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- Frank Manzo broke a tie with Bob Glidden for most wins at the U.S. Nationas with nine on Monday, downing first-time finalist Fred Tigges to score his record 10th Indy title and place himself in a category all to his own.
- Bill Reichert became the first three-time winner in Top Alcohol Dragster at Indy, following up his 2006 and 2008 triumphs with a final round defeat of fellow A/FD runner Duane Shields, 5.32 to 5.36.
- Greg Anderson, who has won Indy five times prior, denied teammate Jason Line his first win at the Big Go on a holeshot, grabbing an .033 to .065 advantage out of the gate and just fending off Line's low elapsed time of the event and new track record 6.538 with a 6.552. The win gives Anderson his sixth Indy win and the 70th national event win of his career.
- Eric Dillard, in his very first NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series race, made it all the way to the final round in the brand new R2B2 Mustang, where he downed Mike Castellana with the quickest run of the weekend, a 5.830 at 253.99.
- Antron Brown scored his second career U.S. Nationals title and first in Top Fuel from the #1 qualifying position, defeating Del Worsham in a great side-by-side drag race. With the win, Antron became the only driver other than Dixon or Tony Schumacher to win in Top Fuel at Indy in the laast decade.
- Based on their performance all week long, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Summit Racing teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line will meet one another for the U.S. Nationals Pro Stock title. Jason will have lane choice by just one thousandth of a second.
- In a heavyweight semifinal matchup, Larry Dixon blazed the hides just off the starting line and could only watch as former indy Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Antron Brown sailed into the Top Fuel final with a 3.819. In the money round, he'll meet the other half of the Al-Anabi team, Del Worsham, for the U.S. Nationals crown.
- Mike Castellana will race for a chance to go to the finals in Pro Modified at Indy after defeating teammate Khalid Balooshi in round two. But first, he'll have to face the always-tough Jay Payne and his supercharged entry. Meanwhile, teammates Melanie Troxel and Eric Dillard will meet on the opposite side of the ladder, assuring a turbocharged R2B2 entry in the money round.
- Jim Underdahl is a surprise semifinalist in Pro Stock Motorcycle after defeating Hector Arana, 6.96 to 6.98. There, he'll meet another of the lower qualified riders, rookie Jerry Savoie, who bested Eddie Krawiec, for a trip to the final round at the Big Go.
- Greg Anderson ahs been dominant thus far in eliminations, cranking off low ET of the race in the first round at 6.547 and bettering it in the second round with a 6.544-second defeat of Rodger Brogdon.
- Melanie Troxel's impressive outing in Funny Car came to a screeching halt in the second round when the parachutes shook loose from her In-N-Out Burger flopper, allowing Bob Tasca to cruise in the semifinals with a 4.18.
- In a pairing of Don Schumacher Racing stablemates, Matt Hagan punched his ticket into the semifinals with a 4.06-second defeat of Jack Beckman, who ran a 4.11. With speeds of 315.05 and 314.31, this was one of the fastest side-by-side races in the 1000-foot era.
- Reiging Indy Top Fuel champ Larry Dixon advanced to the semifinals with a defeat of Spencer Massey with low ET of the event, a 3.813. Dixon's Al-Anabi Racing teammate Del Worsham equaled his elapsed time with a 3.813 of his own to best Terry McMillen, who lost his bid for a Countdown berth with the loss.
- Brandon Bernstein ended Bob Vandergriff's run toward another final round showing at Indy in the second round on a holeshot, matching his qualifying time with a 3.846 to Vanfergriff's quicker 3.841.
- Chris Demke recorded what was then low ET of the weekend in Top Alcohol Dragster in round two alongside Jared Dreher, a 5.30 at 267.32 mph. In the very next pair, Duane Shields' injected nitro mount thundered to a 5.27 to surpass Demke's stellar performance. Denke and Shields are set up for a possible meeting in the final.
- Frank Manzo blasted to a stunning track record 5.463 in a second round rout of Cassie Simonton in Top Alcohol Funny Car. In the semifinals, he'll meet John Lombardo Jr., while Fred Tigges and Kris Hool will square off on the opposite side of the ladder.
- Chip Ellis took down Michael Phillips in a great opening round matchup, winning it by less than a thousandth of a second on a holshot, 6.962 to 6.959.
- Reigning U.S. Nationals Pro Stock champion Greg Stanfield dropped his opening round matchup with Allen Johnson, 6.58 to 6.62.
