2010 NHRA O'REILLY NATIONALS - EVENT RESULTS
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FINAL RESULTS - DIXON, PEDREGON, ANDERSON AND TONGLET WINNERS AT ZMAX DRAGWAY ON SUNDAY
Larry Dixon continued his incredible season in Top Fuel and is a perfect 11 for 11 in final rounds as he won the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway on Sunday.
Also taking home wins at the event in their respective categories were Cruz Pedregon, Greg Anderson and LE Tonglet.
Dixon faced Doug Kalitta’s Rocky Boots Dragster in the finals and as he has done 11 times this season he was able to get the win light and take the victory. Dixon and his Al-Anabi Racing dragster ran 3.858 at 316.60 mph to a losing pass of 3.901 at 309.20 mph by Kalitta. Dixon also extends his lead in the points by 85 over second place racer Cory McClenathan. This is also the third consecutive win for Dixon.
“I can’t believe the amount of wins we’ve had and the amount of finals we’ve been in without losing,” said Dixon. “It’s hard to imagine when you think about all the great cars that are out here. It’s a credit to the team. They are an unbelievable bunch of guys. As a fan of this sport, I realize how hard it is.”
The day wasn’t without trouble for the team when Dixon smoked the tires early in the second round and pedal the car when he was facing defending Top Fuel series champion, Tony Schumacher.
“I guess we win ‘em every different way. The race against Tony [Schumacher] was amazing. There is a period of about two-tenths of a second when I was off the throttle and it was quiet that I could tell it was quiet in the other lane, too. I had a 50-percent chance of hitting it right. Tony is still wearing no. 1, and he’ll continue to do so until someone takes it away from him.”
Pedregon and his Snap-On Tools Toyota Camry was the class of the Funny Car field all weekend long and was able to use his No. 1 qualifying position to his advantage and secured the win over Jack Beckman in his Valvoline / Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger Funny Car. In the finals Pedregon posted a winning run of 4.171 seconds at 299.13 mph to a trailing 4.212 seconds at 301.81 of Beckman. This was the first win by Pedregon since his victory at the last race of the season in Pomona in 2008 and today was his birthday as well.
“I’ve had some great cars in my career when I drove for guys like Larry Minor and Joe Gibbs, but I don’t think I’ve been in a better car than I had this weekend,” said an emotional Pedregon. “I can’t say enough about the team. Me and [crew chief] Danny DeGennaro, who’s a young guy in his 30s, were both kind of on the sidelines this offseason. We worked real hard to get to this point. It took us awhile to get going, and there were times when I thought, ‘What the heck are we doing this for?’ but we stayed at it.
“Our philosophy is to look at these races like we’re in the Countdown. I’ve been a champion twice before, and I need to act like a champion. Even though some people were surprised by us, we’re not coming into races thinking we’re underdogs. We had a great weekend. I’m afraid to change the oil on it before Dallas.”
Hometown Pro Stock racer Anderson used the support of friends, family and horsepower of his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to get his third win of the season as he bested the Nitro Fish Apparel Pontiac GXP driver by Greg Stanfield in the finals. Anderson recorded a time of 6.604 seconds at 209.30 mph to the losing 6.651 at 207.91 mph. With the win Anderson moves to second in the Pro Stock category.
“This is not how we planned it, to have all three Summit cars on one side of the ladder but that’s how it fell. When you have three great cars on one side, you have a good shot to get one into the final. We made a couple mistakes on the other two cars and I feel bad for Jason and Ronnie. Otherwise, we could have done more,” stated Anderson. “Today I had the best hot rod on the grounds, by far. I’m a lucky man. This is my home track, and I have struggled here but zMax Dragway is now officially my favorite track. Heck, I didn’t even know where the press room was until this weekend but now I want to race here ten times a year.
“In the final, I made one of the most perfect runs I’ve ever made. It was so smooth. I thought, if I lose this race on a holeshot I’ll never be able to live with myself. Apparently I put too much pressure on myself. Sometimes you can press too hard and make mistakes. I had to treat this like another event and it all went smooth.”
In a rematch from the Mac Tools U. S. Nationals, Tonglet and his Nitro Fish Apparel Suzuki faced Andrew Hines on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley Davidson in the finals for the second consecutive race. Tonglet posted a run of 6.921 seconds at 192.82 mph to the losing run of Hines 6.972 at 189.63. With the win Tonglet moves into the Pro Stock Motorcycle points lead by 66 points over Hines.
