Reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Hector Arana hasn't been having the kind of season he had hoped for lately, but in the final session of qualifying at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals, the Lucas Oil Buell rider jetted to an incredibly quick and completely unexpected 6.828 at 196.16 mph. The run was good for the No. 1 position -- his fifth of the season and 14th of his career -- and it reset the Maple Grove Raceway record for e.t.

"We had been struggling," said Arana. "We started struggling at Brainerd. From then on, it just kept getting worse. I replaced just about everything, then at Dallas, on Saturday, I replaced [a couple more things]. I said, guys, after this I have replaced everything. If it's still doing it, then we have to replace one more thing, and that is the loose nut between the seat and the handlebars."

For two consecutive days the near overflow crowds at Maple Grove Raceway watched diligently in anticipation of someone setting a national record.

Several drivers got close, but it was Matt Hagan, in the final round of Funny Car qualifying, who came through the masses when he planted the DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car not only firmly on the pole but backed up his 4.011-second pass at 311.56 mph (both track records) from Friday with a 4.046/308.99 for a provisional national record.

If Hagan can hold onto the national record through Sunday's eliminations, he will earn 20 additional points for the weekend. He will also break his own record of 4.022 seconds, which he had set earlier this year when he won in Joliet, Ill. Going into Sunday's final eliminations, following the qualifying rounds and counting the national record, Hagan holds a slim four-point lead over John Force. Only three races remain before a 2010 Funny Car championship is crowned, including tomorrow's NHRA Nationals.

For two of the four Top Fuel qualifying sessions this weekend Larry Dixon looked anything but invincible while his closest rivals, Cory McClenathan and Tony Schumacher traded the top qualifying spot.

In the final session Dixon returned to the form which has consistently carried him to the top seeded spot countless times this season, a spot from which he has yet to lose come Sunday eliminations.

“It was a great job by the team,” said Dixon, in his normal cool as a cucumber manner. “Weather conditions this weekend were pretty good where you should be able to fire some shots. We've seen it in Funny Car, we just haven't been able to see it in Top Fuel. I was glad to see us be able to do that in the last session.”

The 6.551 pass that Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson laid down on Friday held through qualifying on Saturday to keep the Mopar Dodge Avenger campaigner on the pole for the sixth time this season and the 13th time in his career.

Johnson wasn't the quickest in the third and fourth sessions, and bonus points were earned by a couple of other Countdown to the Championship contenders, but he was still the big winner at the end of the day.

"This morning was almost as good as last night, but we didn't make good runs today at all, unfortunately," said Johnson. "The air was real cool and crisp last night. Everybody picked up this morning, but we didn't, and we're a little mad at ourselves about that. But in the two runs we made today, we were solid, just not on top of it like we wanted to be."

Matt Hagan raced to the No. 1 qualifying position and set a national performance record in Funny Car Saturday at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at scenic Maple Grove Raceway.

Larry Dixon, Allen Johnson and Hector Arana also will lead their categories into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations as No. 1 qualifiers at the fourth of six playoff races in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.

Hagan powered his DieHard Dodge Charger to a 4.046-second run in the final qualifying session to officially certify his category-leading time of 4.011 seconds from Friday as an NHRA national record. If Hagan can hold the performance mark through the remainder of the weekend he will earn 20 bonus points in his quest to win the Funny Car world championship title. Hagan, who will meet Phil Burkart in the first round, trailed series leader John Force by 25 points entering this event.

At 61 years of age, John Force is in the toughest fight of his racing career as he battles for a 15th career NHRA Funny Car title.

Force assures he is up to the challenge inside the race car, but in his mind there is an equally tough battle raging on. In order to hoist the 15th trophy of his career, Force must best his daughter, his son-in-law, and in his own words, “two of the nicest guys; Beckman and Hagan. Just the best guys!”

While Force shows a softer side of his competitive spirit, it doesn't take much to jolt him back into a “killer” mode.

“I have to keep my mind right,” admits Force, who agrees he has to keep his objectives in focus. “You have to stay focused. You have to keep in that fighting mode.

To say Clay Millican was a bundle of nerves waiting out a four hour weeper delay at Maple Grove Raceway Friday afternoon wouldn't tell the entire story.  

Millican wasn't on edge. He was more anxious to get the first run under his belt than he was concerned the team might embarrass themselves after being out of competition for nearly a year.

“I don't honestly know how long it's been,” Millican admitted when asked just when the last time he raced a top fuel dragster. “But, I know one thing – we're here, we're prepared – we're ready. I've got my same old boys back. Everybody here has been there, done that. We've got a couple of young guys who hopefully are going to show the world what they can do. This will be their first go at tuning a top fuel car.

“Justin Crosslin who has worked with me for nine years, through all my championships, is co-tuning the car. Also, new to our team is Mike Domagala, he's a veteran of the sport. I call him a young guy. He is a young guy, He's worked with such greats as Tim Richards, Brian Corradi, and Mark Oswald. He's been there and done that. He is new to our team. He is the one guy we brought in to help us out. I am really looking forward to what these young guys can do.”

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Front-runner Rookie of the Year candidate LE Tonglet came to Maple Grove Raceway on an impressive streak of three consecutive Pro Stock Motorcycle victories and looking to snatch the points lead from Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider Andrew Hines, who has been at the top of the standings since winning the national event in Brainerd in August. Hines showed up at the lushly landscaped Reading race with a 44 point advantage over Tonglet, and prior to the event, Tonglet stated his own intentions.

"We are going to keep our heads on straight," said Nitro Fish Suzuki rider Tonglet, whose team consists of his father Gary, the tuner, and brother GT, the crew chief. "Everything [has been] working to our advantage. We want to keep up the momentum and stay strong at all three races. Then we’ll see how everything plays out."

Racing the FRAM Top Fuel dragster, Cory McClenathan earned the provisional Top Fuel pole position for the 26th annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway on Friday.

The elapsed time of 3.832 seconds at 316.01 mph which he established in the first qualifying session held through the second one, as the temperatures fell and humidity rose during the night round, resulting in several top cars losing traction. In his second try he experienced tire shake and shut it off, slowing to a 8.328/73.69 pass.

If it holds through two more qualifying rounds on Saturday, McClenathan will have earned his sixth No. 1 of the season and 44th of his career.

Allen Johnson wants the Pro Stock world championship title, and he wants it bad.
 
The amount of time left to claim points is dwindling, and after a shocking shake-up at the recent national event in Charlotte where Johnson suffered a major setback when he was disqualified, he knows that every hundredth of a second counts.

In the first round of qualifying for the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, Johnson -- who was fourth in the Full Throttle Series standings entering the event -- stuttered and stumbled at the hit and watched more points fall through his fingers, but in the second session, he and his team -- including crew chief Mark Ingersoll and Johnson's father, engine builder Roy -- stepped it up just right and picked up the provisional pole. If it holds, it will be the sixth No. 1 of the season for the driver who will finish in the top 10 for the eighth time in his career, regardless of the outcome of the rest of the events.