- Erica Enders, still searching for her first Pro Stock win, downed Kurt Johnson, who ran what was low ET of the event thus far at 6.581, on a holeshot in round one with a 6.59.
- The hits just keep on coming, as Jeff Arend in the DHL Toyota downed #1 qualifier and three-time Indy winner Cruz Pedregon ina huge upset holeshot win, 4.139 to 4.127.
- In another big upset characteristic of the U.S. Nationals, Brainerd winner Johny Gray, needing to go rounds today in order to claim a spot in the Countdown, shook the tires and rattled the parachute loose, allowing young Daniel Wilkerson to sail into the next round.
- Terry McMillen downed a tiremsoking Rod Fuller in the opening round of Top Fuel, but a massive engine explosion at the stripe cost him 10 points and a lot of work for he and his crew to make the call for round two.
- In a huge upset, Bob Vandergriff downed six-time Indy champ Tony Schumacher in the opening round of Top Fuel, giving his hopes of making the Countdown a solid boost.
- Under conditions we haven't seen all weekend, eliminations are set to get underway at the 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
- The infamous Top Fool Alcohol Crew, a group of party-hardy campers in the campground on the west side of the Lucas Oil Raceway, create a themed float over a few cold adult beverages each year. This year, they've concocted a 9-11 theme float in honor of the upcoming 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States.
- It wouldn't be the Midwest without extreme swings in weather patterns, and today we've been met with a complete 180-degree change in temperatures from what was experienced earlier in the week, as the temperature of the start of eliminations is just 61 degrees with an expected high of 69 following several days of 100 degree temperatures.
- Chris McGaha, making his first Pro Stock start, will have the honor of being one of the starting sixteen on Monday as he recorded a 6.65 in the final qualifying session to jump from 26th to 11th in the Pro Stock order.
- The newly-christened Bob Glidden Drive seen during the fourth round of Pro Stock qualifying this afternoon.
- Despite impressive performances turned in by the Top Fuel field today under cool and certainly improved conditions, Saturday qualifying leader Antron Brown held onto the spot with his 3.81 to lead the field into tomorrow's eliminations.
- Shawn Langon qualified on the bump spot in Top Fuel at his primary sponsor and car owners' home track, running a best of 3.936 during qualifying.
- Jim Head had engine woes and a flash of flame right at the hit, knocking the laundry out before slowing to a stop. Fortunately, Head was already in the show in 14th with a 4.14 best.
- Cruz Pedregon has an impressive driving resume with two Funny Car titles and a mutitude of national event wins to his credit, but he had enver qualified #1 at the Big Go until today, when he reclaimed the top spot in the final session with a track record 4.029.
- Just moments after Mike Edwards assumed the top spot in Pro Stock qualifying with a 6.613, Jason Line stole it away with a 6.603. Teammate Greg Anderson, who has been the dominant car all weekend, record a 6.610, good for second, that had everyone's attention before gazing over at Line's scoareboard.
- Second generation Funny Car driver Daniel Wilkerson went from outside the show to the top half of the field with one parting shot frm his Summmit Racing Equipment Mustang, blasting to a last-ditch 4.09 that placed him sixth going into tomorrow's eliminations.
- Jerry Eckman and the rest of the Racers Edge crew were plenty excited about Rodger Brogdon's 6.637 that moved him into the top half of the field in the seventh qualifying position.
- In the final Funny Car qualifying session, Melanie Troxel went into instant tiresmoke, resulting in a spectacular explosion that lifted the body up off the car. Adding insult to injury, Cruz Pedregon, in the opposing lane, sailed to a 4.02 to retake the #1 qualifying position he held before Melanie assumed the point earlier today.
- As we've expected all week long per the weatherman's forecast, the cold front that's move in has brought some rain with it. We're currently under a delay as a light drizzle began to fall during the final qualifying session for Pro Stock Motorcycle.
- Brandon Bernstein recorded low ET of the fourth round of Top Fuel qualifying with a 3.862, and in the process, snuck into the top three, breaking up the Don Schumacher Racing grip on the top of the leaderboard. Bernstein is currently third going into this afternoon's final session.
- Bob Vandergriff, a former Top Fuel finalist here at Indy, has the C&J Energy Services dragster sitting 14th in the Top Fuel order with a 3.959 that a host of racers will be taking a shot at bettering in the final session.
