Pedregon, Lucas, Johnson and Krawiec lead Houston Friday qualifying

Cruz Pedregon leads Funny Car qualifying action at O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals; Lucas, Johnson and Krawiec also qualifying leaders

BAYTOWN, Texas -- Two-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon raced to the qualifying lead Friday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway.

Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders in their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event near Houston.

Pedregon powered his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry to the top of the Funny Car qualifying field during the evening qualifying session with his pass of 4.103 seconds at 305.29 mph, a run Pedregon almost didn’t complete.

“We almost didn’t run because the reverser lever fell off in my hand, I threw it out the window,” Pedregon said. “Lee Beard (crew chief) didn’t know what to do with it. I’m just glad we got it in first gear because we really made a nice run.”

Morgan Lucas

Photo by: NHRA

Pedregon’s Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry team struggled in the beginning of the season, but Pedregon feels like the team is finally coming together. If the team holds onto the No. 1 spot through Saturday’s qualifying sessions it will be his second of the season and 32nd of his career.

“Our car is coming around, I feel it in my bones,” Pedregon said. “We should have won the last race but the driver let us down. We should have run a 4.07 on that run but it dropped a cylinder. I know the time is coming when we can run with anybody.”

In Top Fuel, Lucas posted a 3.772 at 327.74 in his GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster to earn the qualifying lead. If Lucas holds onto the top spot it will be his fourth of the season and seventh of his career. Several dragsters hit the 3.77-second mark during the exciting session, including second place Steve Torrence, Spencer Massey, and Tony Schumacher.

“All I could think of is that when it left the line so aggressively, was ‘God, please let this think stick,’” Lucas said. “We’re really fortunate to have the team that we do right now. It’s a good way to bounce back from what we did in Charlotte [first-round loss].”

In Pro Stock, Johnson drove his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger to the provisional No. 1 spot with his pass of 6.545 at 211.73.

“The air got about 300 feet better and the track cooled down about 20 degrees, so that was good for us,” Johnson said. “We left a little bit on the table, but we were consistent. The morning qualifying round tomorrow could be as good or better as it was in today’s second session.”

If Johnson maintains the No. 1 position it will be his second of the season and 18th of his career.

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Krawiec rode his Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson to the top of the pack with his performance of 6.872 at 197.83.

“The humidity went down on the second run and we had a pretty stout tailwind,” Kraweic said. “If we’d had that tailwind in Gainesville, I would have run 200 mph. That was about a picture perfect run. The bike went straight and I tucked in and motored down the track. I don’t think there was much left, maybe a few thousandths, not hundredths.”

Qualifying action continues Saturday with sessions scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eliminations get underway Sunday at 11 a.m.

Allen Johnson

Photo by: Mopar Motorsports

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BAYTOWN, Texas -- Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 25th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway, sixth of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Morgan Lucas, 3.772 seconds, 327.74 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.772, 322.88; 3. Spencer Massey, 3.778, 326.95; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.778, 326.56; 5. David Grubnic, 3.829, 323.35; 6. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.837, 321.12; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 3.848, 322.27; 8. Doug Kalitta, 3.855, 320.81; 9. Shawn Langdon, 3.870, 314.90; 10. J.R. Todd, 3.873, 319.52; 11. Bob Vandergriff, 3.884, 317.94; 12. Terry McMillen, 3.901, 290.26. Not Qualified: 13. Cory McClenathan, 3.921, 315.86; 14. T.J. Zizzo, 3.937, 319.98; 15. Clay Millican, 3.946, 300.06; 16. Keith Murt, 3.962, 311.34; 17. Troy Buff, 3.965, 306.60; 18. Antron Brown, 3.997, 306.67; 19. Bruce Litton, 4.007, 294.31.

Funny Car -- 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.103, 306.19; 2. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.107, 307.02; 3. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 4.123, 308.50; 4. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.138, 307.37; 5. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.139, 300.00; 6. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.150, 306.53; 7. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.153, 256.65; 8. Jim Head, Solara, 4.165, 297.61; 9. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.197, 300.80; 10. John Force, Mustang, 4.212, 296.05; 11. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camary, 4.230, 302.62; 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.247, 291.45. Not Qualified: 13. Bob Bode, 4.289, 292.39; 14. Terry Haddock, 4.306, 289.88; 15. Mike Neff, 4.318, 228.11; 16. Jack Beckman, 4.332, 227.34; 17. Todd Lesenko, 4.398, 283.55; 18. Gary Densham, 4.492, 263.72; 19. Todd Simpson, 5.066, 171.73; 20. Tony Pedregon, 6.711, 101.16.

Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.546, 211.93; 2. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 6.550, 211.00; 3. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.577, 210.57; 4. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.579, 210.37; 5. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.582, 210.80; 6. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.582, 210.47; 7. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.584, 210.93; 8. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.586, 210.50; 9. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.602, 210.24; 10. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.616, 209.49; 11. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.616, 209.39; 12. Rickie Jones, GXP, 6.622, 209.92. Not Qualified: 13. Larry Morgan, 6.623, 209.33; 14. Greg Stanfield, 6.627, 208.23; 15. Jeg Coughlin, 6.634, 209.85; 16. Shane Gray, 6.655, 208.26; 17. Steve Kent, 6.662, 209.10; 18. Chris McGaha, 6.663, 208.20; 19. Warren Johnson, 6.739, 208.81; 20. V. Gaines, 7.212, 207.75.

Eddie Krawiec

Photo by: NHRA

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.872, 197.83; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.886, 194.77; 3. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.892, 195.56; 4. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.908, 194.63; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.911, 195.76; 6. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.938, 193.71; 7. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.941, 191.65; 8. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.949, 193.49; 9. Michael Ray, Buell, 6.963, 193.57; 10. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.973, 192.93; 11. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.985, 192.41; 12. John Hall, Buell, 6.990, 193.16. Not Qualified: 13. LE Tonglet, 7.004, 192.58; 14. Michael Phillips, 7.011, 191.89; 15. Jerry Savoie, 7.030, 192.52; 16. Steve Johnson, 7.037, 192.93; 17. Mike Berry, 7.054, 191.73; 18. Redell Harris, 7.061, 189.55; 19. Joe DeSantis, 7.128, 186.43; 20. James Surber, 7.156, 186.72; 21. Katie Sullivan, 7.264, 181.69.