2011 NHRA SUMMIT NATS - EVENT RESULTS
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SUNDAY FINAL - HIGHT, BROWN AND EDWARDS WIN SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS AT LAS VEGAS
Robert Hight continued John Force Racing’s domination of the Funny Car category by racing to victory Sunday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) also were winners at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Hight’s victory, his second of the season, was the fifth in a row for the team, which included two wins to close the 2010 season by John Force and last month’s Tire Kingdom Gatornationals victory by Mike Neff. Hight, who also won the season opening Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals, moved into the series lead with the win, his second at this event and 20th of his career.
Hight, who beat Jim Head, Jack Beckman and Cruz Pedregon in earlier rounds, held off Johnny Gray in the final round. Hight’s Auto Club Ford Mustang covered the distance in 4.149 at 307.79 to edge Gray’s Service Central Dodge Charger at the finish line, which ran 4.169 at 301.81.
“It’s not getting any easier, but it’s a lot of hard work,” Hight said. “If you let your guard down any little bit you are going to get beat. I had close side-by-side races in every round. In the final, Johnny Gray stepped up and made his best run of the weekend. There are no easy ones. Jim Head was right there in the first round. It makes it feel better when you can get a win like this. In this day and age in this competition, it’s awesome. We’ve got to keep it going. This was the 199th career victory for John Force Racing and it would be great to get the 200th at Charlotte.”
Brown defeated Brandon Bernstein for the Top Fuel victory. It was Brown’s 26th career victory (10th in Top Fuel) and first ever at this track. Brown posted a 3.887 at 318.84 in his Aaron’s/Matco Tools dragster to cross the finish line in front of Bernstein’s Copart dragster, which trailed with a 3.947 at 311.13.
“This car was great all weekend and it feels good to hit the jackpot here in Vegas,” said Brown, who beat Morgan Lucas, Tony Schumacher and Doug Kalitta to advance to the final round. “This weekend everything felt right. Our team just stepped up. We knew it was going to be cooler out there today and when we ran that (3.84) in the second round it really raised some eyebrows. We had to give it all we had and kept it going throughout eliminations. We got it done.”
Series leader Del Worsham lost in the semifinals and now leads Brown by eight points. Past multi-time world champs Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon both lost in the second round and are third and fourth in the point standings, respectively.
Edwards claimed his first Pro Stock win of the season and second straight at this event by defeating rookie and first time finalist Vincent Nobile. Edwards ran 6.695 at 205.98 in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP to take his 29th career victory and hold off Nobile, who finished in 6.713 at 205.69 in his Mount View Tire Dodge Avenger.
The victory moves Edwards to fourth place in the point standings and helps erase a slow start to the season, which included a DNQ at Pomona.
“We started off pretty slow and pretty bad for us really," the 2009 world champ said. "We regrouped and came in here with a new car and made some tremendous runs all weekend. It’s a total team effort. My guys did an awesome job all weekend. They gave me 110 percent and they never quit. I am so proud of them. It’s a great win and we want to try to build on this and try to improve as much as we can and keep trying to run good and make good decisions.”
Edwards, who was the event’s top qualifier, defeated Richard Freeman, Erica Enders and V. Gaines in the first three rounds. He said his car slowed a bit in the final and he was lucky to take the win over the Auto Club Road to the Future Award candidate.
“We were fortunate in the final because we made our worst run of the day,” Edwards said. “That Vincent Nobile is going to be quite a Pro Stock driver and he’s a super talent. He’s going to win some races and give us old guys a run for the money, I can tell you that.”
Pro Stock points leader Jason Line saw his early season winning streak end in the second round when he lost to Greg Stanfield. Line now leads Stanfield by 69 points.
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues with the second annual VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 14-17 at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, N.C.
SATURDAY FINAL QUALIFYING - FORCE, DIXON AND EDWARDS TAKE NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS
John Force raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car Saturday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Larry Dixon (Top Fuel) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) also will lead their categories into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Force, the defending and 15-time world champion, posted a 4.136 at 309.27 in his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang to power past longtime rival Cruz Pedregon and take his first No. 1 of the season and 135th of his career. He is now just three short of Pro Stock racer Warren Johnson’s all-time NHRA record of 138 No. 1s.
“We got away with it,” Force said. “It makes me feel good for those two kids (Dean Antonelli and Ron Douglas) who are tuning the car and they remind me of (former crew chief) Austin Coil. The key is that (by being the No. 1 qualifier) we will get to watch what everybody can do (tomorrow). We’re going to watch the ones ahead of us and then look at (first round opponent Bob Bode’s) number and try to put an edge on him. With Coil the Chi-Town Hustler was famous for consistency and that’s how we won all the championships. Dean Antonelli, he listens, and he has learned so much from Coil and it’s showing right here.”
