Neff tops Funny Car field at NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

Published 8:02 pm Friday, May 16, 2008

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Rookie Mike Neff topped Funny Car qualifying Friday in the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Neff, seeking the first No. 1 qualifying position of his career, drove his Ford Mustang to a 4.783-second pass at 321.04 mph to become the provisional top qualifier.

Tony Schumacher and Kurt Johnson also were No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the eighth of 24 events on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Defending POWERade Series champion Schumacher drove to a 4.502 at 327.59 in Top Fuel. Coming off his win in Madison, Ill., Pro Stock’s Kurt Johnson drove his Chevy Cobalt to a track record time of 6.687 at 206.16 to lead the 16-car field. He is in position to earn his second No. 1 qualifier of the season, 29th of his career and first at Bristol.

Top Fuel

1. Tony Schumacher, 4.502 seconds, 327.59 mph; 2. David Grubnic, 4.526, 311.85; 3. Doug Kalitta, 4.536, 320.66; 4. Antron Brown, 4.542, 330.15; 5. Hillary Will, 4.570, 323.50; 6. Doug Herbert, 4.578, 316.97; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 4.581, 325.92; 8. J.R. Todd, 4.584, 328.30; 9. Rod Fuller, 4.584, 316.23; 10. Cory McClenathan, 4.619, 312.50; 11. Bob Vandergriff, 4.636, 319.37; 12. Larry Dixon, 4.648, 313.73.

Not qualified: 13. Troy Buff, 4.657, 308.50; 14. Morgan Lucas, 4.795, 312.50; 15. Alan Bradshaw, 12.549, 75.76.

Funny Car

1. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.783, 321.04; 2. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.785, 323.89; 3. Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.792, 324.98; 4. Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Impala, 4.802, 318.24; 5. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.803, 311.63; 6. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.821, 319.67; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.821, 308.78; 8. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.823, 318.02; 9. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.831, 317.79; 10. Cruz Pedregon, Impala, 4.831, 313.29; 11. Melanie Troxel, Charger, 4.839, 318.62; 12. Del Worsham, Impala, 4.842, 322.65.

Not Qualified: 13. Mike Ashley, 4.845, 304.12; 14. Bob Gilbertson, 4.847, 318.77; 15. Jerry Toliver, 4.848, 308.57; 16. Tony Bartone, 4.896, 285.47; 17. Jack Beckman, 4.933, 318.84; 18. Scott Kalitta, 4.956, 308.00; 19. Gary Scelzi, 5.001, 247.16; 20. Tommy Johnson Jr., 5.068, 256.70; 21. Gary Densham, 5.263, 211.93.

Pro Stock

1. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.687, 206.16; 2. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.699, 205.66; 3. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.716, 206.57; 4. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, 6.728, 203.80; 5. Jason Line, GXP, 6.734, 205.82; 6. John Nobile, Stratus, 6.734, 204.54; 7. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.736, 204.54; 8. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.737, 204.39; 9. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.737, 203.58; 10. Matt Hartford, Stratus, 6.742, 204.48; 11. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.747, 204.91; 12. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.747, 203.12.

Not Qualified: 13. Steve Schmidt, 6.752, 204.45; 14. Todd Hoerner, 6.755, 204.76; 15. Rickie Jones, 6.765, 203.98; 16. Jeg Coughlin, 6.765, 203.71; 17. Greg Stanfield, 6.769, 203.31; 18. Ron Krisher, 6.775, 203.58; 19. Jim Yates, 6.775, 202.58; 20. Dave Northrop, 6.782, 203.37; 21. Rickie Smith, 6.782, 202.97; 22. Max Naylor, 6.788, 201.70; 23. Steve Spiess, 6.789, 203.09; 24. Kenny Koretsky, 6.807, 202.88; 25. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.933, 176.79; 26. Justin Humphreys, 14.248, 58.56; 27. Ben Watson, 16.239, 66.19