that has zero points attached to it. But at this point, we will take points over pride. That 20 points would be huge for us."
No. 2 qualifier Pedregon (3.997 at 313.80 mph) and No. 3 Mike Neff (4.017 at 318.84 mph) have quick cars, too, so Beckman knows it's not a sure thing.
Line is the quickest in Pro Stock with a run of 6.515 seconds at 212.36 in his Summit Racing Camaro, putting more than .020 seconds on GK Motorsports teammates Erica Enders (No. 2) and Dave Connolly (No. 3).
Line, like Beckman, is looking at the points standings, as leader Allen Johnson is No. 6 and faces tough Vincent Nobile in the first round.
"Any time you're on the pole, it's a good thing," Line said. "We feel like we have a chance to win the race and do damage to AJ. That's really the goal. Easier said than done. Obviously, a lot of things have to fall into place for that to happen."
Krawiec and his pink-colored Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson took had a best lap of 6.799 seconds at 196.56 mph and took the top spot.
"I've got a good race-day bike," Krawiec said. "I think it's just consistently getting it down the track, getting it off the starting line and going. I'm just going to do the best I can. I'm going to look for good, green lights, and I think the rest will come."
Krawiec is set to square off against No. 16 qualifier Craig Treble, who had a best lap of 7.269 at 154.33 mph on the ProtectTheHarvest.com Buell.
Harley teammate Andrew Hines is No. 2, with Hector Arana Sr. No. 3.
SUNDAY'S PAIRINGS
Top Fuel
1. David Grubnic, 3.728 seconds, 327.11 mph vs. 16. Ike Maier, 4.100, 267.37; 2. Morgan Lucas, 3.733, 330.96 vs. 15. Dom Lagana, 3.922, 318.69; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.736, 325.14 vs. 14. Terry McMillen, 3.902, 312.35; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.739, 331.45 vs. 13. Clay Millican, 3.854, 316.97; 5. Shawn Langdon, 3.753, 328.38 vs. 12. Bob Vandergriff, 3.824, 324.90; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 3.758, 326.48 vs. 11. Larry Dixon, 3.818, 316.30; 7. Antron Brown, 3.758, 325.14 vs. 10. Steve Torrence, 3.803, 321.04; 8. Spencer Massey, 3.763, 326.08 vs. 9. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.776, 327.03. Did Not Qualify: 17. Rit Pustari, 4.109, 269.35.
Funny Car
1. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 3.989, 320.58 vs. 16. Mike Smith, Dodge Stratus, 4.203, 276.58; 2. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 3.997, 313.80 vs. 15. Todd Lesenko, Charger, 4.125, 299.00; 3. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.017, 318.84 vs. 14. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.116, 306.05; 4. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.028, 318.99 vs. 13. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.091, 304.12; 5. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.028, 319.60 vs. 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.074, 311.92; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.032, 319.07 vs. 11. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.063, 307.37; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.038, 317.79 vs. 10. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.061, 321.81; 8. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.055, 317.64 vs. 9. Jeff Arend, Camry, 4.057, 318.09. Did Not Qualify: 17. Tim Wilkerson, 4.273, 284.15; 18. Blake Alexander, 7.239, 299.93.
Pro Stock
1. Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.515, 212.36 vs. 16. Shane Gray, Pontiac GXP, 6.623, 208.84; 2. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.538, 211.39 vs. 15. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.621, 209.36; 3. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.539, 211.76 vs. 14. Frank Gugliotta, Ford Mustang, 6.596, 209.04; 4. V. Gaines, Dodge Avenger, 6.544, 211.00 vs. 13. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.595, 210.11; 5. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.544, 200.38 vs. 12. Larry Morgan, Mustang, 6.574, 209.59; 6. Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.545, 211.49 vs. 11. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.567, 211.43; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.552, 210.37 vs. 10. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.563, 210.57; 8. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.561, 211.79 vs. 9. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.562, 210.77. Did Not Qualify: 17. Lewis Worden, 6.681, 207.05; 18. John Gaydosh Jr, 6.785, 203.68.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.799, 196.56 vs. 16. Craig Treble, Buell, 7.269, 191.13; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.824, 195.93 vs. 15. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.072, 189.98; 3. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.834, 194.46 vs. 14. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.013, 189.82; 4. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.853, 195.70 vs. 13. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.967, 192.63; 5. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.877, 193.43 vs. 12. John Hall, Buell, 6.963, 188.65; 6. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.885, 194.52 vs. 11. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.954, 188.99; 7. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.898, 193.71 vs. 10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.931, 192.63; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.902, 192.91 vs. 9. Michael Ray, Buell, 6.910, 191.76. Did Not Qualify: 17. Connie Cohen, 9.365, 110.81.
