It was finally time to see some snow throwing, 900hp small block screaming action at Sunday River yesterday because qualifying for Red Bull Frozen Rush 2016 took place. The nine drivers all had two laps to lay down their best time and set themselves up in the best position to succeed on the drag race style ladder. Veteran and multi-time winner Ricky Johnson lead all comers after nearly a year out of the seat racing ANYTHING. The grizzled veteran edged fellow Red Bull driver Bryce Menzies by a mere two tenths of a second for the top spot.

What’s truly interesting about this event is that it is the only one where Lucas Oil series racers and TORC series competitors get to duke it out against each other. A really unique treat for people who love this sort of racing and want to see the best of the best beating on each other.

The big story on the mechanical side is the fact that while most of the trucks are running automatics, a couple are running manuals. The supposed disadvantage of the manual is on the launch where the trucks dig the big, spiked BFG meats into the snow when the clutch is dumped as opposed to clawing out like the automatics do. We’ll be paying close attention to see how that plays out tomorrow.

Red Bull Frozen Rush Qualifier Results

1. Ricky Johnson (1:27.570)
2. Bryce Menzies (1:27.749)
3. Scott Douglas (1:30.046)
4. Carl Renezeder (1:30.984)
5. Chad Hord (1:31.056)
6. Rob MacCachren (1.31.375)
7. Johnny Greaves (1:33.228)
8. RJ Anderson (1:33.410)
9. CJ Greaves (1:43.406)

Click the images to expand them and then scroll to see ’em all