6 p.m. -- Racing resumes at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 9 a.m. Sunday with Sportsman eliminations. Pre-race ceremonies for the 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals begin at 10 a.m. and final eliminations in the three pro categories start at 11 a.m.
Good evening from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and be sure to check back here Sunday for updates throughout the day.
5:55 p.m. - Comments from Antron Brown, the top qualifier in Top Fuel:
(One his qualifying speed from Friday holding up.) "When I got up this morning, I thought it was going to be overcast today and when I saw all the sun coming out, I actually started smiling a little bit. The track actually held up good even though we had a lot of heat on it today. The track got a little cooler when we ran that last session so (the pole) was definitely up there in the air.
"We ran that new tire that last session and we were really impressed with it. It actually went all the way down the racetrack. It broke loose right after the 330-foot mark and the car was already tamed down and everything so we'll go back and check out that lane and see if maybe I drove off in the wrong spot in the lane and got it loose. We're happy with the whole effort this weekend. The car ran exactly where we wanted to. We're confident - we're looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day because it's going to be a little hotter, the sun's going to be out and we're going to race in the prime time of the day. It's definitely going to be catfight tomorrow down that racetrack. We're not going to be fighting the other person in the other lane, we're going to be fighting getting down the racetrack so it's going to make it really challenging for the crew chiefs but I like my odds with the guys I've got in my pit area."
5:30 p.m. - Comments from Del Worsham, the top qualifier in Funny Car:
"This has been a frustrating year, definitely, with tracks above 100 degrees - we've just had a heck of a time getting down the track. (Crew chief) Dickie Venables, based on past performance, has just been great in those conditions so he has been very frustrated himself ... to try to get this car to run. The (4.187 run today) is surprising that it was that good but it's not totally a shocker. Had you seen our runs yesterday, you wouldn't be quite as shocked.
"The confidence has definitely been building but I'm still a little bit worried that we have to go down the track four times tomorrow; we went down the track half the time today. We really need to work on making sure it's consistent. That Toyota Solara body seems to have great traction, so I'm glad we've got that on there. Our consistency has been our problem - especially on tracks above 100 (degrees) so hopefully after this weekend, with the data they have and all of Dickie's racing experience and years of knowledge will pay off and we can pull this off. As much as I don't want to tell the competition, we were on the new Goodyear tire here and it seems to be sticking and Larry (Dixon) is on it and his car is sticking well so whether that helps us or hurts us at this point, it definitely doesn't hurt us and if anything, possibly, it's as good or better (as the previous tire)."
4:50 p.m. - Comments from Mike Edwards, the top qualifier in Pro Stock:
"It was definitely better for several teams and we made an exceptionally nice run so I'm really proud of my guys. We changed some things there this afternoon and tried some things and it didn't look like we like what we saw. We felt like it was going to be a slower session so we thought it might be a time to do that. It's great to come up here and be able to qualify number one."
"If the sun's out (Sunday), we're going to see exactly what we saw today. It's going to be faster in the morning and as the day grows on, the track's going to get hotter and greasier so you just have to make adjustments. I look for more of the same."
4:48 p.m. - Here are the 16 qualifiers in Funny Car for the 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals: 1. Del Worsham; 2. Ashley Force Hood; 3. Matt Hagan; 4. Gary Densham; 5. Ron Capps; 6. Robert Hight; 7. Bob Bode; 8. Bob Tasca III; 9. Melanie Troxel; 10. Tim Wilkerson; 11. John Force; 12. Jack Beckman; 13. Tony Pedregon; 14. Jeff Arend; 15. Cruz Pedregon; 16. Jim Head.
4:14 p.m. - Here are the 16 qualifiers in Top Fuel for the 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals: 1. Antron Brown; 2. Larry Dixon; 3. Doug Kalitta; 4. Cory McClenathan; 5. Tony Schumacher; 6. Morgan Lucas; 7. Shawn Langdon; 8. Brandon Bernstein; 9. Terry McMillen; 10. Mike Strasburg; 11. Troy Buff; 12. David Grubnic; 13. Terry Haddock; 14. Steve Chrisman; 15. Steve Faria; 16. Rob Passey.
