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Qualifying report

Krawiec earns Pro Bike battle victory and top qualifying position in Pro Stock Motorcycle

Beckman sets provisional national record; Brown and McGaha also earn No. 1 qualifying positions at NHRA Sonoma Nationals

Eddie Krawiec

Eddie Krawiec

NHRA

Antron Brown
Antron Brown
Antron Brown
Tony Pedregon
Antron Brown
Tony Pedregon
Tony Pedregon
Jack Beckman
Jack Beckman
Jack Beckman
Jack Beckman
Vieri Gaines
Jason Line
Jason Line
Jason Line
Jason Line
Andrew Hines
Andrew Hines
Steven Chrisman
Steven Chrisman and Mike Strasburg
Matt Hagan
Matt Hagan
Matt Hagan
Matt Hagan
Dave Connolly

SONOMA, Calif. – Eddie Krawiec raced to victory in the NHRA Pro Bike Battle Saturday at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

Krawiec, who earned $7,500 for the win in the all-star bonus race featuring the eight quickest riders from the last year, also took the No. 1 qualifying position in the two-wheel category at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event. It is his second No. 1 of the season and 25th of his career.

In other racing, Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) also earned No. 1 qualifying positions at Sonoma Raceway and will lead their classes into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event.

Pro Bike Battle

Krawiec defeated Scotty Pollacheck and Jerry Savoie in the first two rounds of the Pro Bike Battle and claimed the win on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson when teammate Andrew Hines turned on the red-light in the final round.

“I was a little surprised that Drew red-lighted,” Krawiec said. “I actually expected him to cut the Tree down. I thought he’d be .20 or better but he said he changed way he held the [clutch] lever and we know what happens when you change your routine. His bike has come around a little and so has mine.”

Series points leader Krawiec, who won at Denver last week from the No. 1 qualifying position, hopes to keep his streak of successful runs going tomorrow when he opens eliminations against Angie Smith.

“Everyone knows we’ve struggled a bit this year and it took a lot of hard work to get down this road,” said three-time world champ Krawiec. “We ran well but we weren’t consistent. Before Denver, we went to a test session because we just didn’t know where to look. Now, we do. I can’t thank Matt [Hines, crew chief] and the rest of the Vance & Hines team enough. We have a great bike for tomorrow and I hope we can repeat what we did today.”

Funny Car

No one in Funny Car was able to improve on Beckman’s jaw-dropping 3.921-second run from Friday. However, Beckman was able to run quick enough on the day’s final attempt to certify his 3.921 as the provisional national record, which comes with a 20-point bonus if he can hold on to it through the end of the event. It was Beckman’s second No. 1 of the season and 12th of his career. He will open eliminations against Tony Pedregon.

Beckman ran as a single in the final qualifying session after teammate Matt Hagan’s machine broke on the starting line. Beckman powered his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger R/T to an impressive run of 3.958 at 318.84 in the heat of the day. The 3.958 gave Beckman the 1 percent back-up he needed for the record.

“I think it’s bitchin to be the quickest Funny Car driver in the world, but I want the trophy at the end of the day,” Beckman said. “The national record is for the crew chiefs. If we can win tomorrow I think that’s one that over time would be looked upon as domination. If you can qualify No. 1, set a national record and convert that to the trophy that is one for the history books.”

Series points leader Hagan qualified second and will race Paul Lee, while 16-time champ John Force qualified third and will face John Hale in the opener.

Top Fuel

In Top Fuel, Brown claimed his fifth No. 1 of the season and 42nd of his career with his track record performance of 3.707 at 326.95 in his Matco Tools dragster. Brown will go for his fourth win of the season in a first-round matchup with Steve Chrisman.

“The run we just made gears you up for the first round tomorrow,” Brown said. “It gives you a great deal of confidence going into tomorrow, but you have to remember it’s nitro and anything can happen with these cars. We have to be poised and execute the best we can to get by the first round. The car ran some great e.t.’s today, and at no point was it in trouble. I have all the confidence in the world in my team. I need to do my job to keep it in the groove and have a good reaction time. If we all work to the best of our abilities, we have a chance at winning the race tomorrow.”

Dave Connolly qualified second and will race Terry McMillen and J.R. Todd will face Jenna Haddock in the three versus 14 bracket.

