Rain washed out the final round of professional qualifying Saturday evening at the Torco President’s Cup Nationals, setting the fields for all professional fields following Saturday’s afternoon session at Maryland International Raceway.

Defending Torco Pro Nitro Funny Car World Champion Dale Creasy Jr. claimed his first #1 qualifying position of the season, clocking a 4.967 during Friday evening qualifying…a number that stood up when all qualifying was said and done. Paul Lee (Wynnewood, Pa.), the winner three weeks ago in Milan, ended up #2 on the ladder while Matt Hagan (Christiansburg, Va.) ended up third and Todd Simpson (Ponder, Tx) fourth to round out the top half of the ladder. Rain Washes Away Final Saturday Qualifying Session at President’s Cup Nationals

Fields set for Sunday eliminations with Bruce Litton (TF), Dale Creasy Jr. (Nitro Funny Car), Tommy D’Aprile (Pro Modified), Dale Brand (Alcohol Funny Car) and Jeff Dobbins (Pro Stock)#1 qualifiers

Rain washed out the final round of professional qualifying Saturday evening at the Torco President’s Cup Nationals, setting the fields for all professional fields following Saturday’s afternoon session at Maryland International Raceway.

Defending Torco Pro Nitro Funny Car World Champion Dale Creasy Jr. claimed his first #1 qualifying position of the season, clocking a 4.967 during Friday evening qualifying…a number that stood up when all qualifying was said and done. Paul Lee (Wynnewood, Pa.), the winner three weeks ago in Milan, ended up #2 on the ladder while Matt Hagan (Christiansburg, Va.) ended up third and Todd Simpson (Ponder, Tx) fourth to round out the top half of the ladder.

Bruce Litton, the defending Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel champion from Indianapolis, will start Sunday’s elimination rounds from the #1 qualifying slot. Litton posted a 4.699 Saturday night to claim the top spot on the qualifying sheet. Bobby Lagana Jr. (Scarsdale, N.Y.) qualified #2 while Mike Strasburg (Lindon, Utah) and Kevin Jones (Berea, KY) filled out the top half of the field.

Tommy D’Aprile (Port Charlotte, Fla.) was the #1 qualifier in the Torco Pro Modified class for the first time this season as his Friday 6.042 at 236.13 was good enough to give him the pole position. Kenny Lang (Grande Pointe, Mb) was second on the qualifying sheet by virtue of his 6.079/239.95 pass. Jim Halsey (Street, Md.) and Mike Janis (Lancaster, N.Y.) rounded out the top four.

Dale Brand’s amazing 5.716/247.57 pass in the Saturday afternoon heat put him on top of the Alcohol Funny Car qualifying list. The Sully, Iowa resident drove his ’01 Camaro to the quickest pass of the day to move in front of Larry Dobbs (Welland, Ont.), who finished second on the list. Mark Thomas (Louisville, Ohio) and Rob Atchison (London, Ont.) rounded out the top four.

Jeff Dobbins (Wilmington, N.C.) claimed his third consecutive #1 qualifying position in the Torco Pro Stock class, piloting his ’06 Escort to a 6.358 at 221.56 mph to claim top qualifying honors. Robert Mansfield (Margate, Fla.) was second on the qualifying sheet with a 6.372 while Tommy Lee (Jacksonville, N.C.) and John Montecalvo (Center Moriches, N.Y.) filled out the top half of the ladder.

All Saturday tickets will be honored at the gate Sunday. Showers are expected to move through the area overnight and the weather forecast for Sunday is for partly cloudy skies with no rain expected. Final professional eliminations will begin as scheduled. The first Pro Stock and Pro Modified elimination round will kick off at 11:00am, with the first Alcohol Funny Car, Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car elimination rounds scheduled to commence at noon.