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.

It’s always surprising how facts can put rumors to rest.  After CompetitionPlus.com reported on a pending announcement from the NHRA that an altered qualifying points system would be introduced with the beginning of the Countdown, rumors began circulating that the drivers and team owners were adamantly opposed to the plan.  

As first suggested the change called for five bonus points for the quickest elapsed time in each of four qualifying sessions, but Alan Johnson, unquestionably the sharpest tuner now working in drag racing, quickly told NHRA competition director Graham Light that five was far too many points.  He reportedly told Light that he felt he was on the verge of getting the Al Anabi Top Fuel car driven by Larry Dixon in top form, and while he knew the possibility of picking up 20 points just in qualifying – the equivalent of a round of racing – might work to his benefit, he considered it unfair to the competitors.  Another consideration, apparently voiced by Kenny Bernstein and several others, was the possibility that the bonus points alone could settle the championships well before the Finals in November, completely eliminating the kind of tension-filled season-ender that generates major publicity and helps fill the grandstands.  The result is a program calling for three points going to the quickest car in each session, two to the second quickest and one to the third.  This was apparently widely agreed to, yet the rumors continued to escalate at Indy that a major confrontation between NHRA and the competitors was likely to unfold.

Six-time NHRA champion and Hall of Famer Kenny Bernstein has named
Copart, Inc., an online remarketing company that sells more than 1
million cars per year, as the primary sponsor of his legendary Top Fuel
team beginning in 2010.

Copart sells vehicles using an online auction format at www.copart.com , making it easy for people to search for an bid on vehicles from the comfort of their home or office.

Jim Head and Warren Johnson have little in common with the race cars they drive. But, when it comes to speaking their minds, they’re very much alike.

Two weekends ago, on the NHRA’s ESPN2 broadcast of the NHRA Toyo Tires
Nationals from Reading, Pa., Johnson was interviewed following a run
where it was apparent water was on the track.

Johnson blasted the NHRA for what he felt were misguided priorities.
His comments were chronicled in an article on CompetitionPlus.com
recently. Johnson basically stated that if the NHRA didn't waste so
much time and money on the Top Fuel classes other issues could receive
the attention and funding they need.

Head is a firm believer that one should take the sanctioning body to
task. That tendency to tell it as he sees it has often put him at odds
with the NHRA.

Robert Hight knows the window for his 2009 NHRA Full Throttle championship aspirations is quickly closing. The
pressure is on because he must not only out-qualify the defending world
champion Cruz Pedregon but must also gather 39 points more.

He’s done his homework enough to know what will help as well as what
will hurt. Maintaining Friday’s top spot through Saturday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals only helped
his chances.

“Had I not been number four qualifier and Cruz not number one, well
that changes everything,” Hight explained. “Then we have to make up
three rounds on Sunday, and that is big. But at the same time, you
know, you risk smoking the tires. All my other team mates, had we not
stepped up tonight would have bumped me. John already had, by speed.
And Neff and Ashley...and had Cruz stepped up and gone to number one,
well, that would have made it 40 some points, 40 and some change, which
would have made it three rounds on Sunday.”