Unofficial point standings (top 10) for IHRA professional categories following the IHRA President's Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway, the ninth of 10 events in the 2009 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series -

Sunday's final results from the 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex. The race is the 20th of 24 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Final round-by-round results from the IHRA President's Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway, the ninth of 10 events in the 2009 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series:

If Mike Edwards were a horse, which some in the Pro Stock division would claim he is, then he would have returned the best possible payoff during two rounds of qualifying for the O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals.

If a driver makes a qualifying attempt, leads all four rounds of qualifying, and posts the quickest overall lap, a qualifying trifecta, the payout is a handsome 30 points. The best a fellow competitor could do would be 25 points. That would be the best mind you. Jason Line, second quickest after two days of qualifying scored 21 points. Jeg Coughlin, third quickest overall, also scored 21 points.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the IHRA President's Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway, the ninth of 10 events in the 2009 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Eddie Krawiec isn't counting out his competition, but from his owns words you can estimate his confidence – high, with a twist.

“You look at any of the competitors out there and there are a lot of quick bikes who happen to go from A-to-B, it’s not just Hector (Arana),” Krawiec said. “Hector is doing a great job on his tuneup, but it’s not just him. There are a couple of other competitors who are out there running strong. I don’t take any competitor out there lightly.

Veteran Funny Car driver Jerry Toliver, who has had 16 first-round losses and a DNQ in 19 previous races this season on the way to a 2-18 elimination-round record, nailed down the No. 3 qualifying spot Saturday. Toliver, who beat Mike Neff in Gainesville in March and Jack Beckman in Reading in August, was beaming about his newfound top-performance numbers.  
 
"I've been hiding it. I've been hiding it," joked Toliver about his Canidae/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy Monte Carlo. "Actually, to be honest with you, we changed bodies back in Indy and ever since then, this car's really been coming around.

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie McBride improved from 17th to 16th Friday, then jumped to ninth by the time the field was set. That's especially remarkable, because, as Rush Racing team owner Karl Klement said, "this is the first time the bike's been cranked up in a year. It's just been sitting there. We've been working the bugs out." The Buell -- the very one that Peggy Llewellyn won this race aboard in 2007 and the same one Angelle Sampey rode -- had clutch problems at the start of the weekend. But, Klement said before the final qualifying session, "We think we got it figured out now." He was right.

Tom Hammonds, the former NBA forward turned Pro Stock owner/driver, called a time out about four months ago. After re-emerging with a No. 8 qualifying position and a quarterfinal finish at Charlotte, he improved dramatically this weekend with his '09 Chevy Cobalt, earning the No. 4 spot in the order.  
 

Mike Bowers bounced around in the bottom half of the Top Fuel ladder in his NHRA professional debut, from 10th to 12th to 15th and finally to 16th place during qualifying for the O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals. But the Plano, Texas, native -- who competed for about 15 years in the Top Alcohol Dragster class -- said he's excited with his performance.
 
Although fans might not be familiar with Bowers, they certainly are with his crew chief, Kevin Poynter, who emerged from the late Eric Medlen's Funny Car team to step into the Top Fuel crew chief ranks for J.R. Todd and Doug Herbert with outstanding results.