Jason Line, Mike Johnston and Frederick Elsass emerged as Wednesday’s early leaders as Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Sportsman competition opened at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Line set the early standard in the Sox & Martin HEMI Challenge, while Johnston moved atop Super Stock qualifying and Elsass secured the No. 1 position in Stock Eliminator after final qualifying.
Line, the three-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion from Troutman, North Carolina, drove his 1968 Plymouth Barracuda to an 8.451-second pass at 159.99 mph to lead the first HEMI Challenge qualifying session.
Defending HEMI Challenge winner Steve Comella of Webster, New York, was close behind with an 8.468 at 158.82 mph in his Barracuda. Eric Bell ranked third with an 8.478 at 158.58, followed by Anthony Rhodes at 8.498 and Stephen Smyth at 8.527.
Johnston, from Parker, Arizona, led a tightly packed Super Stock field with a 9.137-second run in his FSS/F 2012 Camaro, running 1.063 seconds under his 10.20-second index.
Stan Holt was second in his GT/L 1966 Nova with a 9.803, 1.047 under the index, while Tom Ferruggia placed third at 1.028 under in his FSS/F 2013 Camaro. Jeff Dona and Jim Whalen completed the top five, separated by only three-thousandths of a second against their respective indexes.
Elsass delivered Wednesday’s biggest qualifying number in Stock Eliminator, putting his U/SA entry atop the final order with a 13.361-second run against a 14.85 index, a whopping 1.489 seconds under the standard.
John Korish secured the No. 2 position with a 9.750, 1.200 under the A/S index, while Ryan Korish qualified third at 1.164 under in his C/S Camaro. Randy Mans and Jim Marshall rounded out the top five.
Sportsman competition continues Thursday at the U.S. Nationals with additional qualifying and class eliminations.
SOX & MARTIN HEMI CHALLENGE (Q-1)
1 2455 Jason Line, Troutman NC, ’68 Barracuda 8.451 159.99 159.99
2 1968 Steve Comella, Webster NY, ’68 Barracuda 8.468 158.82 158.82
3 7406 Eric Bell, Chandler AZ, ’68 Barracuda 8.478 158.58 158.58
4 2113 Anthony Rhodes, Charleston SC, ’68 Barracuda 8.498 158.26 158.26
5 196 Stephen Smyth, Uxbridge MA, ’68 Barracuda 8.527 158.99 158.99
6 1058 Jimmy Daniels, Levittown PA, ’68 Dart 8.552 157.59 157.59
7 1979 Eldon Baum Jr., Wellsville PA, ’68 Dart 8.560 156.92 156.92
8 3651 Charlie Westcott, Albion MI, ’68 Barracuda 8.585 160.10 160.10
9 L177 Lenny Lottig, Meyersdale PA, ’68 Barracuda 8.594 157.15 157.15
10 4300 Lloyd Wofford, Jonesboro AR, ’68 Barracuda 8.709 151.87 151.87
SUPER STOCK (Q-2)
1 7277 FSS/F Mike Johnston, Parker AZ, ’12 Camaro 9.137 10.20 -1.063
2 4749 GT/L Stan Holt, Houston TX, ’66 Nova 9.803 10.85 -1.047
3 7680 FSS/F Tom Ferruggia, Menifee CA, ’13 Camaro 9.172 10.20 -1.028
4 34 SS/HA Jeff Dona, Cape Giradeau MO, ’98 Firebird 9.575 10.60 -1.025
5 318K SS/JA Jim Whalen, Alexander IL, ’98 Firebird 9.978 11.00 -1.022
6 3254 FSS/E Jeff Myers, Decatur IN, ’15 Camaro 9.030 10.05 -1.020
7 2121 GT/IA Chelsea Tindle, Freeport FL, ’04 Cavalier 9.646 10.65 -1.004
8 2166 GT/QA Avery McLawhorn, Snow Hill NC, ’66 Chevy 10.748 11.75 -1.002
9 1299 SS/JA Patrick Glade, Howell NJ, ’98 Firebird 10.002 11.00 -0.998
10 58 SS/JA Rylee Speer, Fort Ripley MN, ’98 Firebird 10.020 11.00 -0.980
STOCK (Q2)
1 3603 U/SA Frederick Elsass, North Canton OH, ’72 Ma 13.361 14.85 -1.489
2 5425 A/S John Korish, Lacrosse WI, ’15 Camaro 9.750 10.95 -1.200
3 5424 C/S Ryan Korish, Mindoro WI, ’99 Camaro 10.186 11.35 -1.164
4 5500 A/S Randy Mans, Rogers MN, ’00 Firebird 9.798 10.95 -1.152
5 1967 J/SA Jim Marshall, Indian Land SC, ’78 Malibu 11.332 12.45 -1.118
6 1499 B/SA Jim Boudreau, Tewksbury MA, ’69 Camaro 10.159 11.25 -1.091
7 1387 B/SA Chris Howes, Quispamsis NB, ’70 Challenger10.163 11.25 -1.087
8 7797 C/S Don Keen, Palmdale CA, ’68 Mustang 10.268 11.35 -1.082
9 4688 F/SA Mike Cotten, Cave Creek AZ, ’73 Duster 10.768 11.85 -1.082
10 329 T/SA Dan Tool, Jacksonville IL, ’79 Mustang 13.321 14.40 -1.079
