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by Phil Burgess, National DRAGSTER Editor

Antron Brown, Ashley Force Hood, and Mike Edwards are the low qualifiers after the first day of qualifying at the 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

With air temperatures pushing 90 degrees and track temperatures during the first nitro session at about 126, a lot of teams struggled. The temperatures for the second session dropped about 10 degrees, and with the track shaded by the grandstands, teams had an easier time getting a handle on things. The event is the sixth of 23 in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule, and race teams had just a few days to hightail it from Houston, site of last weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals, to Las Vegas for the second of the season’s back-to-back race weekends. Teams first went back to back at the season opener in Pomona in early February and the next event in Phoenix.

Brown grabbed the top spot on Top Fuel in the middle of the second session with a strong 3.88 from his Matco Tools dragster which held off all other challengers including Houston champ Larry Dixon’s 3.894 on the final pass of the day. Brown was the No. 1 qualifier in Gainesville, No. 3 in Charlotte, and No. 2 last weekend in Las Vegas. Brown has 22 career low qualifiers from his competition in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Doug Kalitta, a three-time runner-up already this season, sits third behind Brown and Dixon’s Al-Anabi dragster while points leader Cory McClenathan’s Fram dragster is fourth at 3.912  312.57. World champ Tony Schumacher’s U.S. Army machine is fifth at 3.942. Morgan Lucas (3.980), Brandon Bernstein (4.000), Mike Strasburg (4.039) round out the day’s top eight.

Steve Chrisman’s 4.149 denotes the No. 12 spot, the final e.t. that will transfer into Saturday’s two final qualifying sessions. Sixteen Top Fuelers made passes Friday.

Force Hood, whose Castrol GTX Mustang led the first session with a 4.236, had been bumped to sixth by the time she ran at the end of the second session, but had no problem regaining the lead with a 4.195. Force Hood, the No. 2 qualifier in Houston, is seeking her first No.1 qualifying position of the season and the 10th of her career.

Force Hood’s pass bumped Houston winner Matt Hagan’s Die Hard Dodge from the top spot, which he had grabbed with a 4.217 that held on for second. Veteran privateer Gary Densham is the surprise No. 3 qualifier with a 4.220 in just his third appearance of the season. Ron Capps and the NAPA Auto Parts Charger sits fourth at 4.221 just ahead of world champion Robert Hight’s Auto Club Mustang sits at 4.223 and Del Worsham and the Al-Anabi Toyota at 4.235. Bob Bode (4.238) and Melanie Troxel (4.250) round out the top eight

Tony Pedregon sits in the No. 12 spot with a 4.301 and with 18 cars on the grounds, there will be a battle for the top 16 spots. Among those not yet qualifier are Cruz Pedregon, Houston runner-up Jeff Arend, and Phoenix champ Jack Beckman.

Edwards, whose streak of 12 consecutive No. 1 qualifying berths was broken two events ago in Charlotte, seems intent on starting another long run of pole positions as last weekend; qualifying ladder in Houston is back atop the pack halfway through qualifying in Las Vegas with his Penhall/K&N/Interstate Pontiac. After a down-low wiggle cost him in the first session, Edwards took advantage of the better conditions and zoomed from fifth to first with a 6.706 in the afternoon session to take the lead.

“We didn’t do a very good job the first run, that’s for sure,” said Edwards. “We did a better job with the adjustments tonight, and it really paid off. We had some issues with the motor — we changed motors between runs — but we didn’t do very good on the starting line either, so hats off to my guys because they really, really did a good job tonight. We didn’t have much to go off of because of the run the first run, but we made a lot of good changes and a lot of good adjustments and made a nice run.

“I’m not sure. We run at, I think, 11:30 in tomorrow morning, so that will probably be our best session. I look for things to change around, so you’re going to have to come out and try to make the best run that you can.”

Edwards engine customer Ron Krisher, whose Valvoline Cobalt led the first session with a 6.716, dropped to second after he wasn’t able to improve on that number while Houston runner-up Allen Johnson made it three different makes atop the pack when he powered his Mopar Dodge to a 6.732, also in the first session. Event sponsor Greg Anderson’s Summit Racing Pontiac is fourth at 6.737 and Rodger Brogdon’s The Racers Edge Pontiac is fifth at 6.746. Johnny Gray (6.761, 204.60), V. Gaines (6.761, 204.11), and Houston champ Jeg Coughlin (6.762) round out the top eight.

Shane Gray’s Tire Kingdom GXP holds down the 12th and final transfer spot to Saturday qualifying with a 6.773. Thirteen drivers – including perennial qualifiers Rickie Jones, Greg Stanfield, Warren Johnson, and Kurt Johnson — will be trying to make the cut in Saturday’s final two sessions.

