Top Fuel

Saturday

Sunday

Saturday Results for Qualifying Round 1

MADISON, Ill. - ST. LOUIS - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run: Left Lane: Scott Palmer Runs 4.720/167.93, Now #2 Right Lane: Kevin Jones Runs 4.459/194.02, Now #1 12:28 p.m. The Pro Stock cars had a very good session, and in my opinion that may be bad news for the fuel cars. The different classes need different track prep. Don't be surprised to see smoke downtrack. Jones blows it up just past half track and the cleanup trucks roll. Left Lane: T.J. Zizzo Runs 4.557/262.39, Now #3 Right Lane: John Smith Runs 4.061/287.23, Now #1 Zizzo begins hazing the tires sooner, but both cars get across the finish line on decent first shots and the track is dry. Left Lane: Luigi Novelli Runs 6.817/98.56, Now #6 Right Lane: C. Karamesines Runs 4.435/214.66, Now #2 Karamasines was on a decent run with just a bit of unburned fuel out the left bank until we saw a flash out the headers at about 800 feet. Novelli shook hard and lifted early. Left Lane: Todd Simpson Runs 5.769/120.01, Now #7 Right Lane: Clay Millican Runs 3.963/294.63, Now #1 Simpson loses traction early while Millican runs straight through with a nice pass and our first dip into the three second zone. Left Lane: Joe Hartley Runs 4.101/284.03, Now #4 Right Lane: Spencer Massey Runs 3.949/284.56, Now #1 Nice runs on both sides. Massey was straight as a string until about 700 feet when the car started to fishtail gently and the tires began to haze. It's still good enough for the top pass. Left Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 4.004/291.89, Now #4 Right Lane: Shawn Langdon Runs 3.937/293.60, Now #1 There's some issue with the lanes, but I'm not sure exactly what it is. The runs in the left lane look straighter and with less smoke, but they're coming up slower. Kalitta went right across the finish line while Langdon was showing tire smoke in the last few hundred feet. Doug Kalitta's incremental times: 60ft-0.863 sec., 330ft-2.234, 660ft-3.191/266.00 mph. Shawn Langdon's incremental times: 60ft-0.851 sec., 330ft-2.187, 660ft-3.127/270.75 mph. Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 3.931/293.22, Now #2 Right Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 3.881/299.46, Now #1 This pair shows us what it's supposed to look like. Both go straight with no header sparks, oil flames, or tire smokes. Lucas goes to the top in the Geico car as the winner of a very good drag race. Larry Dixon's incremental times: 60ft-0.864 sec., 330ft-2.194, 660ft-3.120/270.43 mph. Morgan Lucas' incremental times: 60ft-0.861 sec., 330ft-2.176, 660ft-3.088/275.39 mph. Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 3.930/267.48, Now #2 Right Lane: B. Bernstein Runs 3.960/276.92, Now #6 The track is really coming around as we have the second great race in a row. Bernstein had to drive around quite a bit on the top end but made it across the line in the 6th spot. Cory goes to the second spot. Left Lane: Antron Brown Runs 3.949/283.67, Now #7 Right Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 3.896/301.00, Now #2

Saturday Order for Qualifying Round 1

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Order after one round of qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: Psn Driver Vehicle ET Speed 1. Morgan Lucas Geico Powersport/ Lucas Oil Dr 3.881 299.46 2. Tony Schumacher U.S. Army Dragster 3.896 301.00 3. Cory McClenathan Fram Dragster 3.930 267.48 4. Larry Dixon Al-Anabi Racing Dragster 3.931 293.22 5. Shawn Langdon Lucas Oil/Dixie Chopper Dragst 3.937 293.60 6. Spencer Massey US Smokeless Dragster 3.949 284.56 7. Antron Brown Matco Tools Dragster 3.949 283.67 8. Brandon Bernstein Budweiser/Lucas Oil Dragster 3.960 276.92 9. Clay Millican MPE Motorsports Dragster 3.963 294.63 10. Doug Kalitta Kalitta M'Spts No. 50 Dragster 4.004 291.89 11. John Smith Hartman Motorsports Dragster 4.061 287.23 12. Joe Hartley Hartley Racing Dragster 4.101 284.03 13. Chris Karamesines Strange/Chizler Dragster 4.435 214.66 14. Kevin Jones Dragster 4.459 194.02 15. T.J. Zizzo PEAK/HERCULINER/O'Reilly Drags 4.557 262.39 16. Scott Palmer Suburban Chevrolet Dragster 4.720 167.93 --------- Not Qualified --------- 17. Todd Simpson Dragster 5.769 120.01 18. Luigi Novelli National Machine Repair Dragst 6.817 98.56

