NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Friday qualifying in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by J&A Services delivered plenty of drama. Todd Tutterow, racing just days after a crash put his regular car out of commission, took the provisional pole at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. 

RELATED: Pro Mod Qualifying Order

Tutterow sits second in points and resumed his chase of Stevie “Fast” Jackson with a pair of terrific runs on Friday at Bristol Dragway. His first pass, a 5.774, was the only run in the 5.70s in the first session of qualifying and slotted him in above Mike Castellana. 

Then the second session turned around and things got very racy in the doorslamming category. 

Defending champion Mike Janis made a 5.8-second pass to bump his way into the field after entering the session in the No. 18 position. He ended up No. 3. That’s because of the incredible run made by Brazilian racer Sidnei Frigo, who became the second racer to jump into the 5.7-second zone with a 5.788-second pass at 255.97 mph. 

The bump spot dropped to an astonishing 5.882-seconds, held by Jose Gonzalez. That’s .072-second quicker than the 2018 bump spot at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, which was held by Chip King. King is currently not qualified for the field. Kris Thorne is just a thousandth of a second on the outside of the field in the No. 17 position. 

Rickie Smith will enter the final day of qualifying outside of the field. His best run (5.941) is well off the bump spot. He’s not the only big name on the outside looking in as we look towards the third qualifying session, set for noon Saturday. Jim Whiteley, Steve Matusek, harry Hruska and Clint Satterfield all have work to do entering Saturday qualifying.