by Phil Burgess, National DRAGSTER Editor

Three-time Winternationals champ Larry Dixon grabbed the reins in Top Fuel at the 50th annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona while reigning season champs Robert Hight and Mike Edwards held onto their Thursday leads in Funny Car and Pro Stock, respectively.

With two qualifying sessions and two days now in the books at the 2010 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season opener, the nostalgia-filled event reached its halfway point. Two qualifying sessions remain Saturday to set the fields for Sunday’s final eliminations. The golden anniversary event is also highlighted by a display of nostalgic race cars from the event’s long history and exhibition runs, Cacklefests, and autograph sessions with the sport’s heroes that will take place throughout the weekend.
Larry Dixon

Dixon, who didn’t even make the field due to last year’s rain-shortened qualifying, got well in a hurry after losing traction on his Thursday pass, powering the Jason McCulloch-tuned Al-Anabi/Alan Johnson dragster to a 3.795 at 317.79 to take the No. 1 spot halfway through qualifying. If he holds onto the top position, it will be the 41st of his career.

“Before the weekend started, Alan [Johnson, crew chief] said, ‘Every race this year, we just need to do a little bit better,’ and I said, ‘Well, we’ve got a pretty big cushion to work with. We just need 11 points at this event to be able to do better than we did last year,’ ” said Dixon. “That was a nice run there and it will stay in the show, so we’re going to race this year at the 50th Winternationals, so I’m thrilled about that. It was a nice, clean, straight run, not a lot to talk about. It was just nice.

“Yesterday we ran into the night — the sun was gone and the track temperatures were a lot cooler — so today is probably more realistic of what we will see through the weekend. You have a little different grip. For us, it stuck, so it was nice that Alan and Jason both made the necessary adjustments needed to get the car down the racetrack. So far, so good. Hopefully, we can keep running good for the rest of the weekend.”

Morgan Lucas also got healthy quickly with the GEICO Powersports car, running 3.823 after an eight-second pass Thursday to move into the No. 3 spot behind Dixon and Thursday leader Cory McClenathan, who smoked the tires and couldn’t improve on his earlier 3.809. Lucas’ pass was the second quickest of the round. The third quickest belonged to reigning season champ Tony Schumacher, who marched the Army dragster to a 3.835 for the No. 4 spot.

Behind the top four are Shawn Langdon, who slipped from Thursday’s second-place ranking after failing to better his 3.847, and Dave Grubnic, whose 3.854 was the round’s fourth best and a step up from his earlier 3.954.

Troy Buff, who sat a lofty fourth yesterday, fell all the way to 12th with his Thursday 3.950 to hold the final transfer spot heading into Saturday’s final qualifying.

Funny Car

Funny Car qualifying was an interesting endeavor as after John Force’s stout 4.066 in the round’s second pair moved him to the No. 3 spot, everyone else struggled, with the majority being unable to make it all the way down the track under power, leaving Robert Hight’s 4.059 in his Auto Club of Southern California Mustang and Del Worsham’s 4.062 in the Al-Anabi/Alan Johnson Toyota in the top two positions.

“It’s just exciting always to be back, and we’ve worked real hard over the winter,” said Force. “We weren’t able to get a lot of testing done. Mike Neff coming over to our team with the loss of our fourth car, I’m excited that [ Austin] Coil, him, and Bernie [Fedderly] are working together. Coil’s loving it, having a young kid with a lot of energy to run around. Neff said, ‘That’s where I came from, tuning, and that’s where I really wanted to be,’ so no problems there. Robert ran low last night with John Medlen over there helping Jimmy Prock and Eric Lane, so we’ve got good rounded deal. We’re just excited about it. I’ve still got some life in me.

“I never realized how overloaded I was, running between cars. When you take away a car, it just takes a whole chunk of the load off of you. It’s just amazing that I can focus on my car. I’m still running around crazy, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

Ron Capps’ 4.167 in the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge was the round’s next best time, but it was a run that left him just ninth in the field. Former world champ Tony Pedregon has the 12th position with his 4.189 in his Nitro Fish Chevy, which was the session’s third-best time.

Ashley Force Hood is fourth, just behind her dad, with her Thursday 4.09 and is followed on the grid by Don Schumacher Racing teammates Jack Beckman (4.101) and Matt Hagan (4.109). Nineteen Funny Cars have made runs so far at the event.