Pedregon was second with a 4.145 at 306.19 in his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry, while Robert Hight anchored the third spot in his Auto Club Ford Mustang with a 4.146 at 309.56. Series leader Mike Neff sits fourth in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang with a 4.153 at 306.46.
Dixon, a five-time winner at LVMS, earned his 50th top qualifying effort in Top Fuel, as his Friday run of 3.904 at 312.78 in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster held steady at the top. It is Dixon’s second No. 1 of the season and fourth at this track. 
“They weren’t great runs today, but we’ll still get data,” Dixon said. “I am really surprised that a 3.90 stuck. I really thought some of the cars, especially (teammate) Del’s (Worsham), would actually knock that off. I think we were really fortunate. If you get a 10 degree cooler track (tomorrow) you’ll see some quicker E.T.s. For me, my job is the same whether (the track temperature) is 60 or 160 (degrees). We’ll go out there and try hard and know that the Al-Anabi team will give me a great race horse.”
Brandon Bernstein posted the quickest Saturday pass in Top Fuel with a 3.926 at 305.01 and will start second in his Copart dragster. Gainesville winner and series points leader Worsham qualified third in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster with a 3.938 at 305.42.
In Pro Stock, 2009 world champ Edwards claimed his 35th No. 1 qualifying effort and first of the season with a performance of 6.695 at 206.51 in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP as he works to turn around his season after a slow start.
“I thought we ran better yesterday than we did today,” Edwards said. “Overall we’re really pleased with the way we are running. We made four solid runs down the track and hats off to all my guys. Everybody is going to run better tomorrow because the track will be a lot quicker. Hopefully we can adjust and make the right decisions.”
Edwards, who suffered a rare DNQ at the season-opener at Pomona and lost in the second round at the Gatornationals, says this effort couldn’t come at a better time.
“It was important for us to come in here and run good,” Edwards said. “We struggled the first couple of races and to come in here and run good makes you feel better. Hopefully we can take this and get our season going right at the third race of the season instead of the first race of the season.”
Jason Line, winner of the first two races of the season, improved to second overall with a 6.707 at 205.47 in his Summit Racing GXP. Team Mopar Dodge Avenger driver Allen Johnson, who is currently outside the top 10 in points, was third with a 6.711 at 206.07.
COWIE, BARTONE LEAD SATURDAY SPORTSMAN WINNERS
Shawn Cowie [Top Alcohol Dragster] and Tony Bartone [Top Alcohol Funny Car] led their respective divisions into the first 
round of sportsman eliminations during the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Eliminations also got underway for Comp, Super Stock and Stock eliminators where Wade Oman, Don Little and Jimmy DeFrank were the respective low qualifiers.
Cowie entered Saturday’s first round of Top Alcohol Dragster eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier on the strength of his Friday evening 5.371 elapsed time at 267.22 miles per hour.
His first round was an easy one when opponent James Butler was a no-show. Cowie ran a 5.413, 268.01 in victory.
Cody Perkins [Aaron Olivarez], Joey Severance [Art Trautman], Mark Taliaferro [Ashley Bart], Chris Demke [Johnny Ahten] and Megan McKernan [Blake Alexander] advanced to the second round.
Alcohol flopper racer Bartone overtook the top spot during Saturday morning’s final session with a 5.628 at 257.92 miles per hour, his only clean run in qualifying.
The former nitro superstar ran a 5.61, 259 to snag low elapsed time of the event while John Patton lost despite running his best run of the weekend with a 5.76, 250.
Brett Williamson [Mickey Ferro], Doug Gordon [Roger Bateman], Clint Thompson [Mark Woznichak], Brian Hough [Shane Westerfield], Keeter Ray [John Lombardo Jr.], Jay Payne [Ken Webster] and Sean O’Bannon [Sean Bellemeur] rounded out the first round winners.
Sportsman eliminations continue on Sunday.