- During today's fourth round of professional qualifying, the NHRA made a special presentation honoring Indiana native and Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden by officially naming the Lucas Oil Raceway quarter mile "Bob Glidden Way."
- Steve Kent is currently in the field in his first Pro Stock start at Indy with a 13th best 6.685 with one session remaining.
- Warren Johnson, who has six wins at the U.S. Nationals in eight final round appearances over the course of more than thirty years, finds himself 18th in the Pro Stock qualifying order going into the final session of qualifying with a 6.707 best.
- Melanie Troxel has made the Lucas Oil Raceway her personal stomping grounds during Sunday's final day of qualifying, first blasting to the top of the Funny Car order with a great 4.069 to a roar of applause from the crowd, then returning in the final qualifying session for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series and uncorked a 5.90 in a session that saw a lot of movers and shakers to grab away the #1 spot heading into eliminations.
- Spencer Massey currently sits third in the Top Fuel qualifying order in a Don Schumacher Racing trifecta at the top of the leaderboard with a 3.875 that trails teammates Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher.
- Tony Pedregon, with primary sponsorship this weekend from K-LOVE Radio Network, finds himself 14th in the Funny Car qualifying order going into Sunday's final two sessions with a 4.231-second best.
- Terry McMillen launched with the wheels up before roasting the hides in tonight's third qualifying session, forcing him to abort the run. However, a stellar 3.89 effort last night has the Amalie Oil team sitting in the top half of the field.
- Kurt Johnson, with backing from Total Seal on his Pontiac GTO this weekend, is looking for a strong showing at a race once dominated by his father Warren. With a 6.677 best thus far, Kurt finds himself 9th in the qualifying order.
- Eddie Krawiec had to corral his Harley Davidson back into the groove in this evening's qualifying session on his way to a 7.09 that didn't improve upon his earlier 7.00, leaving him 7th in the Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying order.
- Larry Morga entered the weekend just 32 points shy of a berth in the Countdown, needing to go two rounds further than ron Krisher in order to clinch the 10th and final spot. Morgan is currently qualified 16th in the strong field of 28 cars with a 6.699 to his credit.
- With one round of qualifying remaining for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge competitors, Burton Auxier is currently on the bubble with a 6.13 best from his nitrous-aided '68 Camaro.
- The Pro Modified qualifying order shifted quite a bit through the day on Saturday, but Khalid Balooshi, behind the wheel of his nitrous assisted ’68 Camaro, regained the top spot with a 5.98 second lap at 239 mph. Balooshi is leading Melanie Troxel, who posted a 5.99 second elapsed time with a booming mph of 248 mph. Rickie Jones slid from first after the second qualifier to the third position with a 6.032 second time. After a horrendous crash in Bristol, Tn. Rickie Smith proved he still has what it takes with a 6.037 second effort to qualify in the fourth position while Jay Payne’s supercharged entry leads the blower cars with a 6.05 second elapsed time that will put him fifth overall. Burton Auxier holds onto the bump entering the final qualifier tomorrow with a 6.13 second pass at 235 mph
- Antron brown grabbed the no. one seed in Top Fuel with a strong pass of 3.81 seconds at a blistering speed of 322 mph. Brown was very pleased with the car after the pass, “It was a dream to drive and the ET showed it.” Brown’s Don Schumacher Racing teammates Tony Schumacher and Spencer Massey joined him at the top of the list. Schumacher posted an elapsed time of 3.85 seconds while Massey posted a 3.875 second run. Capturing the fourth and fifth positions were Al-Anabi teammates of Del Worsham and Larry Dixon with times of 3.876 seconds and 3.88 seconds respectively. Keith Murt grabbed the 12th spot and will be the last driver to be able to hold his qualifying time heading into tomorrow’s final two qualifying passes with a 3.949 second elapsed time.
- Greg Anderson's performance today could be best summed up as truly crushing. In the heat of the day during the second session of qualifying, when others were struggling to get a handle on the racing surface, Anderson cranked off an unreal 6.64 to steal the pole, then came back in the evening session to deliver another blow gto the Pro Stock contingent with a class-leading 6.629. Anderson attributed his teams consistently fast race car to his team’s ability to adapt their tune up for the conditions presented, “We’ve really hit very close to the bulls eye on three runs in a row with the changing track conditions and we’re going to have a major change again tomorrow.” Jason Line, teammate to Anderson, took the second qualifying spot with a 6.64 second elapsed time. Louisiana resident, Erica Enders, qualified third with a 6.651 second run while Mike Edwards took the fourth with a 6.657 second pass. Ronnie Humphrey’s gave KB Racing a third car in the top five with a 6.60 second effort to wrap up the top five. Notable drivers outside looking in entering tomorrow’s final two qualifiers include Allen Johnson, Shane Gray and Larry Morgan, but with conditions looking to be their finest all weekend, it is very possible that no one will be safe entering the final day of qualifying.
