Lucas No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel at NHRA Midwest Nationals

MADISON, ILL – Morgan Lucas continues his hot streak as he took the top spot in Top Fuel at the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday.

Two qualifying sessions took to the track on Saturday after rain cancelled qualifying for all classes except for Pro Stock Motorcycle on Friday. This is the seventh of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Ron Capps, Greg Stanfield and Andrew Hines also take No. 1 positions in their respective categories into eliminations on Sunday at 11:00 a. m.

Lucas wheeled his GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster to a pass of 3.881 seconds at 299.46 mph. This is his first No. 1 qualifier of the year, the third of his career, and comes off of his win at Atlanta.

“It feels great to keep the momentum going. You never want to have something really big happen and then just fail the next week miserably, you always want to do the best you can,” said Lucas. “Its not making big changes, not doing anything radical and getting ourselves lost, staying down the path we’ve been going down.”

In Funny Car, Capps, a three time GIR winner, finds himself atop the field in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T with a 4.111-second pass at 297.02 mph to take the top spot. It’s Capps’s 9th career No. 1 qualifier and the second of this season.

“For a while number one always felt like you were a little bit jinxed going into Sunday and it didn’t really matter as long as you were top four and had lane choice,” stated Capps. “The more impressive thing was to be rained out yesterday and have Ed McCulloch put me into a car that ran 4.11 in both lanes.”

Stanfield posted the quickest time in the Pro Stock category, as he piloted his Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP, to a run of 6.573 at 210.37. This was the first No. 1 qualifying position for Stanfield since the 2006 race in Reading, PA.

“Usually for our team if we lose two runs it is trouble for us. We ran good in Atlanta and conditions are pretty similar which helped us a lot,” said Stanfield following the qualifying session. “Losing two runs probably helped us because there are some other teams that are stronger than us so maybe it played in our favor.”

Hines was the leader of the Pro Stock Motorcycle field and also set a new national elapsed time record with his pass of 6.860 seconds at 192.14. This was the third top qualifying position of the year for Hines and the 25th of his career.

“It was really going in the first eight-mile and after that it really sailed through there and had enough momentum to carry on through and get that number,” said Hines. “It really didn’t feel that fast and I didn’t know anything until people called me up and said number one qualifier”

Eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 13th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol at Gateway International Raceway, the seventh of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel — 1. Morgan Lucas, 3.881 seconds, 307.02 mph vs. 16. Kevin Jones, 4.459, 194.02; 2. Cory McClenathan, 3.882, 305.08 vs. 15. Chris Karamesines, 4.435, 214.66; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.885, 302.75 vs. 14. Todd Simpson, 4.308, 269.13; 4. Spencer Massey, 3.896, 296.44 vs. 13. John Smith, 4.061, 287.23; 5. Larry Dixon, 3.904, 304.25 vs. 12. Joe Hartley, 4.022, 298.40; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.906, 306.05 vs. 11. T.J. Zizzo, 3.969, 297.16; 7. Antron Brown, 3.906, 298.67 vs. 10. Doug Kalitta, 3.965, 299.60; 8. Clay Millican, 3.910, 294.82 vs. 9. Brandon Bernstein, 3.944, 297.02.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Scott Palmer, 4.720, 167.93; 18. Luigi Novelli, 6.817, 98.56.

Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.111, 298.80 vs. 16. Terry Haddock, Dodge Stratus, 6.072, 110.08; 2. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.143, 282.84 vs. 15. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.740, 173.96; 3. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.144, 298.40 vs. 14. Jerry Toliver, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.715, 173.61; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.144, 297.81 vs. 13. Jim Head, Solara, 4.612, 187.42; 5. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 4.147, 298.67 vs. 12. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.294, 280.60; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.150, 299.33 vs. 11. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.222, 271.35; 7. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.162, 294.95 vs. 10. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.200, 290.51; 8. John Force, Mustang, 4.170, 290.32 vs. 9. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.178, 299.80.

Pro Stock — 1. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GXP, 6.573, 210.37 vs. 16. Dave Northrop, Dodge Stratus, 6.636, 208.17; 2. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.575, 209.85 vs. 15. Justin Humphreys, GXP, 6.636, 208.17; 3. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.576, 210.21 vs. 14. Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.633, 207.98; 4. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.580, 210.05 vs. 13. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.627, 208.94; 5. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.586, 209.92 vs. 12. Rickie Jones, Stratus, 6.620, 208.91; 6. Jason Line, GXP, 6.595, 210.24 vs. 11. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.620, 208.42; 7. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.601, 209.04 vs. 10.Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.615, 208.30; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.609, 209.56 vs. 9. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.611, 209.14.

Did Not Qualify: 17. David Beckley, 6.643, 208.14; 18. Warren Johnson, 6.648, 208.97; 19. Steve Schmidt, 6.655, 207.85; 20. Ronnie Humphrey, 6.676, 207.59; 21. V. Gaines, 6.679, 206.70; 22. Erica Enders, 6.740, 203.65; 23. Dave River, 7.015, 196.50; 24. Mark Hogan, 7.399, 154.35.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.860, 192.14 vs. 16. David Hope, Buell, 7.114, 185.36; 2. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.907, 192.00 vs. 15. Bailey Whitaker, Buell, 7.108, 183.29; 3. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.921, 190.14 vs. 14. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.065, 190.30; 4. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.927, 191.16 vs. 13. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.042, 189.39; 5. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 6.956, 191.13 vs. 12. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.031, 186.02; 6. Angie McBride, Buell, 6.958, 187.65 vs. 11. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.024, 186.87; 7. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.973, 184.07 vs. 10. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.997, 192.55; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.986, 189.71 vs. 9. Douglas Horne, Buell, 6.994, 187.57.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Mike Berry, 7.223, 182.13; 18. Wesley Wells, 7.269, 178.35.