2010 NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS - EVENT RESULTS
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SUNDAY - THE PROFESSOR GRABS HIS 97TH WIN
Schumacher, Hight, Phillips round out winners at 14th AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals
Veteran Pro Stock driver Warren Johnson, the second-winningest driver in NHRA Full Throttle Series history, ended a four-year drought with his 97th career win Sunday at the 14th annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.
The other winners at the seventh event in the 23-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series were Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Johnson’s improbable win in his K&N Filters Pontiac GXP – points leader Mike Edwards (in the semis) and third-place Jeg Coughlin (in the finals) each failed to get off the starting line – gave the 66-year old driver and six-time NHRA Full Throttle Series champion his first victory since the NHRA Arizona Nationals in February 2006.
“I guess I woke up on the right side of the bed this morning … everybody I raced did something wrong,” said Johnson, who moved to within five points of Shane Gray for the 10th and final playoff berth in Pro Stock. “I had to rely on luck and other people’s mistakes (but) we’ll still take it. There is no such thing as a bad win.”
“I still realize that we’re not where we want to be, performance-wise,” Johnson continued. “We’re down four or five hundredths, but we can fix that. Other racers have stepped up, but sooner or later we’ll get back on top.”
In Top Fuel, U.S. Army driver Tony Schumacher won for the second time this season and 63rd time in his career with a 3.849 at 317.87 to the 4.041 at 313.07 from the Rocky Boots team and driver Doug Kalitta, who is now 0-for-4 in final rounds this season.
“This was a great win. We outperformed everybody we raced and got a lucky break against Pat (Dakin, against whom he hazed the tires),” said Schumacher, who moved to within six wins of Kenny Bernstein (69) for fourth place on the NHRA Full Throttle Series’ all-time wins list.
“I was talking with (crew chief) Mike (Green) and he said, ‘Every time we back it down, we get in trouble.’ He went for it and made some nice runs. If you look back, a lot of these races are won in the second round and semifinals by putting up a stout run and keeping lane choice in the late rounds.”
In Funny Car, 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Series champion Robert Hight collected his first win of the 2010 season in the Auto Club Ford Mustang with a 4.149 at 304.25 to runner-up Jack Beckman’s 4.204 at 296.44 mph in his Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger. Hight improved from ninth place to sixth place, though he still trails points leader John Force by 189 points.
“We’re starting to turn it around. We’re not that far off,” said Hight, who threw out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals game on Wednesday on behalf of AAA Insurance of Missouri before proceeding to win the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals on Sunday. “It’s been an unbelievable week. The timing for this was perfect. I wanted to come here and win and give a trophy to the folks at AAA of Missouri.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, 20-year old LE Tonglet (7.002 at 189.47) had a nearly perfect reaction time (.001) in his quest for his first career win in just his eighth career start, but Michael Phillips (6.926 at 193.99) had more than enough power to catch and pass him for his first win of the season.
“That kid didn’t cut me any slack. He’s a good rider and he’s gonna be tough,” said Phillips, who improved to fourth place and is just 91 points behind first-place Hector Arana. “Now that the Suzuki guys have bigger engines, it’s going to be real competitive this year. It’s not just going to be the V-Rods and the Buell’s. Now, we can all make a statement.”
The NHRA Full Throttle Series resumes racing May 14-16 with the 30th annual Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
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SATURDAY - McCLENATHAN, FORCE, EDWARDS, ARANA TOP ST. LOUIS QUALIFYING
Cory McClenathan held off defending Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher to pick up the No. 1 qualifying spot Saturday at the AAA Insurance 
NHRA Midwest Nationals.
John Force, Mike Edwards and Hector Arana also took the top spots in their respective categories as qualifying came to an end at Gateway International Raceway.
McClenathan drove his FRAM dragster to a 3.815-second run at 305.63 mph and past provisional No. 1 qualifier Schumacher to earn his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 36th of his career.
“On our No. 1 run it was on a string,” said McClenathan. “We had good conditions and everything went right. I shut it off at 900 feet so I was surprised it ran that quick. As the day went on, conditions changed and it got tricky. We didn’t see any really good runs in the left lane and had to abort the last run. The hardest thing is that going into tomorrow we’ve only had a few good runs.”
