EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS SPORTSMAN FINAL ROUND

EVENT GALLERY

 

SUNDAY - RANDOM NOTES

BROWN SCORES BACK-TO-BACK VICTORIES AT zMAX – Antron Brown recently told National Dragster that he learned from working at his family's septic-tank service company that "I don’t want to be No. 1 in the 'No. 2' business."

It turns out he's No. 1 in the No. 4 business.

The Matco Tools / U.S. Army / Toyota Dragster driver cruised to the final foursome victory Sunday over Steve Torrence, Richie Crampton and Clay Millican to earn his second straight NHRA Four-Wide Nationals triumph at zMAX Dragway.

He's No. 1 in the Top Fuel standings, too. He's 26 points ahead of second-place Tony Schumacher, and previous points leader Shawn Langdon is third as the series shifts back out West to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the April 10-12 SummitRacing.com Nationals.  

After his winning 3.749-second pass at 319.90 mph on the 1,000-foot course at Concord, N.C., Brown said, "It has been an incredible run for us at this race. The reason we love coming here is because the fans get really, really excited about it and plus this is the only time we come out and have a battle royal with nitro cars. It's pretty incredible, pretty insane, a lot going on. 

"What made it so challenging is you have to run a four-lane racetrack, and we had two runs [because of rain] to try and get used to four lanes," he said. "It really helps out with our multiple teams at DSR. We can lean on our other two dragsters, who had different lanes than we had, and we lean on our Funny Car guys.

"You want to dig deep, and you want to win races like this. To sneak out with it this year, it was definitely a long road. We've been fighting some new combinations, some gremlins in our Matco car. To lay the gauntlet down that last run, it felt really good to go out there and bring the win home for all of 1,600-plus [Matco Tools] distributors- and for our boss-man. How about that?"

This 48th career victory, his 32nd in the Top Fuel class, was Brown's first victory of the 2015 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. (He has won at least one Top Fuel event in each year since switching from the Pro Stock Motorcycle category in 2008.)

With Jack Beckman breaking his 54-race Funny Car winless streak, this victory gave Don Schumacher Racing its 247th total, its third consecutive double-nitro triumph in this year's four races, and its 44th race in which the organization has claimed two or more pro trophies at a single event.  

"Don has put all the right people in all the right places. We are able to lean on each other. Our deal is we have an open door policy. We have grown as a tight knit unit and we've been able to grow together. We work hard together. We learn together," Brown said.

Slogging through the chaos of the four-wide format reminded Brown once again that perseverance pays off.

"It wasn't easy, but we kept working to get better and in the end, it was our day," he said. "That final round was remarkable.  I can't say enough about [crew chiefs] Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi and the entire Matco Tools/Army Toyota team. They did an incredible job. There’s no hiding that we've been struggling a little bit early in the season. We’re just working hard and going one race at a time."

Brown acknowledged the resurfacing project at zMAX since the NHRA's fall visit here that ended in a huge economic hit for track owner Bruton Smith as eliminations for the Countdown opener were carried over to the Dallas race.

"Our hat's off to Bruton Smith and the whole zMAX crew. To re-do a whole racetrack, that's how much they care about our sport and NHRA," Brown said. "We had green lanes that some people never even ran down and . . . to have the quality of racing we did out there this weekend is pretty remarkable. That's a true testimony to how hard they work. That's why these stands were jam-packed on Saturday and Sunday. I know it was cold . . . and when you see the fans out there, that makes it something special."

In the opening round of Sunday's eliminations, No. 8 starter Brown was in a foursome with No. 1 qualifier JR Todd, 2012 champion and points leader Shawn Langdon, and class rookie and consensus victory-waiting-to-happen Dave Connolly.

"That first quad was like an all-star event, and then you go into the next round and it's stacked up again," Brown said. 

He won the first round with a 3.771-second lap at 313 mph and advanced to the second round along with Connolly. The second quad turned into a pedalfest, as teams were pushing the envelope on an 80-degree racetrack with air temperatures in the 50s.

"All of us knew what we had to run, and we pushed the racetrack too hard, because none of us made it 60 feet," he said.

Connolly's engine blew up as he stepped on the throttle, giving Bob Vandergriff Racing its second straight spectacular disaster in as many events.

"We were trying to run a 3.72 like the Sarge (Tony Schumacher) does. We snuck around that round and came back for the final. Brian and Mark made the right call, and we ran low E.T. of that round and we did what we needed to do to win that race."

And winning races and being No. 1 at the drag-racing business, he knows, will keep him from being No. 2 at anything.  – Susan Wade

BECKMAN ENDS DROUGHT WITH CHARLOTTE WIN - The 54-race drought is over for Jack Beckman.

The veteran NHRA nitro Funny Car driver and 2012 world champion finally returned to the winner’s circle at a national event since the year he won his world title.

Beckman clocked a career-best 3.983-second elapsed time at 308.78 mph to win the Four-Wide Nationals March 30 at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C.

“This all feels surreal,” Beckman said.

This was Beckman’s 16th career victory and first since he beat Matt Hagan in the finals in St. Louis in 2012.

“Once you start racking up wins you expect to win and I have had some great crew chiefs the past three years, but we just haven’t got it done,” Beckman said. “You never know when your last win is your last win. You keep thinking this snowball is going to roll on forever and then you go two and a half years and you start to wonder.”

In 2013, Beckman had a solid season, finishing third in the point standings, highlighted by his victory in the $100,000 Traxxas Nitro Shootout all-star event at Indianapolis.
This season, championship tuner Jimmy Prock became Beckman’s crew chief and he is joined by stalwart assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham, and the team’s hard work finally paid dividends at Charlotte.

Beckman defeated Del Worsham (4.012), Chad Head (7.455) and Tommy Johnson Jr. (12.177) in the finals.

"Toward the end of last year we didn't even know if we'd have a team, and I thought I might be going back to working on elevators," said Beckman, who finished 11th in the 2014 point standings. "But then Terry Chandler decided to fund our team to benefit the Infinite Hero Foundation and continue supporting our Make-A-Wish team (with driver Tommy Johnson Jr.).

"Without Terry supporting this team I might not have had the chance to win this trophy, but I also might have had to get a real job."

Beckman’s win also gave him a jolt in the points chase, as he rocketed up from 14th to seventh. He is 97 points behind leader Worsham. Beckman’s place in the points is impressive considering he failed to qualify for the season-opening Winternationals.- Tracy Renck

SICK PRO STOCKER MORGAN GETS HEALTHY, LITERALLY, FIGURATIVELY – Larry Morgan joked after advancing through his first quartet of competition Sunday at the NHRA's Four-Wide Nationals that sponsor FireAde just might have to spray its flame-killer on his Chevy Camaro Pro Stock car because it was one hot rod, emphasis on hot.

His hunch was correct.

The popular veteran ended a 120-race drought at zMAX Dragway at Concord, N.C., and nothing could extinguish his joy as he joined Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) in the winners circle.

