From NHRA.com, by Candida Benson, National DRAGSTER Associate Editor

For full ladders, be sure to visit NHRA.com.

Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock), and Karen Stoffer (Pro Stock Motorcycle) shined during a spectacular second day of racing at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The day was particularly good for Edwards, who also won the delayed NHRA Arizona Nationals event, defeating surprise finalist Bob Yonke in the final.

After two days of rain and little activity on the track, the Sunshine State finally lived up to its name with a glorious day filled with blue skies, light cloud cover, and sunshine. Though the sun came out, temperatures remained cool with air temps staying in the 60s and track temperatures in the low 90s or below, and that created perfect conditions for performance, particularly in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle. The track speed record was eclipsed in Pro Stock, and new marks in both e.t. and speed were set in Pro Stock Motorcycle. In addition, the Pro Stock Motorcycle field is the quickest in history with a 7.032 bump, and many drivers set new career bests. The nitro classes were also filled with numerous career bests and impressive performances, including a 321.58-mph speed by Dave Grubnic that ties the fastest 1,000-foot run ever; Larry Dixon is the other driver to record that speed, doing so at last year’s season finale.

With a new car underneath him after his original car was destroyed in an accident in Phoenix, Brown had a much-needed get-well day that included running low e.t. of both sessions. Brown’s best was a 3.803 in the final session that was a new track record and gave the Matco-backed driver his first No. 1 start of this year and 22nd of his career.

“My hat’s off just to my team; man, all the stuff that we’ve been through since we just transitioned over to DSR and just getting all the new stuff and putting it all together and then the stuff that happened in Phoenix and putting a whole another group of new things together,” said Brown. “To come out here and do this is definitely a blessing. I just want to take it one step at a time, and being No. 1 qualifier is definitely putting a foot in the right direction, and I’m stoked about that.

“It feels good to get two solid laps back to back. It’s not just being No. 1; it’s just getting two solid laps back to back because that gives you confidence going into race day where you can go round to round.”

Friday’s leader Tony Schumacher made a strong push for the top spot, but his 3.805 came up just short, relegating him to the No. 2 starting position. Dixon is right behind his on-track nemesis with a 3.820. Shawn Langdon, who finished Friday in the second slot, slipped to fourth when he couldn’t better his 3.829. Phoenix winner Cory McClenathan nabbed the No. 5 spot and is followed in the order by Grubnic, Doug Kalitta, and Steve Torrence.

Todd Paton landed on the bump with a 7.542. Only 16 cars made the trip to Gainesville, meaning all will be part of Sunday’s show.

After making headlines off the track earlier in the day when his team added John Medlen as a co-crew chief, Hagan made some news on the track when he powered his DieHard Charger to a 4.060 to earn his third career No. 1 start. Robert Hight also ran a 4.060 but lost the top spot on the speed tiebreaker, 313.58 to 310.13.

“First of all, it’s great to snag the No. 1 spot,” said Hagan, who has qualified fifth or better for six straight events. “I have a little history here [in Gainesville] with the Pro Mod car, and this is big. I knew Tommy [DeLago, crew chief] was going for it because we were already qualified. When the clutch went one-to-one, I knew it was gonna run.

“As for John Medlen, I’m not sure what his impact is yet. He’s feeling his way through everything. I’m sure he had some input, and I’m sure we’ll see a lot of stuff from him and Tommy. I’m really excited and can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow. We need to put four runs together on race day. We always qualify well, but we need to get that Wally on Sunday.”

Hagan’s teammate, Ron Capps, moved up to third behind Hagan and Hight with a 4.070. Tony Pedregon finished fourth with a 4.078, and Ashley Force Hood grabbed the No. 5 spot with a 4.081. John Force, Bob Tasca III, and Jeff Arend are the final three drivers in the top half of the field.

John Smith was the final driver to make the field with a 4.231. Jeff Diehl and Paul Lee both missed the field.

The pressure of trying to qualify for the Gatornationals while simultaneously trying to win the NHRA Arizona Nationals didn’t seem to affect Edwards, who shined doing both. Not only did he win the Arizona Nationals to extend his points lead, he also stayed on point in the Gatornationals qualified field. Edwards extended his No. 1 qualifying streak to 12 straight events, dating back to Brainerd last August, with a 6.537 from his Penhall/Interstate/K&N GXP during the super-quick morning session.

