Final round-by-round results from the 21st annual O'Reilly NHRA
Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, the
fourth of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Famed nitro tuner Richard Hogan has been hired to be the co-crew chief on the
8,000-horspower “Big Red” Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, driven by Doug Kalitta in
the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Hogan will join co-crew chief Jon
Oberhofer to equally share the tuning responsibilities on 335-mph race car that
runs out of the Kalitta Motorsports stable, owned by drag racing icon Connie
“the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta.

“It’s an honor to be given this opportunity at Kalitta Motorsports,” Hogan, a
resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “This organization is one of the best in the
history of drag racing. I’m very excited to see what the future holds for both
of us.”

NO. 1'S FROM FRIDAY HOLD UP AS SUN COMES OUT AT HOUSTON RACEWAY PARK ON SATURDAY

Alan Bradshaw, Cruz Pedregon, Kurt Johnson, Matt Smith top respective classes; Funny Car points leader Hight fails to qualify
 

Alan Bradshaw will open his quest to get into the Top 10 by facing No. 16 qualifier Urs Erbacher in the first round.

Led by Odessa, Tex.-native Alan Bradshaw, the four provisional No. 1
qualifiers from Friday night retained their top spots on Saturday as
qualifying was completed at the 21st annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring
Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro
Stock Motorcycle) rounded out the No. 1 qualifiers at the fourth of 24
races in the NHRA POWERade Series. The foursome will lead the field
into final eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Jim Epler is on the grounds of Houston Raceway Park this weekend on the sponsor side of the fence.

Next year the man who recorded the first Funny Car 300 mile per hour speed hopes to be mixing it up as a competitor.

“I’m sincerely hoping to be back out next year as a driver,” Epler said.

Epler is serving this weekend as the sponsorship rep for iLocate GPS
asset tracking and recovery systems, who signed an associate marketing
program with David Powers Motorsports for this weekend. He’s working
with his longtime friend Craig Southerland, formerly of Ford’s Easy
Care program on this venture.

Mike Green, crew chief on the FRAM Top Fuel dragster driven by Cory McClenathan,
was admitted to San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown, Texas, early Saturday
morning. Green drove himself to the hospital at 4 a.m. suffering pain from
possible diverticulitis, which he has suffered from in the past. Phil Shuler,
crew chief on the Rockstar Energy Drink Funny Car, will help the team in Green's
absence. Green is expected to return to the track some time today. UPDATED - 5:06 PM, EST

Reigning JEGS ProMod Challenge champion Josh Hernandez thrilled a
partial hometown crowd when he pushed his way into the No. 1 qualifying
position Saturday morning at the 21st annual O'Reilly Spring NHRA
Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

The Conroe, Texas-based Hernandez was one of four racers that recorded
five-second passes in qualifying, with his 5.962 at 242.50 mph in the
AMS Staff Leasing Camaro the quickest of the pack. Ray Commisso
(5.967), Friday leader Steve Engel (5.970), and Gainesville winner Joe
Baker (5.981) also dipped into the five-second range.

The first day of qualifying at the
O’Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, TX
provided Warren Johnson and his GM Performance Parts Pontiac GXP Racing team
with a little more excitement than they had hoped for.  After opening with a
solid 6.679-second pass, which came with the top speed of the day in Pro Stock
at 208.42 mph, WJ came back in the evening session looking to pick up the pace
even further.

Running in the left hand lane
opposite his son Kurt, The Professor seemed to have things well in hand when a
major malfunction in his engine sent smoke billowing throughout the car,
blinding Johnson.  Despite his best efforts to retain control, the car spun into
the other lane, eventually contacting the wall with the right front and right
rear corners. 

One time could be considered a fluke. A second represents a trend. At least this is the thought process

Alan Bradshaw made the point clear his Gainesville top qualifying effort was no fluke. (Roger Richards)

for
former Top Alcohol Dragster driver Alan Bradshaw, driver of the Vis
Viva Top Fuel dragster who laid down the provisional pole position
Friday evening with a 4.526 elapsed time at 323.50 miles per hour.

“I couldn’t think of a better place to pull this off than in my home
state of Texas,” Bradshaw proclaimed in the Friday evening press
conference.

Jim Dunn didn’t look a day over 39, although he was celebrating
his 74th birthday in Houston, Texas on Friday. The veteran Funny Car team owner
has seen a lot of drag racing since he started competing back in 1949.

“I’ve seen the sport grow to where it is today,” Dunn said. “The sport
has changed a lot but it’s largely the same. You still want to win
every time you go to the line.”

Dunn chalks up his most memorable drag racing experience to winning at
the Bakersfield March Meet. He won the revered event twice – once in a
Top Fuel dragster [1964] and another time in a Funny Car [1973].

For the first time since the NHRA season-opener at Pomona, Bob Tasca
III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang team were able to make
two qualifying runs on Friday of an event weekend. With a little bit
less pressure on day one at the NHRA Spring Nationals than the two
prior events, Tasca put together two solid runs, giving his team a good
baseline to work with heading into Saturday.

“It was probably the best run we’ve made in the car,” said Tasca of his
second run of the day. “This has really been a great day for us. We
haven’t put together two back-to-back solid runs like that, I don’t
think all year. The guys have certainly made progress; they’ve done a
lot of work between races to refine and make small changes to the car.”

Tasca’s first qualifying effort at Houston Raceway Park was 5.05 ET and
264.49 mph, while the second was a little bit quicker at 4.94 ET and
264.49 mph. Unfortunately, Tasca crossed the centerline on his second
run and hit a cone on the track, resulting in the time not counting for
position.