Mike Edwards rode his third round qualifying pass of 6.67 seconds, 205.99 mph, to the number one qualifying spot for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip in Las Vegas.

This is the fifth pole position for Edwards in six races this year,  third straight at this track and 27th of his Pro Stock career.

Track temperatures soured above the 120 degree mark during the final session and we at their peak as Edwards squared off against Roger Brogdon. Brogdon closed the gap between himself and Edwards in the round, but will go off third in Sunday eliminations, behind Edwards and Ron Krisher.

Three-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson completed a solid qualifying effort on Saturday, capturing the fifth starting position for Sunday’s final eliminations of the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, NV.  
 
This marks Anderson’s 14th Top Five qualifying effort in 16 starts on the Nevada quarter-mile as he looks to add to his NHRA-leading six wins at this spectacular facility.  Naturally, racing in his sponsor’s event at his convalescing team owner’s home track, he has more than enough reasons to do well.  Even so, he is keeping everything in perspective heading into race day.

Del Worsham raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car Saturday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Antron Brown and Mike Edwards also will lead their respective categories into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations as the No. 1 qualifiers at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Worsham was able to overcome the hot track conditions that has thrown a curveball to all of the race teams this weekend and produce an eye-popping run in the final session. He powered his Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Solara to a 4.187-second run at 297.75 mph to earn his first No. 1 position since the 2007 season, and fifth overall.

Worsham, who has recorded three first round losses in the first five races, hopes this top qualifying effort will be the start of a turnaround for his season.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the sixth of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

A rolling tide of persuasion has washed away the line drawn in the sand by the PRO board when it comes to four-wide racing.

NHRA President Tom Compton announced today there would be four wide racing at zMAX Dragway in 2011 and the event would be a championship points event.

PART 2

Ashley Force Hood accomplished a feat Friday afternoon no other Funny Car team was able to do. She made two full passes down the Strip at Las Vegas and both passes dominated qualifying for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Force Hood powered her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a leading performance of 4.195 seconds at 295.14 mph to pace the 16-car lineup.

Driving the same car he drove last year, Antron Brown put the Matco Tools dragster on top of the field with an impressive warm weather setup. Brown ran a 3.881 second, 316.60 mph which just beat out Larry Dixon's 3.894 second, 314.24 pass in the opposite lane during first day qualifying at the NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals in Las Vegas.

Brown's run was the slowest qualifying pass of the season to take the number one spot. Brown's first round pass, a 5.085 run was ninth of the day at that time.

Mike Edwards didn’t get mad at his situation, he just fixed it.

Edwards jumped from his paltry No. 5 qualifying position in the first round to the provisional pole position during Friday’s second qualifying session at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas.

“We had engine issues the first session,” said Edwards, who stands on the cusp of his fifth pole position of 2010. “We had a motor that had some issues, so we changed it out.”

Ashley Force Hood raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Antron Brown and Mike Edwards also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Force Hood powered her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a leading performance of 4.195 seconds at 295.14 mph to pace the 16-car lineup. If the performance stands through Saturday’s two qualifying sessions (11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) it would be her first No. 1 of the season and 10th of her career.