“We’re not even thinking about the Rookie of the Year anymore. We’ve got a bigger thing; the championship, on our minds. With Nitro Fish behind us, we have a good shot. Hopefully, we just keep going rounds and we can run this good in Dallas,” said Tonglet. “I’m happy to be in the final again. We said we just wanted to get to the semi’s. Anything after that is a bonus. After the semi’s, I was on the return road and GT said we’re going to tune it up. We had been spinning the tire. We leaned it out a little more and it picked up a lot for the final. I'm still trying to believe that this is all happening. I owe it all to Kenny [Koretsky]. Without him, we wouldn't be here."
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season continues on Sept. 23 – 26 during the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at the Texas Motorplex.
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SATURDAY FINAL QUALIFYING - MCCLENATHAN, PEDREGON, LINE AND TONGLET SECURE NUMBER ONE QUALIFYING POSITIONS ON SATURDAY
Cory McClenathan remained atop the Top Fuel field and secured his fifth No. 1 qualifying position of the season for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway. 
Remaining No. 1 qualifiers were Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) at the 19th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship.
McClenathan secured the No. 1 qualifying position with his run of 3.831 seconds at 321.12 mph in his FRAM dragster that he posted during the optimal conditions during the Friday night qualifying session. He was the No. 1 qualifier at this track in March and this is the 38th No 1. qualifier of his 397 race career. McClenathan is currently second in the Countdown to the Championship and knows that while qualifying is important, having the best car on race-day is the key to winning a championship.
“Today, we got basically a race-day tune-up,” said McClenathan. “It’s much warmer, and the humidity’s here, and it looks like it’s going to be a little bit warmer tomorrow, so we just need to be careful. We can make it A to B. You can’t get the big E.T.s and speeds that we saw last night, but last night was perfect conditions as far as trying to go out there and lay one down, so we took advantage of it and picked up a few points along the way. That’s good for us.
“Today was just all about let’s go A to B and let’s get a race-day tune-up so we’re able to make it through some rounds. Our side of the ladder looks awful tough tomorrow, so we’re going to have to fight for it. You know what, I’ve had to depend on other people to take out some of the frontrunners here, and now maybe we’ll get a chance to do it ourselves tomorrow instead.”
Current Top Fuel point’s leader Larry Dixon qualified in the fourth position and will take on the 13th place qualifier Troy Buff in the first round of eliminations.
Leading the field in Funny Car was Pedregon in his Snap-On Tools Toyota Camry, who secured his first No. 1 position of the season and his first since the 2009 event at zMax Dragway. The run of 4.078 seconds at 303.57 mph he posted Friday, gives him his 39th career No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car.
"We had a great day and made two great runs," said Pedregon. "I didn't expect the car to run a 4.11 in the last session, but sometimes the car does great things on its own. The way we struggled early in the year and came around to have a car like this, anything we do tomorrow is absolute gravy. It's my first year as a driver/crew chief, and Danny DeGennaro and the crew have done a great job.
"I had a third of the budget I needed and no crew chief at the start of the season, but I wanted to race. I look at it like being on a desert island; you can lay down and die, or you can eat the bark off trees and little critters to survive. I've won two championships, but I'm not quite done yet. Nobody would have given me a chance at the start of the season, but here we are. I hope to inspire people by showing them that patience and perseverance pays off."
Countdown to the Championship contender Tim Wilkerson saw his championship hopes fade dramatically as he failed to make the 16 car field in Funny Car. This was the first time he hadn’t made a race since the opening Pomona race in 2009 and comes off his first round loss at the previous event.
Line blasted to the top spot with a run of 6.604 seconds and 209.56 mph in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to secure the No. 1 qualifying position in the Pro Stock category. For Line, the 2006 series champion, it is his first No. 1 of the season and the 17th in his career.
“It feels good to be No. 1 anywhere but here is great because we have more friends and family at the track. Honestly, it’s been so long I can’t remember what it feels like. Either Greg [Anderson] or I were No. 1 in all four sessions, and our other teammate Ronnie [Humphrey] ran good as well. We’re headed in the right direction. It’s good to be back near the top,” said Line after the session. “We have power to run up front and getting [bonus points] is good. It’s been a hard season for us; we’re not as good as we’re accustomed to being.
“It’s a new day tomorrow. It feels good as a driver to know you can run as fast or faster than everyone else, especially if you’re an engine guy because you have a part in making the car go faster. When the car doesn’t run good your thoughts are on that. Tomorrow, I can focus on my driving. There is no reason that one of us can’t come through. It’s do or die as far as the championship. This is a defining moment and we need to make it happen.” 
Tonglet continues his recent hot streak coming off his win at the Mac Tools U. S. Nationals and secured his first ever No. 1 qualifying position in the final session of the day. His newly sponsored Nitro Fish Suzuki posted run of 6.910 seconds at 193.29 mph that puts him at the top charts going into finals on Sunday. Tonglet is in his rookie season of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Pro Stock Motorcycle racing and is not only a candidate for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award but also a contender in the championship battle.