Saturday Results for Qualifying Round 2

MADISON, Ill. - ST. LOUIS - Notes from final, round 2 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run: Right Lane: Luigi Novelli Runs 10.315/56.59, Now #18 Best prior run: 6.817/98.56, Was #18 I'm showing 18 TF teams here with Todd Simpson and Luigi Novelli on the outside looking in. It's not going to happen for Luigi, as he smokes his slicks immediately. He pedals a couple of times but the big Goodyears are too far gone to recover. Left Lane: C. Karamesines Runs 7.880/78.84, Now #14 Best prior run: 4.435/214.66, Was #13 Right Lane: Todd Simpson Runs 4.308/269.13, Now #13 Best prior run: 5.769/120.01, Was #17 Scott Palmer is on the bump spot at 4.720, so that's the mark Simpson needs to better. Simpson was on a good pass until a head gasket kicked at half track. His weekend's over though the track seems to be clean. There's some activity in the shut down area as it appears Simpson didn't make it to the turnoff. Left Lane: John Smith No Time, Now #11 Best prior run: 4.061/287.23, Was #11 Right Lane: Scott Palmer No Time, Now #17 Best prior run: 4.720/167.93, Was #17 Smith sees that he's not going to be bumped and pulls out of line. Palmer will take a single. Palmer fires, and as the crew attempts to adjust a fast idle the engine dies. That's all for him and he will not be racing. Left Lane: Clay Millican Runs 3.910/294.82, Now #3 Best prior run: 3.963/294.63, Was #9 Right Lane: T.J. Zizzo Runs 3.969/297.16, Now #10 Best prior run: 4.557/262.39, Was #16 Left Lane: B. Bernstein Runs 3.944/297.02, Now #7 Best prior run: 3.960/276.92, Was #9 Right Lane: Joe Hartley Runs 4.022/298.40, Now #12 Best prior run: 4.101/284.03, Was #13 Left Lane: Spencer Massey Runs 3.896/296.44, Now #3 Best prior run: 3.949/284.56, Was #6 Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 3.965/299.60, Now #10 Best prior run: 4.004/291.89, Was #10 Nice pass for Massey and he goes up to the third spot. Kalitta picks up a tad but doesn't improve his position. Left Lane: Shawn Langdon Runs 3.906/306.05, Now #4 Best prior run: 3.937/293.60, Was #7 Right Lane: Antron Brown Runs 3.906/298.67, Now #5 Best prior run: 3.949/283.67, Was #9 That was a very good drag race. The Direct TV car wins the pair but Langdon wins the qualifying battle by the speed tiebreaker. Both cars were straight and smooth with no death smoke, waggles, or sparkles out the header. Kevin Jones still anchors the field at 4.459. Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 3.885/302.75, Now #2 Best prior run: 3.896/301.00, Was #2 Right Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 3.904/304.25, Now #4 Best prior run: 3.931/293.22, Was #8 Dixon makes the major move here as the Al-Anabi car moves half the way to the top. Schumacher gets more info for the database. Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 3.902/307.02, Now #1 Best prior run: 3.881/299.46, Was #1 Right Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 3.882/305.08, Now #2 Best prior run: 3.930/267.48, Was #8 Cory fires a shot to take over the number one spot but misses by a stinkin' thousandth of a second. That's it for qualifying and we're on to the Funny Cars.

Saturday Order for Qualifying Round 2

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Final order after 2 rounds of qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: Psn Driver Vehicle ET Speed 1. Morgan Lucas Geico Powersport/ Lucas Oil Dr 3.881 307.02 2. Cory McClenathan Fram Dragster 3.882 305.08 3. Tony Schumacher U.S. Army Dragster 3.885 302.75 4. Spencer Massey US Smokeless Dragster 3.896 296.44 5. Larry Dixon Al-Anabi Racing Dragster 3.904 304.25 6. Shawn Langdon Lucas Oil/Dixie Chopper Dragst 3.906 306.05 7. Antron Brown Matco Tools Direct TV Dragster 3.906 298.67 8. Clay Millican MPE Motorsports Dragster 3.910 294.82 9. Brandon Bernstein Budweiser/Lucas Oil Dragster 3.944 297.02 10. Doug Kalitta Kalitta M'Spts No. 50 Dragster 3.965 299.60 11. T.J. Zizzo PEAK/HERCULINER/O'Reilly Drags 3.969 297.16 12. Joe Hartley Hartley Racing Dragster 4.022 298.40 13. John Smith Hartman Motorsports Dragster 4.061 287.23 14. Todd Simpson Dragster 4.308 269.13 15. Chris Karamesines Strange/Chizler Dragster 4.435 214.66 16. Kevin Jones Dragster 4.459 194.02 --------- Not Qualified --------- 17. Scott Palmer The Compound Dragster 4.720 167.93 18. Luigi Novelli National Machine Repair Dragst 6.817 98.56

