Last weekend at the Mile-High Nationals in Denver was forgettable for Bob Tasca III.

The veteran qualified strong – in the No. 3 position – and then lost a pedal fest to Cruz Pedregon in the first round.

Tasca is feeling healthier and trying to flip the script at the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceway in Seattle.

Tasca took the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot Friday with a 3.964-second lap at 320.13 mph.

If Tasca’s No. 1 position holds through Saturday it will be the 13th No. 1 qualifier of his career and second this season and he also was No. 1 in Charlotte, N.C., earlier this year.

“Well, I tell you, I'm feeling a whole lot better than I did last weekend,” Tasca said. “I was under the weather; the race car was a little bit under the weather. Come to Seattle, we did so good here during qualifying last year, and we got snake bit in the first round. But what I was really happy about that run ... I always ask the crew chiefs, ‘What is it going to run?’ Aaron (Brooks) goes, ‘It'll run 96.’ 

“You saw (John) Force run 98, and you knew 96 was going to be a great run out there. It ran 96. It was so smooth, dead straight, just an awesome run. Coming from Denver where you think it's going to blow up literally the entire time, you're in the car the way it sounds, and you come back to sea level and these things just sound incredible. So, a good way to start.”

Tasca knows his team will have to step it up Saturday – especially in Q3 – if it wants to stay as the No. 1 qualifier.

“I think you'll see more of the same in Q2,” he said. “Then Q3 will be the throw-down run. I certainly don't expect this to hold for number one (Saturday) night, but I fully expect us to pick up in the last session, so we'll see what we can do.”

During the offseason, Tasca added new crew chiefs Brooks and Todd Okuhara and has been thrilled with how things have gone so far in his Ford Funny Car. Tasca arrived in Seattle sixth in the points standings on the strength of one win and three No. 1 qualifiers.

“I came out of the first five races, I didn't have a win, but I was absolutely elated,” Tasca said. “Couple number one qualifiers. The car just showed incredible performance when the conditions were good, which is what you have to do to win the championship. Then you come to the summer months, you say, okay. You got to stay alive, right? You got to go rounds. You got to keep the car moving up the ladder to get ready for the Indy run. To come out here on one of the hottest tracks we've seen all year and go to the top of the page gives us a lot of confidence for the next five races. We're going to see some hot weather racing coming up.”

Tasca acknowledged Seattle’s conditions are little bit unpredictable.

“Seattle's always had funky weather,” Tasca said. “You never know what you're going to get when you come here. I think the conditions are very similar now as what they were last year. It's always kind of hot here. It can be cloudy occasionally. But every time I've come here, the majority of my career, it's been beautiful.”

The Western Swing usually is Denver, Sonoma, Calif., and Seattle but the order changed this season.

“Just make sure you don't get on the wrong flight,” Tasca said about the change in order of the Swing. “You're so used to going to California. You're halfway there, and you forgot you're supposed to go to Seattle. But no, it's different. Once you leave Denver, anything is more normal than Denver. It's great to be here. It's going to be great to finish it off in Sonoma.”

Tasca did take a moment to gush about his co-crew chiefs – Brooks and Okuhara.

“I've never smiled so much in my whole career driving,” Tasca said. “I just absolutely love racing with Todd and Aaron. It's always a dynamic ... There's a lot of talented people out here. The problem is chemistry, team chemistry. You see it in business, you see it in racing, you see it in basketball, any sport. If the chemistry's right, ordinary people can do extraordinary things. I can tell you Todd and Aaron and the whole team have an incredible chemistry, very different than last year. 

“I love the dynamic between the two. I was a little unsure when you put something like this together last minute. I wasn't planning on doing what I did. I can tell you I couldn't be more impressed with the level of effort and chemistry that is on our team right now. You've seen it all year long, and I promise you the best is yet to come for this team. I promise you that.”

This season sellout crowds have been common at NHRA national events – which hasn’t been lost on Tasca.

“Hey, listen, you leave these races and Sundays and Saturdays, and you see the stands full,” he said. “As a driver sitting in the car, that's why we're here. We're not here to race ourselves. When you see the crowds and the Denver crowd was so bittersweet to see that many people there on the last event, but that place packs them in every single year. And no different than Seattle. This place will be packed (Saturday) and Sunday. It's why we're here. I think it's a tribute to the sport and how we're growing inside out, this sport, from the grassroot fans throughout. We'll see the same thing in Sonoma. Sonoma packs them in, and it'll be a fun summer swing.”