“We were struggling, but today was much better,” said Edwards. “We have a real consistent car and a consistent team. I made a really good run earlier today [6.53], and that was a turning point for us. I can’t really put my finger on one thing; it’s the whole team, I’m just a small part of it.

“In regards to qualifying, and eliminations on the same run, the feeling today was to go as quick as we could, but it’s a different mindset for sure. Then the conditions changes and that was something else we had to deal with but it all worked out.”

Ron Krisher, who is an engine customer of Edwards, moved up to the No. 2 position when he recorded a 6.540 that was the best run of the final session; it was the first time this year Edwards did not pace a qualifying session. Jeg Coughlin Jr. posted back-to-back 6.55s in the final two sessions to lock in the No. 3 starting spot. Allen Johnson begins race day from the No. 4 position, and Rodger Brogdon, Greg Anderson, Jason Line, and Vinnie Deceglie follow to round out the quick eight. Rickie Jones ended up on the bump with a 6.601.

Eight drivers missed the show, and the biggest surprise of the bunch was Larry Morgan, who opened the season with a semifinal finish in Pomona. The father-son team of Warren and Kurt Johnson also couldn’t break into the field. Other non-qualifiers were Justin Humphreys, John Nobile, Erica Enders, Bob Benza, and John Gaydosh.

Stoffer was the star of the second day of the 2010 Pro Stock Motorcycle season, running low e.t. of both qualifying sessions. The GEICO Powersports Suzuki rider opened with a 6.869, then followed it with a 6.855, the second-quickest pass in NHRA history, to secure the second No. 1 start of her career; her first came about a year and a half ago in Sonoma.

“It was kind of nerve-racking when you see Eddie [Krawiec] go out in the pair in front of me and beat the low e.t.,” said Stoffer. “We knew we had a fast bike, and I just had to do my job. I was excited that they gave me the performance, and I was able to do my job and put the package together and get that No. 1 back. I’ve had the No. 1 before, but I’ve never had to fight for it like that, so it was pretty cool to be able to do that.

“I definitely think there’s more out there, and I think you’re going to see other teams step up. The Suzukis had a little bit of a performance increase this year, and I think that had a big benefit to us. Also, we had the tailwind today and some cloud cover and a wonderfully prepared racetrack, so we had all these great conditions. I think people were just getting a handle on it, so I definitely think there’s more. I think there’s going to be a record broke, that’s my prediction. We’re in the batter’s box, and we want to take a swing and try to get that. That would be a first for me, so that’s a goal of mine. I’d love to be able to do it here in Gainesville where the conditions are the way they are. I don’t know if we’re going to see these conditions again this year, so I think this is going to be critical to get it done here.”

Eddie Krawiec, the 2008 world champ, will begin race day from the second spot thanks to his 6.868 recorded in the final session. David Hope, who is flying a special Iron Man 2 paint scheme to start the season, will enter Sunday with his best ever starting spot, third, after posting a 6.874, and reigning world champ Hector Arana begins his title defense from the fourth spot thanks to a 6.881 recorded on his final attempt. Andrew Hines, Craig Treble, Steve Johnson, and Friday leader Junior Pippin round out the top half of the field.

Redell Harris was the final rider to bump into the field, clocking a 7.032 to grab the 16th spot and a first-round date with Stoffer. The 7.032 bump makes this the quickest field in history, bettering the 7.033 bump from the 2007 Englishtown event.

With 23 bikes on the property, seven riders were left outside the field when all was said and done. Surprisingly, Doug Horne, who last year finished fifth in the Full Throttle standings, was on that list. Horne’s best time for the weekend was a 7.067 that left him 18th. Also missing the field were Darin McCurdy, James Surber, Katie Sullivan, Wes Wells, Joe DeSantis, and Bailey Whitaker.