Defending event winner Antron Brown ended up in the 16th and final spot while points leader entering the event, Larry Dixon took the third spot in the field.
In Funny Car, 14-time world champion John Force stayed in the top spot. Force drove his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang to a 4.103 run at 307.23. This is Force’s third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 134th of his career.
“My run last night was really good in the cool air,” said Force. “When we put that 4.10 on the board it was good but I think Ashley was more impressive with that 4.12 today. That’s the car to beat. I’m struggling in the heat but I have a good hot rod so I can race.”
Second-place driver Matt Hagan will start 12th while Force’s teammate and daughter, Ashley Force Hood, sits in the second spot in the field.
Continuing his dominance over the Pro Stock field, Edwards followed up his win at Las Vegas with the No. 1 qualifier at Gateway. Edwards drove his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP to a 6.640 at 207.82. This is Edwards’s sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season in just seven races and 28th of his career.
“We had some misfortune this morning so we came back and regrouped,” said Edwards. “Everybody has been saying that I’ve been dominating but if you look at the back half numbers, our performance is not much different than the rest of the field. We’ve just been making good runs and that’s why we’ve been beating them. There are a lot of good cars out here and it’s really, really close. That’s what our fans come out to see.”
Arana rode his Lucas Oil Buell to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.905 at 194.46. It’s Arana’s second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 11th of his career.
“This track is awesome on the starting line and I had a hard time getting the right combination,” said Arana. “I knew if I could get it today, that we’d be okay. I dropped the clutch and the rpm came up quickly so I knew it was a good run. Then (the track crew) gave me the No. 1 sign and I knew I was the quickest.”
Sunday’s eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
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SATURDAY - FINAL SESSION
SATURDAY - THIRD SESSION
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FRIDAY - FORCE SITS NO. 1 IN ST. LOUIS; SCHUMACHER, EDWARDS, TREBLE ALSO IN PROVISIONAL TOP SPOTS AT GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
John Force held on to the provisional top spot in Funny Car as rain washed out most of Friday qualifying at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest 
Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.
Tony Schumacher, Mike Edwards and Craig Treble also took the provisional top spots in their respective categories at the seventh of 23 events on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Force drove his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang to a 4.103-second pass at 307.23 mph to become the provisional top qualifier in Funny Car. If it stands it would be his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 134th of his career, just four shy of Pro Stock driver Warren Johnson’s NHRA record of most career No. 1 qualifiers at 138.
“We have learned how to run on good tracks with the cool air and we have learned how to run in the hot air,” said Force. “We are also able to learn from the other two Mustangs. I watched Robert (Hight) go out and spin his tires and then see Ashley (Force Hood) do almost the same thing. Mike Neff, Bernie Fedderly and Austin Coil (crew chiefs) got together and made some adjustments on my Castrol hot rod. I have been pretty good at picking people but putting those three guys together I have been real fortunate.”
Defending world champion and Force teammate Robert Hight is currently seventh, while second-place driver Matt Hagan is 11th in the field.
In Top Fuel, defending world champion Schumacher drove his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.829 at 318.62 to take the provisional No. 1 spot. If it stands, it would be Schumacher’s second of the season and 60th of his career.
“That was an outstanding run by our U.S. Army team,” said Schumacher. “The car left great and we shot right through the shake zone and on down there. I didn’t know the number, but I felt like it was a pretty good lap. It’s only one run, but it looks like the test we had right after the Las Vegas race is producing the kind of results we wanted.”
Current points leader Larry Dixon is sitting in the seventh spot while defending event winner Antron Brown is in the 12th spot.
Continuing his dominance over the Pro Stock field, Edwards followed up his win at Las Vegas with the provisional No. 1 qualifier at Gateway. Edwards drove his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP to a 6.644 at 207.75. If it stands, it would be Edwards’s sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season in just seven races and 28th of his career.
