Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following
the Tenth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las
Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series -

Final round-by-round results from the 10th annual NHRA SummitRacing.com
Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of 24
events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Sunday's final results from the 10th annual NHRA SummitRacing.com
Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the
fifth of 24 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Tony Bartone has himself a pretty good ride heading into final
eliminations on Sunday in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the Summitracing.com
Nationals. The former nitro flopper pilot, and multi-time winner in
both TAFC and TAD, finds himself in the number one position, for the
27th time in his stellar career by recording a solid 5.586 elapsed time
at a speed of 255.15.
 
Driving for Rick Jackson and tuned by long time friend Steve Boggs,
Bartone believes this ride is one that was perfect for him at this time
in his life.

Remember
the old song,

        What
a difference a day makes?

        Twenty-four
little hours…

We’re not
sure if you can see it, but check out the flash of flame in the hood scoop of
Larry Morgan’s Dodge as he clears the finish line during qualifying.

No?  Never heard that one?  Ah, you’re just too darn young.  Anyway, that’s what happened in Las Vegas,
only it wasn’t 24 hours, it was something like 16.  Whatever. 
When dawn broke there was no wind, the skies were clear, and the
temperature climbed just enough to make it a very comfortable day for the fans
who poured into The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Yes, the
crowd was certainly better than Friday’s but even LVMS employees acknowledged
they were a bit disappointed in the turnout. 
However, considering the circumstances, it was actually pretty
good.  The real problem this facility faces is the horrendous construction
mess on Interstate 15, and this is no joking matter.  LVMS is one of the few facilities in the
nation with its own Interstate exit, and with Las Vegas a destination city,
i.e., it attracts a tremendous number of out of town visitors who aren’t
familiar with the place other than the “real” Strip where all of the big hotels
and casinos are located, so getting around on surface streets can be
daunting.  Ironically, those very surface
streets provide excellent access to the track (Las Vegas Boulevard – the Strip
– literally runs south to north, from the concentration of hotels right to the
back door of the facility), so if you’re willing to deal with a few traffic
lights, access is surprisingly easy.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday at the
10th annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas
Motor Speedway, the fifth of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended
Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Qualifying is complete at the NHRA Southeast division's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at South
Georgia Motorsports Park.  In Top Alcohol Dragster, Artie Allen of
Jacksonville, Fla., the reigning division champion, jumped to the top
of the field while Mickey Ferro, Stamford, Conn., leads in Top Alcohol
Funny Car.

Allen, who won this race a year ago, blistered the quarter-mile with a
5.295-second run at 265.33 mph.  Marion, Ind., racer Robin Samsel made
the next closest run at 5.377-seconds at 265.90 mph.  In Sunday's
eliminations Allen will square off against No. 8 qualifier Cherissa
Griffis of Jacksonville, Fla., in the first round. Griffis ran 6.382
seconds at 168.70 mph.

After being preempted due to high winds, rain and even electrical problems with the timing systems on Friday at the Summitracing.com Nationals in Las Vegas, the Top Alcohol cars came to play Saturday afternoon.
 
Taking the dominate position into Sunday’s eliminations Top Alcohol
Dragster is Grand Junction, Colorado’s Jim Whitely and his Norm Grimes
tuned Y-NOT Racing Blown Alcohol Dragster. Whitely was the class of the
field in both qualifying sessions and round one competition. The
Colorado invader posted low elapsed time in every session, and made a
statement in round one, running an event best 5.320 second elapsed
time. His run was .060 seconds better than the second quickest car, 
driven by Sunland, California’s Chris Demke.

Defending NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., had a Bond, James
Bond, moment at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas on
Saturday.

Coughlin finished qualifying, put his Jegs entry into the 8th spot, and
was immediately whisked away James Bond-style to a waiting helicopter
for a quick flight to the Grand Canyon. He was scheduled to attend a
wedding for close friends Doug Daniel and Heather Rickard, Saturday
night on the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Don’t kid yourself into thinking Friday’s single Funny
Car session at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals didn’t play a huge
role in shaping Saturday’s final field, because it did.

That’s how two-time NHRA Funny Car champion and No. 1 qualifier Tony
Pedregon sees it. He’s the man to beat on Sunday with a 4.100 elapsed
time during the final day of qualifications.