The same run last year would have ended in disappointment. .
 
This year, the run puts Bob Tasca III and his Motorcraft Mustang Funny
Car on the provisional pole at the NHRA Full Throttle AC Delco
Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida.
 
Tasca turned in a solid 4.124, 296.76 in the first qualifying session
and then backed it up with a 4.189, 293.98 in the second session. While
the second run was smooth from start to finish, it was the first run,
despite issues which was fastest.
 
“The interesting thing on that (first) run, I never would have been
able to make that run last year from one standpoint, I wasn't straight
going into the first beam,” Tasca explained. “We've got a new guy
backing me up and I was crooked. Shame on me, I should have picked it
up earlier. I knew I wasn't in the right direction. I was pointing at
the walls.”
 

Even for a seasoned driver like Larry Dixon, the more runs a driver makes the more in tune the driver gets with his car.
 
Dixon, in his third race as driver of the newly formed Alan Johnson Al
Anabi team, already has a leg up on his second pole position. Clearly
two out of three isn’t bad for the 43-time winner.
 
Dixon ran a 3.902 elapsed time at 310.20 miles per hour to qualify No.
1 during the first day of the NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals in
Gainesville, Fla.
 
“I am getting less coaching on the procedures of the car,” Dixon said. “I am in a routine now.”
 
One might find it hard to believe a driver of Dixon's caliber needs any
kind of coaching. He’s quick to point out there’s always something to
learn when you join a new team, as he did this season.

The opening day of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented
by ProCare Rx met expectations of excitement and thrilling racing,
ending with R2B2 Racing team owner Roger Burgess on the provisional pole.
 
Burgess' field-leading salvo in his '67 Camaro registered 5.993/243.55,
the quickest run of his career and the fastest thus far of the event.
Smiling from ear-to-ear, Burgess said, "that was a lot of fun."
 
"Al [Billes, Burgess' tuner] had the car 'hopped up' as he calls it,
and we were able to record our first five-second run with me as a
driver."
 
Just behind Burgess was Danny Rowe in his Sterling Bridge '67 Camaro.
Rowe said, "We had a tough time in the first round, but Jimmy Rector
[crew chief] made some adjustments on the car and we ran a six-flat. He
did everything he needed to do, settled the car down and it went right
down the track."

Mike Edwards still finds success a foreign experience.
 
For the second event in a row, the ART-sponsored driver heads into the
final day of qualifying at the NHRA Gatornationals as the Pro Stock provisional low qualifier.
 
Edwards turned in a 6.582 elapsed time at 209.10 miles per hour to lead
Greg Anderson by over .01 of a second. It's a feat he would have
dismissed a year ago as fantasy talk.
 
He’s learning that 2009 is quickly becoming the season where fantasy crosses paths with reality.
 
“I’m not real used to this to be honest,” Edwards admitted. “This is
very nice and rewarding at the same time when you put this much effort
in and get these kinds of results. This is rewarding. I am appreciative
of everything and want to give God the glory for our accomplishment.”

Some riders are natural performers.
 
Former NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith needed only a few
laps on Don Schumacher Racing’s Suzuki to re-acclimate himself with the
style of bike he drove when he first learned how to race.
 
Nine runs, seven in testing, and he is the provisional low qualifier at
the NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals. This event in Gainesville, Fla., is
traditionally the season-opener for the 17-race Pro Stock Motorcycles.
 
On the first run in qualifying for the new season he went immediately
to the top. The second backed up his claim for the provisional pole
effort.
 
“I had to change my riding style,” Smith admitted. “I haven’t rode the
Buell any this season. I’m trying to stay away from it and focus in on
the Suzuki.”
 
The separation isn’t absolute considering Smith’s fiancée Angie McBride
rides his former Buell and will have Nitro Fish backing for at least
four events in the early part of 2009. He also builds the engines for
her.

Larry
Dixon led the Top Fuel pack on Friday at the ACDelco NHRA
Gatornationals by racing to the qualifying lead for the second
consecutive race.

Dixon, who had a rough start to the season after failing to qualify at
the season-opener in Pomona, qualified with the quickest run on Friday,
a performance of 3.902 seconds at 310.20 mph in his Al-Anabi Racing
dragster.

Bob Tasca, Mike Edwards and Matt Smith also were qualifying leaders in
their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series Event. Qualifying continues Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
for Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations.

A prime example of what could go wrong and what did go wrong on Friday the 13th at the NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Veteran Super Stock racer Larry Griffith took delivery of the second Dodge Challenger Drag Pak by Mopar® on March 9 from Dennis Guest,
dealer principal of the South Oak Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Matteson, Ill.
Griffith’s original award-winning 1968 Dodge Dart package car restored
by Joe Hilger, former Chrysler Vice President of Global Service, was
also on display at the delivery. In addition, this event marked the
ramp up to full production for the Challenger Drag Pak for Chrysler LLC.

Turbo Pro Mod racer Mike Moran recorded the first known doorslammer five-second run yesterday at a test session in Valdosta, Ga.

Moran's Monte Carlo stopped the timers at 5.97-seconds at 250 miles per hour.