- Matt Smith continues to hold the provisional top qualifier through the third qualifying session for Pro Stock Bike. Smith was unable to improve on his 6.954 second elapsed time at 190.97 second lap even though conditions this evening were more conducive to fast times, but the motor ended up hurt after making his strongest run to the 330 foot mark so far this weekend. Smith was happy with his performance so far though as he summed it up, “All and all we had a good day, we had something go wrong on my bike that pass, but my other two bikes are running good.” Smith is referring to his wife, Angie’s, bike and Michael Bay aboard a Matt Smith Racing Buell for this weekend; both are qualified in the top 12. Andrew Hines picked up the pace on his Harley V-Rod and continues to stay in second with a 6.06 at 191 mph. Chip Ellis and Hector Arana Jr. continue to fill the third and fourth place with a 6.972 and a 6.978, respectively. LE Tonglet moved up in the Saturday night session with a 6.991 second elapsed time to out qualify Michael Phillips by three thousandths of a second. Mike Berry is sitting on the 12th spot and will hold onto his 7.078, while Karen Stoffer, Steve Johnson and GT Tonglet hope to make runs good enough to qualify tomorrow as all of their times so far will be thrown away as they did not make the top 12.
- The Pro Modified qualifying order shifted quite a bit through the day on Saturday, but Khalid Balooshi, behind the wheel of his nitrous assisted ’68 Camaro, regained the top spot with a 5.98 second lap at 239 mph. Balooshi is leading Melanie Troxel, who posted a 5.99 second elapsed time with a booming mph of 248 mph. Rickie Jones slid from first after the second qualifier to the third position with a 6.032 second time. After a horrendous crash in Bristol, Tn. Rickie Smith proved he still has what it takes with a 6.037 second effort to qualify in the fourth position while Jay Payne’s supercharged entry leads the blower cars with a 6.05 second elapsed time that will put him fifth overall. Burton Auxier holds onto the bump entering the final qualifier tomorrow with a 6.13 second pass at 235 mph
- Famed driver and car owner Darrell Gwynn, along with the legendary "Big Daddy" Don Garlits are here at Indy battling it out in a pair of replica elecric dragsters as part of the Garlits vs. Gwynn: Match Race For A Cause that raises funds for the Darrell Gwynn Foundation and the Museum of Drag Racing.
- It is a rare opportunity these days for Greg Anderson to have an opportunity to stun the crowd, but he did just that in round two of Pro Stock qualifying today. Anderson and his KB Racing teammate Jason line entered the round at the top of the order with identical 6.650 second elapsed time and would finish up the round side by side. Few drivers who made representative runs for their team made any significant pick ups, when Greg Anderson made the fastest pass of the round by over two hundredths of a second to improve his qualifying effort to a 6.647 second elapsed time to give him the low elapsed time of the weekend.
- Dennis Radford is the image of consistency in the Get Screened Pro Modified Series pits after running a 6.140 in the opening qualifying sessions held last night, he backed it up with a 6.144 second elapsed time pass in the second qualifying session held this afternoon. Radford’s efforts thus far will be enough to qualify him in the 11th spot. Major movers in the second qualifying round include now no. 1 qualifier Rickie Jones who opened the qualifying session with a 6.03 second lap and Eric Dillard, in his Pro Modified debut, who captured the third qualifying position with a 6.06 second pass.
- The Get Screened Pro Mod Series had just sent a few pairs of cars down the track in their second round of qualifying when Chip King and Matt Smith lined up to go down the track. Smith made a clean pass down the right lane while King was not so fortunate. King’s ’69 Daytona looked to be on a clean pass when smoke began pouring from underneath the hood of the turbocharged entry. As there was fluid coming out from underneath the car, King struggled for control to slow the car down as the rear end wagged right, then left, then finally and uncontrollably to the right again and crossed the centerline on two wheels and crashed into the right guardrail and spun around finally facing backwards on the track. King exited the car and appeared to be alright. Action on the track has taken a break as track officials clean up the remnants of the accident.
