Lucas, Pedregon, Krawiec and Johnson lead Gainesville qualifying

LUCAS LEADS TOP FUEL FIELD AT AUTO-PLUS RACEWAY AT GAINESVILLE; PEDREGON, KRAWIEC AND JOHNSON ALSO QUALIFYING LEADERS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Morgan Lucas raced his GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fueler to the No. 1 qualifying spot at the 43rd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by NAPAFilters.com at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.

Cruz Pedregon leads Funny Car in his Snap-On Tools Toyota Camry heading into eliminations Sunday, while Allen Johnson topped Pro Stock in his Mopar Dodge Avenger and two-time Gatornationals champ Eddie Krawiec ran the quickest pass in Pro Stock Motorcycle history en route to the No. 1 spot on his Harley-Davidson.

The GEICO/Lucas Oil driver earned the second No. 1 of the season and sixth of his career Saturday with a 3.766 second pass at 321.88 mph. In just the third race of 2012, Lucas equaled his career-high for No. 1 qualifying positions in a single season.

“I can honestly say this is the best racecar I’ve ever had,” Lucas said. “I can’t wait to hop in the thing. The problems we have this year have had to do with freak parts failures, not performance. This team is so strong right now.”

Lucas is not only the driver but also the team owner and for part of last season he was also the crew chief. After some changes in the offseason Lucas has been able to focus on what he knows best.

“I credit the guys on the team. I feel like we’ve had the ingredients to perform this whole time and didn’t know how to put it together. (Crew chiefs) Aaron Brooks and Rod Centorbi brought that to the table. With them here, I can focus and drive the car with a clear mind.”

Krawiec set the national record on his Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod Saturday with a 6.750 second pass at 198.03 mph and collected not only the 10th No. 1 of his career, but also the 20 point bonus that comes with setting a national E.T. record.

“This morning we got some great weather and we were able to take advantage of it,” Krawiec said. “We had a stiff head wind so maybe tomorrow if the wind dies down and we can get that 200-mph run. We’re trying to run 200-mph but I keep telling everyone you can’t push it. Everything has to be just right. We want to go 200 but we also want to win a Wally.”

Last season, Krawiec set the speed record at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville and won the prestigious event which makes it a place he feels very comfortable.

“Being here [in Gainesville] is like walking in my front door,” Krawiec said. “I’m very comfortable here. This is a great facility and everyone gets excited for Gainesville.”

Pedregon took the No. 1 spot from defending event champ Mike Neff during the final qualifying session Saturday evening when he laid down a 4.026 second pass at 311.05 mph. This is the third No. 1 at the Gatornationals for Pedregon, first of the season and 46th of his career.

Cruz Pedregon, Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry Funny Car driver

Photo by: Ted Rossino

“I was looking for some kind of 4.0, and sometimes these cars will surprise you,” said Pedregon. “I always want to lay one down when I’m racing beside (John) Force, but I didn’t want to mess it up. It put me back in the seat really hard and got a little blurry around mid-track. It was a very good feeling, euphoric as they say. It’s nice to reward these guys with a run like that.”

After a DNQ and first round loss at the first two races of the season Pedregon feels the team may have found the right race day combination.

“We’re really going to enjoy it for tonight, but we’ll be focused on getting back into the points battle on race day,” Pedregon said. “We didn’t have much to show from the first two races, so we kind of considered them our test sessions. We had some consistency on Friday, and to cap it off with a run like that is beyond great.”

Johnson’s Mopar Dodge Avenger raced to the top spot Saturday morning with a 6.486 second pass at 211.93 mph. It’s Johnson’s first No. 1 of the season, first at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville and 19th of his career.

“Anytime you’re in Gainesville it is prestigious,” Johnson said. “This is Pro Stock country so it’s great to be No. 1 qualifier here. I really appreciate the [K&N Filters] bonus. The Mopar people are throwing us new parts and the Dodge Avenger is an awesome race car. I’m just looking forward to starting from No. 1 spot in this field.”

