Top qualifier Ray Commisso survived a close call in the first round of eliminations Saturday in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the 41st annual NHRA SuperNationals.

Commisso was .043 behind at the tree against No. 16-qualifier Rickie Smith (.050 to .093) and he still trailed at 660 feet, but he delivered a 5.935 at 246.71 mph to catch and pass Smith (6.011, 237.38).

Cory McClenathan secured his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season when his quickest pass in NHRA Full Throttle Series history from Friday wasn’t threatened on Saturday as qualifying concluded at the 41st annual NHRA Supernationals.

There were no changes in any of the other three categories either as Robert Hight (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Michael Phillips (Pro Stock Motorcycle) remained on top of their respective qualifying ladders at the 11th of 23 races in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.

A sizable turnout of race teams and fans showed up for the inaugural NHRA Unleashed event featuring Outlaw 10.5, Limited Street and several other heads-up and index classes racing on both the eighth- and quarter-miles at Atlanta Dragway this weekend.

Neal Parker’s death at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park marked the second time a driver had lost his life in the shutdown area of the famed facility located in Englishtown, NJ.

Parker, 58, of Millville, NJ, died after his Chevrolet Monte Carlo Funny Car crashed through the containment device following the failure of his parachutes to deploy.

The cause of Parker’s death was unknown as qualifying concluded on Friday evening. The New Jersey State Police is investigating the accident. A spokesperson confirmed on Friday evening Parker had suffered head injuries.

Neal Parker’s fatal high-speed shutdown accident at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown NJ had the pits buzzing on Friday afternoon about making racing safer.

Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Dr. Tom Carter said he wouldn’t have a problem with racing to 1,000 feet after witnessing the untimely death of his fellow TAFC driver.

Former TAFC racer Bob Tasca believes the nitro’s feeder class needs the same safety devices his Ford Motorcraft Mustang uses to keep him safe.

Gary White’s remarkably consistent and impressive runs do not seem to have stopped in Richmond.

After one day at the ADRL’s Ford Drive One Summer Drags VI at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI, the Extreme 10.5 points leader’s hot streak appears to have continued.

His six-cylinder 2007 Scion put together two more strong passes on Friday, with his 3.95-second pass leading the rest of the field by a wide margin after the first of qualifications.

“We want to enjoy it while we can,” White said. “Weekends like Richmond don’t come around often. It makes you feel pretty good. We’ll ride this as long as we can.

Dr. Tom Carter only needed to see the dust fly in the air from the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park shutdown area to know prayers for a friend were needed.

Carter, who races in the NHRA’s Top Alcohol Funny Car division, was next in line to run during qualifying at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ, as Neal Parker was killed when his Funny Car went through the containment system at a high rate of speed.

Hours earlier Parker was the first person he spoke to at the track.

“He was the first guy I saw this morning [when I got to the track],” said Carter as he shook his head in disbelief. “I asked him where my guys were. And now, he isn’t here.”

Robert Hight stayed hot on Friday with a 4.025-second pass at 313.00 mph to earn the provisional Funny Car pole at the 41st annual NHRA Supernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

The other provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 11th of 23 races in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season were Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Michael Phillips (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

The No. 1 qualifier would be the third in a row for Hight and his fifth overall this season. Hight has also been to four straight final rounds - winning three times - to assume the points lead in Funny Car.

Michael Philips doesn’t claim to be an NFL General Manager but he knew a good player when he saw one on the waiver wire earlier this week.

Philips, of Baton Rouge, La, and rider of the Racers Edge-sponsored Suzuki put Craig Treble to work shortly after Don Schumacher Racing ceased operation of their Pro Stock Motorcycle team.

Last weekend in Chicago, Treble was the No. 1 qualifier. After the first day of qualifying at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ, Phillips borrowed a measure of Treble’s momentum to claim provisionally the No. 1 spot with a 6.855, 197.16 pass.

“I had been fighting this bike and was unable to get it off of the starting line the way it needed to but [Craig] Treble came over and showed me a few things on the clutch,” said Philips, who established both ends of the track record on the run. “We’ve always had big power, just couldn’t get the big to run to the 330. I knew if we could get to the 330, we could beat the [track] record.”

The current national ET record is a 6.847 held by Karen Stoffer while Andrew Hines holds the speed mark at 197.45.
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Ray Commisso raced to the qualifying lead Friday in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the 41st annual NHRA SuperNationals.

Commisso powered his R2B2/ProCare Rx Camaro to a leading performance of 5.815 seconds at 250.64 mph to pace the 16-car field.

Commisso’s R2B2/ProCare Rx Camaro was in victory lane at the most recent Get Screened America Pro Mod Series event, in Atlanta, but it was Michael Gullqvist and not Commisso who drove it to Victory Lane. Commisso couldn’t attend the Atlanta event because he was home in Canada attending to family matters following the passing of his father.