Hopefully, the sixth time’s the charm for Chris McGaha.

For the sixth time in his career, and the fourth time this season, McGaha will lead the Pro Stock field into eliminations as the top qualifier in the class, but to this point, the Texan hasn’t been able to turn those fast runs into a win.

Needless to say, McGaha and the Harlow Sammons team are hoping to change that this weekend.

McGaha was quickest in three of four sessions through two days at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, with his track-record run of 6.499-seconds at 212.36 mph from Friday night holding up to give him his fourth top qualifier award of the year Saturday at Sonoma Raceway.

While all of his previous attempts have come up short, McGaha has confidence that this weekend could be the one that turns things around.

“I have a lot of confidence. I mean, it is a lot easier to drive a fast car. I am the one who keeps screwing it up right now,” McGaha said. “They are doing their job over in the pit and now it is up to me.”

McGaha was quickest in three of this weekend’s four qualifying sessions, making runs of 6.530, 6.499, 6.518 and 6.527 over the two-day span. If nothing else, the four-run equation has equalled a very consistent car, something he and crew chief Brian Self are very happy about.

“The consistent runs have been very helpful. Today’s conditions were more like race day and that is what you want,” McGaha said. “We have been having to run late on both days lately, and that is kind of throw away information. Today it was a lot closer to what we are going to see tomorrow.”

The sea-level conditions in Sonoma were a refreshing change of pace from last week’s mile-high thin air in Denver, and McGaha made good use of the circumstances to nab the pole. Just behind McGaha is the Summit Racing Equipment-backed Chevrolet Camaro of Jason Line, whose 6.507 at 212.26 mph placed him second on the charts. Line’s teammate, Greg Anderson, qualified third with a 6.507 at 212.16 mph.

McGaha will begin Sunday’s journey to the finals with a first-round matchup with veteran racer V. Gaines. Gaines laid down a weekend-best 6.613 at 210.47 mph to qualify 16th.

Line, the defending winner of this race, will square off with Aaron Strong in the opening round, while Anderson will matchup with Alex Laughlin. Erica Enders, currently second in the Pro Stock championship standings, qualified in the bottom half of the field for only the second time all season and will have a tough matchup in round one against Shane Gray.

With only four races remaining before the Countdown, things should heat up nicely on Sunday - literally and figuratively. 

“The track is a little greasy out there and it will only get worse with the sun on it and more people running on it, but we feel good about our car,” McGaha said. “You never really know what is going to happen on race day, but these Pro Stock guys are really good at adapting to the track conditions. We should have a good race on our hands tomorrow.”

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