Reigning Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher lit up Firebird International Raceway with a super-quick 4.47-second pass that made him the No. 1 qualifier for the second race in a row. Schumacher shares the podium at the Checker Schuck’s Kragen Nationals with Funny Car ace Tony Pedregon, who managed to keep the top position he earned Friday with 4.70. Rookie Robert Hight along with Brandon Bernstein added some thunder with record top speeds of 329.99 mph and 333.74 mph, respectively.

Two Pro racers who began their careers in Jr. Dragsters, Richie Stevens Jr. and Erica Enders, bracket a quick Pro Stock field and will race one another in Round 1 of eliminations Sunday morning. Enders' 6.789 at 203 mph made her just the fourth female ever to qualify for a 16-car Pro Stock eliminations field. Stevens' 6.735 earns him lane choice.

Tony Schumacher

Schumacher is the quickest racer on the property for the second race in a row after streaking to a 4.474 at 317.12 mph in his Alan Johnson-tuned U.S. Army rail. Schumacher's run of record came in Saturday's first session and helped him leapfrog over Friday leader Doug Kalitta. The move was worth $4,000 from Budweiser. This marks the 13th pole of Shoe's career.

"Things are going great," said Schumacher, who also has runs of 4.48, 4.49, and 4.57 this weekend. "To run two 4.40s today in the heat when no one else was doing it is really a big confidence booster for this team. I'll be really happy if I wake up tomorrow and the sun is shining and there are no clouds at all.

"It's not that we don't run well when it's cooler. We do; but so does everyone else. What sets us a apart a little bit is that we can run big numbers even when the tires are spinning a little bit."

Lucas Oil racer Bruce Litton will be the first to take a shot at the powerful Army team after sneaking into the field in the last sessions with a 16th-best 4.854 at 295.66 mph.

A pair of Dougs -- Kalitta and Herbert -- finished second and third overall. Kalitta’s Friday night pass of 4.490 at 327.19 mph was the best he got out of his Mac Tools dragster. Likewise, Herbert's career-best Round 2 pass of 4.499 at 330.63 mph kept the Snap-on Tools rail in the "favorites" column. Schumacher, Kalitta, and Herbert were the only racers to post 4.4-second passes.

Budweiser's Brandon Bernstein, the two-time defending event champ, thundered to a top speed of 333.74 mph during a 4.508-second pass to set a track speed record. It was the fastest pass of his career.

Tony Pedregon

Like Schumacher, Pedregon will lead his field into race day as the No. 1 qualifier for the second consecutive race. The Q Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo Funny Car driver now has 30 low qualifier plaques in his trophy case. This one is worth $4,000 from Skoal.

"The goal today was to get down the track," said Pedregon, who shut off early and still posted a 4.83 in Round 4. "The track was almost as good as it was last night only with a little more heat. We felt like our 4.70 time was safe so we were conservative. You really can't pull these things back too much or you drop cylinders, but we wanted to see how to run without pushing it to the edge.

"This racetrack has really evolved. You look at our e.t. and Robert's speed, I mean, we wouldn't have even dreamed of numbers like that five years ago. But they worked hard on the surface and repaved the concrete pad and now I'd say this place is on par with any of the tracks we go to."

The talk of the Funny Car pits Saturday was Hight's impressive blast of 4.723 seconds at 329.99 mph in the Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang. The run was the quickest and fastest of the rookie racer's brief career and the 10th fastest of all time. Hight finished qualifying in second place.

Del Worsham and John Force ended up third and fourth on the ladder. Worsham was slightly quicker with a 4.748 in his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy, while Force clocked in at 4.760 in the Castrol GTX Start Up Mustang. Worsham has the more interesting first-round match-up as he'll take on fellow championship hopeful Whit Bazemore, who put in Matco Tools Dodge Stratus R/T in 14th with a 4.882.

Racebricks pro Gary Densham will face his former teammate Pedregon in the opening round after anchoring the field with a 4.920 at 277.72 mph.

Richie Stevens Jr.

There were lots of Pro Stock runs in the mid 6.7-second range but none were quick enough to unseat Friday leader Stevens, who secured his first pole since the Topeka race in 1999. The Team Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T driver, who pockets $1,000 from the King Demon Crown program for earning the top spot, posted a 6.76 and a 6.78 Saturday, giving him plenty of confidence heading into Sunday's action.

"To get the first No. 1 qualifier for Don Schumacher Racing's Pro Stock program is really special," Stevens said. "I knew we'd do well out here but I didn't expect it to happen this quickly. Bob [Glidden, crew chief] is really excited. He was happy last night but now that it's official he's all smiles. It's great to see.

"I'm glad Erica got in. We're friends and it's cool to see her doing well. She's getting the hang of it and she'll get better and better as time goes on. It'll be fun racing her tomorrow morning."

Two-time Phoenix winner Warren Johnson, a runner-up two weeks ago in Pomona, remains very quick in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac Grand Am. The retiring six-time champ is second in this field with a 6.743 at 204.94 mph. He'll race Ben Watson in Round 1. Watson has one elimination round victory in his career, but it was against Johnson.

Young Life's Mike Edwards and Johnson's son Kurt round out the top four positions on the ladder. Edwards posted a 6.743 at 204.39 mph, while K.J., the defending event champ, carded a 6.746 at 204.51 mph in his ACDelco Cavalier.

Enders was buzzing when her Round 3 pass of 6.789 at 203.40 mph kept her in the field. "I didn't think I'd be this excited but now that it's happened I really am pumped up," she said. "My heart is pounding."

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