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First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 12th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the third of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.904 seconds, 312.78 mph vs. 16. Steve Torrence, 4.183, 283.49; 2. Brandon Bernstein, 3.926, 305.01 vs. 15. Steve Faria, 4.159, 268.92; 3. Del Worsham, 3.938, 305.42 vs. 14. Steven Chrisman, 4.133, 285.47; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.939, 314.75 vs. 13. Troy Buff, 4.032, 288.33; 5. Antron Brown, 3.939, 311.34 vs. 12. Morgan Lucas, 4.017, 266.69; 6. Spencer Massey, 3.945, 309.70 vs. 11. Shawn Langdon, 3.985, 297.81; 7. David Grubnic, 3.947, 306.05 vs. 10. Terry McMillen, 3.982, 302.75; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 3.950, 315.12 vs. 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.968, 312.28. Did Not Qualify: 17. Ron August, 4.211, 230.72; 18. Terry Sainty, 4.274, 261.22; 19. Mike Strasburg, DQ.
Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.136, 309.27 vs. 16. Bob Bode, Chevy Impala SS, 4.350, 285.89; 2. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.145, 306.19 vs. 15. Gary Densham, Dodge Charger, 4.314, 284.69; 3. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.146, 309.56 vs. 14. Jim Head, Solara, 4.302, 288.46; 4. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.153, 306.46 vs. 13. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.267, 292.52; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.180, 298.73 vs. 12. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.254, 284.15; 6. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.189, 298.34 vs. 11. Paul Lee, Impala SS, 4.224, 295.34; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.196, 295.21 vs. 10. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.223, 297.35; 8. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.202, 294.63 vs. 9. Tony Pedregon, Impala SS, 4.211, 300.13. Did Not Qualify: 17. Jeff Diehl, 4.359, 283.97; 18. Melanie Troxel, 4.404, 229.63; 19. Grant Downing, 4.415, 243.94; 20. Brian Thiel, 4.420, 279.21; 21. Terry Haddock, 4.615, 273.11.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.695, 206.51 vs. 16. Richard Freeman, GXP, 6.779, 204.14; 2. Jason Line, GXP, 6.707, 205.47 vs. 15. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.762, 205.35; 3. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.711, 206.07 vs. 14. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.758, 204.32; 4. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.711, 205.91 vs. 13. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.755, 205.79; 5. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.721, 205.72 vs. 12. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.737, 205.54; 6. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.723, 205.88 vs. 11. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.735, 205.19; 7. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.727, 205.47 vs. 10. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.730, 205.22; 8. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.729, 205.69 vs. 9. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.730, 205.41. Did Not Qualify: 17. Buddy Perkinson, 6.783, 203.37.
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FRIDAY SPORTSMAN - DEFRANK TOPS STOCK QUALIFYING; SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING CONTINUES ON SATURDAY
First Day of Sportsman Qualifying Completed
Jimmy DeFrank proved his 1969 Camaro was the top dog amongst the 61 Stock eliminator final qualifiers at the NHRA 
SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas. Stock eliminator qualifying is the only completed eliminator thus far.
Other provisional low qualifiers included Top Alcohol Dragster Shawn Cowie (5.371, 267.22), Top Alcohol Funny Car Mark Woznichak (5.682, 251.2), Comp eliminator Wade Oman (A/DA, -.617, 6.583) and Don Little (SS/JA, -.915, 10.275).
DeFrank, racing his Chevrolet in B/Stock Automatic, successfully outdistanced himself from No. 2 Andy Durham with a -1.003, 10.437 pass.
Durham’s 2011 Dodge Challenger was second with a -.941, 9.839 pass against the AA/Stock Automatic standard.
Defending Stock series champion Brad Burton, Bobby DeArmond and Scott Burton rounded out the top five qualifiers.
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - DIXON, C. PEDREGON AND EDWARDS ARE FRIDAY QUALIFYING LEADERS AT THE SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS AT LAS VEGAS
Defending Top Fuel world champion Larry Dixon raced to the qualifying lead Friday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Cruz Pedregon and Mike Edwards also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Dixon, who claimed one of his 12 season victories here last year by defeating Cory McClenathan in the final round, posted a 3.904-second run at 312.78 mph in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to lead the qualifying order in the 7,000-horsepower category.
Teams in all three categories battled warmer than normal weather conditions with track temperatures reaching more than 130 degrees. Dixon, who was ninth after the first qualifying session, said he was proud of his team’s effort to rebound to the top on their second try in the tricky conditions.
“We’re fortunate that it stuck,” Dixon said. “A 3.90 in those conditions I thought was a great run. If we get cooler weather tomorrow that run might not even stay in the show. That’s how much the guys out here can pick it up. For today it was a great run by the team and it got us qualified.”