Eliminations for the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by NAPAFilters.com at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. (EDT)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Sunday's first-round pairings for professional eliminations for the 43rd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by NAPAFilters.com at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, the third of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Morgan Lucas, 3.766 seconds, 326.56 mph vs. 16. Brady Kalivoda, 3.925, 291.70; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.790, 322.81 vs. 15. Terry McMillen, 3.907, 297.55; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.797, 323.04 vs. 14. T.J. Zizzo, 3.904, 312.42; 4. Brandon Bernstein, 3.813, 320.58 vs. 13. Doug Kalitta, 3.897, 315.34; 5. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.822, 322.19 vs. 12. Clay Millican, 3.890, 307.58; 6. Steve Torrence, 3.825, 320.20 vs. 11. Bob Vandergriff, 3.852, 320.20; 7. Antron Brown, 3.832, 320.43 vs. 10. David Grubnic, 3.847, 314.97; 8. Spencer Massey, 3.847, 321.50 vs. 9. Hillary Will, 3.847, 312.50. Did Not Qualify: 17. Dom Lagana, 3.926, 309.56; 18. Ike Maier, 3.951, 307.93; 19. Cory McClenathan, 3.964, 293.73; 20. Keith Murt, 3.966, 280.60; 21. Chris Karamesines, 4.143, 277.49; 22. Pat Dakin, 7.294, 149.38.

Funny Car -- 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.026, 311.77 vs. 16. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.226, 298.21; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.047, 314.61 vs. 15. Bob Bode, Chevy Impala, 4.220, 292.39; 3. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.057, 313.66 vs. 14. Blake Alexander, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.168, 297.02; 4. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.065, 313.00 vs. 13. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.154, 307.23; 5. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.083, 309.06 vs. 12. Jim Head, Solara, 4.153, 301.13; 6. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.108, 306.88 vs. 11. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.136, 306.12; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.114, 309.49 vs. 10. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camary, 4.125, 306.81; 8. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.114, 307.79 vs. 9. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.116, 307.65. Did Not Qualify: 17. Tony Pedregon, 4.492, 291.51; 18. Todd Lesenko, 4.538, 200.38; 19. Dale Creasy Jr., 6.387, 145.93.

Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.486, 211.99 vs. 16. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.555, 210.83; 2. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 6.490, 212.69 vs. 15. Mark Martino, GXP, 6.552, 210.31; 3. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.504, 212.03 vs. 14. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.551, 209.69; 4. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.506, 211.83 vs. 13. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.544, 210.31; 5. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.515, 211.36 vs. 12. Steve Kent, GXP, 6.543, 210.21; 6. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.519, 211.69 vs. 11. Rickie Jones, GXP, 6.543, 210.77; 7. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.519, 211.76 vs. 10. Chris McGaha, Avenger, 6.541, 210.37; 8. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.529, 212.13 vs. 9. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.533, 210.47. Did Not Qualify: 17. Grace Howell, 6.572, 208.94; 18. Warren Johnson, 6.573, 209.69; 19. Jeg Coughlin, 6.597, 210.24; 20. V. Gaines, 6.598, 210.73; 21. Gary Gregory, 6.625, 208.10; 22. Kurt Johnson, 8.520, 207.94.

Eddie Krawiec

Photo by: NHRA

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.750, 198.03 vs. 16. Ulf Ogge, Buell, 7.034, 187.65; 2. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.812, 193.63 vs. 15. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.018, 190.32; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.834, 195.14 vs. 14. John Hall, Buell, 7.012, 189.68; 4. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.842, 193.99 vs. 13. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 7.010, 190.57; 5. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.881, 192.99 vs. 12. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.977, 189.71; 6. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.894, 192.93 vs. 11. Jerry Savoie, Buell, 6.972, 189.36; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.894, 192.58 vs. 10. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.958, 190.89; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.932, 192.58 vs. 9. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.956, 188.89. Did Not Qualify: 17. Michael Ray, 7.035, 186.85; 18. Joe DeSantis, 7.065, 186.69; 19. Wesley Wells, 7.065, 187.36; 20. Mike Berry, 7.084, 187.60; 21. Redell Harris, 7.094, 186.64; 22. Anne Hansen, 7.124, 187.47; 23. James Surber, 7.195, 185.49; 24. Charles Sulivan, 7.302, 179.49; 25. Justin Finley, 8.676, 157.43.