Good afternoon from muggy Huntsville Alabama. We’re still in pre-race testing at the moment, but qualifying is set to begin at 4pm CST. Nick Yarber is just one of several badass hotrods on the property looking to take a shot at the sticky Tyler Crossnoe-prepped surface.

Donn Gingrich made a solid 4.50 pass in his retina-searing Chevy II, but appeared have the brakes lock up in the shutdown area, sending the car nose-first into the top end guardrail. Gingrich quickly emerged and was unhurt. We’ll check in with him and see if there’s any chance of returning to action this weekend.

Jason Lee is temporarily wheeling the VIVA Mustang normally driven by Eric Gustafson, who is currently en route to the track from the left coast. The LDR hitter has made a couple of solid test shots so far this afternoon.

Pro Mod standout Bubba Stanton made an early-shutoff 4.30 test pass earlier. Stanton had to scramble and find parts after breaking a rocker arm while warming the sleek ‘Vette up in the pits.

Jason “Pooch” Rueckert has his gorgeous Oldsmobile back on the track this weekend, his first outing in 2016. Rueckert is running a fresh 588″ Steve Schmidt power plant and a pair of 88mm turbochargers to fit in the new LDR class. Rueckert, who helped build the rules for LDR, has made a couple of test launches but hasn’t made a full pass under power.

Current LDR world record holder Don Burton made a solid 4.34 pass in the middle of the test session. Burton showed his tuning prowess, managing the power well on the 125 degree track surface.

Arnold Missouri native Mark “Woody” Woodruff made the haul to Huntsville and opened qualifying with a shot to the tune of a 4.03 ET at 192 MPH. He would end the session solidly at #2.

Kevin Mullins struck the tires at the hit of the throttle and coasted to an off-pace 5.74, good for the seventh position on the provisional ladder.

Local favorite Myles Parker made the swap from big tires to radials for the first time in his wicked Mercury Pro Mod. Parker managed a 4.62 at 153 MPH, but based on his big-tire numbers, there’s quite a bit left on tap from this unique hotrod.

Shawn Ayers went for a bit of a wild ride in the Fletcher Cox-owned Mustang. Ayers appeared to be on a hell of a pass, but powered into a wheel stand around half track, forcing him to abort the run and coast to a 4.42 at only 149 MPH. Look for some big numbers from this team when Q2 rolls around tomorrow.

Daniel Pharris sent the crowd into a frenzy with a scintillating 3.90 blast at 210 MPH, placing him solidly atop the run sheet after one round of qualifying.

Shay Loveday made the trek from Knoxville with his gorgeous nitrous-injected Stingray. Shay launched hard but lost traction and pedaled to a 5.87 ET. Look for much more from this car once they get a handle on the tune!

Joe Stabinsky brought out his recently-overhauled X275 Mustang and made some solid passes in testing, followed by a 4.71 to take the 7th spot on the ladder. As they gather more data, this car should climb the ladder in Q2 and beyond tomorrow!

Cecil Whitaker also made the journey from Missouri. He had to pedal the throttle a couple of times and only managed a 4.86. Whitaker has been deep 4.50’s so don’t expect him to be happy with that effort.

Patrick Clenney wheeled the Ducky Johnson-owned Firebird to the sixth slot with a solid 4.68 ET. This car has been quicker, but most teams were running safe tunes to ensure they had a decent number in their pocket. They did that, so look for them to get more aggressive tomorrow.

Local racer Stacy Parker drove his sleek black coupe to the #8 spot at 4.76, coupled with a 157 MPH speed.

Restauranteur Sean Lyons locked down the 3rd spot with a solid 4.63 ET from his gorgeous Mike Duffy-built coupe.

Shane Fisher (near) and Rich Bruder lined up together and laid down the top two ET’s for round one of X275. Fisher, who’s been on a hot streak with two race wins in the past few weeks, took the top spot at 4.48, while perennial powerhouse Bruder ran a 4.55 to take 2nd on the ladder.

Don Burton anchors the LDR field at 4.23 to end the first day of qualifying. The current world record holder made several solid passes in testing and shows no sign of slowing down!

Steven Adams sits at #14 with an off-pace 4.71 that he hopes to improve upon in Q2.

Huntsville native Robert Culver made some noise in his ProCharged Mustang, but had to pedal the gas and only managed a 4.67. Look for last year’s Outlaw 275 runner up to improve on that time tomorrow.

Shane Stack sits at #11 on the run sheet after running a 4.63 in Q1. Look for the Thrillbilly to turn up the wick and drop that ET tomorrow.

“Mustang Mike” Modeste laid down a solid 4.36 from his twin-supercharged Mustang to land in the #6 position.

Tim Kincaid is also running LDR in his familiar Mustang. He laid down a 4.32 to take the #5 spot in the opening round.

Eric Gustafson arrived and promptly put his California-based hotrod in the #3 spot with a killer 4.25 at 172 MPH!

Mike Hupp’s twin turbo Malibu laid down a performance worthy of his killer paint job, running a solid 4.27 to land himself at #4. It’s great to see this beautiful hotrod running up again after Hupp swapped from a supercharged setup a year ago.

Rains came before the King of the Street competitors made their first shot, sending them back to the pits for the day. Heavy rain and intense lighting halted the festivities, and local forecasts vary as to what to expect tomorrow, but Dragzine.com and SpeedVideo.com will be back on the property early tomorrow to bring you the action!