Sunday Results for Elimination Round 1

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: W/L Driver R-Time E-Time Speed (W) Brandon Bernstein (Budweiser/Lucas Oil Drag 0.035 3.900 302.82 (L) Clay Millican (MPE Motorsports Dragster) 0.048 3.919 306.74 11:03 a.m. and we're right on schedule. It's a very cool, overcast day here at Gateway International. The weather report calls for a chance of scattered showers but it sure doesn't look like we will have any problems getting the race in today. Assuming we can keep the track up to temp, it should be very fast. Weather conditions: air temperature 67 degrees, relative humidity 42 percent, barometer 29.50 inches, adjusted altitude 1,463 feet, track temperature 79 degrees. A great pair to start the day. Both are straight, hooked up, and fast. (W) Antron Brown (Matco Tools Direct TV Dragste 0.058 3.896 311.05 (L) Doug Kalitta (Kalitta M'Spts No. 50 Dragste 0.076 4.549 182.87 Antron's history here includes a runner up in Pro Stock Motorcycle in 2005. Kalitta won here in 2001, 2003, and 2004 This one's all Direct TV as the Kalitta car slows at half track. (W) Shawn Langdon (Lucas Oil/Dixie Chopper Drag -0.055 3.886 314.46 (L) T.J. Zizzo (PEAK/HERCULINER/O'Reilly Dragst -0.297(R) 3.961 285.89 This might be my favorite pair of the session. It's good to see the "little guys" out here racing and Zizzo certainly fits that bill. He's run very strong this weekend considering his budget. But it's a heartbreaker for Zizzo as he throws away his quickest pass of the weekend on a redlight start. (W) Spencer Massey (US Smokeless Dragster) 0.030 3.908 305.01 (L) John Smith (Hartman Motorsports Dragster) 0.058 3.981 297.48 You should be noticing a trend thus far in the session - the Safety Safari once again has proven why they're the best in the business. Cars are stepping up from their qualifying times proving that we have a whole lot of race track out there. A great crowd watches intently as the two cars stage. The fans are four or five deep at the fence all the way down to the finish line. This was a good race for the first half, but then a big yellow flame started pulsing from Smith's left cylinder bank and Massey drove away. (W) Cory McClenathan (Fram Dragster) 0.174 3.899 311.99 (L) Chris Karamesines (Strange/Chizler Dragster -9.999(R) NT-Left Before Tree Cory was runner up here in 2007. It's interesting that he has never met the Greek before in competition. Karamesines is the 93rd different driver McClenathan has faced. The Greek won his first round in Top Fuel at Pomona in 1964. His last round win came at Maple Grove in 1990. It looked like the biggest hole shot in history until we realized that the Greek hadn't waited for the tree to start. (W) Morgan Lucas (Geico Powersport/ Lucas Oil D 0.059 3.860 305.91 (L) Kevin Jones (Dragster) 0.098 4.226 211.66 Lucas finally broke his win drought at the last race. He's run well here in the past, grabbing the runner up spot here in 2005. Gateway seems to be one of those snakebitten tracks for Top Fuel drivers. Only Gary Scelzi has been able to win the event from a start in 1999. Jones stays within striking distance until half track or so when the pipes began to haze grey smoke and the car nosed over. Lucas runs quick ET of the weekend as yet and goes to the next round. (W) Tony Schumacher (U.S. Army Dragster) 0.083 3.926 282.95 (L) Todd Simpson (Dragster) 0.102 NT-No Time Schumacher won here in 2006 and was runner up in 1999 and 2008. The Army car will make all the highlight shows as the engine morphs into a big yellow ball just before the finish line. That's something you don't see very often from this team. Looking at the replay, a bunch of cylinders dropped just past the 660 mark and the boomer was due to come. The flames flickered out, lit again, and finally went away into heavy smoke for the last time in the shut down area. Debris from the exiting rotating parts went through the timing beams in Simpson's lane, so his ET doesn't get recorded. 11:22 a.m. and we're down for a major cleanup at the big end of the track. (W) Joe Hartley (Hartley Racing Dragster) 0.119 3.955 295.53 (L) Larry Dixon (Al-Anabi Racing Dragster) 0.086 4.737 166.91 11:33 a.m., the track's clean, and we fire the final pair for this session. Surprisingly enough, in Larry Dixon's storied career he's never been to a final round here in Madison. Dixon is 3 - 0 against Hartley in prior events. The record's not perfect any longer as Dixon starts to have problems early in the run. Dixon first pedalled at about half track, the first of two or three. The car never reallys settled down and all the throttle action only resulted in cylinders being dropped. Next round, Lucas has lane choice over Bernstein, Massey over Hartley, Antron over Cory, and Shawn Langdon picks over Tony Schumacher.