Top Fuel Dragster

 Psn  Driver               Vehicle                            ET   Speed
   1. Larry Dixon          Al-Anabi Racing Dragster        3.807  315.71
   2. Tony Schumacher      U.S. Army Dragster              3.826  315.27
   3. Antron Brown         Matco Tools Dragster            3.830  313.80
   4. Spencer Massey       US Smokeless Dragster           3.847  310.27
   5. Brandon Bernstein    Budweiser/Lucas Oil Dragster    3.875  316.38
   6. Morgan Lucas         Geico Powersport/ Lucas Oil Dr  3.879  306.46
   7. Shawn Langdon        Lucas Oil/Dixie Chopper Dragst  3.888  307.93
   8. Doug Kalitta         Kalitta Motorsports Dragster    3.897  307.86
   9. Cory McClenathan     Fram Dragster                   3.904  311.63
  10. Clay Millican        MPE Motorsportd Dragster        3.907  311.13
  11. David Baca           Mach 1/Global Services Dragste  3.910  305.77
  12. Joe Hartley          Hartley Racing Dragster         3.913  308.07
  13. Mike Strasburg       B & J Transmissions Dragster    3.922  310.48
  14. Del Cox Jr           LA King's/RG Industries DRA Dr  3.936  306.46
  15. Troy Buff            Bill Miller Racing/Okuma Drags  3.974  283.97
  16. Terry Haddock        Dragster                        4.094  287.78
          --------- Not Qualified ---------
  17. Steven Chrisman      Chrisman Driveline Dragster     4.167  280.49
  18. Steve Faria          System One Filtration Dragster  4.505  222.14
  19. Rob Passey           MSP Motorsports/Mattinson Race  7.530   81.82
  20. Arley Langlo         Dragster                       15.695  119.44

Top Fuel Funny car:

 Psn  Driver               Vehicle                            ET   Speed
   1. Ron Capps            NAPA Auto Parts Charger         4.023  305.63
   2. Mike Neff            JFR/Ford Mustang                4.050  309.06
   3. John Force           Castrol GTX Mustang             4.069  306.53
   4. Del Worsham          Al-Anabi Racing Solara          4.072  305.22
   5. Robert Hight         AAA of So. Cal Mustang          4.077  303.71
   6. Tony Pedregon        Quaker State Impala             4.104  295.72
   7. Bob Tasca III        Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang   4.106  301.94
   8. Matt Hagan           Brakesafe Charger               4.106  300.20
   9. Jim Head             Team Strange Apparel Solara     4.116  299.06
  10. Jerry Toliver        Canidae Pet Food Monte Carlo    4.122  302.08
  11. Jack Beckman         Valvoline/MTS Charger           4.125  301.40
  12. Ashley Force Hood    Castrol GTX Mustang             4.129  301.40
  13. Cruz Pedregon        Advance Auto Parts Solara       4.135  296.05
  14. Tim Wilkerson        Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang       4.148  297.09
  15. Gary Densham         Asombroso Tequila Impala        4.165  296.50
  16. Jeff Arend           DHL Solara                      4.196  301.74
          --------- Not Qualified ---------
  17. Bob Bode             Alard Machine Products Impala   4.307  285.05

 Psn  Driver               Vehicle                            ET   Speed
   1. Mike Edwards         Young Life/Penhall GXP          6.605@ 208.71
   2. Greg Anderson        Summit Racing Equipment GXP     6.610  209.49
   3. Allen Johnson        Mopar/J & J Racing Stratus      6.621  208.68
   4. Jeg Coughlin         Jegs.com Cobalt                 6.624  208.33
   5. Jason Line           Summit Racing Equipment GXP     6.638  208.71
   6. Kurt Johnson         AC Delco Cobalt                 6.640  208.01
   7. Greg Stanfield       Attitude Apparel GXP            6.643  207.91
   8. Rickie Jones         Quarter-Max/RJ Stratus          6.648  207.34
   9. Ron Krisher          Valvoline Cobalt                6.649  208.20
  10. Jim Yates            Wiley X Eye Wear GXP            6.652  207.72
  11. Larry Morgan         Lucas Oil Stratus               6.654  207.85
  12. Tom Hammonds         Race For Achievement Cobalt     6.658  207.59
  13. Steve Spiess         Spiess Construction Cobalt      6.662  206.89
  14. David Beckley        Mountain View Tires Stratus     6.663  207.18
  15. Warren Johnson       K&N Filters GXP                 6.665  208.07
  16. Johnny Gray          Jonny Gray Racing Stratus       6.669  207.66
          --------- Not Qualified ---------
  17. V. Gaines            Kendall Oil Stratus             6.669  206.89
  18. Bob Panella          Bailey/Panella Trucking Stratu  6.706  206.16
  19. Gordie Rivera        Gordies Speed Center GXP        6.721  204.94
  20. Jerry Haas           Medina River Ranch Resort GTO   6.733  205.69
  21. Roger Brogdon        Kent Services & Trucking GXP    6.754  203.31
  22. Erica Enders         Dragstar Racing Mustang         6.800  202.48