Pro Stock

In Pro Stock, McGaha earned his fourth No. 1 qualifying position of the season with his Friday track record time of 6.499 at 212.36 in his Harlow Sammons Racing Chevy Camaro. McGaha will meet V. Gaines in round one as he remains in hot pursuit of his first career victory.

“We got a lot of data today that was very helpful because this was more like race day,” McGaha said. “The weather was a bit worse so we didn’t have to tone it down too much. When you make those late [night] runs on its fun, but it’s mostly throwaway information. As a rule, the Pro Stock guys are good at adapting to the track. Very seldom do we have problems unless the conditions change when we’re in the lanes. That happens occasionally but we had a good handle on it today.”

Defending event winner Jason Line qualified second in his Summit Racing Camaro and will race rookie Aaron Strong in the first round. Series points leader Greg Anderson, a four-time Sonoma winner, qualified third and will meet rookie Alex Laughlin in round one.

Saturday's results from Sonoma Raceway

Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 28th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, the 15th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel — 1. Antron Brown, 3.707 seconds, 326.95 mph vs. 16. Steven Chrisman, 4.369, 211.43; 2. Dave Connolly, 3.713, 329.10 vs. 15. Terry McMillen, 3.960, 298.01; 3. J.R. Todd, 3.724, 328.30 vs. 14. Jenna Haddock, 3.935, 299.46; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.732, 325.61 vs. 13. Troy Buff, 3.907, 309.63; 5. Tony Schumacher, 3.738, 325.69 vs. 12. Brittany Force, 3.872, 320.66; 6. Clay Millican, 3.749, 323.58 vs. 11. Doug Kalitta, 3.812, 323.12; 7. Larry Dixon, 3.777, 324.98 vs. 10. Shawn Langdon, 3.802, 320.51; 8. Richie Crampton, 3.777, 324.20 vs. 9. Spencer Massey, 3.780, 324.67.

Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 3.921, 323.43 vs. 16. Tony Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 4.322, 275.79; 2. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.967, 325.77 vs. 15. Paul Lee, Toyota Solara, 4.194, 299.13; 3. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.970, 322.96 vs. 14. John Hale, Charger, 4.173, 306.33; 4. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.970, 322.19 vs. 13. Jeff Diehl, Solara, 4.162, 294.31; 5. Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 3.974, 322.96 vs. 12. Courtney Force, Camaro, 4.059, 315.42; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 3.974, 320.13 vs. 11. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.057, 313.44; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.979, 320.81 vs. 10. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.031, 317.05; 8. Chad Head, Camry, 4.022, 317.72 vs. 9. Del Worsham, Camry, 4.027, 320.43. Did Not Qualify: 17. Gary Densham, 4.754, 302.21; 18. Terry Haddock, 4.805, 172.28.

Pro Stock — 1. Chris McGaha, Chevy Camaro, 6.499, 212.36 vs. 16. V. Gaines, Dodge Dart, 6.613, 210.47; 2. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.507, 212.26 vs. 15. Aaron Strong, Camaro, 6.597, 209.85; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.507, 212.36 vs. 14. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.574, 210.87; 4. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.524, 211.86 vs. 13. Matt Hartford, Pontiac GXP, 6.571, 211.20; 5. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.525, 212.29 vs. 12. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.539, 212.73; 6. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.527, 211.76 vs. 11. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.537, 211.59; 7. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.528, 212.49 vs. 10. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.535, 212.56; 8. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.533, 213.00 vs. 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.534, 212.03. Did Not Qualify: 17. Joey Grose, 6.661, 208.88.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.787, 196.99 vs. 16. Angie Smith, Victory, 6.995, 188.15; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.837, 195.25 vs. 15. Melissa Surber, Buell, 6.975, 189.31; 3. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.838, 196.39 vs. 14. Katie Sullivan, Suzuki, 6.974, 192.71; 4. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.853, 195.34 vs. 13. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.968, 188.57; 5. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.867, 198.79 vs. 12. Freddie Camarena, Suzuki, 6.963, 196.13; 6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.899, 195.17 vs. 11. Mike Berry, Buell, 6.956, 191.89; 7. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.907, 194.32 vs. 10. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.920, 195.36; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.918, 194.21 vs. 9. Matt Smith, Victory, 6.918, 192.66. Did Not Qualify: 17. Anthony Vanetti, 7.120, 187.44; 18. Chaz Kennedy, 7.357, 188.28.

NHRA

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