Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher's dominance of the world's greatest drag race continued Friday as the five-time Mac Tools U.S. Nationals winner used an O'Reilly Raceway Park track-record top speed of 333.66 mph during a 4.477-second pass to claim the provisional low-qualifier spot in Indianapolis. Schumacher was joined by wide-eyed first-timers Jeff Arend and Max Naylor as well as veteran Chip Ellis as low qualifiers.

Schumacher has won this event five times in the last seven years and trails only "Big Daddy" Don Garlits (eight wins) in the all-time Top Fuel standings at NHRA's longest-running race. Funny Car leader Arend (4.754 at 327.51 mph) and Pro Stock front man Naylor (6.655 at 206.39 mph) were mostly overwhelmed by their accomplishments, and Ellis' 6.970 at 188.78 mph in Pro Stock Motorcycle kept his recent hot streak alive.

Tony Schumacher

Taking full advantage of being in the last pair of cars down the racetrack, Schumacher zoomed away from points leader "Hot Rod" Fuller and thrilled the crowd with his big pass in the U.S. Army dragster. Fuller ended up sixth with a 4.524 in his Caterpillar rail.

"It took us a long time to win a race from the No. 1 qualifying position last year, but we finally got it done right here at this track," Schumacher said. "It was perfect. Now we're in the exact same position again. It's not over yet by any stretch. We've got four more rounds of qualifying to go and what is sure to be a brutal race day, but we're up for the challenge.

"That was a great top speed to hit. There's no telling what it could have been if we didn't have the rev-limiter deal in there because it was hauling when that thing kicked in, and I really felt it in the cockpit. I was on the belts."

Transplanted local Larry Dixon matched his career-best elapsed time of 4.481 seconds during a 327.74 mph pass in his SkyTel dragster to claim second place behind Schumacher.

UPS pro Bob Vandergriff Jr. is third with a 4.513 at 329.91 mph, and Melanie Troxel, who announced that she's switching to Funny Car in 2008, is fourth with a 4.520 at 329.18 mph in the Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA dragster.

Brandon Bernstein is 16th with a 4.823 at 222.95 mph in his Budweiser dragster.

Jeff Arend

Arend tied rising Funny Car superstar Ashley Force with an identical 4.754 elapsed time in the day's lone session but took the No. 1 spot on the strength of his superior top speed of 327.51 mph in his Checker Schuck's Kragen Chevrolet Impala SS. Force topped out at 309.70 mph in her Castrol Ford.

"It's more than a dream come true," Arend said. "To be No. 1 qualifier at Indy is just flat-out awesome. We haven't had the best of year as far as what we originally set out to do, but at the same time I'm not surprised to run a 4.75. The guys put the Atlanta tune-up in there because the conditions were about the same and we ran a 4.71 there, so it wasn't unexpected.

"K.B. [Kenny Bernstein] had one of his patented stellar lights in the other lane, and he was way out on me. It threw me off because I figured I was just not that fast. But they told me I ran a 4.75 at the other end, and I was happy to hear that. I'm a little surprised no one ran quicker, but we'll take it."

Robert Hight was close behind his John Force Racing teammate in third place with a best of 4.764 at 323.89 mph in the Auto Club of Southern California Mustang. Points leader Ron Capps rounded out the top four with a 4.773 in his Brut Revolution Dodge Charger.

Levi, Ray, and Shoup racer Tim Wilkerson labored through a 5.202 at 289.20 mph to anchor the field. Unqualified racers Tommy Johnson Jr. and Tony Pedregon, among others, are sure to make a move at that mark as they attempt to earn a spot Saturday.

Max Naylor

Pro Stock leader Naylor, a 54-year-old pro racing in his second season on tour, is a big surprise at the top of the first-day grid. Naylor bettered Greg Anderson's year-old track elapsed time record with a 6.655 at 206.39 mph in his Jagermeister Dodge Stratus R/T. It's his best qualifying start ever.

"This weekend is the highlight of any drag racer's career," Naylor said. "It's a big deal for our team, and I told the guys that no matter what happens for the rest of our lives or this weekend, we can always say we were No. 1 at Indy. It's a major accomplishment. Our entire team is very pleased and very excited.

"We think we might be able to have a great weekend. We've been getting better every race and we tested for a few days prior to this race up in Michigan, and we real feel like we're on to something. Pro Stock is the toughest category out here and we'll see what the weekend holds, but this day will always be one I remember."

Fellow Dodge racer Allen Johnson finished second with a 6.661 at 206.57 mph, and Kurt Johnson and his ACDelco Chevrolet Cobalt grabbed third with a 6.663 at 206.76 mph.

Anderson had trouble with his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO and clicked it off early, as did his teammate, reigning world champion Jason Line. They join 15 others on the provisional DNQ list. To make the show, the large pack of unqualified drivers will need to run at least a click better than Bob Panella's established bump spot of 6.734 at 205.51 mph.

Chip Ellis

Ellis continues his recent string of very impressive Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying efforts with a huge 6.970 at 188.78 mph on his Drag Specialties S&S Buell V-Twin. Ellis' elapsed time set an ORP track record and was the only Pro Stock Motorcycle run in the six-second range. Ellis hasn't qualified lower than seventh all year.

"We always guess at what we think we'll run before every pass, and we were all guessing around 6.99 or 7-flat," Ellis said, "so for us to go up there and run a 6.97, especially with a 12-15 mph headwind, was pretty good. If the wind had been blowing the other way, we'd have run a 6.89.

"Big George [Smith, crew chief, co-team owner, and CEO of S&S Cycles] has really done a great job this year. For all he's done, he had never tuned a Pro Stock Motorcycle before this year, so he's been working hard to learn it all. He's got the clutch and the fuel injection all figured out, and it's really showing lately."

Karen Stoffer and Peggy Llewellyn are second and third on the grid, Stoffer with a 7.018 at 188.31 mph on her GEICO Motorcycle Suzuki and Llewellyn with a 7.029 at 187.34 mph on the Klement Racing Buell.

Five of the top six bikes on the ladder are S&S Buell V-Twins. Thirteen riders will try to better Joe DeSantis' 7.180-second bump spot, including reigning world champion Andrew Hines.

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