A trio of stellar performances by Bill Reichert, Ben Wenzel and Ricky
Shipp allowed the team from the NHRA North Central Division to capture
the overall team title at the 25th annual JEGS Allstars race, held
yesterday at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. Reichert, Wenzel, and
Shipp, won titles in Top Alcohol Dragster, Stock, and Super Street,
respectively, and combined to earn 900 of the North Central Division
team’s 1,100 as they prevented the Northeast Division team from winning
their fourth-straight team title. Each of the North Central division
team members shared in a $20,000 bonus from event sponsor JEGS Mail
Order. The JEGS Allstars is an annual event that is reserved for the
best sportsman drivers from each of NHRA’s seven geographic divisions.

Rookie Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Doug Horne set the high water mark in the first round of qualifying
and then just held on as the track, at least for the bike riders, just
didn't offer anything better, which suited Horne just fine.

“It means a lot,” Horne stated, when asked what his first career pole
meant to him. “If you look at Spencer, Shawn and Matt … they’ve all had
final rounds and one has been a No. 1 qualifier. To get that No. 1
qualifier helps out for rookie of the year. It also gives me a lot of
confidence headed into Sunday just by being in that position.”

One of the more off occurrences of Saturday qualifying at the NHRA
Route 66 Nationals transpired during the third qualifying session when
Bob Tasca’s tree flashed and went green but John Force’s didn’t and
went red.

Force rolled into the beams but neither pre-stage or stage lights would
illuminate. Tasca couldn’t hold his car any longer and left the
starting line on green.

NHRA officials deemed the miscue a tree malfunction and granted Force
the opportunity to rerun the qualifying attempt. Under crew chief
Austin Coil’s orders the team returned to the pits, refueled and
returned for the completion of the run.

Tony Pedregon remembers the good old days of Funny Car when the No. 1 qualifier used to get a pretty good draw in the first round, usually a duck of an opponent, one who couldn’t get out of his own way.

Those were the days.

For qualifying No. 1 at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, the two-time world
champion gained anything but an easy ride to the second round. His
efforts landed a first round match against the current Full Throttle
point leader Ron Capps.

“We’re running pretty good here and they have to get their problems sorted out in one run,” Pedregon said.

Possibly the best news of the weekend for John Force Racing was the
progress that Robert Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock have made with
their Auto Club Ford Mustang. With nearly every run they got from point
A to point B. In the night session last night they were bitten by some
bad luck but when it counted in the last qualifying session they
brought their “A” game to Rt. 66 Raceway.

“Last night on the night run that is what we thought it might run. It
looked like it should have run that. It closed the gap on a spark plug
and then it dropped a cylinder. That wasn’t a tune up issue. It wasn’t
anything but just bad luck. Had we run that 4.14 last night we would
have been in a lot better shape both runs today so we started behind
again,” said Hight.

By his own admission, Mike Edwards is “living the dream”. A dream that has led him to his sixth No.1 qualifying
effort in the first ten races of season. And, as in the case of the
previous five efforts, Edwards was humble in his accomplishment.

“It’s an honor to be in the position that we are in now,” Edwards said.
“It’s so hard to do it [qualify No. 1] and to do it as many times as we
have, I’m amazed myself.”

Recently, it appears all Edwards has to do is lay down a fast lap and then work on getting a setup for Sunday.

The Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Pro Stockers competed in their
first race since the NHRA mandated a ten pound addition to their

Steve Johnson headed Buell? Maybe, maybe not.

competition bringing their minimum weight to 640 pounds.

The combination, which has led the last few NHRA Full Throttle
qualifying lists, was fifth with Andrew Hines and ninth with Eddie
Krawiec.

Steve Johnson has been one of the more outspoken figures on Pro Stock
Motorcycle parity. Johnson told ESPN on Saturday that while he’s
sympathetic to the NHRA’s plight of parity, it’s still frustrating for
him.

Rain is making its way across the midwest leaving many drag racing schedules altered or postponed. On Saturday, action at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals was delayed by 90 minutes and today, persistent rains have forced the event into a holding pattern. Eliminations were scheduled for 11 AM, CST., but the schedule for Sunday appears to be up in the air.

Tony
Pedregon raced to his second No. 1 qualifying position of the season
and 36th of his career Saturday at the United Association Route 66 NHRA
Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

Antron Brown, Mike Edwards and Doug Horne also will lead their
categories into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event.

Pedregon powered his Q-Horsepower Chevy Impala to a 4.079 second run at
304.39 mph to earn his third top qualifying effort at the dragstrip
located just south of Chicago. He will face current Funny Car points
leader Ron Capps in the opening round. Capps squeezed into the field at
16th with a time of 4.228 seconds in his NAPA Dodge Stratus.

“It used to be that you qualify No. 1 and you get a pretty good draw; I
won’t mention any names but not a Ron Capps,” Pedregon said. “That’s a
tough draw. But we’re running good here, and they’ve got to get their
problems sorted out in one run. I’d rather be in this position.

Persistent rains have forced the ADRL Ford Drive One Summer Drags at U.S. 131 Dragway into a holding pattern. Race officials halted action a little past 8:30, with eliminations into the second round.

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