Figuratively, it was a "get well" weekend for Morgan and his crew. But it was literally, too.

He experienced trouble breathing during Saturday's racing and consulted NHRA medical officials, as eager to stay and make the most of only two qualifying runs in the rain-shortened program as he was to start feeling healthy again. He received some medicine and pooh-poohed a trip to the hospital.

The doctor, he said, "started checking my vitals, and he said, 'You need to come over to the helicopter.' The plain-spoken Morgan replied, "Listen, I don’t feel that bad, to pay for a $20,000 ride. I can drive to the hospital.' "

Morgan stayed at the racetrack. "They just checked the oxygen in my blood, and I was good" he said, downplaying his condition. "I was just lucky enough to be out here and race with these guys today. I just couldn't be any happier."

He wisecracked, "Have you seen a sicker dog get well? Not till today."  

The Newark, Ohio, owner-driver was more than ready to ditch his losing streak.

It showed in the final, where Morgan used his second .006-second reaction time of the day to outrun a trio of opponents who also had been running wickedly strong. He reeled off his career-best elapsed time and speed at 6.464 seconds, 214.52 mph. His E.T. ties Erica Enders-Stevens' third-quickest time in Pro Stock history, which was the national record until Jason Line reset that with the class' quickest-ever pass at 6.455 seconds.

Morgan claimed his 11th overall Wally trophy by topping Greg Anderson and one of his own power-supplier entrants, Jonathan Gray – both of whom registered stunning all-time top-10 E.T.s Sunday – and Nobile, who also has been overdue since winning last June at Chicago.

On a day when the top two from each foursome advanced, Morgan left nothing to chance, winning all three of his groupings in an event that produced six of the 10 quickest runs in Pro Stock history during eliminations.

He dampened Line's national-record celebration in the opening round, relegating him to second place on a holeshot as John Gaydosh, along with Phoenix winner / points leader Rodger Brogdon, were eliminated. Then in the second round, Morgan bested Nobile, 2014 event-winner Jimmy Ålund, and Line.

As the day wore on, Morgan indicated he saw the increasing need to pull out more stops with the set-up and be more aggressive.

"The cars you could get after a lot harder. And we weren't doing that. These guys are real conservative, and I'm OK with that. But when it comes to racing on Sunday, you’d better get after it or you won’t be here," he said. "I told them, 'This is what we're going to do, because I can't deal with doing what we've been doing.' We made the changes we did, and it picked up."

Morgan attributed his success on the Christmas tree Sunday and his better direction overall to the changes he made since last November's Finals at Pomona.

During the offseason, Morgan struck an engine-leasing deal – one he called "a no-brainer" he said he "couldn’t turn down" – with Gray Motorsports that relieved him from a massive amount of work. He ditched his Ford Mustang and got a brand-new Chevrolet in a 30-day rush job from builder Jerry Haas. Ron Thames, president and CEO of FireAde, came on board with Morgan as a marketing partner before the Winternationals. And Morgan was grateful for the support.

"A lot of good people helped me get where I'm at right now, and I couldn’t have done it without any of 'em," he said. "That's the big difference [between his performance level before this year and in just four races this season]. There's a lot less stress on me. I've just got to drive the car. Those guys are good at what they do, and they do a fabulous job. It showed today. Just by surrounding myself with good people, that's how you win."

Like others in the Pro Stock class, Morgan came to zMAX Dragway in good faith that they had fixed the racing-surface miseries last fall that were so severe the NHRA moved the remainder of the event to Dallas. Yet he conceded he was apprehensive this weekend, especially after not getting a look at the track Friday because of relentless rain.

"Coming here, I was worried to death, because there had been only one test here," Morgan said. "They said the track was good, but the other three lanes had not been run on. And we were all concerned with that. Then the temperatures being under 50 degrees, we were all concerned about that. But the best-case scenario happened for us. It was a cold track without a lot of rubber on it. If it had been 100 degrees, there wouldn’t have been very good racing here. It'll end up being very good from now on. It's a fabulous track. I don’t know how Bruton [track owner Smith] and Christian [general manager Byrd] and all you guys got this done, but it is fabulous. It is unreal."

He completed his personal sweep at facilities that Smith owns. They include Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Morgan earned his previous victory, and Sonoma Raceway, where he won in 2002. Of Smith he said, "That guy moved drag racing ahead of its time."

One thing that distinguishes Morgan is his ability to pull off the surprise victory. Just like when he recorded his first victory – halting Bob Glidden's four-year winning streak at Indianapolis and stopping his winning ways there for good at nine victories – Morgan upstaged the national record-setter, the points leader, the No. 1 qualifier, and everyone else in the 16-car field and each of his four-car groups.

And that was the best medicine Morgan could have had this weekend. – Susan Wade

HINES WINS PSM FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS - On March 27, NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champions Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec shared lessons in teamwork with second graders at an elementary school in Spartanburg, S.C.

On March 30 the Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson Vance & Hines teammates showed how teamwork paid dividends as Hines won the Four-Wide Nationals with a time of 6.805 seconds at 196.30 mph at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C.

"We arrived early (March 27) and we drove down and we went and talked at the elementary school and reinforced to them that teamwork is what leads to a great future," Hines said. "We proved that point again this weekend by coming out here and doing what our team does best, performing under pressure and making sure we have the thought processes that goes along with having to win."

Hines beat Krawiec (6.812, Hector Arana Jr (6.804), and Scotty Pollacheck (6.899) in the finals.

“Watching Hector Jr., put up 199 mph in the second round got our attention,” Hines said. “We had only been running 193 or 194 mph all weekend long and it took a little bit of a gamble in the final and we were almost willing to give up a round just to learn something. We don’t run in conditions like this very often and after seeing him (Arana Jr.) put up that speed we just took a swing at it. Matt (Hines, Andrew’s crew chief) looked at the computer at a few things we did four or five years ago and said 'let’s throw this in it.' We went a little bit that direction with Eddie’s bike and a lot that direction with mine. I put it in high gear and that thing started booking it.”

Despite his stellar run, Hines admitted things didn’t come easy.

"We scratched our heads comimg into this event trying to figure out what we needed to do. We got on the dyno last week and tried a few things,” said Hines, the reigning world champ. “That's what we talked about and preached to those kids at the elementary school, the need to follow through with the thought processes and responsibility and everybody on my team did an outstanding job making sure we had flawless runs and that got us to the final round and give us a chance to turn on a couple of win lights."

Hines acknowledged his heartbeat increased when he was speaking to the school children.

