The final day of qualifying at the NHRA Schucks Nationals in Seattle, Wa.,

John Force’s Last Seattle DNQ came 29 years ago but since 2007 the 14-time champion has four DNQ’s.

was bittersweet for John Force. As
temperatures continued to rise throughout the day tricky track
conditions hampered John Force and his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang’s
chances of getting into one of the tightest Funny Car fields in recent
memory.

A decent but not spectacular run in the first session was not enough to
move Force into the Top sixteen and in his final attempt his Ford
Mustang lost traction just past the halfway point and his hopes of
racing on Sunday went up in smoke. From the top end Force was motivated
to improve and fire-up his teammates.

A DOUBLE DIP FOR RICHARD HARTMAN

Tunes Bruce Litton (Top Fuel) and Andy Kelley (Nitro Funny Car) to #1 qualifier positions at Mopar Canadian Nationals

Andy Kelley remained on top of the Funny Car class for the second day of qualifying.

Richard Hartman spend a good portion of the day running back and forth
between the pits of Bruce Litton and Andy Kelley. As Crew Chief on both
cars he has little idle time, working with both teams to get them ready
between afternoon and evening qualifying sessions.

At Grand Bend Motorplex for the Mopar Canadian Nationals Hartman was on
his game. He put Andy Kelley on top of the Torco Pro Nitro Funny Car
qualifying sheet with a 5.013 at 294.31 mph. Then, when rain washed
away the final Top Fuel session, Bruce Litton became the second
Hartman-tuned nitro car to find the top of the qualifying sheet…this
time in the Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel class.

CONNOLLY, HIGHT, SCHUMACHER EARN NO. 1 QUALIFIERS, CRUCIAL POINTS ENTERING SUNDAY’S RACE NEAR SEATTLE

Tony Schumacher has been in the final round in Seattle every year since 2004.

Tony Schumacher has been in the final round in Seattle every year since
2004. Out of four consecutive final rounds here, he’s won three. He
looked primed to add a fifth after qualifying No. 1 Saturday at the
21st annual Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals, piloting his U.S. Army
dragster to a 3.802-second pass at 316.90 mph in prime conditions
Friday for his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 51st of his
career.

"We’ve been lucky at a lot of tracks," Schumacher said. "Indy’s
(O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis) another good track for us, and
this is one. If you can hand-pick a few, the Western Swing is a
beautiful place to have a good streak on and so is Indy. I’m not going
to complain about it and I’m sure not going to look for answers. I’m
just going to let them ride out the storm here and enjoy it. It’s
fantastic."

Dave Connolly drove the Charter Communications/Lifelock Chevy Cobalt to
a Pro Stock track-record and career-best elapsed time of 6.573 seconds
at 209.49 mph, and captured the race day pole for the 21st annual
Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals.

"What a difference a weekend makes, from last week to this one,"
Connolly said. "Our performance is a lot better and our team morale is
at a high right now. For GM and Chevrolet, we got to keep this Cobalt
in the No. 1 spot, and we'll see what tomorrow brings."

It marks the second straight year that the 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C.,
has captured the No. 1 qualifying position at Pacific Raceways and his
seventh career race day pole.

Robert Hight who has qualified No. 1 the last three years in a row at
Pacific Raceway is hoping to make his efforts on Friday and Saturday
mean something on Sunday in his first round match-up with points leader
and juggernaut Tim Wilkerson.

“Honestly being No. 1 qualifier again isn’t that big of a deal when you
haven’t gone on to win on Sunday. You have four shots at qualifying and
sometimes you can throw one down and get at the top. That doesn’t mean
you can win on Sunday. That is what this whole game is about. Luckily,
this week we have a pretty big chance here,” said the two-time POWERade
championship runner-up. “It is no secret that Tim Wilkerson is way out
in front with the points lead. If we could capitalize on how he
qualified today. We can’t really rely on other guys to take him out. He
took me out last week so I didn’t do my job either. If we could get him
tomorrow first round and win this race it is actually a little more
realistic to catch him before the countdown.”

Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher captured
his fourth pole position of the 2008 season and 51st in his career.  He
recorded the quickest elapsed time in three of the four qualifying
runs, with his 3.802-second lap at 316.9 miles per hour in Friday's
second round earning the top starting spot.
       
"But being number one doesn't mean anything tomorrow on race day,
because there are no easy cars out there, no easy rounds," he said. 
"Like our soldiers around the world protecting our freedoms, we always
have to stay focused, to stay on our game. We, like those brave men and
women, cannot take anything for granted.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
21st annual Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways,
the 14th of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings
based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below
pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 3.802 seconds, 316.90 mph vs.
16. Steven Chrisman, 4.232, 279.32; 2. Brandon Bernstein, 3.820, 316.52
vs. 15. Troy Buff, 3.956, 301.74; 3. Antron Brown, 3.831, 312.06 vs.
14. Bob Vandergriff, 3.882, 306.95; 4. Rod Fuller, 3.841, 313.73 vs.
13. Steve Torrence, 3.880, 307.58; 5. Morgan Lucas, 3.848, 312.50 vs.
12. Doug Kalitta, 3.878, 310.48; 6. Larry Dixon, 3.858, 309.27 vs. 11.
Doug Herbert, 3.870, 307.72; 7. J.R. Todd, 3.860, 312.86 vs. 10. Cory
McClenathan, 3.869, 313.80; 8. David Grubnic, 3.862, 302.69 vs. 9.
Hillary Will, 3.866, 313.37. Did Not Qualify: 17. Ron Smith, 4.377,
267.53; 18. Craig Smith, 5.972, 180.16.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
Mopar Canadian Nationals presented by Castrol at Grand Bend Motorplex,
the sixth of 10 events in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing
Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel -- 1. Bruce Litton, 4.743 seconds, 302.75 mph  vs. 5.
Spencer Massey, 4.897, 300.40; 2. Terry McMillen, 4.764, 311.85  vs. 6.
Kevin Jones, 4.966, 295.21; 3. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.823, 284.27  vs. 7.
Mitch King, 4.985, 284.99; 4. Todd Paton, 4.837, 295.40  vs. 8. Mike
Strasburg, 5.050, 277.43.

Today's classic video moment comes from the 1989 IHRA AEA All-Pro Winter Nationals in Darlington, SC. In this video, you'll see the very first win by dairy farmer Mark Thomas as well as Tom "Mongoose" McEwen's classic 1957 Chevy Funny Car. This event marks the first in the post-Billy Meyer era. Also featured in this You Tube video is a clip on the up-and-coming Top Sportsman Quick Eight program which would later spawn Pro Modified.

IHRA President Aaron Polburn sports the hottest decal of the week --
U.P.S. However, this U.P.S. doesn't symbolize United Parcel Service.
This one represents United Pro Stocks in a laughable tribute to the
Edmonton Pro Stock boycott. From what we hear many of the Pro Stock
cars have them as well as a few IHRA officials. We have only one
question. Larry Morgan is the President?