- Proline Race Engines' Eric Dillard is making his much-anticipated Pro Modified debut this weekend in a trick new Ford Mustang entry from the R2B2 camp, and is currently outside the field in the 19th position with three sessions remaining before Sunday's opening round of eliminations.
- John Force, much like every stop on the NHRA tour, has a legion of fans swarming his pit area awaiting the chance for an autograph from the reigning and 15-time champion.
- Hot Rod Fuller, here flying the colors of DiGiorno Pizza on his Abu Dhabi Top Fuel Dragster, currently sits 10th in the qualifying order after the first of feve qualifying sessions with a 3.98. With temperatures nearing 100 degrees once again today and a cold front on the way Sunday, the order is expected to shuffle significantly before the field is set.
- Indiana's own, Billy and Shannon Glidden, are here at Indy during a weekend off from their own racing schedule to help turn wrenches on Matt Smith's '68 Camaro.
- Mike Janis is keeping his new injector under wraps quite literally when it is off of the track. The team debuted the new hat on the track yesterday with zero test laps on track, and with only in shop flow numbers to work from. The team put a safe fuel tune up in the car in an attempt to keep from burning up the motor and still qualified in the second behind Khalid Al-Balooshi with a 6.08 second pass at 237 mph. Janis said, “It is showing a lot of potential right now and we’re pretty happy with it.”
- Tony Bartone has again found himself at the top of the heap so far after two qualifying rounds in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class with a 5.676 second pass at 259 mph. Frank Manzo is holding down the second position just four thousandths of a second behind. John Lombardo slid into third with a 5.720 second pass and Jay Payne qualified his FireIce Mustang in the fourth position with a 5.728 second elapsed time.
- Hector Arana Jr., making his first start at Indy, not far from his home in Milltown, Ind., is currently qualified fifth with a 7.00 from his Lucas Oil Buell.
- Angie Smith recorded a 7.14 in the opening round of qualifying that placed her on the provisional bubble in 12th in Pro Stock Motorcycle. The soaring heat and humidity, combined with the black leathers took it's toll on Smith following here run. “It was really bad on me, first round,” she said. “I came back (to the pits) and actually passed out because I got so hot. I was seeing dots and everything, but (my crew) got me really cooled off. I just have to stay really hydrated because it’s so hot here. We’re going to have a good day tomorrow.” Husband Matt Smith, meanwhile, charged to the top of the pack aboard his Buell with a 6.95 effort at 190 mph.
- After completing two rounds of qualifying the Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying sheet had a pair of very familiar names to the class at the top of the order, Bill Reichart and Marty Thacker. Reichart’s injected nitro methane burning dragster qualified on the top spot with a 5.39 second pass at 266 mph. Utilizing a blown methanol motor to power his Spitzer built chassis, Marty Thacker, took the second qualifying position out of 18 cars in the TAD category with a 5.44 second lap at 262 mph. There are 18 cars attempting to qualify for the TAD class with Michael Manners sitting on the bump spot with a 6.48 second elapsed time.
- Morgan Lucas first round of qualifying as a driver/tuner has gone well after capturing the second position in Top Fuel with a 3.891 second pass.
- Larry Dixon found himself at the top of the qualifying list at the end of Top Fuel qualifying with a strong pass of 3.883 seconds at 315 mph. Dixons admitted after the run, “That run probably won’t stick for the pole; might even get you qualified, but for today, we did well.” Morgan Lucas ended up in the second qualifying position with a 3.981. Terry McMillen and Tony Schumacher qualified with identical 3.893 second elapsed time efforts, but McMillen had the higher mph to take the spot. Antron Brown rounded out the top five just thirteen thousandths of a second behind the top qualifier, Dixon. Del Worsham was given no time after being credited with an oil down near the shut down of the track negating his 3.898 that would have qualified him solidly in the field in the sixth spot.
- The NAPA sponsored Don Schumacher Racing team of Ron Capps bested 17 of their competitors with a 4.14 second run in qualifying to hold the provisions second position going into Saturday's qualifying.