Top Fuel-
Psn  Driver               Vehicle                            ET   Speed
   1. Antron Brown         Matco Tools Dragster            3.881  316.60
   2. Larry Dixon          Al-Anabi Racing Dragster        3.894  314.24
   3. Doug Kalitta         Kalitta Air Dragster            3.909  315.56
   4. Cory McClenathan     Fram Tough Guard Dragster       3.912  312.57
   5. Tony Schumacher      U.S. Army Dragster              3.942  308.07
   6. Morgan Lucas         Geico Powersport/ Lucas Oil Dr  3.980  303.50
   7. Brandon Bernstein    Copart/Lucas Oil Dragster       4.000  306.19
   8. Mike Strasburg       B & J Transmissions Dragster    4.039  306.19
   9. Shawn Langdon        Lucas Oil/Speedco Dragster      4.083  297.29
  10. Terry McMillen       Amalie Oil Dragster             4.088  284.03
  11. David Grubnic        Kalitta Motorsports Dragster    4.105  294.24
  12. Steven Chrisman      Chrisman Driveline Dragster     4.149  283.61
          --------- Not Qualified ---------
  13. Steve Faria          System One Filtration Dragster  5.090  147.41
  14. Rob Passey           MSP Motorsports/Mattinson Race  7.001   95.92
  15. Troy Buff            Bill Miller Racing/Okuma Drags  8.879   56.53
  16. Steve Torrence       Simple Mobile Dragster          8.960   80.94

Funny Car-

 Psn  Driver               Vehicle                            ET   Speed
   1. Ashley Force Hood    Castrol GTX Mustang             4.195  295.14
   2. Matt Hagan           DieHard Charger                 4.217  297.16
   3. Gary Densham         NealInvestments/LawsonRock&Oil  4.220  295.92
   4. Ron Capps            NAPA Auto Parts Charger         4.221  291.70
   5. Robert Hight         AAA of So. Cal Mustang          4.223  300.00
   6. Del Worsham          Al-Anabi Racing Solara          4.235  292.90
   7. Bob Bode             Alard Machine Products Impala   4.238  297.22
   8. Melanie Troxel       In-N-Out Burger Charger         4.250  302.28
   9. Tim Wilkerson        Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang       4.255  292.90
  10. John Force           Castrol GTX Mustang             4.263  297.94
  11. Bob Tasca III        Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang   4.290  293.66
  12. Tony Pedregon        Herzog Impala                   4.301  270.86
          --------- Not Qualified ---------
  13. Paul Lee             Jim Dunn/Canidae/Lucas Oil Imp  4.302  293.22
  14. Cruz Pedregon        Snap-On Solara                  4.371  235.64
  15. Jeff Arend           DHL Solara                      4.568  248.57
  16. Jeff Diehl           Rimz One Monte Carlo            4.746  186.95
  17. Jim Head             Head Racing Solara              5.289  143.51
  18. Jack Beckman         Valvoline/MTS Charger           7.194   93.98

Pro Stock-

 Psn  Driver               Vehicle                            ET   Speed
   1. Mike Edwards         Penhall/K&N/Interstae GXP       6.706  205.47
   2. Ron Krisher          Valvoline Cobalt                6.716  205.38
   3. Allen Johnson        Mopar/J & J Racing Avenger      6.732  204.88
   4. Greg Anderson        Summit Racing Equipment GXP     6.737  204.51
   5. Rodger Brogdon       Kent Services & Trucking GXP    6.746  205.13
   6. Johnny Gray          NTB GXP                         6.761  204.60
   7. V. Gaines            Kendall Oil Avenger             6.761  204.11
   8. Jeg Coughlin         Jegs.com Cobalt                 6.762  205.38
   9. Vinnie Deceglie      Mountain View Tire Avenger      6.762  204.32
  10. Jason Line           Summit Racing Equipment GXP     6.764  204.82
  11. Ronnie Humphrey      Pro Stock Grills/THM GXP        6.766  204.70
  12. Shane Gray           Tire Kingdom GXP                6.773  204.26
          --------- Not Qualified ---------
  13. Rickie Jones         Elite GXP                       6.790  202.91
  14. Greg Stanfield       Nitrofish GXP                   6.793  204.01
  15. Warren Johnson       K&N Filters GXP                 6.796  203.22
  16. Bob Yonke            Adrenaline Motorsports GXP      6.798  204.11
  17. Steve Spiess         Billet Specialties Cobalt       6.798  203.09
  18. Kurt Johnson         Mark Christopher Cobalt         6.804  203.19
  19. Justin Humphreys     RaceRedi Motorsports GXP        6.810  202.85
  20. Larry Morgan         Lucas Oil/Summit Mustang        6.811  203.03
  21. Erica Enders         Mustang                         6.812  203.49
  22. Danny Gruninger      www.usrecognition.com Stratus   6.815  202.70
  23. Jim Cunningham       Cunningham Motorsports Mustang  6.865  202.79
  24. Gordie Rivera        Gordies Speed Center GXP        6.903  191.27
  25. John Nobile          Nobile Racing Mustang          13.549   62.29