Female racers Melanie Troxel and Erica Enders are the early qualifying leaders at this weekend's 18th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX. They were joined by Robert Hight on Heartland Park Topeka's provisional podium at the $1.9 million race, the ninth of 23 on the $50 million POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Season-long Top Fuel points leader Troxel outpaced the Top Fuel field with a quick 4.567-second pass at 321.50 mph in Friday's second session. Likewise, Enders took advantage of the cooler evening round to grab the No. 1 slot in Pro Stock with a 6.785 at 203.06 mph. Hight led teammates John Force and Eric Medlen in Funny Car, posting a 4.824 at 315.19 mph, by far the quickest pass of the opening day.

Melanie Troxel

Troxel's Richard Hogan-tuned Skull Shine dragster tip-toed down HPT with a 4.567 at 321.50 mph under the lights in Round 2. If she manages to stay No. 1 Saturday it would be the second time this year she's lead the Top Fuel field.

"It wouldn't break my heart if someone took [the No. 1 qualifier spot] away tomorrow," Troxel said. "It's fine being No. 1 but it hasn't worked out very well for anyone this year. I think we've proven that we can contend from any spot. Richard [Hogan, crew chief] seems to have a knack for figuring out the track on Sunday and making sure we get down quicker than the other guy."

As for two women occupying No. 1 slots, Troxel was nonplused.

"These are the kind of things we should expect to happen," Troxel said. "So many women have come before us that it's just a non-event to me. I'm not surprised one bit that women are doing well. What's good to see is that good drivers are getting opportunities with good teams and some of those drivers just happen to be female."

Robert Hight

The Funny Car juggernaut of John Force Racing has set the table for their seventh 1-2-3 sweep of the top three qualifying slots if they can maintain the positions team drivers Hight, Force, and Eric Medlen earned Friday. Hight's 4.824 at 315.19 mph in the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang was the quickest of the three, with Castrol pilots Force (4.859) and Medlen (4.880) following in order.

"This is a good deal except no one who has qualified No. 1 this year has ended up winning the race," said Hight, who was low qualifier at last weekend's race in Columbus, Ohio. "I hope we can change that because I really think that 4.82 will hold. It's supposed to be very hot tomorrow and I don't see anyone out-running that number when the sun's out.

"I like Topeka quite a bit. We were No. 1 here last year and we come in this year and see that Heartland Park has spent a lot of money upgrading the facilities. It's really nice to see. Plus, two of my crew guys are from here so all their family members and friends are here. We really want to do well for them."

More teammates, Don Schumacher drivers Ron Capps and Whit Bazemore, are giving chase in their Dodge Chargers. Points leader Capps is fourth after a 4.883 at 268.60 mph, a run that definitely had more in it had he not lifted early. Bazemore's 4.893 at 311.49 mph was fifth quickest and kept his recent hot streak alive.

Erica Enders

This is the second time this year that Enders leads the provisional Pro Stock field. She was also on top after Day 1 in Phoenix. This time her margin over the second-place car is a sizable three-hundredths of a second as she posted both the quickest and the fastest pass of the first two sessions with a 6.785 at 203.06 mph in her Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevrolet Cobalt.

"It looks good but I'm not gonna say anything to jinx this," Enders said, when reminded that she would become the first woman in the class to qualify No. 1 should her time hold through Saturday's two sessions. "We thought we had it in Phoenix because you don't see many people improve in the heat, but Greg [Anderson] got around us in the final session. You just never know.

"I knew it was on a run when I dropped the clutch. It pulled really hard and went nice and straight. Still, when [crewman] Tommy Lee got on the radio and said I ran a 6.78 I was like, 'What?' I had to hear it again to be sure. It was exciting."

Vieri Gaines is the second quickest with a 6.815 at 202.30 mph in the Kendall Synthetic Blend Dodge Stratus R/T. Recent winner Dave Connolly, who like Enders uses Cagnazzi Racing motors, is third in the Skull Gear Cobalt with a 6.818 at 202.61 mph. Points leader and three-time defending event champion Greg Anderson follows in fourth with a best of 6.820 at 202.91 mph in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO.

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