Reigning POWERade champion Andrew Hines became the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rider in NHRA history to record a six-second pass, taking advantage of exceptional conditions Friday afternoon during qualifying for the 36^th annual Mac Tools Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway to zoom down the quarter-mile in 6.991 seconds at 196.16 mph. The run earned him a permanent place in the history books as well as $10,000 from Mickey Thompson.

A suddenly resurgent Greg Anderson made a little history of his own in Pro Stock with a double-national-record run of 6.633 at 208.23 mph. Eric Medlen and John Force went 1-2 in Funny Car with each driver setting a Gainesville Raceway record, while "Aussie Dave" Grubnic used a 4.481 at 331.85 mph to assume frontrunner status in Top Fuel.

Dave Grubnic

A late-running schedule of events Friday left Top Fuel running its second session at around 8 p.m. local time when temperatures had fallen back into the 50s. Consequently, many of the top teams simply overpowered the chilly racetrack under the lights, leaving most holding on to their first passes as their runs of record.

The top four drivers on the grid – Grubnic, Doug Kalitta, Cory McClenathan, and Larry Dixon – all made their best runs early in the day. Zatrex-3's Grubnic penned his name in the Gainesville record book with a 4.481 at 331.85 mph, both the quickest and fastest run in state history.

"The first run was smooth as glass, just straight down the middle," Grubnic said. "It was great to get in right away and to be No. 1 at a Mac race because all their people are here rooting for us.

"The second run it picked the tires up quite a bit and then it started shaking and I just didn't feel like it would go through it. I was in there like a rag dolly getting bounced around and I got a bit disoriented so I lifted. As it turns out it probably would have cleaned up if I had stayed with it. Connie [Kalitta, crew chief] was going for something quicker than the 4.48 but I gave up on it."

Kalitta was next with a 4.488 at 325.14 mph, despite creating a big fireball in between the top-end timing markers. Cory Mac followed with a quick 4.506 at 331.00 mph in the Fram rail, while Dixon clocked a 4.543 at 326.56 mph in the Miller dragster.

Luigi Novelli is on the bump with a coasting 11.50 at 82 mph in the National Machine Repair dragster. Andrew Cowin and Chris Karamesines have yet to make the field.

Eric Medlen

Ford Racing teammates Medlen and Force looked strong early with a pair of 4.77s. Medlen is the provisional low qualifier with a 4.773 at 326.08 mph in his Syntec machine, while Force took top speed honors with a 4.775 at 329.42 mph in the Castrol GTX Start Up Mustang.

"I don't know what's better; being No. 1 and setting a track record or edging John," Medlen said. "I hope he doesn't hear me say that but he probably wouldn't care. We're a family over there and we're all pretty happy. It appears we have a little advantage over everyone right now so I don't want to say too much about what we're doing but the truth is these other teams are all so good that everyone will be running 4.70s and 4.80s tomorrow.

"There has been a lot of work turned in by my guys since Phoenix. I smashed up that car pretty good and basically the guys have been going non-stop to build two more cars for me. This is great for them to see that all their hard work has paid off."

The gap between Force and No. 3 qualifier Del Worsham is substantial. The Checker, Schuck's, Kragen pro lurks seven- hundredths of a second back in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo after a 4.848 at 306.33 mph.

Brut's Ron Capps (4.902) and CMKX's Tony Bartone (4.926) were the only other drivers under five seconds.

Dale Creasy limped through a 9.12 at 89 mph in his Torco Race Fuels Chevy but he's still in the mix in the 16th position. Twenty cars attempted passes Friday.

Greg Anderson

Anderson quickly quieted any critics he might have had after his sluggish start to the '05 season with the quickest and fastest Pro Stock run of all time. The Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac Grand Am carried the back-to-back series champ to a jaw-dropping 6.633 at 208.23 mph in the second session. His earlier 6.649 at 207.32 mph immediately backed up the numbers to make them official. However, the 20 bonus POWERade points won't be passed out until the end of the event, giving others a chance to steal them away.

"We desperately needed something good to happen for this team," Anderson said. "We've been off our game the first few races and we needed to get our morale and confidence back up. People have said it’s just bad luck but I have always said you make your own luck. We just needed to relax and remember that we haven't forgotten how to race.

"We went and tested quite a bit after Phoenix and started running real well, so we were confident coming in that something good could happen. Of course, I don't think anybody expected these sort of conditions. I hope the national record holds because we really need those extra points to get out of the hole we've put ourselves in."

Mike Edwards and Kenny Koretsky also ran below the old E.T. record. Edwards posted a 6.650 at 207.03 mph in his Young Life Grand Am in Round 2, while Koretsky ran a 6.660 at 206.28 mph in his Nitro Fish Wear Dodge Stratus R/T. Kurt Johnson followed in fourth with a 6.671 at 207.13 mph in the ACDelco Cavalier.

Warren Johnson, the most prolific racer in track history with a whopping nine Gatornationals victories, is on the bump with a 6.742 at 206.28 mph. Thirteen racers, including current points leader Allen Johnson, reigning Rookie of the Year Jason Line, and Erica Enders, are outside the field with two rounds remaining.

The anticipation of the sport's first six-second Pro Stock Motorcycle pass built with every run down the track. Beginning with the opening session on through to the third to last pairing of the day when Hines hit paydirt, fans and competitors alike held their breath every time another duo of bikes fired up at the starting line.

Andrew Hines

In the end it was Hines who got the ride of his life, pushing his Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson V-Rod through the timers with a 6.991 at 196.16 mph, which sent the crowd into a wild celebration. The defending event champion will now try to back up the pass to make it an official NHRA national record. Hines must post a run of 7.060 or quicker to accomplish that feat and collect 20 bonus POWERade points.

"We heard all the testing numbers from the off-season and we thought that being the last pair to run in the first session might be a bad break. I know I was nervous," Hines said. "But everyone got a chance and then most everyone got a second chance but we were the ones to get it done. It's an awesome feeling.

"I knew as soon as I let the clutch out and it didn't bog down that it would be a six-second run. There is only one of these trophies and now it has my name on it. I know Terry [Vance, co-team owner] was the first in the sevens so we kept the big barrier-breaking runs in the Vance & Hines camp. We're kind of all in awe right now."

Hines' teammate GT Tonglet finished the day second after coming oh-so-close to being the first rider in the sixes with a 7.007 at 197.45 mph just ahead of Hines. Tonglet's speed is a Gainesville Raceway record.

Tonglet and Hines posted the two fastest passes ever but neither rider has backed up their marks to make them official as of yet.

Former champ Geno Scali of Team Trim-Tex matched the old E.T. record with his career-best run of 7.016 at 189.63 mph. U.S. Army stablemates Antron Brown and Angelle Sampey chimed in with a pair of 7.02s.

Lake Mortgage racer Scott Valetti put a Kawasaki in the field with a 16th-best 7.190 at 186.76 mph. There are 17 riders who have not earned a spot at the halfway point of qualifying.

E-mail this article   Print this article