Dixon’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate Del Worsham, the current points leader who became the 15th driver in NHRA history to win in both nitro categories with his victory three weeks ago in Gainesville, Fla., was second with a 3.938 at 305.42. Antron Brown was third in his Matco Tools dragster with a 3.939 at 311.34.
In Funny Car, Pedregon just edged 15-time world champ John Force for the top spot with a performance of 4.145 at 306.19 in his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry. Defending event winner Force was second with a 4.169 at 304.25 in his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang.
“It felt great,” Pedregon said of the run. “My confidence meter was about a zero going into that session because on the first run the car sounded weird and was acting weird. We’re about 70 degrees warmer than when we were No. 1 qualifier about a month ago in Pomona. We change everything except for the chassis and the body on the car to negotiate the run in these conditions. It’s a great track but the heat really loosens it up and makes you have to pull in a few horses. Happy would be an understatement. We’re on cloud nine. It’s just qualifying, but we were the best today.”
Three of Force’s fellow Ford Mustang drivers – Tim Wilkerson, Robert Hight and Bob Tasca – are third through fifth respectively. Series points leader Mike Neff is 16th in his Castrol GTX Mustang with a 5.280 at 142.04.
Edwards led Pro Stock with a 6.709 at 205.63 in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP. Edwards, who has a great record in hot conditions, was quickest in the first session and actually improved on that run when the track was warmer in the afternoon.
“I think we made such a good run the first session I think we were closer than everybody else,” Edwards said. “I think you’ll see it close up tomorrow. The track was very hot today. I was really impressed with how we kept up with the track today and improved on our run. I was really happy with all the decisions we made and we’re off to a good start. The gap will definitely get closer tomorrow because everybody will get it figured out.”
Rookie Vincent Nobile is second with a 6.736 at 205.44 in the Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger and recent national record-setter Rodger Brogdon was third in his Racers Edge GXP with a 6.736 at 205.32. Series leader Jason Line, a winner of the first two races of the season, is eighth with a 6.749 at 205.01 in his Summit Racing GXP.
Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
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Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 12th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, third of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.904 seconds, 312.78 mph; 2. Del Worsham, 3.938, 305.42; 3. Antron Brown, 3.939, 311.34; 4. Spencer Massey, 3.945, 309.70; 5. David Grubnic, 3.947, 306.05; 6. Tony Schumacher, 3.962, 308.43; 7. Doug Kalitta, 3.968, 312.28; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 3.976, 303.09; 9. Terry McMillen, 3.982, 302.75; 10. Shawn Langdon, 3.989, 297.81; 11. Morgan Lucas, 4.017, 266.69; 12. Troy Buff, 4.032, 288.33. Not Qualified: 13. Bob Vandergriff, 4.033, 285.29; 14. Mike Strasburg, 4.068, 298.47; 15. Steve Torrence, 4.346, 257.78; 16. Ron August, 4.795, 160.52; 17. Steven Chrisman, 4.804, 162.20; 18. Steve Faria, 5.014, 148.14; 19. Terry Sainty, 6.561, 94.99.
Funny Car -- 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.145, 306.19; 2. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.169, 304.25; 3. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.196, 295.21; 4. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.197, 304.87; 5. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.202, 294.63; 6. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala SS, 4.237, 296.83; 7. Paul Lee, Impala SS, 4.253, 293.60; 8. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.275, 283.73; 9. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.329, 284.15; 10. Bob Bode, Impala SS, 4.372, 280.72; 11. Melanie Troxel, Solara, 4.404, 229.63; 12. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.412, 257.19. Not Qualified: 13. Ron Capps, 4.416, 271.73; 14. Brian Thiel, 4.442, 239.44; 15. Gary Densham, 4.972, 161.92; 16. Mike Neff, 5.280, 142.04; 17. Grant Downing, 5.500, 129.93; 18. Jim Head, 6.971, 93.03; 19. Johnny Gray, broke; 20. Terry Haddock, broke.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.709, 206.26; 2. Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.736, 205.44; 3. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.736, 205.32; 4. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.736, 204.35; 5. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.738, 204.85; 6. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.745, 205.60; 7. Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.747, 205.19; 8. Jason Line, GXP, 6.749, 205.01; 9. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.750, 204.20; 10. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.753, 203.92; 11. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.755, 203.98; 12. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.766, 204.08. Not Qualified: 13. Kurt Johnson, 6.766, 203.98; 14. Larry Morgan, 6.771, 204.51; 15. Buddy Perkinson, 6.800, 202.52; 16. Richard Freeman, 6.805, 202.73; 17. V. Gaines, 8.087, 122.96.
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