- Cruz Pedregon clawed his way to the top spot in Funny Car competition behind the wheel of his Toyota Solara with a 4.14 second elapsed time at 300 mph. Pedregon was happy with the run, but knows he will have to step it up to stay on the top, “It’s a good way to open up the weekend, but by no means will this stay number one.” Ron Caps took his Napa Auto Parts Dodge Charger to the second position with a 4.16 second trip down the track. Johnny Gray took the third position with a 4.192 second lap to push Robert Hight’s 4.196 second run to the fourth position. Matt Hagan captured the fifth qualified spot with a 4.21 second effort. Mike Neff rounds out the top 12 with a 4.74 second pass. After the first round, Bob Tasca III, Jack Beckman and John Force are among the notable non-qualifiers.
- Young gun Vincent Nobile found his stride in qualifying at Indy with a strong effort of 6.67 second in very challengine conditions for the naturally aspirated Pro Stock eliminator.
- Round one of Pro Stock did not leave much room for surprises in the top five as Greg Anderson (Far Lane) and his Summit Racing GXP currently sit on the top spot with a 6.650 at 208.04 mph. In the opposite lane of that very pass Anderson’s teammate, Jason Line, is qualified second with an identical elapsed time, but at just 207.62 mph giving Anderson the top spot. After the pass Anderson joked, “It’s hot out there it feels like we’re racing on the sun.” Mike Edwards is currently qualified in the third position qualified just seven-thousandths of a second slower than Anderson and Line with an identical speed to Anderson of 208.04 mph. In the fourth line in the qualifying order it is Vincent Nobile with a 6.67 second effort and V. Gaines holding onto the fifth position. With 12 cars currently qualified it’s Mark Martino in the twelfth position with a 6.73 second pass and a total of 26 cars attempting to make it into the show. Notable drivers outside looking in as of now include Warren and Kurt Johnson, Ron Krisher and Roger Brogdon.
- Rickie Smith's 2012 Camaro made it's maiden voyage in competition a 6.24 second run at 195 mph. The car initially drifted out of the groove before Smith reeled it back in, but eventually it drifted again and Rickie was forced to lift.
- After first round qualifying in the Get Screened Pro Modified Series it is Qatar native Khalid Balooshi sitting on the top spot with his nitrous aided ’68 Camaro with a 6.05 second pass. Balooshi topped Mike Janis’ 6.081 at 237 mph to sit on the provisional pole position through Friday night. Janis’ Mustang was sporting a new injector hat on its second place qualifying run (pictured above). Danny Rowe qualified his supercharged entry in third, just three thousandths of a second out of the second spot. Nitrous entries take the next six positions qualifying between Mike Castellana’s 6.09 and the 6.24 second pass of Rickie Smith behind the wheel of his new Jerry Bickel Race Cars built 2011 Camaro. The turbo contingent is currently best represented by Steve Matusek, currently qualified 12th with a 6.57-second effort at 233 mph. There were a total of 26 entries that took their shot at the hot and slick track at Lucas Oil Raceway on Friday night with Troy Coughlin currently qualified 16th with a 7.31 second effort.
- As many had expected following qualifying, the final round of the Mopar Hemi Shootout, as Charlie Westcott Jr. andf Sr. faced off in their WarFish '68 Barracuda's. The elder Westcott got a great advantage out of the gate, .010 to .103, but his 8.54 couldn't fend off Jr.'s 8.44 0- low ET of eliminations.
- Two time event champion Vincent Nobile is excited to come into Indy with a season that he called, “great so far” under his belt. Nobile has collected two wins so far this season after defeating Roger Brogdon at Royal Purple Raceway and Larry Morgan at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Oh. The young driver plans to act as if this race is the same as any other in an attempt to keep his nerves even. Nobile will take the hot conditions that the competitors have been greeted with so far in Indianapolis and hopes that it will level the playing field. Nobile is looking forward to Monday, “You’ll definitely see some big numbers on Monday and hopefully I’ll post one of those fast numbers.”
- TJ Zizzo is hoping that unseasonably hot conditions at Lucas Oil Raceway will help his effort at least through qualifying for the 57th running of the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. “If it was very hot all weekend long it would help us, we can run down a dirt road,” said Zizzo. It doesn’t appear that Zizzo’s luck with the weather will hold though as the conditions in Indianapolis will turn 180 degrees by Monday morning’s eliminations from the near 100° F temperatures facing competitors today to a high of just 74° F on Monday. Zizzo is expecting a great show for the fans on Monday with the return of cool temperatures, “I’ll say it will be one of the best U.S. Nationals on Monday, and it will take some luck to win, but I think it’s better to be lucky than good.”
