Tommy Johnson, Jr. Takes Third Consecutive No. 1 Qualifying Spot:
Beckman Qualifies No. 3 With His Charger SRT HELLCAT...
Tommy Johnson Jr. and his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team have captured their third consecutive No. 1 qualifying spot, at the Toyota Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Johnson made a pass of 3.879 @ 327.82mph during the final pass of the last qualifying session. This is Johnson’s 18 career No. 1 qualifiers. He races Jeff Arend in the first round of elimination later today.
“Our car has been running so well as of late,” said Johnson. “You want to come into the Countdown and you have to bring everything you got for all the races. You have to perform your best you have all season. We have done that except for Sunday. I’m excited about tomorrow, I don’t know if I will be able to sleep tonight. I’m ready to go.”
While Johnson had success in qualifying with his Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, Ron Capps and his Pennzoil/NAPA Auto Parts struggled during qualifying. Capps ran a 3.971 @ 315.71mph, in the final round of qualifying which was enough to give him the No. 12 spot. He will go up against the No. 5 qualifier John Force in the first round.
Matt Hagan and his Pennzoil/Mopar Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT Funny Car team have struggled with getting the new car dialed in. Hagan made his best pass during the final qualifying session with a 3.949 @ 322.65mph run. The run was good enough for the No. 9 spot. He will go head to head with No. 8 qualifier Tim Wilkerson.
While Hagan’s team has struggled with the SRT HELLCAT Funny Car, “Fast Jack” Beckman and his Infinite Hero Foundation team look to be make a lot better head way getting their dialed in. Beckman qualified in the No. 3 spot with a 3.922 @ 327.19mph pass. He will face the No. 14 qualifier Jim Campbell, in the first round of eliminations.
In Top Fuel qualifying, Leah Pritchett took her chrome Pennzoil/Mopar Top Fuel dragster to a 3.731 pass @ 322.88mph to push her into the No. 4 qualifying spot for Sunday’s race. She will be facing No. 13 qualifier Troy Buff in the first rounds of elimination.
Tony Schumacher qualified in the No. 9 spot with his U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster. “The Sarge” ran a 3.772 @ 330.15mph in the second round of qualifying. Tony will face No 8. qualifier Scott Palmer.
Current NHRA Funny Car Point Standings:
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS | POINTS BEHIND LEADER | VEHICLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 01 |
Robert Hight | 2445 | 0 | Auto Club Chevy Camaro SS |
| 02 |
J.R. Todd | 2434 | -11 | DHL Toyota Camry |
| 03 |
Ron Capps | 2336 | -109 | NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T |
| 04 |
Tim Wilkerson | 2334 | -111 | Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang |
| 05 |
Tommy Johnson Jr | 2296 | -149 | Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T |
| 06 |
Courtney Force | 2264 | -181 | Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro SS |
| 07 |
John Force | 2241 | -204 | PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS |
| 08 |
Matt Hagan | 2229 | -216 | Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT |
| 09 |
Jack Beckman | 2204 | -241 | Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT |
| 10 |
Shawn Langdon | 2152 | -293 | Global Electronic Technology Toyota |
Current NHRA Top Fuel Point Standings:
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS | POINTS BEHIND LEADER | VEHICLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |
Steve Torrence | 2592 | 0 | Capco Racing/Torrence Motorsports |
| 02 |
Clay Millican | 2423 | -169 | Parts Plus/ Great Clips/ UNOH dragster |
| 03 |
Tony Schumacher | 2382 | -210 | U.S. Army Dragster |
| 04 |
Leah Pritchett | 2297 | -295 | Papa John’s Dragster |
| 05 |
Antron Brown | 2253 | -339 | Matco Tools Dragster |
| 06 |
Brittany Force | 2243 | -349 | Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster |
| 07 |
Mike Salinas | 2228 | -364 | Scrappers Racing |
| 08 |
Doug Kalitta | 2225 | -367 | Mac Tools Dragster |
| 09 |
Terry McMillen | 2221 | -371 | Amalie Motor Oil Dragster |
| 10 |
Scott Palmer | 2149 | -443 | CatSpot/Tommy Thompson Motorsports |
You can watch eliminations LIVE today, at 3:30pm to 4:30pm EST time on FS1. The finals will be broadcasted on FS1 at 7:00pm to 10:00pm EST.
