The added pressure, expectations and attention that comes with landing a new major sponsor seems to have brought out the best in Josh Hernandez.

A race after advancing to the final in Richmond while debuting his new Fight Me MMA sponsorship, Hernandez and his ’57 Chevy took it a step further on Saturday, winning in Pro Extreme at the ADRL Ford Drive One Summer Drags VI at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI.

“To come out with a new sponsor and within two races have a win, that’s what we’re in it for,” Hernandez said. “To be in that winner’s circle, nothing makes me happier.

Mike Edwards has no qualms about sharing his performance secret.

He’s first because he’s second.

“Well I am, I am second in my eyes,” Edwards contends. “God is first for sure.”

Following his seventh No. 1 qualifying effort, his latest at the NHRA SuperNationals, Edwards became the first NHRA Full Throttle professional drag racer to clinch a berth in the Countdown to 1. Edwards has led the NHRA Pro Stock point standings since February.

On Friday evening at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ, Cory McClenathan ran a 3.752 elapsed time, the quickest run in the history of NHRA Top Fuel since 1,000 feet became the recognized racing distance. McClenathan believes if the conditions are conducive to quick runs on raceday, he’s confident he’ll either back up the provisional record or establish a new mark.

McClenathan confidence comes from not only his team but also the
students and their professors in the Motorsports Engineering program at Indiana Univ. Purdue Univ. at Indianapolis (IUPUI).

"We have been working very closely with IUPUI at Don Schumacher Racing, and those kids over there are just unbelievable when it comes to aerodynamics and the way a chassis should work. They were a big part of how we built our DSR car last year and different configurations we tried this year.”

Robert Hight liked the way Friday qualifying concluded at the NHRA SuperNationals so much, he decided to finish out Saturday the same way. He will enter Sunday’s final eliminations as the quickest Funny Car on the property and the No. 1 seed.

Hight’s final run of Saturday, 4.138 seconds, was good enough to grab three more qualifying bonus points to add to the three he earned Friday night with his blistering 4.025 second run. He held onto the No. 1 qualifier his third race in a row and fifth of the season.

This was also his 37th No. 1 which ties him with veteran Tony Pedregon and Hall of Famer Kenny Bernstein for fourth place all-time for the Funny Car category.

Two-time International Hot Rod Association champion Laurie Cannister saw Neal Parker whip down the dragstrip in September 1999, but she didn't appreciate fully his superb driving until she saw the photo of that run.
 
Parker was wrestling the steering wheel of his '48 Fiat altered, muscling it all the way to the right -- and the car was on a straight-arrow run down the lane.
 
"He was haulin'," Cannister said, marveling at the perilous pass at Maryland International Raceway that was the Pro Outlaw class' first in the five-second range.

Pat Musi has flashbacks. The Carteret, NJ.-based icon says he can’t help it either.

Musi is racing in the NHRA and Old Bridge Township Raceway Park for the first time since 1989, when he ran one Pro Stock race after an eight year absence. At the NHRA SuperNationals, Musi scored his first round win in nearly thirty years when he drove his electronic fuel injected Dodge Stratus past Ed Hoover in the opening round of the NHRA GSA Pro Modified division. He also nailed a personal best with a 5.941 elapsed time.

“We missed the combination on the first qualifying run … too much power for what the track could handle that early,” admitted Musi. “But Rickie Smith, the man who is responsible for everything from the firewall back, made it work right. He deserves a lot of credit here.”

Top qualifier Ray Commisso survived a close call in the first round of eliminations Saturday in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the 41st annual NHRA SuperNationals.

Commisso was .043 behind at the tree against No. 16-qualifier Rickie Smith (.050 to .093) and he still trailed at 660 feet, but he delivered a 5.935 at 246.71 mph to catch and pass Smith (6.011, 237.38).

Cory McClenathan secured his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season when his quickest pass in NHRA Full Throttle Series history from Friday wasn’t threatened on Saturday as qualifying concluded at the 41st annual NHRA Supernationals.

There were no changes in any of the other three categories either as Robert Hight (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Michael Phillips (Pro Stock Motorcycle) remained on top of their respective qualifying ladders at the 11th of 23 races in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.

A sizable turnout of race teams and fans showed up for the inaugural NHRA Unleashed event featuring Outlaw 10.5, Limited Street and several other heads-up and index classes racing on both the eighth- and quarter-miles at Atlanta Dragway this weekend.