Gray jumps 11 spots in Topeka
Johnny Gray was the big news in Saturday’s final qualifying rounds at the NHRA Kansas Nationals in Topeka. After failing to qualify on Friday, Gray found traction today, qualifying in both the third and fourth rounds. At the end of the day, Gray had moved from the No. 15 spot to No. 4 in the qualifying order, knocking Cruz Pedregon down to fifth.
Funny Car: John Force pulled his own power move, taking the top spot in the final round with an ET of 4.313 seconds, 0.007 seconds faster than his daughter Courtney and Robert Hight, who tied at 4.050. Courtney Force got the No. 2 spot as her speed was higher.
Force’s last-round rally dropped Matt Hagan down a slot, to sixth in the qualifying order, even though Hagan trimmed 0.012 seconds off his best ET from Friday. Jack Beckman chopped 0.015 from his Friday time, but today that was only good enough to take the No. 9 spot, three spots lower than yesterday. Ron Capps slashed 0.060 seconds off his ET and advanced to the No. 10 spot.
| NHRA KANSAS NATIONALS: SATURDAY FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING | ||||
| Psn | Driver | Sponsor & Car | ET | Speed |
| 1 | John Force | Castrol GTX Mustang | 4.043 | 313.22 |
| 2 | Courtney Force | Traxxas Mustang | 4.050 | 315.56 |
| 3 | Robert Hight | Auto Club Mustang | 4.050 | 315.12 |
| 4 | Johnny Gray | Pitch Energy Charger | 4.053 | 313.37 |
| 5 | Del Worsham | DHL Camry | 4.065 | 313.15 |
| 6 | Matt Hagan | Magneti Marelli/Rocky Boots Charger | 4.069 | 312.57 |
| 7 | Tim Wilkerson | Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang | 4.071 | 310.55 |
| 8 | Cruz Pedregon | Snap-on Tools Camry | 4.079 | 302.55 |
| 9 | Jack Beckman | Valvoline/MTS Charger | 4.081 | 312.42 |
| 10 | Ron Capps | NAPA Auto Parts Charger | 4.087 | 309.77 |
| 11 | Bob Tasca III | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang | 4.094 | 314.02 |
| 12 | Chad Head | Head Racing Camry | 4.105 | 310.13 |
| 13 | Alexis DeJoria | Tequila Patron Camry | 4.119 | 303.30 |
| 14 | Jeff Arend | USD/Grime Boss/Jim Dunn Racing Camaro | 4.132 | 306.60 |
| 15 | Dale Creasy Jr. | Tek Pak Inc. Monte Carlo | 4.297 | 284.45 |
| 16 | Tony Pedregon | Pedregon Racing Camry | 4.628 | 270.81 |
| Did Not Qualify | ||||
| 17 | Todd Simpson | Simpson Racing Camaro | 5.293 | 206.35 |
Pro Stock: For all the difference it made, most of the Pro Stock Drivers could have taken Saturday off. The qualifying order from the top spot to No. 11 was exactly the same after Saturday’s runs as it was Friday evening. Out of the 17-car field, only Greg Stanfield and Deric Kramer, who didn’t qualify Friday, beat their Friday best times. Friday’s other three DNQs posted slower ETs on Saturday than they did Friday. Dodge driver Chris McGaha ended his racing weekend as he came up 0.013 seconds short of bumping Steve Kent out of the last qualifying spot.
Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson did post Saturday’s fastest pass, beating Erica Enders-Stevens best Saturday time by 0.002 seconds and best top qualifier Mike Edwards’ fastest run by 0.006 seconds.
By the time, the runs were complete, it was obvious the Pro Stock field was well-matched for Sunday’s elimination rounds. The ET spread from quickest to slowest was just 0.136 seconds and the speed spread was 2.61 mph.
| NHRA KANSAS NATIONALS: SATURDAY PRO STOCK QUALIFYING | ||||
| Psn | Driver | Sponsor & Car | ET | Speed |
| 1 | Mike Edwards | I Am Second Camaro | 6.618 | 208.55 |
| 2 | Erica Enders-Stevens | GK Racing Camaro | 6.625 | 208.30 |
| 3 | Allen Johnson | Team Mopar Avenger | 6.633 | 208.62 |
| 4 | Jeg Coughlin | JEGS.com/Mopar Avenger | 6.633 | 208.46 |
| 5 | Shane Gray | Gray Motorsports Camaro | 6.640 | 208.04 |
| 6 | Greg Anderson | Summit Racing Equipment Camaro | 6.655 | 207.88 |
| 7 | Jason Line | Summit Racing Equipment Camaro | 6.657 | 208.20 |
| 8 | V. Gaines | Kendall Oil Avenger | 6.658 | 208.52 |
| 9 | Vincent Nobile | Mountain View Tire Avenger | 6.666 | 207.78 |
| 10 | Matt Hartford | Total Seal/Nickens/CIP 1 Avenger | 6.667 | 207.53 |
| 11 | Larry Morgan | Lucas Oil/MAVTV Mustang | 6.668 | 206.99 |
| 12 | Rickie Jones | Elite Motorsports Camaro | 6.669 | 207.88 |
| 13 | Greg Stanfield | MAVTV/Lucas Oil Camaro | 6.699 | 206.54 |
| 14 | Deric Kramer | American Ethanol/Madcap/Novo Avenger | 6.709 | 205.07 |
| 15 | Rodger Brogdon | ProtectTheHarvest.com Camaro | 6.723 | 206.35 |
| 16 | Steve Kent | Kent Trucking Camaro | 6.742 | 206.01 |
| Did Not Qualify | ||||
| 17 | Chris McGaha | Harlow Sammons of Odessa Avenger | 6.754 | 206.07 |
