Drag racing at zMax Dragway for Matt Hagan has often been a case of the good, the bad and the ugly. When the two-time NHRA champion isn't burning his nitro-burning Funny Car to the ground or turning its carbon fiber body to confetti, he's usually running very quick and fast.
Hagan was mayhem free in Friday's opening qualifying session as he thundered to the provisional Funny Car pole position at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods. Other provisional low qualifiers included Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Persistent rains limited professional qualifying to one session at the palatial drag strip located on the grounds of Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.
The inclement weather did little to dampen the red-hot performance of Hagan, who drove his way to a 3.941 elapsed time at 323.50 miles per hour. Hagan's performance reset both ends of the track record.
"I wonder what is going to happen every time I hit the throttle here," admitted Hagan. "Driving a Funny Car is a huge adrenaline rush. These Funny Cars are so unpredictable, and they are a handful every lap."
Torrence led an Alan Johnson one-two punch, as he jumped out to the early lead in Top Fuel with a 3.736, 326.48 to edge Brittany Force, who ended the day second quickest with a 3.771, 319.90 pass.
"The car has run well as season long," Torrence said. "We have just stumped our toe in the first round a few times this season. The car has run unbelievable. When the closest car is a few hundredths from you, it's a big confidence boost."
Anderson, currently second in Pro Stock points behind teammate Jason Line, continued the KB Racing domination with a 6.577, 209.65 mph performance to edge out Drew Skillman, second quickest with a 6.583. Line was third with a 6.585.
In the first five races since NHRA required teams to convert their carbureted race cars over to electronic fuel injection, KB Racing's drivers Anderson, Line and Bo Butner have led every qualifying session and qualified No. 1.
"It was a learning experience today, and we went into today with a forecast looking bleak," Anderson said. "As I figured, the rest of the class was going to catch up. There were some good runs made today by the other teams.
"We could have all run quicker and faster if we had that second session."
In the Pro Stock Motorcycle division, Krawiec recorded a 6.818 elapsed time at 192 miles per hour to beat out Jerry Savoie's 6.841. Defending series champion Andrew Hines was third with a 6.851.
"So much for being conservative, we made a good run with that," Krawiec said. "We could have probably run a 6.78 if we had run it all the way through. Tomorrow looks to be killer conditions."
Qualifying will conclude on Saturday with sessions scheduled for 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET.
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Bobby Bennett is the Publisher/Editor of CompetitionPlus.com, a leading independent online drag racing magazine, since 1999. For the latest in dragster news worldwide, visit http://www.competitionplus.com.