"It was more pressure than going out in any final round," Hines said. "You are sitting there and you are talking to 200 second graders and they are all staring at you and you finish your conversation about teamwork and responsibility and you ask them if they have any questions about 40 kids raise their hands. It is really cool talking to those little kids and see their eyes light up when you tell them you are going nearly 200 mph. I saw a few of them (the students) out here this weekend and it great to see them.  We don't get to do that kind of stuff too often and it was great to take advantage of it and come out here and win it (the race). We have a couple of fans who go to that school. We have been involved with them the last few years. We did the Flat Stanley project with them over the last seven to eight months and we have the Flat Eddie and Flat Andrew. The Flat Andrew is actually on my back right now. It is phenomenal working with those kids.” - Tracy Renck
 

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - RANDOM RACEDAY NOTES

 

KABOOM - Dave Connolly had his warning sign, or thought it could have been the one of the cars in the other three lanes during the second round of Top Fuel eliminations at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. It for Connolly, was the sound of an engine going awry which caught his attention. The experience of organized mayhem know as four-wide drag racing made him second guess himself.

 

“The burnout felt fine but I thought I heard the engine misfire a time or two like it could have been a rocker arm or ignition,” Connolly said. “At this point, we don’t have radios in the car and I started pointing to myself asking if that was us. The crew guys sent me in.

“When you have four guys, and in the back of my mind, it was race day and I was hoping it was someone else other than me that I heard. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. I should have never hit the gas. Hindsight is 20/20.”

Connolly in the first round destroyed the clutch in the C&J Energy but pulled out his first career Top Fuel round win. However, in this instance, there was no way Connolly could have known the incident would be mini-version of Doug Herbert’s 1999 NHRA Finals catastrophic engine failure.

“Everything happens so quick … you hear the big bang and your head flies forward. At that point, you can draw the conclusion something catastrophic has happened. You just get over to the right to minimize the oildown time. It’s unfortunate. I don’t have any answers what happened.”

Antron Brown, three lanes over from Connolly, felt Connolly’s engine explosion.

“I felt the concussion and I believe it moved my car over,” admitted Brown. “At first I thought it was me. But I realized it wasn’t. It was as if my car was picked up and moved over. That’s only something you’re going to feel in the Four-Wide. That was a big bang and I’m glad he was alright.”

Adding insult to injury, Connolly could only look up and see the winning elapsed times of 5.81 and 6.01.

“It hurts when you look up at the scoreboards and see the ETs which got by that round and know that we had a car that could have made the finals,” said Connolly. “These things are animals when you are pumping that much fuel and ignition into these cars. They are finicky to any ignition or fuel problem. Today was what you get when the least little thing goes wrong.”

And Connolly, who has already experienced more than his share of misfortunes this season, asked team owner Bob Vandergriff Jr. if these were part of the learning process.

“Being new to the class I asked Bob if these were common occurrences, and he said, ‘no not really.”

“All of this stupid stuff seems to be happening to you.”

MASSEY EXIT – Spencer Massey is an accomplished four wide drag racer having won twice. However, in Sunday’s first round, Massey was a casualty.

"The track conditions were very good, the air conditions were exceptional and we just misread the racetrack," said Spencer. "The track temperature in the opening round of Sunday's Four-Wide eliminations was in the 80s with air temperatures in the 50s, ideal conditions for producing horsepower.

"We went out there and just didn't give the car enough power so when it actually stuck the tire, it shook, I pedaled it and it just wasn't enough to be able to chase down Steve Torrence and Doug Kalitta."

DOING THE BALLET – Lane swaps can be challenging when you race traditionally, but when you are racing four abreast the ballet becomes a bit more challenging. Five times in the first round of nitro racing teams executed lane swaps.

Probably the most interesting of them all transpired then two drivers requested lane swaps. With Lane One claimed by No. 1 qualifier JR Todd, what ensued was nothing short of a Chinese fire drill. Antron, in Lane Four moved to Lane 2 displacing Shawn Langdon, who moved to Lane Three only to be bumped over to Lane Four by Dave Connolly.

In the end, Todd and Langdon smoked the tires advancing Antron and Connolly.  

FIRST WIN – In winning alongside of Antron, the Top Fuel rookie Connolly’s win represented the first of his career.  

“It had a hole out, but we will take it,” said crew chief Kurt Elliot.

FORCE GOES INTO THE WIN COLUMN – It might have been ugly and he might have wounded his milk-carton white Chevrolet Camaro, but John Force scored his first round win of the season. Force had lane choice and took Lane 3, where he smoked, rattled and firebombed his en route to a 4.250 victory.

“I set this Camaro on fire in the first round and I nearly tipped it over that run (in second round),” said Force. “It was like the old days. We won championships with Chevrolet in the early days and we’ll get back there this year.”

MEMORIES – Don Schumacher admitted he raced some four wide drag races in the pioneering days of Funny Car. Those days, he said, were a bit different than today’s version of the 40,000 horsepower novelty. One of those risky ventures included no walls separating the four lanes.

“We were a little crazy back in those days,” Schumacher admitted.  

FIRST NATIONAL RECORD ON NEW GOODYEAR – Let the record reflect Jason Line’s new national record was the first one the newly mandated D-2211 rear slick. Line won his first round quad with a 6.455 elapsed time.

CAPPS WILD RIDE – Ron Capps was on his way to the second round when he lost traction. The NAPA-sponsored driver smoked the tires and pedaled the fishtailing Dodge Charger to the finish line in an impersonation of an old-school slingshot Top Fuel dragster. However, the colorful effort was for naught as Capps slightly grazed the wall drawing a disqualification. Tommy Johnson Jr., the third finisher in the quad, was declared the second winner.

"Boy, it just went into instant tire shake and pulled loose and turned sideways. Then those instincts from my dirt track experiences kicked in like when I raced at Eldora (Speedway) and that really helped.

"I knew my NAPA Dodge was close (to the wall) the second or third time I pedaled it. I was off the gas and it scooted over there and I knew it was going to be close, but I didn't feel anything. I thought we had second place and they said it just scraped. It ever so slightly just hit the right rear. It's just one of those things, just a couple inches from the win light. It's just the craziness this Four Wide brings. Thankfully, no structural damage to the body.

WHO’S ON FIRST, WHAT’S ON SECOND? – Abbott & Castello would have been proud of the first round, fourth quad of Funny Car. When Matt Hagan was time out in staging, the failure confused Tim Wilkerson, who sat on the starting line unsure of what was really going on.

Cruz Pedregon thundered down the track to reach the stripe first, only to explode the supercharger in his Snap-on Tools entry. John Hale took the second spot with a 4.21.

When Hagan timed out, he believed he was staged.

"I wish I knew what happened out there," Matt said. "I thought I was staged. I watched my first bulb come on to pre-stage and I thought I moved up to turn on the second bulb. I thought I got it in there. Cruz (Pedregon) turned the top bulb off beside me and I guess it caught my attention and I just didn't realize I wasn't staged."

Drivers have seven seconds to stage their cars by breaking the second and final beam that activates on the second staging light on the starting line tree.

"It was just very weird up there. I just never thought for a second that I wasn't staged. I just couldn't believe it when I saw the red light come on. It's just one of those deals."

