2010 NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS - EVENT RESULTS
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SUNDAY FINAL - CORY MAC, ANDERSON SEEK SWEEP REPEAT
Tim Wilkerson repeats in Funny Car at Northwest Nationals
With their wins on Sunday at the 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, Cory McClenathan and Greg Anderson successfully began their respective quests to become the first driver(s) to sweep the Western Swing twice
The other winner at the 14th race in the 23-event NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series was Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car), who also won at this event in 2009.
McClenathan faced off against Antron Brown – who swept the Western Swing in 2009 – in the Top Fuel final round and his 3.887 at 311.70 in the FRAM dragster was just good enough to outrun Brown’s 3.909 at 308.92 in the Matco Tools dragster.
“There’s Antron (Brown) and myself in the final, we’ve both won (the Western Swing) … I want to be the first to win it two times,” said McClenathan, who swept the Western Swing in 1997. “I know that’s a lot to ask for, but you can’t get there until you win this first one and that’s what we did.”
The win also moved McClenathan around teammate Tony Schumacher and into second place in the Top Fuel point standings.
The Funny Car final was also a near photo-finish with Wilkerson (4.221 at 292.39) powering the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford to a narrow victory over Ron Capps (4.246 at 289.51) and the NAPA Dodge Charger team.
It was the third straight final round for the LRS Ford team and second straight win in a 
space in the schedule – summertime – where they traditionally have done well.
“We’re happy to be in the position we’re in and we seem to really come into our own in this kind of weather,” said Wilkerson, who moved around Ashley Force Hood into fifth place. “We try not to think about it or do anything to pull us backwards. Just go run the racetrack every round.”
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson won his second straight race with a 6.599 at 209.56 in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to Johnny Gray’s 6.626 at 209.43 in his NTB Pontiac GXP.
“I’m the only guy (in Pro Stock) with a chance two sweep (the Western Swing),” said Anderson, who remains the only Pro Stocker to sweep the Western Swing (he did it in 2004). “It’s a neat, neat deal. I’ve been able to do it once in my career and I remember what a great feeling that was. It’s still a long way down the road, and I’m not going to say we’re going to win those two races, but we’ve got a chance. I’ve got a great hot rod right now.”
The NHRA Full Throttle Series heads south now to Sonoma for the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals, the second leg in the Western Swing.
Hight, Edwards also get No. 1s; Kalitta, Brown and Force clinch berths in Countdown to 1
Doug Kalitta ended a three-and-a-half year drought on Saturday at the 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways with his first No. 1 qualifier since the 2006 Auto Club NHRA Finals.
The other No. 1 qualifiers at the 14th of 23 races in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season were Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock).
On a cooler day Saturday, many expected change at the top of the qualifying ladder but only Edwards emerged from the pack –Kalitta (3.844, 313.58) and Hight (4.194, 291.57) set the pace in each of their respective classes in the Friday night session.
“Obviously we held on today. Larry Dixon got close (a 3.896 in the third qualifying session). I’m real proud of my guys. It’s nice to get some performance out of (the Kalitta Air dragster) and our first low qualifier in awhile,” Kalitta said.
The No. 1 was Kalitta’s first pole since November, 2006, and it was the 29th of his career.
“(Team owner) Connie (Kalitta), obviously he’s happy, and the whole team is happy. It’s been awhile. Hopefully this will be the beginning of something good for us,” he said.
He will have a bye in the first round tomorrow and when reminded of the incident in Denver where Brandon Bernstein banged the blower on the burnout during a bye run and couldn’t stage, thus forfeiting the gimme 20 points, he said, “We won’t do that …”
Kalitta also secured a berth in the Countdown to 1 NHRA Playoffs along with fellow Top Fuel driver Antron Brown.
In Funny Car, Hight’s No. 1 in his Auto Club Ford Mustang was his sixth this season and the 38th of his young career, leaving him just six shy of Top 10 status on the all-time No. 1 qualifiers list after less than six full years of racing.
“The top 10 cars are so bunched up, anyone can win this deal,” Hight said. “It’s a big deal being No. 1 for points, but it really means nothing. No matter (where you qualify) in Funny Car, you’ve got a tough race.”
Hight opens with Jeff Diehl in Round 1 Sunday and he was quick to remember a 4.22 Diehl ran in hot conditions in Norwalk two weeks ago.
“He does that again tomorrow and we take him lightly and he’s going to put us on the trailer,” Hight said.
Also in Funny Car, points leader John Force clinched his berth in the Countdown to 1.
In Pro Stock, defending Full Throttle Series champion Mike Edwards (6.598, 209.75) bounced back from his first-round loss at the Summit NHRA Nationals June 27 to earn his NHRA-best 10th No. 1 qualifier of 2010.
“(On Friday), we stepped outside the box and tried a few things, and didn’t like what we seen (so) we went back (Saturday) morning and kind of ran the thing the way we ran it here last year,” said the driver of the Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP. “I really thought it was going to work out (Friday) … and it didn’t”
Final Eliminations at the NHRA Northwest Nationals will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. and live coverage of the event will be streamed on ESPN3.com.
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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - THIRD SESSION
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - HIGHT LEADS FORD PARADE AT TOP OF FUNNY CAR FIELD
Robert Hight earned the provisional No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car after the first two of four rounds of qualifying were run on Friday at the 23rd 
annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
The other provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 14th of 23 races in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season were Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Jason Line (Pro Stock).
In Funny Car, Hight set the pace with his 4.194-second pass at 291.57 mph in his Auto Club Ford Mustang.
“It’s supposed to cool off so I don’t know if that 19 is safe,” said Hight, who praised the track condition. “We knew it was going to be better than last year and that 4.19 was better than anyone ran all throughout last year – and it was probably hotter (today than it was at any point in last year’s race) so hat’s off to Seattle.”
It would be the sixth No. 1 for Hight this season and the 38th of his career, leaving him just six shy of Top 10 status on the all-time No. 1 qualifiers list after less than six full years of racing.
Also of note, Hight was the first of four consecutive Fords to pace the field – he was trailed by Ashley Force Hood, Bob Tasca and John Force.
In Top Fuel, Kalitta and the Kalitta Motorsports team continued an impressive return to prominence this season with a 3.844-second pass at 313.58 mph.
“We were really happy with that,” Kalitta said. “Conditions were really coming to us at the end of the day. Obviously tomorrow (with cooler temps forecast) will be a little more challenging but so far so good for today.”
The No. 1 would be Kalitta’s first No. 1 since the 2006 Auto Club Finals and the 29th of his career.
“Don’t count your chickens until their hatched,” Kalitta cautioned.
In Pro Stock, the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP team remained hot as Line (6.612, 209.01) followed up teammate Greg Anderson’s first win of 2010 at Norwalk on June 27 with what would be his first No. 1 qualifier of 2010.
“I got six bonus points and that’s more than I’ve got since they started the program,” said Line, who believes he’ll need to pick up some more bonus points Saturday to remain No. 1. “(The 6.621 pass) is not going to hold up (Saturday). The weather’s going to be a lot different and as you know the Pro Stock drivers are affected dramatically by that.”
Qualifying at the NHRA Northwest Nationals concludes with the third and fourth sessions on Saturday when the fields will be set for Sunday’s final eliminations.
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PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING - SESSION 1
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SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING
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