Taylor, Balooshi, Naiser and Jackson lead respective divisions

Extreme Pro Stock racer Robert Patrick wouldn’t say that he entered this weekend’s ADRL Hardee's Georgia Drags with a chip on his shoulder, but did admit that he had plenty of incentive to turn up the wick during provisional qualifying.

Joining Patrick atop their respective fields were Frankie Taylor (Pro Extreme), Khalid Al-Balooshi (Pro Nitrous), Jeff Naiser (XTF) and Broderick Jackson (Pro Extreme Motorcycle).

In Houston, the driver of the Purvis Ford Shelby Cobra from Fredericksburg, Va., experienced a less than spectacular season opener and on the day after that frustrating loss, he blew up the team’s brand new experimental engine.

That’s why Patrick came out of the gate swinging this evening as he drove his way to an early lead in qualifying with a 4.072 elapsed time at 176.03. Not only does his run stand as the first day leader of qualifying but also represents both ends of new world records if he can produce the required one-percent back up.

Taylor, Balooshi, Naiser and Jackson lead respective divisions

Extreme Pro Stock racer Robert Patrick wouldn’t say that he entered this weekend’s ADRL Hardee's Georgia Drags with a chip on his shoulder, but did admit that he had plenty of incentive to turn up the wick during provisional qualifying.

Joining Patrick atop their respective fields were Frankie Taylor (Pro Extreme), Khalid Al-Balooshi (Pro Nitrous), Jeff Naiser (XTF) and Broderick Jackson (Pro Extreme Motorcycle).

In Houston, the driver of the Purvis Ford Shelby Cobra from Fredericksburg, Va., experienced a less than spectacular season opener and on the day after that frustrating loss, he blew up the team’s brand new experimental engine.

That’s why Patrick came out of the gate swinging this evening as he drove his way to an early lead in qualifying with a 4.072 elapsed time at 176.03. Not only does his run stand as the first day leader of qualifying but also represents both ends of new world records if he can produce the required one-percent back up.

“We made a pretty good run and the conditions that we had here on Friday night were better than what we had to work with in Houston,” Patrick said. “I felt like we had at least a 4.09 in the car considering we ran a 4.08 in testing earlier in the day. We got a little more aggressive with the tune-up and the track came around.

Patrick’s last three runs have been a 4.09 [recorded the day after Houston], a 4.08 earlier today and the 4.072 in qualifying. Could this be a trend with the next run being a 4.06?

“If the air improves, we could possibly run a high 4.06,” Patrick said.

Low budget fan favorite Frankie Taylor fought his way to a 3.762 elapsed time at 202.93 to lead the Pro Extreme division into the second day of qualifications. The run was a personal best for him.

“We knew that there was a 200 in it,” said Taylor. “We ran nearly that fast last week in testing.”

Three-time Arabian Gulf region champion K.A. Baloosi was the head of the class in the nitrous division as the Team Al-Anabi driver thundered to the fastest Pro Nitrous speed in ADRL history laying down a 196.33 miles per hour and coupled with a 3.870, emerged the provisional top qualifying position. Slipping in at second was the Houston No. 1 qualifier Johnny Pilcher with a 3.938 elapsed time at 190.00 mph.

Balooshi is tuned this weekend by noted nitrous legend Shannon Jenkins, who is sitting out the event to concentrate on his tuner's role.

“I wanted to put all of my energies towards making his car get down the track,” said Jenkins. “He has really improved as a driver and we needed to do was give him a fast car. We knew the car was capable of that kind of run.”

Balooshi’s mile per hour mark was faster than the current world record (194.13) held by Jim Halsey. He needs to back up his run within 1% during the weekend to claim the record.

Naiser was the quickest amongst the Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 division as he drove his Pontiac Grand-Am to a 4.106, 179.59 to edge out defending world champion and recent Houston champion Billy Glidden, who turned in a 4.113, 175.96.

Friday’s lone Pro Extreme Motorcycle session created a log-jam at the top of the qualifying list as Jackson rode to a 4.230 edging Ron Procopio’s 4.232. Also qualified in the top three with a 4.23 was Scott Gray (4.236). The two NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle riders Matt Smith and Steve Johnson are unqualified.

In Pro Junior Dragster, Neal Williams of Thomasville, Georgia led qualifying with a stellar .003 reaction time.

Qualifying for the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags V continues on Saturday beginning at 10:00 AM local time. Eliminations start at 4:00 PM.