A decade ago, Whit Bazemore survived so many fiery runs those is the pits starting calling the former photographer turned driver, Whit “Blaze”more.

Stan Creekmore

If Bob Tasca isn't careful he may soon become knows as Shish-The-Bob Tasca.

For the second time in as many events, Tasca has survived a fiery wreck
which seriously damaged the body of his Quick Lane/Motorcraft Shelby
Mustang Funny Car. Tasca and team were going for broke when issues in
the valve train, two dropped cylinders, lead to a booming explosion and
breathtaking fire.

Antron Brown was excited about claiming the top spot for the 55th Annual NRHA U.S. Nationals and the opportunity to claim his first U.S. Nationals victory.

“To win Indy is a big deal,” said Antron, but maybe not as big as a
visit from “Big Daddy” Don Garlits as the team prepared to warm up the
car for the final round of qualifying.

“Big Daddy got to warm my car up before that run,” said Brown. “That
was something really special to me. When I grew up as a kid watching
this sport, that was my hero. That moment goes beyond words for me.”

Qualified ninth and looking forward to an upcoming nighttime run on
Saturday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Spencer Massey literally had the
rug pulled from under his feet when Don Prudhomme announced the pending
closure of his U.S. Tobacco Top Fuel dragster operation.

“We were informed about the same time as everybody else,” the
26-year-old Massey said. “Snake is very loyal and very honest about
everything that he does. There could’ve been a situation where he
didn’t have to tell us about it, where he could’ve just hoped that
something would have come along. He’s a stand up guy and did the right
thing by telling us, so we’re all in the same boat and know what’s
happening here.”

Massey’s weekend continued into Monday, thanks to his 3.972-second pass
on Sunday, which qualified him in the No. 16 spot. Massey faces top
qualifier Antron Brown at 11 a.m. Monday in the first-round of
eliminations.

“That was a saving run for us,” Massey said. “We got down the track and now hopefully we can put on a good show Monday.”

There’s no question that the Harley-Davidson team has been dominant in the Pro Stock Motorcycle series this season.

However, on Sunday, Matt Smith, on his Don Schumacher Racing Nitro Fish
Suzuki, stole the spotlight from Harley teammates Eddie Krawiec and
Andrew Hines in the US Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

On his final qualifying pass at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Smith clocked a 6.918-second time to
capture the No. 1 qualifying spot. Hector Arana (6.936) and Hines
(6.957) are second and third in the qualifying ladder. Krawiec is No. 8
at 7.018 seconds.

Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. Monday.

How ready does Mike Edwards want to be when Monday’s NHRA U.S. Nationals final eliminations roll around? The ten-time
pole-earning driver in 2009 dispatched a crew from his Charlotte,
N.C.-based shop to bring him the same engine he used to win the NHRA
Northwest Nationals in Seattle last July.

Edwards wounded an engine during Friday’s lone qualifying session en
route to a 6.581 elapsed time at 209.01. The strength of the pass kept
him atop the field long enough to procure his tenth pole position of
the season and first-ever in Indianapolis.

The engine swap was the furthest thing on his mind Sunday afternoon.

Robert Hight had better get plenty of sleep Sunday night because he’s
got a big day ahead of him on Monday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. The Funny
Car No. 1 qualifier must last one round longer than Matt Hagan on
Sunday and two more than Cruz Pedregon to cement the final available
spot in the Countdown to the One playoffs for Funny Car.

“We did what we needed to do in qualifying,” said Hight, who is three spots better than Pedregon and 14 ahead of Hagan.

“Ashley [Force Hood] has Hagan in the first round and that’s good
for us. Basically if we can win the race tomorrow, we are in. We would
have to race him before the semis. Those are the two rounds I need.”

When Pro Stock motorcycle rider Matt Guidera was suspended Saturday
afternoon by the NHRA for not complying with the Substance Abuse
Policy, it sent a shockwave through the pits at the US Nationals.

NHRA suspended Guidera immediately for a year, but he’s going to appeal the decision.

“I heard about it (Guidera’s suspension) after the second round (of the
Ringers Gloves event) Saturday,” said Hines, who won the Ringers race
on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

“Someone told me that he was not on the qualifying sheet anymore and
they said don’t say anything because it hasn’t been officially
announced yet. It’s a bummer deal, but it says right there when they
serve you with the papers that you have 24 hours and you have to sign
your signature to make sure that you’re going to be there.”

Hines was also drug tested at Indy.

BROWN, HIGHT, EDWARDS AND SMITH EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING AWARDS AT MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS

Antron
Brown raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel at the Mac
Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, the world’s most
prestigious drag race.

Robert Hight, Mike Edwards and Matt Smith also will lead their
categories into Monday’s 11 a.m. eliminations as the No. 1 qualifiers
of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Brown scored his seventh top qualifying position of the season with his
performance of 3.835 seconds at 319.22 mph in his Matco Tools dragster.
A two-time winner of this event in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Brown will try
to win it for the first time in Top Fuel tomorrow at O’Reilly Raceway
Park at Indianapolis when he faces rookie Spencer Massey in the opening
round.

It’s always surprising how facts can put rumors to rest.  After CompetitionPlus.com reported on a pending announcement from the NHRA that an altered qualifying points system would be introduced with the beginning of the Countdown, rumors began circulating that the drivers and team owners were adamantly opposed to the plan.  

As first suggested the change called for five bonus points for the quickest elapsed time in each of four qualifying sessions, but Alan Johnson, unquestionably the sharpest tuner now working in drag racing, quickly told NHRA competition director Graham Light that five was far too many points.  He reportedly told Light that he felt he was on the verge of getting the Al Anabi Top Fuel car driven by Larry Dixon in top form, and while he knew the possibility of picking up 20 points just in qualifying – the equivalent of a round of racing – might work to his benefit, he considered it unfair to the competitors.  Another consideration, apparently voiced by Kenny Bernstein and several others, was the possibility that the bonus points alone could settle the championships well before the Finals in November, completely eliminating the kind of tension-filled season-ender that generates major publicity and helps fill the grandstands.  The result is a program calling for three points going to the quickest car in each session, two to the second quickest and one to the third.  This was apparently widely agreed to, yet the rumors continued to escalate at Indy that a major confrontation between NHRA and the competitors was likely to unfold.

Six-time NHRA champion and Hall of Famer Kenny Bernstein has named
Copart, Inc., an online remarketing company that sells more than 1
million cars per year, as the primary sponsor of his legendary Top Fuel
team beginning in 2010.

Copart sells vehicles using an online auction format at www.copart.com , making it easy for people to search for an bid on vehicles from the comfort of their home or office.