Gray qualifies third at Arizona Nationals
The Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, has proven to be a tough track for traction at this weekend’s 27th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals. Driver after driver has smoked the tires, leading to low speeds and high ET’s. Not one Funny Car broke the 300 mph mark in four rounds of qualifying.
Funny Car: Johnny Gray continued his steak of good runs, qualifying third heading into today’s final eliminations. On the other end, Ron Capps failed to make the cut for the first time in 105 races. Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan qualified in the top half of the field with Beckman in fifth and Hagan in sixth.
In 11th place is a new name in the finals: Todd Lesenko in the Jolly Rogers Charger.
The results of the qualifying rounds dropped Hagan back into second place, trailing Mike Neff by three points.
| Final Qualifying – Funny Car – NHRA Full Throttle Arizona Nationals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Driver | Sponsor & Car | ET | Speed |
| 1 | Cruz Pedregon | Snap-On Solara | 4.215 | 296.37 |
| 2 | Jim Head | Head Racing Solara | 4.238 | 289.07 |
| 3 | Johnny Gray | Service Central Charger | 4.240 | 285.83 |
| 4 | Mike Neff | Ford Drive One Mustang | 4.251 | 288.70 |
| 5 | Jack Beckman | Aaron’s/Valvoline Charger | 4.279 | 284.56 |
| 6 | Matt Hagan | DieHard Charger | 4.294 | 282.19 |
| 7 | Tim Wilkerson | Levi Ray & Shoup Mustang | 4.315 | 283.91 |
| 8 | Alexis DeJoria | Tequila Patron Solara | 4.320 | 274.27 |
| 9 | Bob Tasca III | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang | 4.322 | 282.72 |
| 10 | Paul Lee | Jim Dunn/Rislone/Bars Leaks Impala | 4.335 | 287.17 |
| 11 | Todd Lesenko | Jolly Rogers Charger | 4.342 | 282.48 |
| 12 | John Force | Castrol GTX Mustang | 4.352 | 278.00 |
| 13 | Robert Hight | Auto Club Mustang | 4.356 | 278.46 |
| 14 | Melanie Troxel | In & Out Solara | 4.364 | 275.90 |
| 15 | Jeff Diehl | J.G. Parks & Son Monte Carlo | 4.369 | 268.60 |
| 16 | Jeff Arend | DHL Solara | 4.411 | 276.80 |
| Did Not Qualify | ||||
| 17 | Tony Pedregon | Herzog Impala SS | 4.593 | 218.27 |
| 18 | Ron Capps | NAPA Charger | 4.618 | 266.58 |
It took V. Gaines three trips down the quarter-mile to finally hit a time that kept him in the field. Allen Johnson also had a better day on Saturday with two good passes. Vincent Nobile fortunately had already qualified by the fourth round when he was matched up with Allen Johnson: Johnson racked up the best run of the fourth round but Nobile’s Mountainview Tire Avenger wouldn’t start and had to be pushed off the track.
| Final Qualifying – Pro Stock – NHRA Full Throttle Arizona Nationals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Driver | Sponsor & Car | ET | Speed |
| 1 | Mike Edwards | Penhall/K&N/Interstate GXP | 6.617 | 210.28 |
| 2 | Jason Line | Summit Racing Equipment GXP | 6.620 | 208.55 |
| 3 | Greg Anderson | Summit Racing Equipment GXP | 6.635 | 208.26 |
| 4 | Erica Enders | ZaZa Energy Cobalt | 6.638 | 208.33 |
| 5 | Ron Krisher | Valvoline GXP | 6.640 | 208.26 |
| 6 | Allen Johnson | Mopar/J & J Racing Avenger | 6.646 | 209.26 |
| 7 | Ronnie Humphrey | Genuine Hot Rod Hardware GXP | 6.650 | 207.53 |
| 8 | Vincent Nobile | Mountain View Tire Avenger | 6.658 | 208.33 |
| 9 | Larry Morgan | Lucas Oil/Summit Mustang | 6.662 | 207.34 |
| 10 | Rodger Brogdon | The Edge GXP | 6.668 | 206.86 |
| 11 | Greg Stanfield | Nitro Fish GXP | 6.671 | 207.53 |
| 12 | Steve Kent | Kent Trucking & Services GXP | 6.677 | 207.30 |
| 13 | Kurt Johnson | Total Seal GXP | 6.693 | 207.40 |
| 14 | V. Gaines | Kendall Oil Avenger | 6.694 | 207.43 |
| 15 | Shane Gray | Service Central GXP | 6.712 | 206.92 |
| 16 | Warren Johnson | K&N Filters GXP | 6.714 | 207.50 |
| Did Not Qualify | ||||
| 17 | Gordie Rivera | Gordies Speed Center GXP | 6.822 | 202.33 |
| 18 | Grace Howell | Cunningham Sand & Gravel Mustang | 7.471 | 149.12 |
Eliminations get underway at 11:00 AM, Mountain Time (9:00 AM Eastern Time) this morning.
