Top Fuel driver Del Worsham nosed out Al-Anabi teammate Larry Dixon by four thousandths of a second to win the Second annual VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway Sunday.

The other winners at the fourth of 22 races in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season were Jack Beckman (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock).

Worsham gave up four thousandths to Dixon at the starting line (.064 to .068), but he was eighth-thousandths quicker than Dixon (3.813 at 3.821) on the track for a net win-margin of .0048, or about half a foot.

“I told (team manager) Alan (Johnson) it would be only a matter of inches … and it was,” said Worsham, who won for the second time this season and opened up a 77-point lead over Dixon in the Top Fuel point standings.

The Funny Car final was also a close finish with Beckman (4.120, 309.63) crossing the stripe in his Aaron’s Dodge Charger just in front of Bob Tasca’s Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang (4.137, 311.05) for his first win this year and 10th of his career.

In Pro Stock, four-time and defending Series champion Anderson, from nearby Mooresville, N.C., chased down runner-up Greg Stanfield (6.559, 211.10) right at the stripe with a 6.556-second pass at 211.39 mph to win (by .005) for the first time this year.

“I love this race track and the best part of it is it’s home for me. Just a great, great day. I’m a very happy person,” said Anderson, who extended his NHRA-best streak of consecutive seasons with at least one win to 11.

Also of note for Anderson, who drives the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP, this was his 66th career win, pulling him within one of Tony Schumacher (67) for fifth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list and within three of Kenny Bernstein (69) for fourth place.

Saturday

Top Fuel

In Top Fuel, Del Worsham assumed the top spot with a track-record 3.780-second pass at 325.77 mph in the Al-Anabi dragster. It was his first career No. 1 in Top Fuel and the sixth of his career (the other five coming in a Funny Car).

“Definitely feels good. What a great run,” Worsham said. “Alan Johnson and (crew chief) Brian (Husen) did magic on the car and I’m just lucky to be driving it.”
Worsham will open in a quad with Morgan Lucas, Dave Grubnic and Antron Brown.

Funny Car

John Force inched closer to the one major NHRA record that eludes him when he collected his 136th career No. 1 qualifier Saturday at the VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Force, the 15-time and defending NHRA Full Throttle Series champion, moved around teammate Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford team with his 4.056-second pass at 315.19 mph in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. He now is just two shy of Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson, who has amassed an NHRA-record 138 career No. 1 qualifiers. “You always go after records, you don’t think about them on raceday, but if I can get it – if I can tie him, if I can catch him … – but just to be in the running with him … any time you can put yourself in a category with these guys, you’re doing your job,” Force said.

Force will be matched up in the opening round of Sunday’s eliminations with Dale Creasy, who qualified 16th, and Nos. 8 and 9 qualifiers Ron Capps and Jim Head. The top two from each of the four first-round quads will advance to the semifinals.

Friday leader Robert Hight’s 4.062 from the Friday evening session was good enough for the second spot in the qualifying order, while Pedregon and Neff remained in their Friday order. Part-time competitor Dale Creasy Jr., who made his first NHRA appearance of the season this weekend, anchored the field with his 4.279 at 282.60 mph.

Pro Stock

In Pro Stock, Jason Line, from nearby Mooresville, N.C., moved around teammate and overnight polesitter Greg Anderson on the final pass of the final qualifying session with a 6.562-second pass at 210.97 mph in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP.

“It’s very cool to be on the pole here (at zMAX Dragway), this Summit car is bad to the bone right now,” said Line, who recorded his 18th career No. 1 qualifier and first since the NHRA last raced in Concord in September, 2010.

Line will open in a quad with No. 8 qualifier Ron Krisher, No. 9 Dave Connolly and No. 16 Shane Gray.
With the fields set, the VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Four-Wide Nationals will begin at Noon Sunday.

Anderson closed out qualifying second with his 6.566 from Friday, while Mike Edwards, Rodger Brogdon, and Vincent Nobile rounded out the top five heading into eliminations.

Friday

Top Fuel

In Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta earned the provisional top spot with a 3.814-second pass at a track-record 325.45 mph.

“Real relieved there after that run,” said Kalitta, who made a marked improvement from his 3.910 Q1 pass in the Kalitta Air dragster. “Dixon (3.824) and some of the other cars on that first run really put down a good number. I went back and talked to my crew chief, Jim O(berhofer) and was wondering if he could step this thing up so we could run with those guys and he did a great job.”

Kalitta leads Al-Anabi teammates Larry Dixon and Del Worsham who ran 3.824 and 3.383 respectively, while Brandon Bernstein and Tony Schumacher rounded out the top five.

Funny Car

Funny Car points leader Robert Hight continued his torrid start to the 2011 season by earning the provisional No. 1 qualifying position at the VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Hight, the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Series champion, has won two of the first three races this season and he sits atop the Funny Car qualifying order with his 4.062-second pass at 313.07 mph in his Auto Club Ford Mustang.

“When you race aggressive like Jimmy Prock does, why back off,” Hight said. “That’s why we have a lot of No. 1 qualifiers. That’s why we’re No. 1 in points.”

If it holds, it would be Hight’s 39th No. 1 qualifer in just his 143rd career race, placing only six shy of Top 10 status on NHRA’s all-time list of No. 1 qualifiers (No. 10 on the list right now is Angelle Sampey with 45).

Cruz Pedregon continued his strong showing in qualifying with a stellar 4.062 for second heading into the clubhouse, while Hight’s teammates Mike Neff and John Force trailed with clockings of 4.094 and 4.108, respectively.

Pro Stock

In Pro Stock, four-time and defending champion Greg Anderson, from nearby Mooresville, N.C., earned the provisional No. 1 with a 6.566-second pass at 210.37 mph in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP.

“You can’t be too conservative with one of these cars as close as this class is. You’ve got to go for it pretty much every time out there,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s teammate Jason Line added to the strong showing in front of the hometown crowd on the opening day of qualifying, leading a KB Racing 1-2 charge with a second-quick effort of 6.576 seconds at 210.77 mph.