LE Tonglet knows patience.

For nearly five years, the Louisiana native endured a losing streak in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock ranks.

Despite his misfortunes, Tonglet never gave up.

Now with the help of a few talented friends, Tonglet is earning the rewards.

Tonglet grabbed his second No. 1 qualifier of the season in dramatic fashion Saturday evening during the Fallen Patriots NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.

On his final pass of the session, Tonglet set an elapsed time track record of 6.806 seconds at 196.13 mph in his Nitro Fish Racing Suzuki.

“I wish we could have that kind of pass in Q3 today, but unfortunately I made some mistakes,” Tonglet said.

Instead of fussing, Tonglet went back to the mental drawing board with his father and team owner, Gary Tonglet, along with crew chief Tim Kulungian. Gary also competed in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks.

“I just had to calm down,” Tonglet said. “My dad kept me calm, and Tim said the bike was going to run the number if I could do everything right.

Tonglet followed his advice and then performed in textbook fashion.

“We went 6.80, which was a pretty stout number for these conditions,” Tonglet said.

Entering today’s eliminations, Tonglet has a 91-point advantage over Harley Davidson rider Eddie Krawiec in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings.

“We’ve had a very good season so far, and it kind feels it did in 2010 and 2001 when we were really fast,” Tonglet said.

Tonglet finally ended his losing skid last season with a victory at Sonoma. But he said his drought still serves as motivational rocket fuel.

“The winless streak was coming up on five years, and that was tough,” Tonglet said. “There were times where we questioned why even go to the races anymore.”

That question was answered by Gary Tonglet.

“My dad just loves this class so much, so we kind of just did it for him,” LT said. “We enjoy doing this, but you want to win every time you go to the track. It seemed like we would have bad luck or stuff that would break each time in the semis over those five years.”

Then came last year’s landmark event at Sonoma.

“That was the kind of like the slump- buster,” Tonglet said. “That win was huge for us. It brought a lot of confidence and cheered everybody up on our team.”

Tonglet advanced to the semifinals five times last season en route to a seven place finish in points.

The confidence train was recharged again Saturday as Tonglet earned his fifth No. 1 qualifier of his career.

“We feel very confident,” Tonglet said. “We can’t do this without Tim and Jerry (Savoie). They have provided a bike that can win races and go to the No. 1 qualifier at any moment. I can’t thank them enough. And Kenny Koretsky is the one that kind of pushed us to this deal.”

That deal involved a two-bike effort for Tonglet and Savoie for the 2017 season.

“At first, I was a little skeptical to do this deal because I wasn’t going to be able to work on the bike,” Tonglet said. “But now that we’re several races in, it’s very nice not having to get your hands dirty and work on the bikes. It’s a lot less stressful.”

The No. 2 qualifying spot went to Hector Arana Jr., who delivered a pass of 6.811 seconds at a track record speed of 197.33 mph in his Lucas Oil Buell during his final run of the day.

Matt Smith took the No. 3 spot based off his 6.823 at 196.62 run on Friday night.