It took a little while to complete, but NHRA got it done.
David Dupps (Comp), Jeff Dona (Super Stock), Casey Fauss-Johnson (Stock), Glenn Butcher (Top Sportsman), and Wayne Landry (Top Dragster) emerged as Thursday’s qualifying leaders as NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Sportsman qualifying concluded on Thursday at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. All sportsman fields are now set.
With rain interrupting the second qualifying session, several late runs reshuffled the order before officials completed the program.
The second and final qualifying session in Comp Eliminator proved to be the biggest mover of the day. Dupps, of Germantown, Ohio, vaulted from 10th to the No. 1 position with an 8.031-second pass in his C/EA Pontiac GTO, finishing .659-second under the index to edge Cali Neff’s A/ED dragster by just .006-second under the index.
Pat Nahan qualified third in Comp Eliminator at .652 under the index, followed by Steve Szupka and Greg Kamplain. Christopher Dodd, Royce Freeman, Bruno Massel, Peter D’Agnolo and Las Vegas winner Scott Linder completed the top 10.
Super Stock saw one of the day’s biggest shakeups as Jeff Dona charged from outside the top 10 to claim the provisional pole. Dona drove his Firebird to a 9.476-second pass, 1.124 seconds under the index, knocking Chuck Belanger from the top position after Belanger led the opening session.
Kevin Helms improved from third to second with a run 1.021 seconds under the index, while Belanger settled into third. David Barton and Jeff Adkinson rounded out the top five heading into eliminations.
Stock Eliminator remained firmly in the hands of Johnstown, Ohio’s Casey Fauss-Johnson. His 9.499-second pass in a 2015 Challenger stood as the quickest effort at 1.101 seconds under the index, while Doug Duell, Thomas Mace, Jim Marshall and Victor Cagnazzi completed the top five.
Top Sportsman featured another hometown surge as Doylestown, Ohio’s Glenn Butcher leapfrogged into the No. 1 position during the final qualifying session. Butcher’s 6.127-second pass at 230.45 mph moved him ahead of defending leader Darian Boesch, while Dennis Dowson qualified third ahead of Scott Wasko and Mark McDonald.
Wayne Landry paced the competitive Top Dragster field with a 6.106-second run at 226.77 mph. Jacob Elrod qualified second at 6.110, followed closely by Jim Prevo, Peter Biondo and Jordan Ward in one of the closest top-five fields of the day.
Rain showers briefly halted the Q2 session, but officials completed qualifying before weather became a larger factor. The revised event schedule calls for eliminations to begin at 8 a.m. Friday, after NHRA moved racing forward in anticipation of afternoon rain.
