Neither Warren Johnson, nor his son Kurt
will race on Sunday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Warren’s DNQ eliminated
him from championship contention. Kurt had clinched a berth prior to
the event.

"We finally got the car hooked up, and made a smooth run, but we just
weren't aggressive enough," Kurt Johnson said. "You test, and run good
and you come in here pumped up about racing at Indy and this happens.
It's disappointing but I still feel good about the car because we have
the right components to be competitive. We won’t make the mistake again
of being too conservative."

Clay Millican qualified and Joe Hartley didn't thus ending the
battle for the final available position in the Countdown playoffs on
Sunday afternoon.

Millican, behind the wheel of the Lifelock dragster, landed in the 13th
position while Hartley's 4.025 was only good enough for the 18th spot.
Only the top 16 qualifiers advance into the elimination.

A decade ago, Whit Bazemore survived so many fiery runs those is the pits starting calling the former photographer turned driver, Whit “Blaze”more.

Stan Creekmore

If Bob Tasca isn't careful he may soon become knows as Shish-The-Bob Tasca.

For the second time in as many events, Tasca has survived a fiery wreck
which seriously damaged the body of his Quick Lane/Motorcraft Shelby
Mustang Funny Car. Tasca and team were going for broke when issues in
the valve train, two dropped cylinders, lead to a booming explosion and
breathtaking fire.

Antron Brown was excited about claiming the top spot for the 55th Annual NRHA U.S. Nationals and the opportunity to claim his first U.S. Nationals victory.

“To win Indy is a big deal,” said Antron, but maybe not as big as a
visit from “Big Daddy” Don Garlits as the team prepared to warm up the
car for the final round of qualifying.

“Big Daddy got to warm my car up before that run,” said Brown. “That
was something really special to me. When I grew up as a kid watching
this sport, that was my hero. That moment goes beyond words for me.”

Qualified ninth and looking forward to an upcoming nighttime run on
Saturday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Spencer Massey literally had the
rug pulled from under his feet when Don Prudhomme announced the pending
closure of his U.S. Tobacco Top Fuel dragster operation.

“We were informed about the same time as everybody else,” the
26-year-old Massey said. “Snake is very loyal and very honest about
everything that he does. There could’ve been a situation where he
didn’t have to tell us about it, where he could’ve just hoped that
something would have come along. He’s a stand up guy and did the right
thing by telling us, so we’re all in the same boat and know what’s
happening here.”

Massey’s weekend continued into Monday, thanks to his 3.972-second pass
on Sunday, which qualified him in the No. 16 spot. Massey faces top
qualifier Antron Brown at 11 a.m. Monday in the first-round of
eliminations.

“That was a saving run for us,” Massey said. “We got down the track and now hopefully we can put on a good show Monday.”

There’s no question that the Harley-Davidson team has been dominant in the Pro Stock Motorcycle series this season.

However, on Sunday, Matt Smith, on his Don Schumacher Racing Nitro Fish
Suzuki, stole the spotlight from Harley teammates Eddie Krawiec and
Andrew Hines in the US Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

On his final qualifying pass at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Smith clocked a 6.918-second time to
capture the No. 1 qualifying spot. Hector Arana (6.936) and Hines
(6.957) are second and third in the qualifying ladder. Krawiec is No. 8
at 7.018 seconds.

Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. Monday.

How ready does Mike Edwards want to be when Monday’s NHRA U.S. Nationals final eliminations roll around? The ten-time
pole-earning driver in 2009 dispatched a crew from his Charlotte,
N.C.-based shop to bring him the same engine he used to win the NHRA
Northwest Nationals in Seattle last July.

Edwards wounded an engine during Friday’s lone qualifying session en
route to a 6.581 elapsed time at 209.01. The strength of the pass kept
him atop the field long enough to procure his tenth pole position of
the season and first-ever in Indianapolis.

The engine swap was the furthest thing on his mind Sunday afternoon.

Robert Hight had better get plenty of sleep Sunday night because he’s
got a big day ahead of him on Monday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. The Funny
Car No. 1 qualifier must last one round longer than Matt Hagan on
Sunday and two more than Cruz Pedregon to cement the final available
spot in the Countdown to the One playoffs for Funny Car.

“We did what we needed to do in qualifying,” said Hight, who is three spots better than Pedregon and 14 ahead of Hagan.

“Ashley [Force Hood] has Hagan in the first round and that’s good
for us. Basically if we can win the race tomorrow, we are in. We would
have to race him before the semis. Those are the two rounds I need.”

When Pro Stock motorcycle rider Matt Guidera was suspended Saturday
afternoon by the NHRA for not complying with the Substance Abuse
Policy, it sent a shockwave through the pits at the US Nationals.

NHRA suspended Guidera immediately for a year, but he’s going to appeal the decision.

“I heard about it (Guidera’s suspension) after the second round (of the
Ringers Gloves event) Saturday,” said Hines, who won the Ringers race
on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

“Someone told me that he was not on the qualifying sheet anymore and
they said don’t say anything because it hasn’t been officially
announced yet. It’s a bummer deal, but it says right there when they
serve you with the papers that you have 24 hours and you have to sign
your signature to make sure that you’re going to be there.”

Hines was also drug tested at Indy.

BROWN, HIGHT, EDWARDS AND SMITH EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING AWARDS AT MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS

Antron
Brown raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel at the Mac
Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, the world’s most
prestigious drag race.

Robert Hight, Mike Edwards and Matt Smith also will lead their
categories into Monday’s 11 a.m. eliminations as the No. 1 qualifiers
of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Brown scored his seventh top qualifying position of the season with his
performance of 3.835 seconds at 319.22 mph in his Matco Tools dragster.
A two-time winner of this event in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Brown will try
to win it for the first time in Top Fuel tomorrow at O’Reilly Raceway
Park at Indianapolis when he faces rookie Spencer Massey in the opening
round.