The NHRA’s Top Fuel class pulled an end-around on the NHRA during Friday night qualifying for the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., deciding not to run the second session in the interest of safety and in the wake of what the teams determined was inaction by sanctioning-body officials.

Crew chiefs and team owners sacrificed the best qualifying conditions of the weekend at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) and collectively decided not to run on the 1,000-foot course after a 50-minute oildown clean-up robbed them not only of daylight but also a safe racing surface. BIR doesn’t have lighting along its dragstrip.

What triggered the situation was Blake Alexander’s oildown in the left lane at the start of the second session of Funny Car qualifying. A connecting rod on his Jim Head Racing/Pronto Ford uncharacteristically broke during his burnout and the containment pan dumped oil on the track when he launched. The resulting 50-minute clean-up robbed both nitro classes of precious daylight and the best racing surface. Seven more Funny Car pairs made runs, and most lost traction.

Josh Hart, owner-driver of the R+L Carriers Dragster, said, “It was a terrible situation for the Safety Safari. The clean-up effort unfortunately was not suitable for either Funny Car or Top Fuel. The action should have been stopped as soon as NHRA realized Funny Cars couldn't make it down [the track].

“Instead,” he said, “NHRA tried to rush the class and wasted money, effort, and almost cost a couple people their cars, because the sun was going down and the track was a Slip ’n’ Slide. Whatever the motivation was for this decision did not have our safety in mind at all.”

Hart said, “Most all crew chiefs and owners tried to call NHRA, and the phone was not answered. So we collaborated on the decision not to even start any Top Fuel car.”

Kyle Wurtzel, who was in the opposite lane from Hart Friday night, poised to make his run, said, “I’m not sure whose idea it was. One of my crew guys told me, ‘We are pushing you back, and we are not running.’ So I hopped out of the car.”

Brittany Force had posted a No. 3 elapsed time in the Top Fuel’s first qualifying session and had hoped to improve on that in the second session, lamented the turn of events but took a pragmatic attitude about it.

“Unfortunately, because of uneven lanes and lack of light with the sun going down, we lost our second qualifying pass, which is really disappointing,” she said. “After that first solid run, we were really going to step it up and push this car in the best conditions we would have all weekend. That’s the way the game is played. Everyone else had to follow the same rules, so we’ll pick up where we left off.”

All classes received two more qualifying chances Saturday to set the field for Sunday eliminations.

The only racer not all that unhappy with the Friday night “Minnesota Mutiny” was Doug Kalitta, who had taken the provisional No. 1 position in the opening session.