When he took the early lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying Friday at the Menards Nationals at Topeka, Joey Gladstone said he and his Precision Service Equipment Suzuki team “seem to have a recipe that’s working.” 

They do, and it simmered all day Saturday in the triple-digit heat. Ultimately, it served him the first No. 1 qualifying position of his career – in the first race since he earned his career-first victory at Sonoma, Calif. 

“I hope the wave never crashes. I’m enjoying the ride while it lasts,” Gladstone said. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for moments like this. I can’t say enough about my team and how much fun we’re having and how bad-ass they are.” 

He’ll lead the field as the new bike-class points leader with his track-record 6.831-second elapsed time from Friday (and top speed of 197.10 mph from the final session Saturday) on the Heartland Motorsports Park quarter-mile course. He came into this event trailing Vance & Hines Mission Foods Suzuki racer Angelle Sampey by two points, and he made that up during qualifying.  

Mike Salinas (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also will lead their respective fields when eliminations begin at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. 

“We’ve got our momentum. The energy’s great,” team owner Cory Reed said. Then, teasingly, he said, “We’ve got Mike [fellow racer Phillips] helping us this year – came out to help me get around the starting line [after his on-track accident last fall], and we can’t get rid of him.” 

Turning sincere again, Reed said, “We’ve got a good dynamic. Everybody gets along super-well. There’s no ego. So it’s awesome.” 

Gladstone was looking beyond this stretch of races. He said, “I think we have all the momentum on our side right now. If we just stick to our guns and don’t change our strategy, then I think that we can be a force to be reckoned with even in the later races, even when it cools down. If the cards fall the right way, we’re going to take it all.” 

But first things first. He’s scheduled to meet David Barron in the opening round of eliminations Sunday for the right to slide into the semifinals on a Round 2 bye. 

Angie Smith rewrote the track speed record in the second overall (early Saturday) qualifying session at 197.28 mph.