Hagan isn’t looking for sympathy and owned up to the snafu which cost him the point lead.

"There are no excuses," he said. "We had a great racecar, we were the first to the finish line. Dickie and the guys did a great job. I was just the weak link this weekend.

"I proved to myself I was human. It's not one of those deals where we are going to see this situation again but I have to get myself together to come back out at the next race so I don't any mistakes at the starting line. It's a big lesson learned."

"I could see that someone wasn't staged, but then all of a sudden I see Hale leave and I'm thinking he red-lit, because I never saw the ambers flash," Wilk said. "At the top end, Cruz told me the same thing. He said he didn't know what was going on but thought he might have red-lit. All I knew was that everyone left me sitting there, and I didn't know why.

"The problem is with the red bulbs on the tree,” said Wilkerson. “We have four sets of staging bulbs on each tree so that we can all see each other stage and that works fine, but there's only one red bulb on each side of each tree, like a normal two-wide tree. When Matt timed out, his red light came on but I didn't see that because he was over there in the other set of lanes. We need double red bulbs on these things if we're going to do this. I had no idea what was going on, and none of the other guys did either. That's the craziest loss ever."

 

 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK: PACKED HOUSE WATCHES A FAST SHOW

TOP FUEL

TODD BLOWS UP TOP FUEL ENGINE, THEN BLOWS TO NO. 1 – JR Todd just couldn't let Top Fuel journeyman Pat Dakin have his shining moment of glory Saturday at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Concord, N.C. And the Kalitta Motorsports driver stole the spotlight in dramatic fashion on a day with only two chances to qualify, rebounding quickly from a top-end engine blow-up.

Todd rewrote Dakin's track elapsed-time record at 3.713 seconds (and 309.63 mph) on the zMAX Dragway 1,000-foot course – and swiped from Dakin the No. 1 qualifying berth by a mere two-thousandths of a second (at more than nine miles an hour slower than Dakin's best effort of 3.715, 318.84). Dakin, presumably to protect his lower-budget investment, had opted out of the last session.

The Red Line Oil / Kalitta Air driver reflected on his career-quickest pass, which put out a cylinder at the top end of the track, saying, "The thing didn't make it to the finish line under power. I thought it was going to run a 3.70, if not a (3.)69. But hopefully we get three more shots at it tomorrow and maybe maybe improve on that 71. But tomorrow it's all about win lights and not how quick we can go."

His team kicked into overdrive Saturday to fix the results of a top-end engine explosion, and Todd paid them back in the best way possible.

"We put a cylinder out the first run and blew it up big-time at the finish line," he said. "So my guys, they were thrashing between rounds to get it back together. So that was a good way to reward them, with that No. 1."

It was the four-team Top Fuel-Funny Car operation's first top-qualifier result of the season.

Todd said he's anticipating a 3.69-second pass during eliminations: "I think you can get one tomorrow, for sure." He named fellow Kalitta Motorsports crew chief Jim Oberhofer, Alan Johnson, and Morgan Lucas Racing's Aaron Brooks as a few of the tuners who might pull such a number from his sleeve.

"I was kind of mad we didn’t get to run yesterday, because we needed some cars on the track to get the rubber laid down that we need. The air the way it is and the track being new, it’s just throwing these teams a little bit of curve ball," Todd said. Looking at the weather forecast all week, I think everybody's been licking their chops to get here and run. That second session [Saturday], that could prove that there are bigger runs out there."

One of Todd's Round 1 opponents will be points leader Shawn Langdon, who bumped Terry McMillen from the 17-car field in limping into the show in the second and final run of the rain-shortened qualifying process with an uncharacteristic, traction-troubled 5.089-second E.T. Joining their quad grouping for the opening blast will be mid-packers Antron Brown (No. 8), the 2012 champion and 2015 Pomona runner-up, and Dave Connolly (No. 9), who's looking for a breakout performance in his rookie season in the class.

Todd said Langdon, despite his Saturday woes, "can go out there and run a (3).69 tomorrow. It's going to be a driver's game, for sure. You’re going to have to leave on time and all three of those [in his group] are capable of putting up big numbers. So it's quite an interesting quad there."

No. 3 starter Tony Schumacher established top speed of the meet so far with a 328.94-mph performance in the U.S. Army Dragster.  -  Susan Wade 

LONG TIME COMING – Pat Dakin remembered the last time he was No. 1 qualifier at an NHRA event – the 1972 NHRA Molson Grandnational in Sanair, Quebec, Canada. And following Todd’s .002 quicker elapsed time, the longstanding stat remains intact. 

Dakin, for at least one session, led the dragsters with a 3.715 elapsed time. 

“I had no idea the run would be as quick as it was,” said Dakin. “It was decent, and had a hard hit at the start. It was smooth as glass and when they do that, they are pretty quick. They are fun to drive when they are shaking and moving around, just not too quick.”

Dakin said the run was personally gratifying.

“We are not a touring team, just part-time racers,” said Dakin. “We aren’t supposed to be the smartest people out here. I am just happy for my chassis builder Murf McKinney. This is a brand new car he built for me, and the consensus out here is if you don’t have a Hadman chassis, you can’t compete. I think Mr. McKinney just proved everyone wrong.” 

WILL RACE FOR SPONSORSHIP - Shawn Langdon and Alan Johnson Racing entered Friday's qualifying with the Top Fuel series point lead, despite continuing uncertainty after losing their major sponsor just a month before the season. The team is running on a race-by-race basis, but it has not slowed down Langdon, who has one victory (Pomona), two semifinal appearances and has been the top qualifier at two of the season’s first three races.  He currently holds a 13-point advantage over second place. 

“We decided to race the early portion of this season to show potential sponsors that we have a championship-caliber race team," said team owner Alan Johnson. "We have done that in the first three races. It is definitely easier to walk into a boardroom to talk about a team that leads the point standings, and we need to do our best to stay there – it’s helping."

THE RUMOR MILL - Langdon dispelled rumors which suggested he and team owner Alan Johnson would join Steve Torrence's team after disbanding AJR. 

"I haven't heard of anything about that," Langdon said. "I know that Alan is very focused on continuing our team. I don't think there's any truth to that."

LAST MINUTE LANGDON – The point leader took until the final session to get in the field, legging out a tire-smoking 5.089, 275.59 run, 

BRITTANY STAYING PUT, FUNNY CAR FLIRTING - Brittany Force said she expects to test in a Funny Car this season, but the foray into another eliminator will not affect her present Top Fuel approach.

“It’s an idea we have been talking about doing sometime this year,” Brittany confirmed in a press conference Friday at zMax Dragway. “We haven’t really gotten it all figured out what direction we are going. Right now, I don’t have a sponsor.”

Force said she has been in talks with a potential sponsor, one she and sister Courtney have cultivated together, but isn’t prepared to reveal details at this time.

“We are working on one and were hoping to announce sometime in March,” she said. “It might be a little later. We are still waiting on that.”

