TOPEKA FINAL QUALIFYING
POWERade points leader Ron Capps failed to
qualify for the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by
Castrol GTX, snapping the longest active qualifying streak in the Funny
Car class at 55 races.
Capps' shocking result overshadowed the low qualifying efforts of Joe
Hartley, Robert Hight, and Greg Anderson, who were all able to maintain
the top rankings they attained Friday.
Entering the race with a 121-point lead in the standings, Capps could
leave Heartland Park Topeka with the No. 1, but he knows his lead will
probably be substantially trimmed.
POWERade points leader Ron Capps failed to
qualify for the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by
Castrol GTX, snapping the longest active qualifying streak in the Funny
Car class at 55 races.
Capps' shocking result overshadowed the low qualifying efforts of Joe
Hartley, Robert Hight, and Greg Anderson, who were all able to maintain
the top rankings they attained Friday.
Entering the race with a 121-point lead in the standings, Capps could
leave Heartland Park Topeka with the No. 1, but he knows his lead will
probably be substantially trimmed.
"It’s just like NASCAR when the points leader wrecks out early," Capps
said. "We'll just have to deal with it like [John] Force's guys did
earlier this year when they missed Vegas. It happens."
The man closest to him in the points, Hight, grabbed his third
consecutive No. 1 qualifying position at Heartland Park Topeka. Hight,
who has gone out in the semi-finals the previous two years at Topeka,
will try to cash in for his first Topeka win, while gaining as much
ground as possible on the sidelined Capps. Hight could surpass Capps
by winning the event and setting the E.T. record.
"We've got a great chance to make up a lot of points on Capps," Hight
said. "I hate to see them DNQ; I really do. No one wants to make gains
at someone else's expense like that, but we still need to do what we
can to close the gap on him. I say that because I know they'll be back
stronger than ever next weekend."
Mike Ashley's Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger carried him to the No. 2
position with a 4.794 at 327.11 mph. John Force was next at 4.796 in
his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang to round out the 4.7-second
cars.
No one was happier to see Saturday's sunny skies and hot conditions
than Day 1 Top Fuel leader Hartley who managed to hold onto the No. 1
position through Saturday's two sessions. Hartley's career-best pass of
4.518 at 323.12 mph in his unsponsored car was more than enough to earn
him his first low qualifier award.
"This is something I've always dreamt of but really didn't expect to
ever happen," Hartley said. "This is special. Hopefully we can keep up
the performance tomorrow and realize our other dream of winning one of
these things."
The rest of the top five remained the same as it was at the close of
Friday's action. Four-time NHRA POWERade Series champion Tony
Schumacher was second in the U.S. Army dragster with a 4.529 at 303.09
mph. Teammates Whit Bazemore and "Hot Rod" Fuller followed with
Bazemore running a 4.534 in the Matco rail and Fuller a 4.566 in his
refrigerator-white car. They were followed by surging UPS pro Bob
Vandergriff Jr., who had a 4.576.
Anderson's quick 6.703 at 205.91 mph in the final session earned him
low qualifier honors for the third consecutive race and fifth time this
season. The elapsed time, along with Friday night's 206.48 mph top
speed, earned the Summit Racing Pontiac GTO driver both ends of the HPT
track record.
"I have to commend NHRA and the people from Heartland Park for getting
the starting line in better shape for today's run," Anderson said. "It
was so slick in the burnout box that the tires were just spinning with
no friction at all. There wasn't even smoke coming off of them and
consequently they weren't getting hot enough. They scuffed it up and I
think we're all catching up with it now. It was just something none of
us had seen before."
St. Louis winner Dave Connolly is second on the grid with his Torco
Race Fuels Cobalt posting a best of 6.719, while Allen Johnson has the
quickest Dodge Stratus on the property after a third-best 6.724 at
204.82 mph.
First-round pairings for
professional eliminations Sunday for the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA
Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park Topeka, the
eighth of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings
based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.
Top Fuel -- 1. Joe Hartley,
4.518 seconds, 323.12 mph vs. 16. Cory McClenathan, 4.712, 286.13; 2.
Tony Schumacher, 4.529, 303.09 vs. 15. Scott Palmer, 4.687, 304.94; 3.
Whit Bazemore, 4.534, 324.75 vs. 14. Melanie Troxel, 4.671, 317.79; 4.
Rod Fuller, 4.566, 324.51 vs. 13. Doug Kalitta, 4.657, 301.27; 5. Bob
Vandergriff, 4.576, 316.75 vs. 12. J.R. Todd, 4.645, 307.79; 6.
Brandon Bernstein, 4.591, 319.29 vs. 11. Hillary Will, 4.644, 313.22;
7. Clay Millican, 4.597, 318.54 vs. 10. Larry Dixon, 4.640, 313.51; 8.
Morgan Lucas, 4.619, 323.04 vs. 9. David Grubnic, 4.636, 315.19.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight,
Ford Mustang, 4.754, 320.66 vs. 16. Cruz Pedregon, Chevy Impala,
4.946, 303.71; 2. Mike Ashley, Dodge Charger, 4.794, 327.11 vs. 15.
Del Worsham, Impala, 4.943, 305.84; 3. John Force, Mustang, 4.796,
302.28 vs. 14. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.921, 309.98; 4. Gary Densham,
Impala, 4.820, 314.97 vs. 13. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.919, 310.27;
5. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.832, 325.85 vs. 12. Jerry Toliver, Solara,
4.903, 317.05; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Impala, 4.843, 310.55 vs. 11.Jack
Beckman, Charger, 4.891, 313.88; 7. Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.857,
293.73 vs. 10. Kenny Bernstein, Charger, 4.877, 313.15; 8. Jeff Arend,
Impala, 4.873, 316.90 vs. 9. Scott Kalitta, Solara, 4.874, 316.45.
Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson,
Pontiac GTO, 6.703, 206.48 vs. 16. Max Naylor, Dodge Stratus, 6.773,
204.14; 2. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.719, 204.66 vs. 15. Greg
Stanfield, GTO, 6.768, 204.01; 3. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.724,
204.88 vs. 14. Justin Humphreys, GTO, 6.768, 203.95; 4. Jeg Coughlin,
Cobalt, 6.726, 205.01 vs. 13. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.763, 204.76; 5.
V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.726, 205.13 vs. 12. Kenny Koretsky, Cobalt,
6.759, 204.23; 6. Jason Line, GTO, 6.728, 205.98 vs. 11. Larry Morgan,
Stratus, 6.749, 204.94; 7. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.740, 204.91 vs. 10.
Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.748, 204.70; 8. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.741,
204.51 vs. 9. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.742, 205.01.