After some drizzle and delay in the morning that virtually assured Sportsman racers that they would be having their final rounds on Monday here at the NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals, we were optimistic that all the Pro Classes would get their two Saturday qualifying rounds in. We were wrong. We’ve still got great photos for you to check out from Saturday’s action, but the afternoon showers became afternoon rain just after getting the track cleaned up from the sprinkles, and all the Professional teams were sent back to the pits with only three rounds of qualifying under their belts.
In Pro Stock, our boy Warren Johnson is on the outside looking in along with Steve Kent, while Jason Line in the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GXP holds onto the top spot with a 6.535 212.23mph blast. Edwards is in second ahead of the Ronnie Humphrey Team Summit machine. Greg Anderson is in the number 5 spot behind Allen Johnson’s Mopar, Kurt Johnson is 10th, and Jeg Coughlin is in the number 14 spot in the new Jegs.com Mopar Avenger.
In Funny Car, Robert Hight is up at the top of the heap with Jack Beckman and Johnny Gray right on his heels. BangShift favorites Jeff Arend, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, and Gary Densham are in the 7-10 spots. John Force is qualified number 6 and Cruz Pedregon, Jim Head, Jack Wyatt, and James Day will all be spectators for Sunday. Cruz had a great winter test session, so his lackluster performance was a surprise to us. Brother Tony is in the 13 spot after just getting his 2012 deals worked out in the last few weeks.
In Top Fuel, Troy Buff and Steve Chrisman won’t be in Sunday’s eliminations, but our boy Morgan Lucas is at the top of the field! Both Al-Anabi cars are in the show at the number 7 and 8 spots, and Grubnic and Kalitta are both in at 11 and 12. Grubnic is looking good in the the Optima Batteries Top Fuel Dragster, and is certainly having fun. Tony Schumacher is the lowest qualified DSR car in the 6 spot, with Antron and Spencer at 3 and 2 respectively.