Licensing in a Funny Car, Brittany said, doesn’t mean she is following her famous dad John Force’s footsteps, but rather making herself more versatile for the future.

“I’ve always said it was something I would do, hop into a Funny Car and get a license,” said Brittany. “I’ve wanted to feel the difference between the two. For me, Top Fuel is what I love.”

Rest assured, there is no plan to put John out to the pasture any time soon.

“I don’t think he’ll ever get out of the car; he loves it too much,” Brittany said. “If we are out here, he’s going to be in the lane beside us. He loves it too much, and it wouldn’t be the same without him.”

And yes, the dragsters still pique her interest.

“I absolutely love Top Fuel,” Force said.

NOT ENTHUSED ABOUT FOUR-WIDE – Steve Torrence sees the one-of-a-kind four-wide drag race as a novelty race, one that requires him to make changes to a routine that has helped establish him as a legitimate contender for the NHRA’s Mello Yello Championship at the wheel of the Richard Hogan-prepped Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster.

“We run 23 races the same way,” Torrence said.  “You go to the (starting) line with two cars and two drivers.  One wins and one goes home.  Simple.  But then you go to the four-wide and it’s not you against one other driver – or even two, but three.  You’re looking left and right and usually everywhere except where you should be looking.  

“Your whole routine changes,” he explained.  “Instead of just reacting, like you do the rest of the year, you have to think about what you’re doing and, in a sport like this, thinking isn’t a good thing.  It just slows you down.”

Torrence concedes the race might be fun, but to include it in a Mello Yello championship worth a half million dollars “doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

Of course, just because he doesn’t like the format doesn’t mean the 31-year-old Texan is ready to pack it in and move on the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of the next race in the series. 

“The one positive is that it’s the same for everybody.  Everybody’s uncomfortable so it becomes a deal where, to do good, you just have to find a way to block out the distractions,” he said.  “Like they say, ‘the car doesn’t know there are three other cars out there.’  It just does what it does and ours has been doing it better than most.”

Torrence was 12th quickest and will meet Spencer Massey, Ike Maier and Doug Kalitta in the first round. 

WALKING A MILE - Sunday morning's track walk will feature a driver unaccustomed to racing the straight line. Thanks to Kalitta Motorsports and J.R. Todd, Matt Crafton, a two-time and defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion will participate in the SealMaster Track Walk.
 
Todd and Crafton, along with Pro Stock drivers and brothers Shane and Jonathan Gray, will lead the SealMaster Track Walk at the Charlotte Four-Wide event. Fans are welcome to the event, which begins at 11:45am on Sunday. 

“We always like to welcome stars from other forms of motorsports to the track,” said Todd. “Crafton is a champion in another motorsport, so it is always interesting to get their perspective on what we do at the track.” 

Crafton, the only driver to win back-to-back championships in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series, is coming off of a dominating win in Atlanta. On Saturday, Crafton will compete in the series’ third event of the season, the Kroger 250, at the historic Martinsville Speedway, a race he won just one year ago.

“I’m looking forward to attending the NHRA drag races this weekend on behalf of Seal-Master and Kalitta Motorsports,” said Crafton. “The Four-Wide Nationals are an experience like no other. To stand that close to the action and feel the 10,000-horsepower nitro engines go from 0 to 300mph in a four-wide configuration is insane. These guys are some of the best in the world.”

MEDIA MAGNET - Larry Dixon believes he’s done more media interviews in the last two weeks than he has during his entire career. 

Dixon, who drives the C&J Energy Top Fuel dragster, has been a media magnet since his Bob Vandergriff Racing dragster broke apart and went flying through the air during a qualifying run at Florida's Gainesville Raceway. He walked away from the accident uninjured. 

“Part of you is excited that you’re getting coverage for your sport, although maybe not for the right reasons,” Dixon said. “At least we're showing what we do. There are those [who would look at my wreck] and think we are thrill-seekers. Far from it.”

Dixon said he was checked out Saturday night at a local hospital, and while he didn’t suffer any injuries, he was a bit sore. 

“I’m not a kid anymore, and I try to liken it to when I was a kid trying to ride every rollercoaster you could at the amusement park,” Dixon said. “As you get older, you learn the wooden rollercoasters beat you up. It’s like that. It’s not like the smooth steel ones.”

While the Gainesville crash had a high shock factor, for Dixon it pales in comparison to the one he suffered in 2000 during the NHRA Nationals at Memphis, Tenn.

“I didn’t walk away from that one,” Dixon said. 

Dixon said the improvements to Top Fuel chassis design since the 2000 accident made the difference in major injury and just a measure of soreness. This was enough inspiration for Dixon to contact Herb Fishel, former head of GM’s Racing Division, and offer thanks for taking an active role in making the cars safer. 

“I told them it took me 15 years to realize all they had put into safety – and thank you,” Dixon said. “It made the difference in me walking away.”

Dixon might have replayed the incident over time and time again for various interviews, but he isn’t tired of talking about what happened to him, and the fact that he walked away.

“It beats the alternative,” Dixon said with a laugh. “I have no problem with it. There’s part of you that hates the coverage for that reason but when you get to brag on our sport, and being able to go through something like this – I’m good with it. There’s a reason why we wear this safety equipment. You don’t know what is going to happen. But, if something does you just hope the equipment does what it is supposed to do.

“As my old crew chief Wes Cerny used to say, ‘You prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

“Gainesville was about as bad of a thing as I have ever been through. When you go through one like that, and walk away, you are proud of it.”
 

FUNNY CAR 

 

COURTNEY FORCE EXPERIENCES STORM BEFORE HER STORM – All the advice Courtney Force had been receiving at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Concord, N.C., was swirling around in her head Saturday.

And at 300 miles an hour, that can be distracting and downright dizzying.

Throw in the fact her team's trio of Funny Car drivers had stewed for two weeks about all of them losing in the first round of the Gatornationals. Her father hasn't won a single round all year. If the Countdown were to start right now, he wouldn’t be eligible to compete for a 17th championship. None of them has been to a final. They're eager to please their new sponsors and are trying to impress potential ones with each performance, and they are a little off their game right now. Moreover, teammate Robert Hight was fighting his way into the 16-car field Saturday from the 18th and final place among 18 entrants.

Oh, and just for fun, because of relentless rain Friday, she and the others had only two qualifying chances instead of the usual four – and had to line up in groups of four instead of the usual two.

"Going from the bottom and being nervous— We didn't get the two qualifying sessions yesterday, so coming into today you're already stressed out, worried, and trying to do the best you can. When I went down there and pedaled the car, got it sideways, I had so many people's words up in my head that I'm trying to make the right decision down there. But when you're going 300 [mph], you're just doing the best you can," the Traxxas Camaro driver said.

She calmed the noise, sorted out the situation, and did the best any Funny Car driver could do all day.