Sunday Results for Elimination Round 2

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 2 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: W/L Driver R-Time E-Time Speed (W) Spencer Massey (US Smokeless Dragster) 0.043 3.916 305.84 (L) Joe Hartley (Hartley Racing Dragster) 0.104 3.983 297.48 1:34 p.m. Comp was in the lanes ready to run, but with the nearly one hour Pro Mod session, they've been sent back to the pits and we're going to go directly into Top Fuel R2. Weather conditions: air temperature 69 degrees, relative humidity 39 percent, barometer 29.48 inches, adjusted altitude 1,644 feet, track temperature 89 degrees. Massey comes out on top in a good drag race. Hartley had a huge hole shot but by 60 feet had lost that advantage and more. His car drifted left and Hartley looked like he was over towards the wall for the entire run. Massey had a smooth and uneventful run. (W) Shawn Langdon (Lucas Oil/Dixie Chopper Drag 0.059 3.885 311.05 (L) Tony Schumacher (U.S. Army Dragster) 0.060 3.895 299.46 This pair was even better. The cars were glued together until the last hundred feet or so when Schumacher began to haze the tires. The lead traded hands three or four times and Langdon pulls out what should be considered as an upset victory. The Army team's on the trailer! Shawn Langdon's MOV: 0.0118 seconds (approximately 5 feet). Shawn Langdon's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(0.014), 330 ft(-0.006), 660ft(-0.007). MOV: 0.0118 seconds (approximately 5 feet). (W) Brandon Bernstein (Budweiser/Lucas Oil Drag 0.062 3.905 305.22 (L) Morgan Lucas (Geico Powersport/ Lucas Oil D 0.069 4.511 202.18 Bernstein wins this one easily and takes out the #1 qualifier. The big Bud car was ahead at every interval as Lucas fought with smoke and dropped cylinders. (W) Antron Brown (Matco Tools Direct TV Dragste 0.056 3.864 312.35 (L) Cory McClenathan (Fram Dragster) 0.052 3.885 301.81 Another great race as this was about as close a fuel race as you'll get. Cory was ahead at every interval through 660 but Antron's big blue Direct TV car put on a top end charge that turned the trick. Antron Brown's MOV: 0.0177 seconds (approximately 8 feet). Antron Brown's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.009), 330 ft(-0.011), 660ft(-0.002). MOV: 0.0177 seconds (approximately 8 feet). In the semifinals, it's Bernstein with lane choice over Massey and Brown choosing over Langdon.

Sunday Results for Elimination Round 3

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 3 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: W/L Driver R-Time E-Time Speed (W) Brandon Bernstein (Budweiser/Lucas Oil Drag 0.040 3.863 313.51 (L) Spencer Massey (US Smokeless Dragster) 0.041 10.161 77.40 This one's over immediately as Massey doesn't move two inches before his tires explode into billowing smoke. Bernstein's setup is pretty darn close as he makes a smooth, straight pass into the finals. (W) Antron Brown (Matco Tools Direct TV Dragste 0.076 3.854 312.57 (L) Shawn Langdon (Lucas Oil/Dixie Chopper Drag 0.057 3.878 305.98 During the weekend, I've seen both Melanie Troxel and J.R. Todd circulating through the pits. I'd much rather be reporting on their exploits on the track. Both of these people are absolutely the gold standard for representing a company or product and it's a tremendous shame they're not in race cars. This is a very good drag race as the cars run side by side the entire length of the track. Langdon loses some pistons just as he crosses the line but there's nothing deposited on the track. It's going to be Brown in his Direct TV Matco car in the final and he'll have lane choice over Bud machine.

Sunday Results for Final Round

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of final, round 4 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: W/L Driver R-Time E-Time Speed (W) Antron Brown (Matco Tools Direct TV Dragste 0.057 3.850 318.02 (L) Brandon Bernstein (Budweiser/Lucas Oil Drag 0.049 3.888 310.27 4:38 p.m. We're ready for the first of our Fuel finals this weekend. In the 12 years of this race, only two drivers have come from the bottom half of the field to win. They were Kenny Bernstein in 2002 and Melanie Troxel in 2007. In a very good drag race, Antron Brown was slightly ahead starting at just a few feet down the track. Bernstein was close but can't bring the prize back to St. Louis for his final year with Anheuser-Busch. With this win Antron takes over the lead in the points again, putting 18 points between and Tony Schumacher in second place. It's been that kind of a year so far for Antron as he has not ranked any lower than second since the first race of the season. Congratulations to the entire team, Matco Tools, and Direct TV.

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