Reigning Rookie of the Year J.R. Todd knows he needs a big weekend to keep his championship hopes alive and he responded with a top-qualifying effort of 4.541 seconds at 318.47 mph Friday night at the 22nd annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec. The Top Fuel racer joined surprise Funny Car leader Tim Wilkerson, Pro Stock stalwart Greg Anderson, and Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Andrew Hines on the provisional low qualifier's podium.
 
Riding the tune-up of recently promoted crew chief Kevin Poynter, Todd outran Memphis winner and Round 1 leader Melanie Troxel to take the Top Fuel pole. Currently 15th in the points, Wilkerson is riding high in Funny Car while points leader Robert Hight has yet to qualify for the field. Anderson and Pro Stock points leader Dave Connolly continue their close fight for class dominance, while Hines seems to be hitting his stride at the perfect time of the season.

J.R. Todd

Currently 77 points behind the fourth and final spot in the Countdown to Four, Todd has two races to make up the deficit. He's off to a good start here after a slick 4.541 at 318.47 mph in his Torco Race Fuels dragster. Todd has one low qualifier award to his credit.

"We've had the worst luck the last three races with just stupid stuff going wrong," Todd said. "We finally fixed all the problems Monday after Memphis and we came in here and ran strong right off the trailer (4.604) then tuned it up a little bit and came back and got our second No. 1. The track was excellent out there.

"Last week we missed a perfect opportunity to make up some ground on the guys in front of us but, it is what it is, and now we've got our work cut out for us this weekend. Hopefully now can go some rounds, pick up some points, and go into Richmond and get in that top four. This is a good morale booster for us because we've all been down in the dumps. Right now everyone is pumped up."

Touting President Bush's national proclamation that Friday was National POW/MIA Remembrance Day, Troxel nearly scored the No. 1 spot in her Evan Knoll-sponsored Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA dragster, but her 4.545 at 331.94 mph came up just a few ticks short.

Points leader Tony Schumacher had to surrender his second pass when his U.S. Army car puffed its tires a few hundred feet into the run. His earlier run of 4.608 at 322.19 mph left him 13th on the ladder. Countdown participant Doug Herbert is not qualified with two rounds on time trials remaining.

Tim Wilkerson

He's not in the Countdown to the Championship field or even fighting for a spot in the POWERade top 10, but independent Funny Car racer Wilkerson showed he can still match-up well with the mega teams on any given day. The Levi, Ray, and Shoup driver posted a 4.787 at 318.17 mph in his Chevrolet Impala SS to take the provisional pole in his class, shocking the field of high-dollar conglomerates.

"We really feel like we have nothing to lose," Wilkerson said. "We're not in the Countdown or chasing points. But we do need to qualify because that money is important. That's what helps pay the guys. They're back in the pits doing handstands right now. I feel more for them than I do for me. I got the best job in the world. 

"We like to think we know what we're doing and sometimes I get it right and we look good. Usually, when I get on my horse and hit it, I tend to run good all weekend. It's started off good so far but we're not gonna beat our chests just yet. I'd personally like to be in [the media center] Sunday night talking about a win. I got a bunch of new guys on the team and they've never experienced that. It would be a big boost to get it done."

On-again, off-again racer Jeff Arend appears to be back on this weekend as he earned second place with a 4.788 at 320.36 mph in his Havoline Chevy, the only other 4.7-second pass of the day. John Force followed in third with a 4.801 at 321.35 mph in his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang.

Countdown participant Mike Ashley is 10th with a 4.868 in his Torco Dodge Charger R/T. The devout Jew will not race Saturday in observance of Yom Kipper, so he'll have to hope his e.t. holds.

Points leader Robert Hight will have a sleepless night as his Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang has yet to crack the top 16.

Greg Anderson

The top two racers in the points are first and second on the qualifying sheets with No. 2 points earner Anderson edging current No. 1 ranked racer Dave Connolly by two-hundredths of a second. Anderson's 6.668 at 206.92 mph in the second session put his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO in the lead with Connolly close behind with a 6.686 at 205.72 mph in his Torco/Seelye Wright Chevrolet Cobalt.

"Dave definitely isn't going away and I don't expect him too," Anderson said. "He's running strong and basically mistake-free and that's what we're gonna have to do. And let's not forget about some of these other cats. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see some of these other teams step up in the next few weeks. We're gonna have to be perfect for the rest of the year or we're not gonna win this thing.

"When the pressure is at its greatest, that's when this team always seems to deliver. You think in your heart that you're giving 100 percent every race but when you get pushed something kicks in and you find that little bit extra. It's fun and I'm having a ball right now. The great athletes find a way to elevate their performances. Tiger Woods never has a bad day and I need to be the same way."

Mopar teammates Richie Stevens and Allen Johnson are third and fourth on the grid. Stevens, the defending champion of this event, is third with a 6.687 at 205.60 mph, while Johnson is fourth with a best of 6.690.

Surprisingly, Jason Line is all the way down on the bump with a 6.729 at 206.29 mph in his summit Pontiac. Line had to abort his first round when his car got squirrelly halfway down the track. Fellow Countdown racer Jeg Coughlin failed to qualify Friday. 

Andrew Hines

Hines took over the POWERade points lead for the first time this season with his win last weekend in Memphis. Now he's trying to stretch his advantage with a top qualifying effort here. Hines' 7.015 at 190.62 mph crushed an eight-year-old elapsed time record by two and a half tenths and put his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod on top at the midway point of qualifying. The Pro Stock Motorcycle class last ran in Dallas in 2000.

"This is the time of the year when we usually do well, at least that's been our track record," Hines said. "The team's done a great job and stuck with it through the highs and the lows. I'm really proud of them. To be No. 1 at a track I've never run at is special. My brother [Matt] is defending champion of this race and he showed me the fast way down the strip.

"We want to be No. 1 when we leave town. We want those 10 extra points because I think they'll be crucial by the time we get to Las Vegas. We just got to get it done and we're in the right position to do it being No. 1 qualifier. If we leave here leading the points than we just have to go as many rounds as the guys chasing us instead of trying to figure out how to make up a round."

Chip Ellis, who is grasping to the fourth and final spot in the Countdown to Four, has outqualified his closest pursuers with a second-best 7.017 at 190.75 mph, a track speed record. Ellis' effort is noteworthy because he entered the race exactly 40 points ahead of Angelle Sampey. By outqualifying her, it will force Sampey to go at least three rounds further than him on race day. Sampey is sixth with a 7.075 at 189.02 mph.

The other racers still mathematically alive in the chase are third-place Karen Stoffer (7.047), fourth-place Peggy Llewellyn (7.045), and seventh-place Eddie Krawiec (7.076).

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