Force, Hagan, Johnson, Arana Lead Indy Qualifying
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| Matt Hagan |
| Rhonda McCole/AR1.com |
Matt Hagan turned in a record-breaking run to take the provisional pole in the Funny Car division on Saturday as the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series wrapped up the second round of qualifying for Monday’s 59th annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
Brittany Force and Allen Johnson continued to hold the top spot in Top Fuel and Pro Stock, respectively, while Hector Arana moved atop the ladder in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
A torrential rain shower that passed over the track wiped out the earlier qualifying session, leaving just one session for the day under considerably cooler track conditions.
Hagan, the current Funny Car points leader, took to the track for his second round pass and turned in a low ET of 4.007 seconds at 319.22 mph – breaking the track ET and speed records and bumping Del Worsham to take over the top spot.
If Hagan can hold on to the qualifying lead through Sunday’s final two rounds, it will be his second-career no. 1 qualifier mark at Indy.
“It was an incredible run and it was an awesome deal to be able to do that at Indy," Hagan said. “It was worth the wait for us. It’s just been a phenomenal year and it was cool to see the fans so pumped after that. My team does an amazing job and I’m so glad we could set the track record here."
Johnny Gray put up a run of 4.012 at 312.13 mph to take the second position, while Worsham held onto third with a 4.045 at 313.15 mph. Bob Tasca III, who was quickest in Friday’s session, fell to fourth with a pass of 4.046, 313.88. Ron Capps (4.049, 315.27) rounded out the top five.
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| Brittany Force |
| Rhonda McCole/AR1.com |
Brittany Force continued to lead the Top Fuel bracket as no one was able to top her time of 3.820 seconds from Friday’s session. Doug Kalitta was fastest in Saturday’s session and the only driver in the top five to improve his position, going 3.829 at 320.81 mph to take the second spot over Spencer Massey, who stood third with a 3.837, 316.38. Tommy Johnson, Jr. (3.845, 319.22) and Bob Vandergriff (3.848, 304.39) made up the rest of the top five.
The story was the same in the Pro Stock division as the top five qualifiers remained unchanged with defending series champion Allen Johnson still holding the top spot following his run of 6.661 seconds at 207.02 mph on Friday. Shane Gray (6.665, 207.78) was second, followed by Mike Edwards (6.669, 206.70), Greg Anderson (6.675, 206.80) and V. Gaines (6.676, 207.98).
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hector Arana was the first driver to eclipse the six-second mark, posting a low ET of 6.968 at 192.96 mph to take the provisional pole away from Matt Smith, who couldn’t improve on his 7.010, 192.00 from Friday. Steve Johnson (7.017, 190.65) fell to third, while Shawn Gann (7.020, 189.71) jumped from tenth to fourth, knocking John Hall (7.022, 189.79) to fifth.