BRAINERD, Minn. (AP) — Funny Car points leader Robert Hight took the qualifying lead Friday in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
After opening qualifying with a tire-smoking pass that dropped him to 17th, Hight rebounded on his second attempt with a 4.085-second run at 313.29 mph in his 10,000-horsepower Ford Mustang.
Hight was the first car out in the second session and says he was surprised that the elapsed time stayed at the top after the remaining cars made their runs.
“Given we messed up the first run to come out and go 4.08, it was pretty awesome,” Hight said. “It shows that (crew chief Mike) Neff has a great handle on this car and he can make it do what he wants. It was an unbelievable run and exactly what we needed to do.”
Cruz Pedregon was second with a 4.093 at 308.21 in a Toyota Camry, and 11-time Brainerd winner John Force followed at 4.099 at 311.77 in a Mustang.
Doug Kalitta led the Top Fuel field, and Allen Johnson was the fastest in Pro Stock. Points leader Kalitta had a 3.812 at 322.96, and Johnson finished at 6.614 at 208.04 in a Dodge Dart.
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