NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

TOP FUEL Q3

Eight of the 14 cars that made runs in the session improved on their Friday bests, led by Tony Stewart, whose fine 3.704 was the quickest of the round and improved on his Q2 3.72. The biggest improvements came from the bottom of the field into the top as the quick eight entering the session was Will Smith's 3.786, and it ended up at 3.751 by Justin Ashley, who dropped from fourth to eighth after failing to improve.

Low qualifier Doug Kalitta made a decent lap of 3.774, but it was just the 10th-best of the frame; that's how good it was.

Points leader Shawn Langdon had the second-best pass, an improved 3.723 that carried him to the No. 3 spot behind Kalitta and Stewart.

"We just wanted to make a better run today," said Langdon. "We dropped a cylinder on the first pass yesterday and then spun the tires on the top end on the second, so it was important for us to get down the track today."

Josh Hart's 3.744 earned him the final session bonus point.

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FUNNY CAR Q3

Much as it was in Top Fuel, the best of the session wasn't good enough to get around the leader, but it did carry Alexis DeJoria to the No. 2 spot with a 3.892, behind only Ron Capps' 3.870. It was a major improvement for DeJoria, whose Friday best was just 4.23.

JR Todd was also impressive with a 3.916 that carried the DHL Toyota to the  No. 5 spot behind Capps, DeJoria, Austin Prock, and Jack Beckman. Neither Capps nor Prock nor Beckman improved on their Friday best.

Paul Lee is having a great qualifying outing, clocking his third straight three-second pass with a 3.934, his best of the meet, that sits seventh behind Chad Green's Friday 3.920. 

Capps, Todd, Lee, and Jack Beckman have all run nothing but three-second passes this weekend. Todd's Dickie Venables-tuned machine has been the most consistent Funny Car all year, completing nearly 70% of all of its qualifying and eliminations runs; Beckman's car is second at 68%.

Jordan Vandergriff, who won last weekend's Michigan race from the No. 16 qualifying spot, sits 15th right now. Bad luck or strategy? ;)

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PRO STOCK Q3

A trio of KB Titan cars dominated the session, led by second-generation sensation Cody Anderson, who earned his class license at this track prior to the season. Anderson's Camaro carried him to a 6.485, ahead of teammate Matt Latino (6.492) and Cody's father, Greg, who posted a 6.495.

The young Anderson has looked spectacular this weekend with consecutive passes of 6.493, 6.491, and then the 6.485. As good as that final pass was, it lifted him only to the No. 5 spot in the field, behind Matt Hartford (6.476), Dallas Glenn (6.478), and his father and Latino (both at 6.479).

Low qualifier Hartford didn't make a great run, slowing from his torrid Friday pace to a 6.512 that was only eighth-best of the session.

It takes a solid 6.490 to make the top half of the field.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q3

Two-time world champ Gaige Herrera had the best run of a comparatively slow session in which few of the riders were able to improve. Herrera clocked a 6.707 but remained the No. 5 qualifier, and the bad news is that he and teammate Richard Gadson are currently on the same side of the eliminations ladder for Sunday.

For the third straight qualifying session, Ryan Oehler had the second-best run of the session, this time with a 6.718 while Gadson was third with a 6.725.

Angie and Matt Smith remain atop the qualifying sheets with respective runs of 6.674 and 6.681, with Oehler also clocking a 6.681.

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TOP FUEL Q4

After a scintillating opening session today, the final attempts were marked by a lot of tire smoke and few improvements as the heat set in. Justin Ashley was quickest in the frame with a 3.784 with only Tony Schumacher's next-best 3.793 in the 3.7-second range, and Schumacher's pass, an improvement on his Friday 3.84, came at the price of a blown supercharger in the traps. Schumacher was the only driver who improved on an earlier effort.

Antron Brown got the final bonus point with a 3.801, and Dan Mercier also looked fine with a 3.806, though those four were the only ones who made full passes on what suddenly became a tricky track for the fuel dragsters.

Points leader Shawn Langdon, who looked great in Q3, blazed the tires at the hit, and his field-leading teammate, Doug Kalitta, also lost traction to an 11-second coaster.

Kalitta will draw part-timer Rit Pustari in round one while Langdon will square off with Cameron Ferre.

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FUNNY CAR Q4

Curiously, the Funny Cars, which are usually way more temperamental than their long-wheelbased dragster brothers, had little problems with the track in their final session, logging nine three-second passes to continue what is one of the class' best outings this year with 13 cars qualified in the threes.

For the second straight session, Alexis DeJoria's Bandero Cafe entry clocked the best run, a 3.934 that was closely pursued by teammate Jack Beckman's 3.926 and Ron Capps' 3.927. J.R. Todd ripped to a 3.938 at a track-record 336.83-mph trap speed. Capps, who remained the No 1 qualifier, Todd, and Matt Hagan made three-second passes on all four of their attempts. Capps will get a bye in round one due to the 15-car field.

After three misses, Chris Cunningham found the tune-up that carried Jordan Vandergriff from the No. 15 spot to midpack with a 3.970, a run punctuated by a wild move at the top end that the rookie flopper pilot deftly reined in. Cunningham said later that they had a good run going early in Q3 before it went awry, and they learned from that. The run was good, but only good enough for No. 11, as the 13 three-second runners are crammed into a tight .11-second window, meaning that the drivers could play a big hand in Sunday's outcome.

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PRO STOCK Q4

For the fourth straight session, there's been a different top performer, and this time it was Greg Stanfield, who made the only 6.4-second pass of the round, a 6.498 that was almost a hundredth of a second quicker than Dallas Glenn's second-best 6.506.

No one was able to improve on their previous performances due to hotter weather, and each of the teams generally slowed three-hundredths from their best, with Stanfield being the exception, as his run was just a few ticks slower than his 6.489 from Friday night. Stanfield's effort was the best for an Elite Performance car, as the top five were all KB Titan-powered at the facility at which they regualry test.

Matt Hartfod stayed atop the field, qualifying No. 1 for the third straight race, which will give him a bye run in the opening round Sunday.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q4

Just when it looked like no one across the board would be able to improve on their earlier runs, along comes Gaige Herrera and crew chief Andrew Hines, going Gaige Herrera and Andrew Hines things. The Vance & Hines duo dropped jaws across the pits with a 6.680 that was more than six-hundredths quicker than polesitter Angie Smith's 6.744 and gave the two-time world champ the best run of each of the final two sessions.

Herrera's run moved him to No. 2 and broke up the Angie and Matt Smith 1-2 lead atop the sheets, but they remain on opposite sides of the ladder.

Steve Johnson, the class' elder statesman, had a fine run of four qualifying passes, al in the mid- to low-7.7-second range, including a final 6.751 that was the third quickest of the final session.

By qualifying No. 1, Angie earns a first-round bye for the 15-bike field, a crucial move for the team that admitted fumbled the ball inthe Coutndown opener in Martin last weekend.