There were 134 professional qualifying runs made in Saturday qualifying at the AAA Texas NHRA Nationals, and of those runs, only one driver managed to unseat his eliminator's qualifying leader.

Let the record reflect, Jerry Savoie, the man who raises alligators for a living, took a big bite out of Andrew Hines with a 6.805 elapsed time at 197.31 miles per hour during the first pair in Saturday's qualifying.  Hines also improved by .001 but his gain wasn't enough to fend off Savoie's charge.

Antron Brown powered to the No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel Saturday at the 31st annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 22nd event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals is the fourth race of the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

You would think Robert Hight would have known to take Mike Neff at his word. But for one brief moment, Hight, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California-sponsored Funny Car, second-guessed his championship tuner.

When Hight stomped the pedal of his Chevrolet Camaro, Neff's words resonated louder than the 10,000-horses screaming and belching fire all the way down the Texas Motorplex concrete quarter-mile. He posted a 3.839-second pass at 332.02 mph to take not only the provisional No. 1 but also the third-quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history during first-day qualifying at the AAA Texas NHRA Fallnationals. The run also established a new Texas Motorplex track record.  

Every point is crucial when you're defending a championship, just ask Antron Brown.

The defending NHRA Top Fuel champion snagged four bonus points Friday during first-day qualifying for the AAA Texas NHRA Fallnationals by driving his Matco Tools-sponsored dragster to a Texas Motorplex track record of 3.682 seconds at 330.55. If the run holds, it will be the second No. 1 of the season and No. 47 of his career.

Andrew Hines was ready to break away from the pack the moment the Countdown started. Four races into the six-event Countdown to the Championship, the defending Pro Stock Motorcycle Champion hasn't wavered in his objective.

Hines came out of the trailer firing bullets and rode his way to the quickest run of both Friday sessions during the AAA Texas NHRA Fallnationals at the Texas Motorplex. His 6.812 second pass at 195.42 miles per hour is almost a full second ahead of teammate Krawiec, who is second with a 6.821.

Jason Line wasted no time in expressing his intentions.

During the first session of Pro Stock qualifying at the AAA Texas NHRA Fallnationals, the two-time Pro Stock champion established himself as the driver to beat as he put his Summit-sponsored Camaro at the top of the provisional qualifying list with a 6.568 elapsed time at 210.34 miles per hour.

Sydney Dragway recently announced that the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Australia is now the preferred sanctioning body for the world class venue located at Eastern Creek in the Sydney Metropolitan area.
 
Sydney Dragway Vice Chairman Rick Gauci today confirmed, "This is a momentous day for our racetrack. It gives us stability and continuity heading into the future and allows us to plan with confidence the schedule of racing events at our venue for the years ahead."

Kalitta Motorsports is pleased to announce the expansion to a third Top Fuel dragster team driven by Troy Coughlin, Jr. beginning in the 2017 season. This announcement aligns two of the legendary names in the sport, Kalitta and Coughlin, for the first time.

“I am very excited to be competing in the Top Fuel class with Kalitta Motorsports,” said Coughlin, Jr. “Kalitta Motorsports has a lot of history and legacy in NHRA similar to my family. The first time I came to Team Kalitta I noticed the family-type atmosphere and the extreme desire to win and I knew this was the team I wanted to be involved with. I am studying hard and plan to hit the ground running and have a strong start to the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season.”

Robert Hight sprinted to the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car on Friday at the 31st annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals.

Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 22nd event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals is the fourth race of the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

No one can ever say Alex Laughlin is afraid to try something new.

This weekend at the Fallnationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas, the up-and-coming NHRA Pro Stock driver not only is piloting his Gas Money Garage Camaro, but he’s also making his Top Alcohol Dragster debut.