- Grace Howell is making her Pro Stock debut at arguably the most prestigious race on the NHRA Full Throttle tour. A veteran in the sportsman ranks, Howell, will not be competing for her first Indy win. Howell took a Ford Cobra Jet Mustang to the winner’s circle for a class win in AA/SA last year. “When we won class here, we thought that was the end all, now I’m here in Pro Stock,” said Howell. Jim Cunningham and team have been working together to continue to improve the Pro Stock Mustang and finding significant improvements in both the chassis set up and in horsepower gains in the motor. Howell had a significant learning curve getting ready for the step up to pro stock as her quickest passes before stepping up were in the 8-second range in her Super Stock car, but she has had some time to get accustomed to her new office, “It’s a big jump but I’m excited to be here and with 75 runs behind my belt and now we’re ready to race.”
- In an interestig ocurrence, Jim Pancake had performed his burnout and was making his way toward the staging beams his crew and officials realized he didn't have his helmet on or even in the car. With that taken care of, Pancake advanced on the oh-so-close -0.001 red light from opponent Mark Howes.
- Charlie Westcott Sr. recorded a nice 8.67 in the second of the Mopar Hemi Shootout, but didn't need it after opponent Stephen Hebert fouled away his chances.
- Pennsylvanian David Barton pulled off perhaps the upset of the round, as the higher qualified Jim Daniels spun the tires right at the hit, allowing Barton to cruise to an 8.87 victory in his bid for his first Mopar Hemi Challenge title.
- #3 qualifer Tyler Hard threw away one of the quickest runs of the opening round, an 8.57, with a -.004 red light, handing the upset victory to a slowing Mark Howes.
- Top qualifier Charlie Westcott Jr. recieved a gift in the opening round of the Mopar Hemi Shootout from Steven Kent, who pulled the trigger just .004 too quick. Westcott recorded low ET of the round at 8.539.
- Activity is just beginning in Nitro Alley here at Lucas Oil Raceway. A member of Jim Head's crew is seen getting ready to push the Funny Car chassis into their pits.
- Scott Palmer and crew are busy at work in the pits thanks to a continued relationship with Farmers Insurance Group. "We're excited to keep Farmer's Insurance on the car and we are also working on a few motor upgrades to really step up our on track performance," admitted an obviously excited Palmer in his pits.
- The hundreds of racers and thousands of fans here at Indianapolis are weather some rather un-Indy-like temperatures thus far this week, with the mercury soaring to nearly triple digits today and on Saturday.
- Arnie Martel's stunning new SS/BM '12 Camaro has been the talk of the pits so far this weekebnd, but unfortunately, he'll have to wait until Sunday for his next shot at the famed Lucas Oil Raceway quarter mile, as he dropped the first round of class to Larry Cummings' Moser Engineering Cavalier.
- Multi-time world champions Anthony Bertozzi hangs the hoops in a first round, red-light loss to Michael Lyons in SS/AS class eliminations.
- What goes up, must come down, as Super Stock competitor Allen Wade illustrated in the opening round of SS/DA class eliminations this morning, where he fell to David Turner, 9.40 to 9.47. For sportsman racing coverage throoughout the weekend, visit the "Sportsman Coverage" in the dropdown list at the top of our coverage.
- Brett Candies drve his beautiful Cobra Jet to an win in the opening round of SS/EA class eliminatons this morning, downing fellow Cobra Jet runner Brent Hajek, who turned on the red bulb.
- If there was not enough pressure from racing at the prestigious U.S. Nationals, it is not uncommon to be racing with some very major names watching you make your run. Jeg Coughlin is seen here spectating this morning's on track festivities.
- Racing is underway at Lucas Oil Raceway for Friday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. The staging lanes have been packed all morning as you can see Super Gas cars filling the lanes to start off this morning's action.
- Maple Grove, Minnesota's "Dyno
- Unfortunately, this is about as far as Lloyd Wofford's stunning SS/AH '68 Barracuda is going to get this weekend. Wofford encountered valvetrain breakage while testing in Bowling Green on Monday and without time needed to make repairs, will reluctantly be a spectator when the Mopar Hemi Shootout rolls under the bridge Friday morning.
- Jirka Kaplan, who made the first and only five-second pass in Competition Eliminator history earlier this season At Canada's Mission Raceway, traveled some 1,700 miles from his home in Calgary to attend the U.S. Nationals, and currently sits atop the field with a 6.433, -0.617 under the 7.05 AA/AM index.
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