Although she and her dad can arm-wrestle out their competitiveness at the family dinner table later, Courtney Force replaced him as the No. 1 qualifier in that second session. She improved from last in the order to first with a 4.011-second, 312.35-mph run that commandeered the No. 1 qualifying position, besting John Force's 4.040, 309.98.
 
With that, she earned her second top-qualifying achievement in the season's four events, her first on the zMAX Dragway 1,000-foot course, and her ninth total.
 
She said jumbled in among her thoughts as she sat in her car just before her second and decisive pass was the notion that "Man, we can so easily just get knocked out of this right here." She said, "All those thoughts are racing through your head. It's tough going into the next qualifying pass just knowing how the last one went and just hoping you can get this car down the race track. We haven't even experienced two of the other lanes."
 
She said she figured co-crew chief Ron Douglas had faith in the set-up for the conditions.

"I think knowing that we were in the field and we were safe, maybe that's why he pushed it a little bit harder," Force said. "The speed was down. I think we were actually dropping a hole right at the lights. I almost got on the radio and said that, and I could tell by my guys’ reactions that we made a good run. We got through the lights just in time, but the speed slowed us down just a little bit. So I'm curious to see what it actually would have run if everything was going smooth."

She credited her crew for the jump to No. 1.

"Going from zero to hero, it's really my crew chiefs and my team. It's easy to look like a hero when your car is flying down there. It's a lot easier to drive when it's flying down there, too. I think what makes a real driver is when the car does struggle," Force said, "and that’s something I'm still working on. And you can't get better unless you go through those trials. Lucky for us, we went right from 16th to 1 and I'm just proud of my team, proud of my guys. We still have a lot to work on, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Things went a little smoother for Hight in two groupings before her. He improved from 18th to fifth and settled in at seventh place. John Force qualified No. 2. – Susan Wade

GET YOUR FOOT OFF THE PEDAL - John Force entered this weekend's race outside of the top ten in points.  He hasn't gone this long without a first round to start a season since 2007. 

"Getting mad wouldn't do me any good," said Force. "You just keep sorting it out. I honestly believe, and I have had three first rounds where I have smoked the tires. I think we have found the problem. The proof is in the pudding." 

Force believes his shortcomings have been a measure of driver error. He believes the problem is he's been sliding his foot on the clutch pedal. 

"I did it a year ago," admitted Force. "[crewchief] Mike Neff caught me doing it. I'm not making any excuses but at least what I am doing is fixable. It's easy, get your foot off of the pedal. It's that simple."

Force recalled last season his crew wrote a note and put on his dash - "get your foot off of the pedal" it read.  

"We switched cars and forgot to get it back, maybe I changed," Force said. 

Force went to the top of qualifying in Q-1 with a 4.041 elapsed time.

GOOD TRACK RECORD - For all of the criticism the four-wide style of drag racing generates, Robert Hight has no complaints. Hight has been one of the most dominant drivers and his two wins at zMax Dragway’s premier spring event have come as a result of his two biggest strengths: focus and teamwork.

“The main thing I try and do is just not get distracted," said Hight. "You have to run your own race. I just focus on what I have to do and not get caught up in the fact that there are three other race cars on the track. It is a great event for the fans and Charlotte is a growing market for NHRA. 

“The challenge for this race is similar to other races when you consider how competitive the Funny Car class is. You have to be at the top of your game to get round wins. The benefit with the Four-Wide is you just have to be the first or second Funny Car across the finish line until that last race.”

Hight won the event from the No. 1 qualifying position in 2012 and won again last season.

EATING IS KING – John Hale met with the Charlotte-area media and was asked the question, “Which makes you more nervous … your first four-wide experience or taking to the media?”

“I’m comfortable talking with the media because I know when I am done, I can walk back and get lunch,” Hale said. “That’s one of my favorite parts of the day.”

Going up to race, well … is not so simple.

“I might have to go up there and face three former champions,” he continued. “That tends to create a bit more anxiety.”

Hale does face two champions in his Sunday first round quartet with Matt Hagan and Cruz Pedregon. Tim Wilkerson is his third competition.

IN WITH A SLAP - Tim Wilkerson went to bed on Friday night knowing the conditions here on Saturday would be a challenge for his tuning style. For him, a quick slap of the throttle pedal in the first session was good enough to get him into the field, and he eventually landed in the No. 12 spot.

"It shook like a monster leaving, on the first run, so I had to pedal it," Wilk said. "With only two runs to get this done, I wasn't going to let tire shake end my lap, and fortunately it hooked up and smoothed out for me. I know I don't have much data to compare to the conditions we had here today, and we're not exactly a mine-shaft kind of team, so I was taking a shot at it and I'm happy we get to race on Sunday. It wasn't easy out there, because it was pretty much off the charts.

USED TO IT NOW - The four-wide spectacle is no big deal for Tommy Johnson Jr. now. 
 
"Last year there was more unknown when we got to this race, but when we left, I thought to myself, 'Well, this wasn't tough at all,' " said Johnson, who qualified No. 3 in his first Four-Wide attempt and advanced from the first heat. "This year, I feel like, 'Let's do this.' I have a lot of confidence, and I'm excited for this race. It's an event that only happens once a year for us, and you'd like to win it and put your name in the history books."

PRO STOCK

SURGING McGAHA CLAIMS SECOND NO. 1 IN ROW – Chris McGaha wasn't intimidated by lining up Saturday against two-time series champion and early qualifying leader Jason Line – or strong-running veteran Larry Morgan – or rapid rookie Drew Skillman at zMAX Dragway's NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

The Harlow Sammons of Odessa Camaro driver knocked Line from the top spot and will lead the Pro Stock field for the second straight race, thanks to his career-quickest pass, an elapsed time of 6.474 seconds at 213.70 mph in the quarter-mile. It's also his second consecutive No. 1 start at this event.

Line, who made his quickest and fastest run of the season (6.481/214.18) and set the track speed record, is second in the line-up.

"We really stumbled onto what we were looking for at Phoenix in the semifinals when we almost crashed," McGaha said.

What he and his team discovered almost a continent away is paying off now, he said: "It's led to all this performance gain."

He said he takes some satisfaction in showing that while he vaulted into serious contention last year by purchasing the proven equipment of perennial contender Mike Edwards, he can make his own modifications to the program and still be the strong runner he was in 2014.

McGaha reminded that Edwards, who has stepped back from team ownership and driving, is helping Line and Greg Anderson and the KB / Summit Racing team. "He's having to race his own stuff. I wonder if he'd take the same deal at this point," the West Texan said.

However, McGaha isn’t smug at all.

Asked if he expected such a performance surge this early in the season, he said unhesitatingly, "Absolutely not."

He said, "You’re always working for it, but you never expect it to be there. Then when it's there, you're like, 'OK – When's lightning going to strike and go the other direction' because it will eventually. It always does."

