POMONA, Calif. – Ron Capps scored valuable qualifying points and Jack Beckman sprinted to the qualifying lead in Funny Car on Friday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 24th and final event of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Capps posted the lowest elapsed time in the first session of qualifying with a 3.883-second pass at 323.66 mph. He was awarded three points for being the quickest of the session and now has an 89-point lead over teammate and second-place Matt Hagan. If Capps, the winningest Funny Car driver in NHRA history without a world championship, has at least an 81-point lead over Hagan when qualifying concludes Saturday evening, he will clinch the 2016 NHRA Mello Drag Racing Series Funny Car world championship.
Beckman raced to the top qualifying position in Funny Car with a 3.865 at 332.84. He set both ends of the track record with the performance.
“It was an amazing run,” said Beckman. “We had hot conditions all day but us running the new track records is a testament to how fast the Funny Car category has gotten as a whole this entire season.”
John Force is second with a 3.880 at 330.72, while Capps’ 3.883 at 323.66 in the first session was enough to put him in the third spot. Robert Hight is fourth and Hagan is fifth.
In Top Fuel, 2016 series champion Antron Brown continued his dominance by racing to the provisional lead with a 3.713 at 326.56. Brown clinched his third world title two weekends ago in Las Vegas.
“At the end of the day, it’s all for the love of this sport,” said Brown. “All the teams come out here, not because they want a lot of money or for the attention, it’s for the love of the sport. We were able to sneak back into the No. 1 spot and the whole field is so tight right now. This kind of field is what you want to see all of next year. We got our work cut out for us this weekend and it feels good to get this Matco Tools car to the No. 1 spot.”
Steve Torrence is currently qualified second with a 3.716 at 326.95. Leah Pritchett is third with a 3.726 at 328.62. Shawn Langdon is fourth and Tony Schumacher is fifth.
Pro Stock points leader Jason Line sprinted to the top spot with a 6.565 at 211.16. Line has a 20-point lead over second-place Greg Anderson.
“It’ll be fun to watch and really nerve wracking for Greg and me,” said Line. “Maybe we’ll be duking it out on Sunday. It was a nice run but could’ve been better, to be honest with you. There’s a little left. I think the racetrack will continue to get better over the weekend and you’ll see all of us go faster. Tomorrow should be interesting.”
Anderson is qualified second with a 6.575 at 210.70. Bo Butner posted a 6.580 at 210.37 and sits in the third spot. Alex Laughlin and Shane Gray are fourth and fifth, respectively.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Savoie rode to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 6.844 at 195.93. Savoie entered the weekend three points behind leaders Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, who were tied, but now has a one point lead over rival Krawiec and a three point lead over Hines.
“We got a little aggressive on that first run and thought the track conditions were a little better, and same thing on the second run,” said Savoie, who rode into the sand trap in the second qualifying session. “We got all the wheels off and the bike is completely stripped down besides the engine. The way this bike is sealed up, it was kind of hard for any rocks to get inside the engine compartment. I’ll keep my composure and on Sunday we’ll go do our thing.”
Hector Arana, Jr. is currently qualified second with a 6.857 at 195.65. He is followed by three-time world champ Krawiec in third with a 6.858 at 195.53. His Harley-Davidson teammate, Hines, is qualified eighth.
Qualifying for the Auto Club NHRA Finals will resume Saturday with the last two sessions at noon and 3 pm. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11 am on Sunday.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Auto Club Raceway – Pomona, CA
Auto Club NHRA Finals – Nov. 12, 2016
Friday’s Qualifying Results
Top Fuel — 1. Antron Brown, 3.713 seconds, 326.56 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.716, 326.95; 3. Leah Pritchett, 3.726, 328.62; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.729, 325.14; 5. Tony Schumacher, 3.734, 325.22; 6. J.R. Todd, 3.739, 324.36; 7. Wayne Newby, 3.766, 326.79; 8. Brittany Force, 3.770, 322.19; 9. Terry McMillen, 3.792, 323.89; 10. Tripp Tatum, 3.815, 313.95; 11. Morgan Lucas, 3.892, 293.03; 12. Shawn Reed, 3.921, 303.78.
Not Qualified: 13. Richie Crampton, 4.118, 208.39; 14. Terry Haddock, 4.186, 224.88; 15. Troy Buff, 4.316, 187.36; 16. Doug Kalitta, 4.704, 142.29; 17. Steve Faria, 5.367, 103.02; 18. Clay Millican, 5.531, 121.35.
Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 3.865, 332.84; 2. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.880, 330.72; 3. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.883, 323.66; 4. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.889, 329.75; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.894, 329.83; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.918, 288.15; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.920, 328.38; 8. Jeff Arend, Toyota Camry, 3.930, 317.19; 9. Paul Lee, Camry, 3.935, 324.83; 10. Courtney Force, Camaro, 3.953, 316.67; 11. John Bojec, Camry, 4.029, 301.00; 12. Gary Densham, Mustang, 4.071, 268.33.
Not Qualified: 13. Jon Capps, 4.093, 254.81; 14. Cruz Pedregon, 4.233, 226.20; 15. John Hale, 4.261, 214.93; 16. Anthony Begley, 4.309, 233.96; 17. Bob Bode, 4.490, 199.35; 18. Dave Richards, 4.611, 182.90; 19. Brandon Welch, 4.775, 185.64; 20. Chad Head, 5.583, 127.23; 21. Del Worsham, 5.979, 118.36; 22. Jim Campbell, broke.
Pro Stock — 1. Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.565, 211.16; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.575, 210.70; 3. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.580, 210.44; 4. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.587, 210.83; 5. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.594, 210.47; 6. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.597, 210.50; 7. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.601, 209.82; 8. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.602, 210.37; 9. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.621, 209.69; 10. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.622, 208.33; 11. Aaron Strong, Camaro, 6.642, 208.20; 12. Erica Enders, Dart, 6.645, 209.01.
Not Qualified: 13. Alan Prusiensky, 6.655, 208.07; 14. Kenny Delco, 6.664, 208.39; 15. Matt Hartford, 6.666, 208.55; 16. Deric Kramer, 6.677, 206.86; 17. Joey Grose, 6.941, 196.56.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.844, 195.93; 2. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.857, 195.65; 3. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.858, 195.53; 4. Angelle Sampey, Buell, 6.861, 195.73; 5. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.870, 196.82; 6. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.872, 194.49; 7. Melissa Surber, Buell, 6.879, 193.71; 8. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.886, 195.00; 9. Cory Reed, Buell, 6.911, 192.80; 10. Freddie Camarena, Suzuki, 6.916, 195.39; 11. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.917, 193.74; 12. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.919, 192.47.
Not Qualified: 13. Angie Smith, 6.922, 193.82; 14. LE Tonglet, 6.927, 195.48; 15. Matt Smith, 6.941, 193.99; 16. Jim Underdahl, 6.964, 193.60; 17. Shawn Gann, 6.979, 192.44; 18. Karen Stoffer, 7.007, 192.85; 19. Chaz Kennedy, 7.023, 190.40; 20. Gunner Courtney, 7.080, 186.36; 21. Scott Bottorff, 7.092, 187.99; 22. Luke Crowley, 7.120, 192.00; 23. Lance Bonham, 7.161, 185.66.
