Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following
the 29th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway,
the 13th of 24 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1.  Tony Schumacher, 1,179; 2.  Antron Brown, 904; 3.  Larry Dixon,
867; 4.  Cory McClenathan, 788; 5.  Rod Fuller, 777; 6.  Brandon
Bernstein, 737; 7.  Hillary Will, 719; 8.  Doug Herbert, 666; 9. Doug
Kalitta, 566; 10.  David Grubnic, 564.

In the first round for the second race in a row John Force Racing
teammates squared off in the first round with Mike Neff facing team
owner John Force. This first round match-up was the first Ford motor
versus Ford motor race in over 30 years as both drivers harness the
power of the new BOSS 500 motor. Neff was able to get the win for the
second time in a row over Force. Afterwards he was thankful to get the
win.

“That was a close race against Force in the first round. The Force car
has been running so good since they put that Ford BOSS 500 motor in
there a race ago,” said the favorite for the rookie of the year award.
“I definitely felt we were a big underdog against him. We were
fortunate to get that win in a race that close. They had a problem over
there.”

Final round-by-round results from the 29th annual Mopar Mile-High
NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, the 13th of 24 events in the 
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Doug Kalitta, 4.455, 259.76 def. David Grubnic, 4.878,
199.79; Morgan Lucas, 4.324,251.77 def. J.R. Todd, 4.591, 205.57;
Antron Brown, 3.995, 298.21 def. Rod Fuller, 4.115, 277.43; Cory
McClenathan, 4.283, 209.79 was unopposed; Tony Schumacher, 4.032,
299.53 def. Steven Chrisman, 4.353, 262.23; Larry Dixon, 4.064, 285.65
def. Steve Torrence, 6.506, 99.32; Bob Vandergriff, 4.046, 306.67 def.
Hillary Will, 4.182, 291.19; Doug Herbert, 4.035, 295.46 def. Brandon
Bernstein, 5.242, 151.04;

QUARTERFINALS -- McClenathan,
4.197, 270.59 def. Kalitta, 4.403, 237.38; Dixon, 4.077, 291.89 def.
Lucas, 4.778, 178.76; Brown, 4.259, 268.92 def. Vandergriff, 4.282,
261.12; Schumacher, 4.041, 300.46 def. Herbert, 4.290, 231.40;

SEMIFINALS -- Brown, 4.245, 257.73 def. McClenathan, 4.236, 246.12; Schumacher, 4.039, 300.46 def. Dixon, 4.146, 288.95;

FINAL -- Schumacher, 4.007, 304.05 def. Brown, 4.173, 276.97.

Sunday's final results from the 29th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA
Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.  The  race is the 13th of 24 in the 
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Tony Schumacher, 4.007 seconds, 304.05 mph  def. Antron Brown, 4.173 seconds, 276.97 mph.

Forget the circus monkey business. Hot Rod Fuller is racing with
Elvis. Look to the right of his cockpit and you can actually see an
Elvis image in the fumes. It's even got sideburns!

The chiller unit is located on the backside of the grandstands. This
unit keeps the starting line at Bandimere Speedway a consistent
temperature, which means the world to many of the racers. (Roger Richards Photos)

Bandimere Speedway’s innovative underground cooling system needed only one professional qualifying sessions to feel the love from the drag racers.

Racers in both the sportsman and professional ranks are singing the
praises of the new inner cooled race track which, in the midst of
90-degree ambient air temperatures, measured 101 degrees on the
starting line and 120 within 100 feet of the starting line. Last year
the starting line track temperature hovered in the 140-degree range.

Greg Anderson has been around Pro Stock racing long enough to know when the odds are stacked

Greg Anderson has a gaggle of Mopars to deal with on Sunday. (Roger Richards)

against him. The three-time NHRA
world champion may have qualified No. 1 with both ends of the track
record, but he knows headed into Sunday he’ll battle for the crown
against the event title sponsor’s posse in eliminations.

“It’s like they gave these Mopars a weight break because they are
running better than ever,” Anderson said. “There are so many Mopars in
the field that tomorrow is going to be a knock-down drag out. It’s
impossible to come out here and pick a favorite.”

It’s not only the Mopars that has Anderson looking over his shoulder. Everyone in the class has him second-guessing.

There was no way Cory McClenathan was celebrating Friday’s provisional low qualifying effort.

Cory McClenathan has a winning record against the "invisible man". He has a bye run in the first round.

The veteran Top Fuel driver has
been around the game long enough to know one thing is for sure, anyone
can be beat at any time, unless you have a bye.

“Especially with that U.S. Army team and Tony Schumacher, they can lay
down a run at any time,” McClenathan said. “Not only them, but the
Kalitta’s, Bernstein and the rest of the field. There are a lot of good
cars out there and you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

McClenathan’s Friday-evening 3.929 elapsed time stands as the
quickest-ever official 1,000-foot race course pass. His performance
grants a bye-run in the first round due to a 15-car field.

Tony Pedregon will be the first to admit his future looked bleak on Saturday evening

Tony Pedregon has won two of the last races since a crash forced him to bring out a new chassis. (Roger Richards)

during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals
in Chicago, when he blew up his Funny Car and
made contact with the wall in a fiery run. Adding to the complexity of
the damage was additional carnage caused by his brush with an open gate
which rendered his proven chassis totaled.

He went into Sunday with an unproven chassis that wasn’t scheduled for
implementation until this weekend’s NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals in
Denver, Co. The chassis has been proving itself ever since the accident.

“I think you go back when we had five first round losses and I don’t
attribute that to anything but the little increase in weight where we
were just trying to fine tune our combination,” Pedregon said. “It was
hard for me to get discouraged because I knew we were on the right
track. If at anytime I felt we weren’t, I would have made changes.

John Force leads a galloping quartet of Mustangs into Sunday's eliminations. (Roger Richards)

There
is good news and bad news at John Force Racing heads into Sunday's
eliminations at the 29th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals. The good
news is all four JFR Ford Mustangs will be pulling up to the starting
line after qualifying for the race. The bad news is team leader John
Force will have to face teammate Mike Neff in the first round and all
four Force Mustangs are on the same side of the ladder, meaning in a
best case scenario only one could potential reach the final.

Castrol GTX High Mileage driver and 14-time champion John Force had the
opportunity to avoid racing one of his teammates but his final run of
4.235 was not quick enough to move him up in the field and avoid a JFR
vs. JFR match-up. He will have to race rookie of the year favorite Mike
Neff in the first round. It is a prospect that the rookie is prepared
for even though he did not have picture perfect passes.