McGaha, Line, and Skillman were the only Pro Stock racers to post 6.4-second passes Saturday, although No. 4 Anderson is close behind at 6.502. The dearth of 6.4s surprised McGaha, he said.

"We had it figured people could go mid-(6.)40s. We really did. The numbers were there. But our problem was the track was green to us all," McGaha said. "None of us had ever been down it, except a few guys in Lane 2, but I think we all were very conservative and holding back."

In his mind, too, was the dangerous condition of the track during the Carolinas Nationals there last September. The event finished at Texas Motorplex, near Dallas, a huge blow to zMAX Dragway owner Bruton Smith's pride and pocketbook. The track quickly atoned for the situation with a repaving job to this facility Smith dubbed "The Bellagio of Dragways." And the surface has been redone with special care. But McGaha said most of the racers didn’t know what to expect.

"I was pretty nervous," he said of his approach to the track, especially after persistent rain washed out everyone's chances to qualify at either of the two scheduled runs Friday. "I had to go in the lane I went down the last time I was here. I think it was going through all of us' minds, because even Jason Line made a comment to me about it. It was definitely on all of us' mind."    

McGaha will meet surprising No. 16 qualifier Erica Enders-Stevens, the reigning class champion, in Sunday's first round of eliminations, along with No. 8 Shane Gray and No. 9 Buddy Perkinson. The quickest two will advance to the semifinal round in the non-traditional format of this event.

Enders-Stevens, who experienced tire shake and aborted her first-session qualifying attempt, had problems with her Elite Motorsports Camaro entry immediately in her final chance. She brought the car to a stop about 100 feet off the starting line and was pushed off the track.

"You cannot take that lightly," he said of the Elite team and Enders-Stevens and their car. "Any minute it can change," he said of her fortunes so far this weekend, adding "especially with the potential those guys have."

Said Enders-Stevens after qualifying, "We started the year with a brand-new RJ Racecars Camaro, and it's going to be the next big thing, no doubt about it. But we just haven't figured out how to match the car and our Elite horsepower to the new tire and fuel the NHRA is making all of us use. We did OK in the first few races but decided to switch back to the car we won the championship with last year, because we just know it so much better. She does what we ask her to do every time. The thought is that our learning curve will be shorter."
 
Enders-Stevens knows she happened to be lucky because this field had only 16 entrants, but she said, "You definitely don't want to put yourself in this position. But if any team can get it together overnight and make a difference tomorrow, it's this group of guys right here. We've been through it all, and this is just another chapter."
 
But if Enders-Stevens, Gray, or Perkinson ever try to anticipate what an opponent might do on race day, they might be a little confused or concerned this weekend. McGaha has sent mixed signals because of the mixed bag of conditions they all have to navigate this weekend.
 
He said his car "has potential to go faster. The computer says, 'Yes, you can go more.' " In the next breath, he said, "We're also going to play it safe." Seconds later he conceded that on race day, "you got to go up there and win."
 
The drama begins Sunday with a 1 p.m. (ET) start to eliminations. The Pro Stock class should begin running sometime around 1:45 p.m. – Susan Wade 
 
ADJUSTING TO THE CARNIVAL - Rodger Brogdon understands the most consistent part of the four-wide spectacular is something inconsistent will transpire. 

"I've never been there where I've been in a round where something didn't happen during eliminations: Somebody leaves before the Tree comes on, somebody doesn't stage in time -- there's always something. If I can avoid that, I like my chances of doing well.

"There are so many ways you can mess up doing that deal. Last year, we had one guy who never staged, so the Tree came down but nobody got their engines up. There's no telling what's going to happen up there."

And as fate would have it, Brogdon was counted out in staging for the first session. He redeemed himself in the final session with a 6.532 to land No. 10. 

RETURNING TO THE SCENE – The last time V. Gaines made a run down zMax Dragway, he won the battle but lost the war. Gaines, after winning his round, lost control of his Dodge Dart and crashed in the shutdown area. Saturday’s first session was his first run since the fateful incident. 

“It was no different than any other time I have gone down the track,” said Gaines. “The biggest thing is the conditions which are totally different than anything we’ve seen this year. The track is cold and it’s green. We were in the lane we had no data in. We made it from A to B, and we are happy with that.”

Ironically, Gaines made his first pass in Lane 4, the one furthest from Lane 1 where he crashed. 

“No coincidence,” Gaines said with a smile. “There are no lingering feelings about that incident.” 

FOREIGN EXPERIENCE - Greg Anderson wasn’t able to compete at last year's NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, his home track, after off-season heart surgery. Instead, he watched from the starting line as teammate Jimmy Alund drove his car to the winner’s circle.

Watch his car run was a foreign experience for the four-time Pro Stock world champion. 

"This time last year, I hadn't even been able to get back in the racecar yet,” Anderson said. “I was standing on the sidelines and watched my racecar go to victory circle with no idea if I would be able to do this again, or be able to do it at a high level. A lot of crazy things went through my mind standing on the side of the racetrack there last year, but those are all in the past. I have no worries or concerns. This is a completely different chapter and so far it's a pretty great one."

Anderson, who won last weekend in Gainesville, Fla., has always enjoyed great success at zMAX Dragway, winning the Four-Wide Nationals two different times. 

"I was very proud of Jimmy and the race team, but boy what a strange feeling knowing that's my racecar and where I'm supposed to be,” Anderson said. “That just shows you what kind of team we've got. It’s a very deep team to be able to win like we did last year with Jimmy in one of the Summit Racing Chevy Camaros. It gives us a lot of confidence as a team."

Anderson’s return to four wide drag racing ended with a 6.502, good enough for No. 4. 

CHAMP IS O-FOR-2 – It wasn’t the champion's day today.

Erica Enders-Stevens didn't get more than a few feet down the racetrack in either of Saturday's two sessions. However, because only 16 cars attempted to qualify for this event, she will have the final spot on the elimination ladder, giving her Elite Motorsports team a chance to redeem themselves Sunday.

"You definitely don't want to put yourself in this position, but if any team can get it together overnight and make a difference tomorrow, it's this group of guys right here," Enders-Stevens said. "We've been through it all and this is just another chapter.

"We started the year with a brand-new RJ Racecars Camaro and it's going to be the next big thing, no doubt about it, but we just haven't figured out how to match the car and our Elite horsepower to the new tire and fuel the NHRA is making all of us use. We did OK in the first few races but decided to switch back to the car we won the championship with last year because we just know it so much better. She does what we ask her to do every time. The thought is that our learning curve will be shorter."

BUDDY IS BACK - Buddy Perkinson is driving Allen Johnson’s 2012 championship-winning Dodge Avenger.

“I’d been talking to Allen (Johnson) last year and through the winter hoping to put something together,” said Perkinson. “The timing finally worked out right to come to Charlotte. We’re hoping to run a couple of races this year, but we’ll likely remain on the East Coast, so if all goes well we’ll be in Atlanta as well. This is a good race to start because with the new track everyone is on an even playing field.”

