There was no fire, the burst panel was still in place and yet Bob
Tasca, III was covered in something as he sped down the track in his
first round run against Jim Head in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at
Brainerd Int'l Raceway.

“It was the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me,” admitted Tasca
as he awaited his second round run. “I hit the gas, it shook, I caught
it and as I was rolling back in it broke the fire bottle bracket off,
the bottle dropped and it activated itself. I remember seeing all this
fluid rush at me and its amazing how your brain processes it. In my
head, first I thought it was oil and then I thought it was fuel. Then
for whatever reason I saw the foam coming down on my visor and I wasn’t
hot so I knew I wasn’t on fire so I rolled back into it and I remember
saying going through the finish like 'man if this is oil it'll be a bad
day if it lights up' because I was soaked and really couldn’t see. It’s
amazing how you can drive one of these cars almost blindfolded. I saw
the cone go by at the finish line, I knew Head had to be in trouble and
(we) got the win light.

“That win felt awesome,” said Hector Arana, after capturing his second Pro Stock Motorcycle race of
the season. “It couldn't get any better. To win over here at the home
track of Lucas Oil, sponsored by Lucas Oil, having Forrest and
Charlotte and my family, friends and the fans who treat us very well
here. From the moment I got here I felt relaxed.”

With the victory, Arana clinched a spot in the Countdown to One, an
accomplishment he failed to achieve last year. Guaranteed a spot in the
run to the title, Arana says this gives the team the opportunity to try
some things they might not have otherwise felt comfortable trying.

“The pressure is off,” he said.

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the
28th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway,
the 16th of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Final round-by-round results from the 28th annual Lucas Oil NHRA
Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 16th of 24 events in
the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Sunday's final results from the 28th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at
Brainerd International Raceway. The race is the 16th of 24 in the NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Rain has made a mess of the race day schedule at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

Sportsman eliminations were tenatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m., but
all-night rain threw a monkey-wrench into those plans. The rain stopped
about 30 minutes before racing was to begin but those hopes of racing
on a slight delay were drenched in another band of rainstorms.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
28th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway,
the 16th of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs
listed below pairings.

It was a matter of choices. You could go for it all if you thought the rain was going to wipe out the final qualifying session or you could hold back hoping the rain would do the same.

“This morning Jimmy (Walsh) said we can either hop it up or we can tone
it down but I think we should go down the track and see where it will
take us,” said Lucas after claiming the pole for his family sponsored
Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainard Int'l Raceway. We did exactly that
and went an 86 and I thought we left a little bit out there in the
middle of the track.”

Lucas capped a single qualifying session with a highly respectable
3.868 second run at 307.16 mph, the fourth of his career and the second
this season.

Matt Smith has a reason to cheer on Saturday and possibly a jeer for Sunday.

Smith clinched a spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs today with his No.
12 qualifying effort at the 28th annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd
International Raceway.

Smith recorded his quickest pass of 7.185 seconds at 182.72 mph (No. 6)
right out of the box in the first round of qualifying on Friday. Friday
evening's pass was aborted because of an electrical problem and today’s
third round produced a 7.204/180.91 (No. 10). Then, following an engine
change for the final session, the bike hiccupped to a 7.623/184.83 pass.

“My bike is running awesome,” said Hector Arana, in his NHRA Lucas Oil
Nationals post qualifying press conference. “Tomorrow I feelgood about it.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle No. 1 qualifier wipes his Buell's windshield just moments after wiping the rain from his helmet shield.

Arana had little else to say about the strength of his Buell and how it
might fair against the Harley's in final eliminations. What did have to
say is that track conditions consistently improved and that is what led
to him claiming the top spot after being second after the first two
rounds on Friday.