Pro Mod points leader Kris Thorne stood on his stellar pass on Saturday night from the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals to secure the number one qualifying position heading into final eliminations.

Thorne kicked off qualifying with a solid 5.831 at over 249 miles per hour in the first session on Friday afternoon but was able to step up big time and take advantage of the killer conditions on Saturday night. Thorne, behind the wheel of his Thorne Site/Boggs Gases Procharged Camarao, laid down a back-breaking 5.718 at over 250 miles per hour on Saturday night to shoot him up to the top of the field. 

"It was a great run," Thorne said. "You always know when you're on a good run within the first sixty feet. And when it pins you in the seat, all you can do is hold on from there."

While Thorne is happy with the car's performance in qualifying, he knows all that counts is being there at the end of the day on race day.

"It always feels good to come out and flex your muscles," Thorne said. "But it's not the same as race day. We went to Brainerd and qualified number one and went out first round. We didn't care to come out here and qualify number one. We want to run good on race day and try and get the win here in Indy for our first time."

Thorne and his closest pursuer in the Pro Mod point standings, "Trickie" Rickie Smith, will head into the final eliminations on the same side of the ladder with a chance of meeting in the semifinals. Smith was the first to dip into the 5.70s on Saturday night but qualified in the number four position with his run of 5.755 at 251 miles per hour set in the final session. 

Thorne will have a date with the series runner-up from last year, Brandon Snider, in the first round of eliminations, and Smith will square off against Mike Thielen in his opening round matchup. 

Sliding in, in the number two qualified position is 2019 U.S. Nationals champion, Mike Castellana. Castellana struggled in the first round on Friday. But just like Thorne was able to take advantage of the Disneyland-type conditions on Saturday night. Castella powered his Frank Manzo tuned Supercharged 1969 Camaro to a stout 5.725 at over 248 miles per hour. 

Castellana will have a tough customer in the other lane when he pulls to the line for the first round of competition, however, as he will square off against the driver of one of the Bahrain 1 Racing Camaro's, Khalid AlBalooshi.  

However, the model of consistency during the weekend goes to Eric Dillard, who's filling in for reigning Fueltech NHRA Pro Mod Series Champion, who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the week. Dillard got the call Wednesday morning that he would fill in for Gonzalez, and he has made the most of the opportunity. 

Dillard kicked off qualifying behind the wheel of the Q80 Racing/EGR Racing Camaro with a 5.782 at 249 miles per hour which gave him the provisional number one qualifying spot after the first session. Dillard backed that up with an even quicker 5.735 at over 249 miles per hour before capping off qualifying with his best run of the weekend, clocking in a 5.732 at 249 miles per hour to slide him into the number three qualified spot. 

But Dillard will be dealt an unlucky hand as he will face off against his El General Racing teammate Daniel Pharris in the opening round of action, which is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.  

Adriano Kayayan vs. JR Gray Jr, Steve Jackson vs. Jerico Balduf, Sidnei Frigo vs. Stan Shelton, and Jason Scruggs vs. Justin Bond are the rest of the pairing in the first round of competition.