3:18 p.m. - Here are the 16 qualifiers in Pro Stock for the 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals: 1. Mike Edwards; 2. Ron Krisher; 3. Rodger Brogdon; 4. Allen Johnson; 5. Greg Anderson; 6. Shane Gray; 7. Bob Yonke; 8. Warren Johnson; 9. Jason Line; 10. Jeg Coughlin; 11. Greg Stanfield; 12. Vinnie Deceglie; 13. Johnny Gray; 14. V Gaines; 15. Ronnie Humphrey; 16. Rickie Jones.
2:47 - Jeg Coughlin, who is qualified 10th in Pro Stock going into this afternoon's final qualifying session, can become the ninth driver in NHRA history to win 50 races if he should win on Sunday. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel) last weekend became the eighth driver to reach the 50-win plateau.
2:20 p.m. - The National Hot Rod Association announced today that the 2011 NHRA Four Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, N.C., again would feature four-wide racing in all four professional categories. The spring race will be the only event on the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule to feature four-wide racing.
"To really understand how well four-lane (racing) is working, we really need to go back and do it again," NHRA president Tom Compton said. "I'm excited to go back because I think it has the potential of being very successful. "We think there are a number of areas we can work on to make the experience better ... but I don't think we'll have a good read on how well it really can work until we go back."
zMAX Dragway is owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc., which also owns The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
1:27 p.m. - Ashley Force Hood, Matt Hagan and Gary Densham remained the top three qualifiers in Funny Car following the third round of qualifying. Ron Capps and Robert Hight remained fourth and fifth, respectively.
12:50 p.m. - Antron Brown remained the top qualifier in Top Fuel as there were no changes among the top six through today's third qualifying session.
Larry Dixon, the No. 2 qualifier, had the quickest pass of the session (3.916 seconds). Doug Kalitta remained third, Cory McClenathan was fourth, Tony Schumacher stayed fifth and Morgan Lucas sixth. Shawn Langdon, Brandon Bernstein, Mike Strasburg, Terry McMillen, Troy Buff and David Grubnic rounded out the top 12.
12:15 p.m. - Mike Edwards held onto the provisional pole in Pro Stock with a third-round pass of 6.687 seconds (205.88 mph). Ron Krisher's time of 6.716 from Friday held up for second and Rodger Brogdon grabbed the third spot with a 6.725-second pass Saturday.
Allen Johnson and Greg Anderson are fourth and fifth, respectively. Rounding out the top 12 are Shane Gray, Bob Yonke, Warren Johnson, Jason Line, Jeg Coughlin, Greg Stanfield and Vinnie Deceglie.
11:30 a.m. - Greg Anderson, who was the fourth-quickest Pro Stock qualifier going into this morning's third round, leads all pro racers with six NHRA titles at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
But Anderson is not the only multiple winner in Las Vegas and two other drivers can match Anderson's mark of six victories with a win this weekend. Tony Schumacher has five victories here to lead all Top Fuel pilots and Jeg Coughlin also has five victories at The Strip in Pro Stock. Other racers with at least three victories in Las Vegas are Larry Dixon (4) and Kenny Bernstein (3) in Top Fuel; Ron Capps (3) and Tony Pedregon (3) in Funny Car; and Andrew Hines (3) in Pro Stock Motorcycle (which is not competing this weekend).
11:20 a.m. - Good morning from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the final two rounds of professional qualifying for the 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. It's sunny and warm and a high of 88 is in the forecast today. The third round of professional qualifying is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. (PDT). Pro Stock qualifying sessions will be at 11:30 and 2:30 and the Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars will hit the track at noon and 3. Be sure to check back here throughout the day, as we'll be updating this blog with news, results and driver interviews.