“We did test here last week to get ready, and it went great,” Perkinson added. “We put in five good passes with our best run on our last outing. I’d like to get in some good qualifying laps and go at least one round because this is a tough field, but the team knows this car well and we should be fine.”

Perkinson lost his first run when the car showed no oil pressure and came back to record a 6.528 to land No. 9. 

HIS PLACE IN US DRAG RACING HISTORY - With the 2014 Four-Wide victory, Jimmy Alund became the first Swedish drag racer to win in professional NHRA competition. This season he saw fellow Swedes Jonnie Lindberg (Pomona Winternationals) and Ulf Leanders (Gainesville Gatornationals) continue the trend as they both took home NHRA trophies for victories in the Top Alcohol Funny Car category.
 
"It's kind of unreal, actually, to be in this position," said Alund. "I never thought, in my life, that I would go to an NHRA race and be the defending champion. If somebody had told me that a couple years ago, I would have just laughed at it – but it's actually true right now. I'm just going to enjoy it and hope to compete for the title again. This is sure a different feeling than I'm used to. It's pretty awesome, and I'm really looking forward to going out there and racing again.
 
"This is supposed to be our last race, but we would like to try to go to Houston, and maybe to Las Vegas. We don't have the funding to do that right now, but we have a few weeks to work on that – and hopefully, someone will step up to partner with us. We've been taking it one weekend at a time, and this is supposed to be the last weekend, but we don't want to be finished yet. You never know what will happen; we will see."

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL - Shane Gray has been battling combination issues in his sophomore season. He's hoping those problems are in the rear view mirror as he enters this weekend's hometown event. 
         
"Well, we've been having quite a bit of trouble getting my car to go down the racetrack without shaking, and we saw a little more of that tire shake the first day of testing, but then we changed a few things and we think we're getting it worked out," said Gray, who made his debut at the NHRA Gatornationals in 2014. "It's tough on a driver when it shakes like that, and obviously no one on the team wants that to happen, so we've been working hard to get that remedied. We worked on getting that straightened out and then seeing what kind of a window we have."

CONSERVATIVE DAY - Larry Morgan wasn't looking to rotate the earth today.

Making his best pass during the final session of qualifying, Morgan's 6.523 at 213.16 mph secured him the No. 7 qualifying spot for the illustrious event.

"We were light on everything today," Morgan said. "We wanted to be very conservative and try to make repeatable runs and get everything working. We made changes after the first run, but we still didn't want to get too crazy because the lane we were in had no rubber in it. It was solid concrete, which meant we couldn't make the rpm leave a little higher. If we could have done that, it would have reflected in our times if we were on a different lane."

Pitted up against Jason Line, John Gaydosh, and Rodger Brogdon in the first round of Four-Wide eliminations, Morgan feels confident that he can improve on his time and also use the Christmas Tree as an advantage against his competitors.

"We still want to be conservative tomorrow because mainly what we're racing is against the lights," Morgan said. "Everyone else seems to be struggling on the Tree where I've been pretty right on. Getting a good reaction time is going to be a big thing and so will be making it down.

"The good thing is we have the second lane choice. Hopefully, that means we can get a good lane that won't have that bald spot so we can make good runs."

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

NUMBERS SURPRISINGLY POSITIVE – For Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Hector Arana Jr., Saturday was all about numbers, and all of them were surprising.

First it was the technical details of the weather at Concord, N.C.: surprisingly ugly. Then it was his own performance numbers in qualifying for the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway: surprisingly sweet.

Arana found a little more speed in his final qualifying run at the than he did in his first chance Saturday, but he'll use his track-record 6.794-second elapsed time to lead the class in Sunday eliminations of the bikes' second race of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

After coaxing a 6.794-second run (at 196.22 and later an improved 198.03-mph speed) from his Lucas Oil Buell for his 17th overall top-starting position, Arana said he relied on his 2014 body style rather than the new EBR 1190RX body.

The new one, he discovered at the Gatornationals earlier this month, had tendency to drift and show signs of rolling over.

Citing "aerodynamic issues" that jeopardize his safety and undermine his performance efforts, Arana said, "We're going to have to go back and do some further testing and prove it before we bring it back out here."

For the moment, though, he was enjoying the numbers that put him at the top of the order.

"We were in shock at the weather. We knew we had to do everything we can do to get the power to the track. We took our best guess, and it happened to work out perfectly," he said. "Honestly, we had a feeling we'd run good, but we were surprised with the numbers. It was definitely a pleasant surprise."

With the familiar body style, Arana said, he was anticipating even more.

"As good as the air was, we were actually hoping to run a little bit faster mile-an-hour," he said.

He acknowledged the need to "work on a couple of things" with the new body: "We're going to start trying to work with EBR to see if we can modify the new body and make something that will work out better for us later in the season. We don't want to give up on that at all."

He said his team decided to change because "we know power-wise we're running close to the field" and wanted to "find a little extra something after running the motors down the track at the last race."

Arana will race in a quad with No. 16 Katie Sullivan and the Nos. 8 and 9 qualifiers, Jim Underdahl and Chaz Kennedy, in the first round of eliminations. Two will advance from that round. –  Susan Wade

BODY WORKS - Sometimes newer doesn't mean better. This weekend, Hector Arana Jr. has shelved the new EBR 1190RX body he debuted two weeks ago in Gainesville.  

"As of right now we're going to put the new body style to the side and we're going to put the old body style back on my bike," Arana said. "We're going to start trying to work with EBR to see if we can modify the new body and make something that will work out better for us later in the season. We don't want to give up on that at all."

The second-gen Arana came the closest of all the bikes to the elusive 200 mile per hour mark at 198.03.

NOT SO LOFTY GOALS - Karen Stoffer didn't have lofty goals for her return. However, her return to active competition was filled with lofty accomplishments. 

Stoffer, who hadn't competed since the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in 2013, rode her way to victory two weekends ago in Gainesville, Fla. 

“I wanted to make sure I was prepared,” Stoffer said. “I didn’t just want to go out there because there’s a lot of good teams in the class. I wanted to make sure we were ready. If we had qualified and won a round I would have been ecstatic. You go in with the thought that you can win, but at this level it’s very tough. Everything lined up and we were able to turn on four win lights. It was a pretty awesome feeling.”

This weekend's race marks the only time Stoffer has raced four-wide.  

“We came in here this weekend with the same situation where we only have one engine, but I still have the same attitude,” said Stoffer, who has six career victories. “If we can come out with the engine still together and get a win in that first quad during eliminations, that would be a success."

MISSING THE CUT – Five bikes missed the 6.966 bump spot. Jeremy Teasley, Jerry Savoie, Angie Smith, Steve Johnson and Roy Olsen missed the cut. Three of the five were national event champions in 2014.

LAST MINUTE HEROICS – After missing the cut in the first session, Eddie Krawiec thundered back with a 6.870 to end the day as 5th.