ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (AP) — Cruz Pedregon topped Funny Car qualifying Saturday in the NHRA Summernationals, with his Friday run holding up at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
Pedregon powered his Toyota Camry to a track-record performance of 3.959 seconds at 310.48 mph to lead Friday. It is Pedregon’s 56th No. 1 qualifier and second of the season.
Pedregon’s time, the quickest ever in the 10,000-horsepower category, will be certified as an NHRA national record if he can post a time of 3.999 seconds or quicker during Sunday’s eliminations.
“We had such monster early runs yesterday,” Pedregon said. “It’s like a tiger by the tail, a snake by the tail. It was pretty aggressive.”
Doug Kalitta took the No. 1 spot in Top Fuel, Allen Johnson topped the Pro Stock lineup, and Eddie Krawiec held the lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Kalitta led the Top Fuel field Friday and improved his performance with a 3.756 at 327.03 in his Kalitta Motorsports-owned dragster. It is the 40th No. 1 qualifier of Kalitta’s career and fourth of the season.
In 2008 at Old Bridge, Kalitta’s cousin, Scott Kalitta, was killed after his Funny Car burst into flames and crashed during qualifying. As a safety measure, all Top Fuel and Funny Car races were reduced from a quarter-mile to 1,000 feet.
Johnson, a three-time winner this year, reset the track time record after the first day of qualifying and improved on that performance with a 6.472 at 214.35 during the final session in a Dodge Dart. With the run, Johnson earned his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 33rd of his career.
Krawiec claimed his second No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock Motorcycle with his 6.747 at 198.90 on a Harley-Davidson.
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