Pro Stock

Edwards not only maintained his traditional position atop the Pro Stock field, but the reigning NHRA Full Throttle champ also had the session’s best pass, a 6.599, from his Penhall/Interstate/K&N Pontiac. If he remains in the top spot, which he now holds with his Thursday 6.580, it will be his 10th straight No. 1, dating back to the middle of last season.

“These things are aspirated so they breathe what conditions are outside, so any time the temperature goes up, we slow down just a tick,” said Edwards. “Tomorrow morning could possibly be a good pretty run, but the hotter it gets it definitely affects the engine. So you’ve just got to make the adjustments and try to race the track and try to get all you can get. The conditions, by all means, could get worse if the temperature keeps rising.”

Ohioans Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Ron Krisher remained Nos. 2 and 3 with their Thursday passes of 6.591 and 6.595 as few drivers were able to improve on their times from Thursday’s cooler session. Rodger Brogdon remained fourth and Allen Johnson’s Dodge fifth.

Two drivers who did improve were championship favorites and Summit Racing teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line. Anderson, who struggled to a 13.51 pass Friday, was the quickest of those outside yesterday’s top 16 after clocking a 6.623 in his Summit Pontiac which boosted him to 8th. Line, who ran just 7.23 Friday, also improved substantially with a 6.640. Anderson’s pass was the fourth quickest of the session.

Their unofficial teammate, Ronnie Humphrey, holds down the No. 12 spot, the last that will transfer into Saturday’s qualifying, after posting a 6.644 in his ProStockGrills.com Pontiac. Big names outside the top 12 include Warren and Kurt Johnson, Larry Morgan, Johnny Gray, and Rickie Jones. Twenty-three Pro Stockers have made passes to date this weekend.

Official Round 2 Qualifying Results

POMONA, Calif. — Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 50th annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, first of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel
1. Larry Dixon, 3.795 seconds, 317.79 mph
2. Cory McClenathan, 3.809, 320.05
3. Morgan Lucas, 3.823, 316.90
4. Tony Schumacher, 3.835, 317.57
5. Shawn Langdon, 3.847, 309.98
6. David Grubnic, 3.854, 319.60
7. Antron Brown, 3.869, 313.73
8. Doug Kalitta, 3.876, 313.44
9. Thomas Nataas, 3.880, 306.33
10. Brandon Bernstein, 3.899, 310.98
11. Steve Torrence, 3.929, 305.42
12. Troy Buff, 3.950, 286.01.

Not Qualified
13. Chris Karamesines, 3.997, 308.00
14. Steven Chrisman, 4.239, 267.43
15. Andy Carter, 4.260, 218.34
16. Mike Strasburg, 7.622, 91.96
17. Terry McMillen, 8.674, 84.24.

Funny Car
1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.059, 312.86
2. Del Worsham, Toyota Solara, 4.062, 312.35
3. John Force, Mustang, 4.066, 310.41
4. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.093, 310.70
5. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charge, 4.101, 310.91
6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.109, 305.01
7. Jim Head, Solara, 4.166, 304.74
8. Gary Densham, Chevy Impala, 4.167, 293.60
9. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.167, 289.76
10. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.182, 294.43
11. Bob Bode, Chevy Impala SS, 4.184, 264.49
12. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.189, 305.01.

Not Qualified:
13. Bob Tasca III, 4.190, 299.26
14. Cruz Pedregon, 4.231, 301.20
15. Melanie Troxel, 4.296, 285.95
16. Jeff Diehl, 4.299, 283.91
17. Paul Lee, 4.327, 278.58
18. Terry Haddock, 4.422, 257.09
19. Jeff Arend, 4.712, 175.02.

Pro Stock
1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.580, 210.47
2. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.591, 209.59
3. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.595, 209.75
4. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.603, 209.36
5. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.611, 209.56
6. Vinnie Deceglie, Avenger, 6.613, 209.23
7. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.617, 209.30
8. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.623, 209.62
9. Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.631, 208.26
10. Jason Line, GXP, 6.640, 209.79
11. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.642, 208.23
12. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.644, 209.26.

Not Qualified
13. V. Gaines, 6.647, 207.82
14. Kurt Johnson, 6.654, 208.71
15. John Nobile, 6.660, 207.82
16. Warren Johnson, 6.662, 208.10
17. Larry Morgan, 6.674, 207.72
18. Bob Yonke, 6.675, 208.01
19. Justin Humphreys, 6.678, 207.94
20. Johnny Gray, 6.681, 208.14
21. Danny Gruninger, 6.681, 207.18
22. Gordie Rivera, 6.730, 204.54
23. Rickie Jones, 8.395, 116.98