Going slower to get better is an uncommon strategy in drag racing, but that’s the approach taken by Clay Millican’s Great Clips/Parts Plus Top Fuel dragster team led by crew chief David Grubnic on Friday night to open the 49th annual Amalie NHRA Gatornationals.

The world’s quickest Top Fuel dragster owned by Stringer Performance has four of the 10 quickest runs in history and the two best ever.

But becoming the quickest in the history of the sport hasn’t led to a winner’s circle since last summer, and Grubnic and the team were the quickest Friday to earn the provisional pole. It would be the team’s second in three NHRA Mello Yello races this season if it holds after Saturday’s last two qualifying sessions.

Millican’s time of 3.708 seconds at 324.98 mph slipped past Steve Torrence’s time of 3.739 in the CAPCO Contractors dragster after the U.S. Army’s Tony Schumacher was best in the afternoon session.

“That’s what we were shooting for,” said Mac Savage, car chief for Millican. “We expected some of the cars to run quicker than that. The 3.70 is a good run for what we were trying to do.”

What they’re trying to do is win on Sunday after advancing to the semifinals at the opener then losing in the first round at the last race near Phoenix.

Millican was one of four drivers left to make their final runs of the day after a lengthy track cleanup after Torrence moved up to the top spot.

“There was a big lapse from when Stevie ran and we ran,” Millican said. “I was getting giddy because I saw Grubby turning knobs, twisting this and doing that. He was changing all kinds of things and then he came back and changed things again.

“I was like we were fixing to rip one as it got darker. I was like, ‘this is good.’

“He actually leaned in the car at one point and said he slowed it down a lot. He said it should run a (3.72) plus or minus a couple hundredths. So it went a .70

“The news this weekend from our camp has been that everybody knows this is the quickest car on the planet, but it hasn’t been consistent. He’s actually trying to slow the thing down and get a handle on it.

“To be No. 1 qualifier is surprising. I had the mindset we were going to slow the car down.”

“If his idea (of slowing it down is) going No. 1 with a 3.70 then I’m OK with that.”

Qualifying resumes Saturday with final sessions scheduled for noon and 3 p.m. (EDT) followed by championship eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday.