Ken Koretsky, who has never qualified higher than third during a 20-year driving career that includes over 200 appearances, is the surprise leader in Pro Stock after two qualifying runs at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals. Koretsky wheeled his new Nitro Fish Pontiac GXP to a 6.724 on Friday afternoon to take the top spot.

Koretsky is joined by Tony Schumacher, who is seeking his 48th career Top Fuel pole since 2006, and Funny Car low qualifier Tim Wilkerson, who are first-day leaders at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ken Koretsky

Koretsky, whose off-track exploits in Las Vegas usually overshadow his on-track performance, currently leads the field of 12 drivers who are currently seeded into the field. Using an engine from Tom Hammonds, Koretsky’s crew, led by longtime friend and tuner Ed Guarnaccia, was third quickest after the first run, found the “sweet spot” in their clutch set-up producing a nearly flawless run. 

“This is what happens when you have a good motor,” said Korestky. “I believe we’ve been able to run like this because we’ve been able to work with Tom’s motor for the last three races. That has allowed Eddie to get a good handle on our tune-up. The truth is that Tom probably has a little more power than we do but we’ve just been able to make a little bit better runs. I know if I was renting motors, I wouldn’t give out the best one.

“We got a new GXP from Jerry Bickel at Gainesville and even though it only has nine runs on it, we really like it. We had the fifth quickest car on Saturday in Houston so we knew coming in here that we were headed in the right direction. Now we just need to make two more good runs tomorrow.”

Although Koretsky has never qualified No. 1 in Pro Stock, or during his brief Top Fuel career, he was the team owner when Mike Thomas qualified on the pole at the 2005 Seattle race. 

Former Las Vegas winner Ron Krisher is four-thousandths of a second behind Koretsky with a second-best 6.726 in his Valvoline Cobalt. The highest qualified Dodge driver is Allen Johnson, who drove his Mopar Stratus to a 6.727 for the third spot.

One driver who is surprisingly not among the current 12 Pro Stock qualifiers is former POWERade champ and Las Vegas favorite Greg Anderson. Anderson missed the first qualifying session after the fuel pump failed on his Summit Racing Pontiac during his burnout. Anderson later returned and ran a tire-rattling 6.81, which was not quick enough to make the field, and will have two more shots to qualify on Saturday. With temperatures expected to be about 10 degrees warmer tomorrow, Anderson may well benefit from NHRA’s new qualifying procedure that reserves four spots for Saturday’s quickest qualifiers.

Tony Schumacher

Schumacher, the pre-race favorite according to the local Las Vegas oddsmakers, is currently seeded first after two Top Fuel sessions. The reigning NHRA POWERade champ opened with a 4.60 Friday afternoon and then returned during much cooler conditions in the early evening to post a 4.510, 328.38 in his Alan Johnson-tuned U.S. Army dragster. Schumacher currently holds a three-hundredths advantage against No. 2 qualifier Doug Kalitta.

“It’s always fun to come to Las Vegas,” said Schumacher. “This was perfect; I couldn’t have had a happier day. A.J. is a true master. Being No. 1 doesn’t bother me at all. My car doesn’t care.

"That [4.51] was great but we went down the track earlier today with a 4.60 in the heat of the day, and that’s what will win races. If it’s 90 degrees on Sunday it will be tricky track, but I think we will have a great chance. I wouldn’t want to race against Alan this weekend. He’s in a good mood, and that’s usually when he’s at his best.”

After an opening session that produced lots of tire smoke and aborted runs, there was plenty of bumping in the second run as 14 Top Fuel drivers ran in the four-second zone. Larry Dixon, who is second in the POWERade standings just eight points behind Schumacher, aborted both of his runs on Friday in his U.S. Smokeless dragster and is currently not among the top 12 qualifiers. Kalitta’s teammate, Hillary Will, currently has top speed of the event with a 331.85 mph blast.

Tim Wilkerson

Wilkerson, who has been the top qualifier in two of the first four events this season, is the provisional leader in Las Vegas after posting a solid 4.850 effort in his Levi, Ray, & Shoup Monte Carlo. Wilkerson was also the leader after the first session with a 4.92, 291.45.

“We got a little loose in the first round otherwise that run would have been a lot better,” said Wilkerson. “Basically, we just left it alone and brought it back up there for the second run. I didn’t think a 4.85 would stay low. I actually think there’s a little more left in it. The track was a little tricky when the sun was out, but I’m glad we don’t race at night.

"I had 88.5 percent nitro in the tank for the first run, and it beat the motor up. We got back to the pits, and it was ugly. On the second run, I went back to 87.8 and the car was a lot happier. I did the same thing in Phoenix and had the same result; it just beat the motor to pieces so I think I’ll stay where I am for a while.”

Under the guidance of crew chief Chris Cunningham, Funny Car rookie Bob Tasca III drove his Motorcraft/QuickLane Ford to a 4.864, 316.82 for the second spot, and Ashley Force is currently third with a 4.867. A total of 16 Funny Car drivers have run in the four-second range including points leader Cruz Pedregon, who is fourth, and Robert Hight, who bounced back from his DNQ at the recent Houston race with a solid 4.909 for the seventh spot.

John Force and Ron Capps are currently not among the 12 quickest first-day qualifiers. Force, who has not raced in Las Vegas in a year after missing last October’s ACDelco Nationals while mending from the injuries he sustained in Dallas, has run a best of 4.97.

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