Treble rode his Valvoline Motorcycle Oils Suzuki to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.907 at 193.05. If it stands, it would be Treble’s first No. 1 qualifier of the season and fourth of his career.
“I can’t say enough good things about Steve Tartaglia,” said Treble. “I can’t say we were flopping around but we haven’t been on our ‘A’ game and not because of lack of preparation but it has just been getting used to this new combination. I knew by the time I threw a leg over that bike it was going to be stout but it was just a matter of getting the chassis right, the clutch right, the tune-up right and Steve has slowly but surely snuck up on it.”
Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
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Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 14th annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway, seventh of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 3.829 seconds, 318.62 mph; 2. Brandon Bernstein, 3.903, 307.09; 3. Morgan Lucas, 3.918, 307.30; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.939, 304.53; 5. Luigi Novelli, 4.156, 288.70; 6. Pat Dakin, 4.643, 233.03; 7. Larry Dixon, 4.927, 148.41; 8. Cory McClenathan, 5.475, 121.27; 9. Shawn Langdon, 6.729, 89.88; 10. David Grubnic, 6.750, 90.06; 11. Chris Karamesines, 6.784, 88.97; 12. Antron Brown, 7.157, 88.55. Not Qualified: 13. Terry Haddock, 7.465, 93.11; 14. Terry McMillen, 8.668, 74.70; 15. Troy Buff, 10.926, 77.92.
Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.103, 307.23; 2. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.262, 297.02; 3. Del Worsham, Toyota Solara, 4.274, 293.60; 4. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.343, 274.72; 5. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.364, 298.01; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.399, 253.28; 7. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.581, 184.47; 8. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.640, 186.36; 9. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.641, 186.18; 10. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 7.970, 85.47; 11. Matt Hagan, Charger, 8.409, 79.54; 12. Dale Creasy Jr., Impala, 8.625, 77.60. Not Qualified: 13. Bob Tasca III, 8.684, 75.79; 14. Tony Pedregon, 9.756, 47.22; 15. Jeff Diehl, 21.461, 52.97.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.644, 207.75; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.661, 208.55; 3. Ron Krisher, Chevy Cobalt, 6.684, 206.51; 4. Johnny Gray, GXP, 6.694, 206.32; 5. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.695, 206.39; 6. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.696, 206.73; 7. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.696, 205.79; 8. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.698, 206.20; 9. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.699, 206.45; 10. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.701, 207.40; 11. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.705, 206.26; 12. Justin Humphreys, GXP, 6.709, 205.26. Not Qualified: 13. Jeg Coughlin, 6.712, 207.75; 14. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.712, 207.27; 15. Rickie Jones, 6.712, 205.98; 16. Erica Enders, 6.715, 206.26; 17. Jason Line, 6.716, 206.61; 18. Steve Spiess, 6.717, 205.91; 19. Larry Morgan, 6.718, 205.47; 20. Bob Yonke, 6.735, 205.51; 21. Warren Johnson, 6.736, 206.04; 22. Steve Schmidt, 6.757, 204.51; 23. John Nobile, 6.762, 204.14; 24. Mark Hogan, 6.763, 204.82; 25. Danny Gruninger, 6.763, 204.76; 26. John Gaydosh Jr, 6.866, 200.53; 27. Dave River, 6.893, 198.03.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 6.907, 194.63; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.946, 193.54; 3. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.965, 194.38; 4. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.967, 193.65; 5. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.977, 192.88; 6. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.981, 191.89; 7. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.983, 193.82; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.996, 189.55; 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.010, 189.84; 10. David Hope, Buell, 7.019, 191.21; 11. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.031, 194.21; 12. Douglas Horne, Buell, 7.031, 191.70. Not Qualified: 13. LE Tonglet, 7.036, 189.31; 14. Junior Pippin, 7.051, 190.00; 15. Angie Smith, 7.080, 187.96; 16. Mike Berry, 7.125, 185.72; 17. Wesley Wells, 7.156, 189.34; 18. Gary Moreno, 7.179, 184.72; 19. Joe DeSantis, 7.296, 185.38.
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FRIDAY SECOND SESSION -
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FRIDAY - FIRST SESSION
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