NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Schedule | Tickets | Entries | Results

Team reports | Notebook/photos

Robert Hight sprinted to the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car Friday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.

Richie Crampton (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Chip Ellis (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders at the 20th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals is the second race of the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.

Hight pushed his Auto Club Chevy Camaro SS to a 3.893-second pass at 328.38 mph during Friday’s second qualifying session to lead the Funny Car pack. Hight, who won this event in 2010, has 47 No. 1 qualifiers in his career but has not qualified better than third so far this season. He won in Gainesville earlier in the year and is currently seventh in the points standings.

Robert Hight

“This was a big day for us, but it’s only one day,” said Hight, the 2009 Funny Car world champion. “We tested on Monday, me and John [Force], and it’s really hard to judge your performance and gauge because you don’t have other cars there. You don’t really know until you go to the next racetrack and you’ve got other cars. So to go out there and be No. 1 two runs in a row today with all the changes we’ve made on the car, that really shows how good my team is.”

Jack Beckman is second in his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger R/T with a 3.907 at 325.22. The Chicago event winner, who fell to eighth in points after a first-round loss last weekend in Charlotte, won this event in 2012 en route to his only Funny Car world championship crown.

In third is two-time 2016 event winner Tim Wilkerson, who raced to a 3.912 at 325.61 in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang.

Two-time world champion Matt Hagan is fourth and is followed by Houston winner Courtney Force and reigning Funny Car world champion Del Worsham in fifth and sixth, respectively. Points leader Ron Capps is seventh, and Charlotte winner and 16-time Funny Car world champion John Force is currently slotted 15th.

Richie Crampton

In Top Fuel, Crampton navigated the dragstrip in 3.733 at 323.50 at the controls of his Lucas Oil dragster to take the qualifying lead. The Adelaide, South Australia, native has one No. 1 qualifier this year and four in his career. Crampton posted a runner-up finish earlier this season in Sonoma but is still chasing his first win of 2016.

“In the Countdown is when you want to start running your best,” said Crampton, who is 10th in points. “You can’t start a weekend much better than being on the pole, and hopefully that will give us a softer first-round draw on Sunday, but we can’t take anyone lightly anymore, either. It doesn’t mean a huge amount in the big scheme of things to me because now it’s about what we can do in the hot weather on Sunday.”

Doug Kalitta is second with a 3.752 at 325.92 in his Mac Tools dragster. Kalitta, a three-time St. Louis winner, has raced to three victories this season and is second in the points standings.

Tony Schumacher, an eight-time world champ, is third with a 3.757 at 320.58 in his U.S. Army dragster. The winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history is a two-time St. Louis winner and currently sits fifth in points.

Sonoma winner J.R. Todd is qualified fourth and is followed by Phoenix winner Leah Pritchett in fifth. Reigning Top Fuel world champion and points leader Antron Brown is in the 12th spot.

Greg Anderson

Anderson took the qualifying lead in Pro Stock with a 6.607 at 209.30 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro. Anderson, second in points, has six No. 1 qualifiers this year and 86 in his career. He posted a runner-up finish last weekend in Charlotte to open the Countdown and has notched seven wins this season. Anderson is a four-time Pro Stock world champion.

“We were right on the money, and then we got the big weather swing tonight when the sun was hiding behind the clouds,” said Anderson, who won this event in 2004. “We hadn’t run a nice session like this for quite a while, so we were ready to come on up here and make some minor changes from the first run today, and then we got the delay, and that changed everything. You’ve got to race the conditions you have, and I know this isn’t going to matter for Sunday, but that position on the ladder might matter come Sunday. The good news is we’ve got a great setup for both a hot track and for when the sun goes down.”

Shane Gray is qualified second in his Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro with a 6.609 at 209.65. Gray qualified No. 1 earlier this year in Chicago but is still hunting for his first victory of the season. He is seventh in points.

Texan Alex Laughlin is third with a 6.610 at 209.14 in his Gas Monkey Garage Chevy Camaro. Laughlin, 11th in points, did not make the Countdown cut but will look to upset some racers eligible for the championship as he chases his first victory.

Vincent Nobile, a two-time 2016 runner-up, is fourth and is trailed by four-time 2016 runner-up Bo Butner in fifth and points leader and eight-time 2016 winner Jason Line in sixth.

Chip Ellis

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Ellis rode his PiranaZ/Pippin Motorsports Buell to a 6.850 at 196.53 to earn the qualifying lead. Ellis, who won last weekend in Charlotte and moved up to second in points, has 16 No. 1 qualifiers in his career and is two sessions from his first in 2016. Ellis won this event in 2006 and finished a career-high third in points in 2007.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Ellis. “This last week, we’ve just kept pinching ourselves to see if this has really happened. To come and do as well as we have so far and go low both rounds today, I’m just excited for our team. For me, it’s exciting, but for our team, I’m really excited for these guys. We work really hard, and we’re a small team.”

Hector Arana Sr., who raced to a runner-up finish at the season opener in Gainesville, is second with a 6.880 at 195.34 on his Lucas Oil Buell. Arana, eighth in points, is the 2015 AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals runner-up.

Alligator farmer Jerry Savoie and his White Alligator Racing Suzuki are third with a 6.881 at 194.88. Savoie, the 2014 St. Louis winner, is sixth in points. Eddie Krawiec, a three-time world champion, is qualified fourth and is followed by Englishtown winner Angelle Sampey in fifth and reigning world champ and points leader Andrew Hines in sixth.

Qualifying for the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park will resume Saturday with two sessions at 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. Eliminations are set to begin Sunday at 11 a.m.

Bob Rahaim powered to the qualifying lead Friday in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the event. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing at Gateway Motorsports Park is presented by Precision Turbo & Engine. This is the ninth of the 10 Pro Mod events on the 2016 season.

Rahaim, who won last weekend in Charlotte, powered his late-model TLC Waste Disposal Services Chevy Corvette to a 5.840-second pass at 248.02 mph to earn the provisional No. 1 spot. Rahaim has three No. 1 qualifiers in his career and two so far this season, which came in Bristol and Norwalk. He is currently second in the points standings.

"The whole team did a fabulous job of preparing the race car,” said Rahaim. “We had a little delay in the action, and the track came back around and cooled way down. It really helped to be in the back of the pack."

Michael Biehle II is second with a 5.852 at 254.76 in his Biehle Motorsports ‘67 Mustang. Biehle has not qualified better than fourth so far this season and currently sits sixth in the points.

In third is Gainesville runner-up Danny Rowe, who posted a 5.858 at 248.75 in his late-model Agave Underground Tequila Chevy Corvette. Rowe is ninth in points.

Sidnei Frigo, who survived a wild crash in Houston, is fourth, and points leader Rickie Smith is fifth. Smith is a two-time 2016 event winner and a two-time national champion. He is making a strong push toward taking the crown from reigning national champion Troy Coughlin, who is currently qualified 14th.

The final qualifying session for the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. before the first round of eliminations begins at 3:45 p.m.