“Those eight points we got will be huge going into the next race. We need to get as many as we can. Now, I hope to be able to go some rounds tomorrow on the Nitro Fish Suzuki. My dad, (Gary) has been working on our tune-up. We’ve been spinning the tire but it’s getting better and better,” said Tonglet following qualifying. “With this new [sponsor] he’s not so conservative anymore. In the final session we stepped it up. It slowed a bit in 60-feet but picked up in back half. I was really surprised that we ran that good. When I went to Gainesville, we just wanted to be No. 16. Now, we’re No. 1. The whole thing has turned upside down for us.
“Having the support of Nitro Fish takes a lot of the pressure off. Now, we know we can make the rest of the races. It’s great for all of us. I can concentrate on riding and my dad and brother [GT] and tune the bike. Kenny [Koretsky] saw us in a bind and he stepped up to help us this year and hopefully next season. “
Eliminations for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals begin on Sunday at Noon at zMax Dragway.
SATURDAY QUALIFYING - FINAL QUALIFYING
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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - PRO SESSION 3
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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - TOP ALCOHOL QUALIFYING
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - MCCLENATHAN, PEDREGON, ANDERSON AND HINES PROVISIONAL NUMBER ONE QUALIFIERS ON FRIDAY
Cory McClenathan continues his push for his first NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Championship with a strong run to lead the Top Fuel field during the first day of qualifying at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway. 
Other provisional number one qualifiers were Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) at the 19th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship.
McClenanthan piloted his FRAM dragster to a pass of 3.831 seconds at 321.12 mph, which set a track speed record. He trails current point’s leader Larry Dixon by only 46 points coming into the event.
"Have I told you how much I love zMax Dragway lately?" McClenathan asked rhetorically. "Tony [Schumacher] made a good run in the early session, and [Larry] Dixon and we both missed it. We were a little overzealous, but we backed it up and went A to B. When it hikes up the front end at halftrack going 278 [mph], it's gettin' it.
"Phil [Shuler] and Todd [Okuhara] are such opposites that they work great together as co-crew chiefs. Phil just wants to throw the whole trailer at it, while Todd is well thought out. We probably did about half of what Phil wanted, and it might a great lap. It nosed over at the end when it got on the rev limiter, or else it could have been even faster."
In the Funny Car category, Pedregon made the most of the night qualifying session as his Snap-On Tools Toyota Camry leads the field with a run of 4.078 seconds at 303.57 mph. If Pedregon is able to hold onto the top spot it would be the first of the season and his first since the event at zMax Dragway in 2009.
"It was an odd scenario, because we blew up on both runs," said Pedregon. "We had an issue with a rod cap being put in backwards, and it broke a rod four seconds into the last run. I didn't think the time would hold as number one for that reason, because there was more out there. It's nice to know we're turning the knobs the right way. I hope it gets hotter than blazes tomorrow so the 4.07 holds.”
Anderson is looking for his first number one qualifying position of the year and provisionally holds the top spot with his pass in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP of 6.624 seconds at 208.62 mph. The three-time series champion is currently fifth in Countdown to the Championship points.
“I haven’t ever been in the press room at zMax Dragway. I’ve seen it from the inside but not the outside until now. I can’t think of a better place to be than here. I love it. I wanted to be able to show what we can do and make a few of my friends and family proud. They’re all here this weekend and to be honest, I’ve been embarrassed before this. I don’t know why, but I just haven’t quite found the handle on this track,” said Anderson, a resident of Charlotte. “We went back to an old car for this race. We just felt like we needed to shake things up. We’ve been a little bit off but this car is now working flawlessly. We need a big weekend in the points. We need to make up some ground on Mike Edwards and get back in the game. This is absolutely the time to pick up points.
Current Pro Stock Motorcycle point’s leader, Hines led the category on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson after two rounds of qualifying with a pass of 6.913 seconds at 192.25 miles per hour. Hines has two consecutive number one qualifying positions and is looking for his third of the season if he stays in the top spot following the conclusion of qualifying on Saturday.
“We’ve never run good here at zMax Dragway but the starting line is very good and we ran a good number, especially early in the run where we’ve been struggling. LE [Tonglet] was also good, but we were able to make up ground on him,” said Hines following the run. “I saw LE run a 6.91 but I knew my bike was right there with his. I must have been thinking about it because I didn’t roll in deep. As soon as I staged, I got on the throttle. I wanted every bit of E.T. that I could get.”
The final two rounds of qualifying for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals will be on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. with eliminations taking place on Sunday starting at Noon.
FRIDAY QUALIFYING - PRO SESSION 2
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - PRO SESSION 1
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SPORTSMAN RESULTS -
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