READING, PA (Oct. 1, 2016) Mother nature still gave us trouble at Maple Grove Raceway, the third stop of six on the NHRA Countdown to the championship. With the exception of Top Fuel, three of the four professional classes were only able to make one full qualifying session during the two days allotted for qualifying.
Top Fuel
Most of the class struggled to make it to the stripe under full power. However, Leah Pritchett made a monster run with a 3.705 @ 327.25 mph pass. This was good enough to earn her the number one qualifying position going into Sunday’s final eliminations. Her teammates, Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon sit behind her in second and third respectively. Doug Kalitta, Larry Dixon, Dom Lagana, Scott Palmer, and Steve Torrence round out the top 8. Familiar face, Clay Millican was unable to make his dragster go any faster than 12.705 @ 76.17 mph; he will sit on the sidelines for tomorrow’s race.
Funny Car
By far the most diverse raceday field in terms of qualifying times, Funny Car’s qualifiers ranged from 3-second passes to 15-second runs. The rain didn’t affect Matt Hagan too much as he soared to the top spot a 3.873 @ 333.99 mph. He was one of only three drivers to pick up a 3-second time slip. Tommy Johnson Jr., Del Worsham, Ron Capps, Robert Hight, Chad Head, Mike Smith, and Courtney Force complete the top eight.
Pro Stock
The electronically fuel-injected class was no exception to the weather’s punishment. Of the sixteen that qualified, there is an 11.3 second gap between the number one qualifier and the sixteenth qualifier. Vincent Nobile was able to hold down the top spot with a 6.552 @ 211.83 mph. Jason Line, Greg Anderson, Shane Gray, Chris McGaha, Matt Hartford, Allen Johnson, and Bo Butner make up the top half of the field.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Not much of a surprise here, Screaming Eagle Harley-Davidson rider, Andrew Hines added another green hat to his collection. Hines made a 6.784 @ 196.22 mph run and his teammate, Eddie Krawiec, wasn’t far behind in second with a 6.811 @ 191.29 mph. LE Tonglet, Melissa Surber, Hector Arana Jr., Matt Smith, Karen Stoffer, and Jerry Savoie are also in the top half of the field for raceday.
