It wasn’t pretty. 

It didn’t come without some late-Friday-night damage control for the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro crew. 

It likely won’t hold up through two Saturday qualifying runs at the NHRA’s Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. 

But Robert Hight will take his 3.971-second elapsed time at 310.98 mph on the 1000-foot East Tennessee course and be glad for his provisional No. 1 spot atop the Funny Car leaderboard. 

After popping up through the roof hatch from his smoke-filled cockpit and climbing out at the top end of the racetrack, Hight said, “I think it had an oil leak. I think something was going on. It was starting to slip the tire a little bit. We honestly thought it was going to run a little better than that. It did hit a bump, and it put a cylinder out and it started spinning. I had to drive it a lot. 

“But it was going. I know a lot of cars didn’t make it,” he said. “I stuck with it and got the Camaro in [the lineup].” 

Hight was the only Funny Car racer to post an E.T. in the three-second range. 

Jim Campbell, who took the tentative No. 2 position, posted a 4.080-second run at 306.19 mph, and No. 3 Matt Hagan negotiated a 4.172-second, 235.23-mph pass on the freshly upgraded surface. 

What was notable about Campbell’s performance is that he buzzed down the right lane immediately after clean-up from Paul Lee’s fluid leak was completed. After a rain delay and a tire-smoking attempt from Jack Wyatt, Lee left a trail of oil from his burnout back-up. And Campbell did so on a track that was a bit of a mystery to many racers at this point in the weekend because of its newly updated status, effects of a rain stoppage, and the usual idiosyncrasies that every dragstrip presents.   

Jimmy Prock, Hight’s crew chief, said after Friday’s run, “We’re not sure about the bumps. The track needs some more runs on it. Once it gets sprayed some more, it’ll come around. At least we got down there, got something [some data] to look at.” 

For Hight, it was a bit of a shock: “I’m surprised it’s No. 1.” 

But he had no delusions that he would remain the top qualifier, even with hotter (and therefore trickier) conditions that are expected Saturday. 

“It won’t stick for tomorrow,” Hight said with authority. “No matter how hot it is tomorrow, it’s not going to stick. Just so everyone knows, 3.97 is not going to hold. A lot more cars are going to run, and the track is going to get better. I think we could run low 3.90s tomorrow. That’s what it’s going to take to be No. 1.” 

It would check off an item on his to-do list if he remained No. 1 by the end of Saturday’s action. Bristol Dragway is one of only two tracks on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour at which he never has started eliminations from the No. 1 qualifying berth. 

“I guess mission accomplished today, even though weren’t real happy about blowing it up and oiling the track,” Hight said. “It’s been a long time since we had an oildown. We do a pretty good job of keeping this Auto Club Chevy happy. So, kind of a bummer that we had that happen, but we’ll take No. 1 for the day.” 

Joining Hight in leading their fields Friday were Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle). 

Hight entered the weekend trailing points leader Hagan by just 41 points and gained a couple of qualifying bonus points with Friday’s performance that ended with a cloud of smoke inside the cockpit of his Chevy. But the veteran racer and three-time series champion has bounced back from worse situations and knows – because of his three victories in the season’s first eight events – that his car is capable of so much more than the Bristol fans got to witness Friday. 

“Not a bad start to the season, eight races in with three wins and second in points. This Auto Club team is definitely looking for more, though. We need to stay consistent, keep working hard, and take it one run at a time. The class is really competitive. We were the first to three wins [Pomona, Phoenix, Richmond], but we aren’t the only ones now,” Hight said, referring to Hagan’s victories at Gainesville, Houston, and two weeks ago at Epping, N.H. We need to keep it going. 

Hight, the only one in the John Force Racing organization to win at Bristol Dragway besides the boss, got to the winners circle here in 2011. Last season, Hight advanced to the semifinal round, his best finish at this Bruton Smith-owned facility since his 2011 victory. 

“I haven’t won [here] in a while, and it would be great to get it done on Father’s Day with my daughter, Autumn, here with me,” he said. 

Qualifying will continue Saturday with sessions scheduled for 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).