NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

PRO STOCK Q1

It's been a year since a Pro Stocker rolled into the water box here after last fall's complete washout at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, and former ace-driver- tuned-crew chief Dave Connolly, subbing for KB Titan driver Cody Coughlin this weekend, got the honor and showed no rust with a 6.07 to rechristen the track, and a run that held up as quickest of the round for another four pair and ended up fifth.

Greg Anderson was low with a 6.583, and KB Titan teammate Eric Latino was a surprise second with a 6.588. Reigning world champ Dallas Glenn slotted third with 6.603, just ahead of Freg Stanfield — the quickest Elite Performance car — who ran 6.605 and then Connolly's 6.607.

Local favorite Joey Grose sits on the 16-car bump spot with a 6.669, with three top drivers — Mason McGaha, Matt Hartford, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. — on the outside looking in.

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FUNNY CAR Q1

Perhaps not unexpectedly, without a nitro run here in a year, the Funny Cars struggled in Q1, with few making it to half-track under power, but mostly unexpectedly, the hometown fans got to cheer when local favorite Jason Rupert grabbed the provisional pole with a 4.247.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Spencer Hyde, runner-up three weeks ago in Phoenix, grabbed the No. 2 spot in Jim Head's machine with a 4.337.

Two-time and reigning world champ Austin Prock, whose team has struggled at the year's first two meets since moving to Tasca Racing in the off-season, grabbed the No. 3 spot with a sub-representative 4.593, but the team enters the race on a high after a successful test session at Firebird Motorsports Park, where the car ran in the threes despite an 800-foot shutoff.

Dave Richards is on the early bump spot (that surely will dip) after a 6.452 early shutoff pass in the Bluebird Turf Ford. Eighteen cars are trying to make the 16-car field.

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TOP FUEL Q1

Will Smith and the Bluebird Turf team were the first to fully solve the Pomona dragstrip halfway through the session with a 3.879, and that opened the floodgates for the cars that followed.

Phoenix winner Shawn Langdon remained red-hot and powered the Kalitta Air dragster to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 3.798.

Langdon's teammate, world champ Doug Kalitta, whose early career in sprint and midget racing included plenty of pit stops, but this was probably the first time he'd ever had a tire changed on the starting line at the drags after picking up a one-inch-long nail in the left rear tire towing through the pits. The team jacked up the rear end, swapped on a new slick, and went to No. 2 behind Langdon with a 3.799.

With 15 cars entered, the low qualifier after Q4 will get a bye in round one, so while there won't be any bumping drama at the bottom of the field, everyone will be glued to who's at the top.

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PRO STOCK Q2

The Pro Stockers found their groove in the cooler afternoon conditions as the field as a whole improved and 15 of the 19 drivers improved on their opening lap but in the end, it was Q1 leader Greg Anderson who vaulted back to the top with a 6.544, leapfrogging teammate Dallas Glenn's 6.553 and the solid 6.568 and 6.572 of father and son Elite duo of Greg and Aaron Stanfield.

The next six spots are more KB Titan machines with Matt Latino, Matt Hartford, Eric Latino, Cody Anderson,  Dave Connolly, and Deric Kramer. Erica Enders, the flagship of the Elite fleet, is 11th with a 6.590. The Elite squad tested in Bakersfield before the event and made some solid runs that haven't yet fully translated two hours south.

Jeg Coughlin Jr., who has taken home the Wally at Pomona Dragstrip in Pro Stock eight times, including three Winternationals crowns, swung and missed again in Q2 and remains outside the field with two sessions to go. He hasn't missed a field since the 2012 Englishtown event during a lost season while trying to make a Dodge competitive.

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FUNNY CAR Q2

There was no doubt that Jason Rupert's Q1-leading 4.24 would not hold up, and it surely didn't as 10 drivers (including Rupert) went quicker.

Mike Neff and Jonnie Lindberg were the first to crack the code, tuning Alexis DeJoria to a 3.989 that led the field until her new teammate, Jordan Vandergiff, raced to the pole with a 3.951.

Ron Capps was a solid third with a 4.00, and reigning world champion Austin Prock, whose team tested in Phoenix, cracked off a cylinder-dropping 4.01 for the No. 4 spot.

Nine cars ran in the 4.0s or better, setting the table for Saturday's promised go-fast conditions, where we'll see a lot more three-second passes.

Daniel Wilkerson, everyone's best bet to be one of the sport's next first-time winners, had a forgettable moment when his Scag machine grenaded the blower just off the starting line.

“It’s just one of those things,” Wilkerson said. “It just blew up in my face. I didn't hear it spinning or didn't feel it lay over or anything; it just went boom. I’m a very self-deprecating individual, so the first thing I always do is, ‘Did I do something wrong?’ and Tim [Wilkerson, crew chief] said, ‘I don't think so, man.’ “

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TOP FUEL Q2

With the sun setting behind the west-side bleachers and the track cooling, everyone expected a great session, and they were right.

Leah Pruett, in her return to the track where two years ago she almost won the world championship, boiled to the top in the Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters entry with a blast of 3.724 to steal the pole away from Gainesville winner Josh Hart's 3.733 in his debut with Speedmaster on the flanks of his car.

First-session leader Shawn Langdon improved on his 3.798 with a 3.745 but slid to third place just ahead of Shawn Reed's 3.755 and the 3.756 of teammate Doug Kalitta, who posted a ripping top speed of 338.34 mph.

Pruett's husband, Tony Stewart, wasn't as quick, but he was steady with a 3.817 to match his earlier 3.815 while darkhose Will Smith backed up his Q1 pass of 3.879 with a 3.870.