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.

If you're looking for tough, you don't have to look much further than to Mike Edwards.  After watching driver
after driver click off lower and lower et's, Edwards turned up the wick
on his ART/Young Life Pontiac GXP to keep his place on the top of the
ladder in the Pro Stock division during final qualifying for the Lucas
Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd Int'l Raceway.

Greg Anderson, second quickest at 6.708, 204.91, predicted from the top
end that Edwards was going to knock him from the top spot.

“I am scared to watch Mike Edwards come down the track,” said Anderson
after making the fastest run of the weekend. Edwards quickly proved
Anderson's fear was legitimate with a near perfect 6.694, 205.39 mph
lap.

Mike Neff didn't mind sitting through a three-hour rain delay. With each passing moment and each droplet of rain conditions
improved. So much so, that by the time he made his run, the only Funny
Car not to get down the track before the rain started, his publicist
Elon Werner was confidently predicting a pole winning run during the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals.

When the board flashed with Neff's time and speed, Werner was a hero
and Neff gave everyone still at Brainard Int'l Raceway at taste of what
was to come.

“Today’s run went really well and worked to our advantage with that
rain delay because the track was cooler than it was when everybody else
ran,” Neff explained. “To run what we ran … could have probably been
run by anyone else … but it worked out. It was a good solid run and it
feels good to be number one.”

 
After
three rounds of qualifying, Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario set low
time with a 4.092-second, 179.24-mph pass in the Stratford Spectacular
Hot August Nationals at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario.
 
Running in eighth-mile competition, 2008 PMRA Champion Boland just
edged by Ike Maier of Schomberg, Ontario, who posted a 4.095-second
clocking at 179.39 mph with his 1963 Corvette. Boland, driving the
B&B Racing 1967 Chevy Nova, also posted top speed at 181.15 mph.