There’s blood in the water, and the Pro Stock field can smell it.

First it was a little wobble during an early qualifying session in Norwalk. Then it was a new man atop the charts in qualifying one race later in Chicago. By Denver, the vulnerability of the previously unshakeable KB Racing team was shining through as a new winner stood atop the podium.

On Saturday, that trend continued as Vincent Nobile, the man who first upset the applecart back in Norwalk, earned his first No. 1 qualifier award of the season at the 29th annual Protect The Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at Pacific Raceways.

“We’ve just been working our butts off. Not necessarily me, I just drive the thing, but the guys back at Elite, they have been working non-stop trying to find horsepower, changing the setup of the car, and it looks like we fell into something this weekend,” said Nobile, who earned his fifth top qualifier award of his career in the Mountain View Tire Chevy Camaro. “It is a combination of both things. The car is super consistent, super fast, and it couldn’t come at a better time. The Countdown is right around the corner and we are really looking forward to it.”

Nobile edged his way into the top spot Friday night and then bettered his time on Saturday, running a 6.527 at 211.49 mph in session three and holding that time through the fourth and final session. His 6.527 is the second quickest pass of the entire season.

“The weather got a little bit better and the track got extremely good, so if we didn’t improve our time, someone was definitely coming around us,” Nobile said. “Bo (Butner) ended up number two and he came really close. I actually know there was a little more in that run that we made today, which is definitely comforting. Being number one and knowing you can go a little bit faster is pretty cool.”

Nobile has consistently been fast throughout the weekend, running in the top three in every session including topping two of the qualifying rounds.

Just behind Nobile is the KB Racing trio led by Bo Butner, whose 6.530 at 211.73 mph placed him second. New points leader Greg Anderson qualified third with a 6.544 at 210.77 mph, while Jason Line qualified fourth with a 6.545 at 211.53 mph.

Nobile will receive a bye in round one and will face the winner between Shane Gray and Drew Skillman in round two.

“With the car running as strong as it is, you really don’t want to change a thing,” Nobile said. “As long as the weather stays consistent and it is really close, we are just going to nickel and dime it. The car is on a rail, it’s really consistent and really fast, and if it stays that way, it’s up to me now. It is a little bit of pressure - everybody wants to be number one - but when you have the car, now it’s all on you.”