Sunday, Oct. 28 –NHRA Big O Tires Nationals eliminations. SPOILER ALERT! We are blogging round-by-round eliminations results in the pro categories today.

Top Fuel Dragster: Vandergriff vs. Schumacher – Schumacher is back in the championship chase as Brown and Massey went out early today – but Vandergriff gets the win. Schumacher is 65 points behind Brown.

Funny Car: Beckman vs. Capps – Tough break for Jack … smokes the tires, Capps takes the win. Beckman is still 4 points ahead of Capps with one race to go.

Pro Stock: Nobile vs. Johnson – Points leader Johnson takes the final.

Pro Stock Motorcycle: Krawiec vs. Smith – Krawiec wins.

Also:
Stock Eliminator: Bo Butner (Floyds Knobs, Ind.)
Comp Eliminator: Bo Butner (Floyds Knobs, Ind.)
Super Stock: Dan Fletcher (Churchville, N.Y.)
Super Comp: Luke Bogacki (Carterville, Ill.)
Super Gas: Steve Apted (Medford, Ore.)
Top Alcohol Dragster: Jim Whiteley (Grand Junction, Colo.)
Top Alcohol Funny Car: Tony Bartone (Manhasset, N.Y.)

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Pro Mod final and season championship: Troy Coughlin vs. Don Walsh -- Troy Coughlin wins the final round and the points championship!

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Pro Stock semi-finals:
Jason Line vs. Vincent Nobile: Line RED-LIGHTS! Nobile will meet Johnson in the all-Mopar finale.
Allen Johnson vs. Ron Krisher: 6.631 sec. for Johnson in victory over Krisher.

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Pro Stock Motorcycle semi-final:
Hector Arana vs. Matt Smith: It’s Smith going to the final.
Hall vs. Krawiec: Hall goes red, Eddie goes to the final.

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Funny Car semi-finals:
Capps vs. Gray: Johnny up in smoke, Beckman will meet Capps in the all-DSR finale.
Beckman vs. Courtney Force: Beckman in the left lane, up in smoke, BUT Courtney red-lights – Beckman goes to the final!

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Top Fuel Dragster semi-finals:
Vandergriff vs. Kalitta: Vandergriff will go to the final. Margin of victory: .004.
Schumacher vs. alBalooshi: It’s Schumacher from start to finish (326.24 mph).

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Pro Mod semi: Troy Coughlin vs. Danny Rowe -- red light for Rowe. Coughlin gets lane choice in final vs. Don Walsh. If Coughlin wins the final, he wins the championship.

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Second round of Pro Stock Motorcycle:
Hines vs. Hall: Hall makes off with the surprise win.
Arana vs. Arana Jr.: 7.001 for Arana; Jr.’s bike slows.
Nevada’s Stoffer vs. Matt Smith: Smith drives past Stoffer at 6.973 sec.
Scotty Pollacheck vs. Eddie Krawiec: 6.961 for Krawiec as parts come off Pollacheck’s bike.

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Second round of Pro Stock eliminations:
Ron Krisher hole-shot wins over Edwards.
Erica Enders vs. Vincent Nobile: Nobile wins.
Jason Line vs. Warren Johnson: Jason Line goes to semi-finals, will meet Nobile.
Allen Johnson vs. Jeg Coughlin: It’s Johnson all the way at 207.98.

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Second round of Funny Car:

Courtney Force vs. Paul Lee: Lee’s laundry pops early, Courtney goes to semi-finals.
Mike Neff vs. points leader Jack Beckman: Beckman goes to semi-finals at 300.26 mph.
Ron Capps vs.Cruz Pedregon: 312.28 mph run keeps Capps in the championship battle.
Johnny Gray vs. Matt Hagan: Johnny Gray goes to semi-finals – Don Schumacher Racing will have 75% of the cars in the semis.

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Second round of Top Fuel Dragster:
Khalid alBalooshi defeats J.R. Todd (exploding engine). “CLEAN-UP IN AISLE ONE!”
Vandergriff defeats Massey!
Doug Kalitta over Shawn Langdon.
Tony Schumacher vs. Steve Torrence: Schumacher gets the win by 1/100th sec.

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First round of Pro Stock Motorcycle:

Pollacheck vs. Ellis: Ellis goes red, Pollacheck goes to Round 2.
Steve Johnson loses to Hector Arana.
Karen Stoffer beats L.E. Tonglet on a hole shot.
Michael Ray seriously red vs. John Hall.
14.46 sec./49 mph win for Andrew Hines over red-lit Gann.
Hector Arana Jr. vs. Redell Harris: Redell = RED.
Krawiec defeats G.T. Tonglet.
Final Pair: Jim Underdahl vs.Matt Smith: Matt wins with a 6.945 sec. pass.

First round of Pro Stock eliminations:
Warren Johnson holeshots V Gaines to squeeze out the win.
Greg Anderson vs. Jeg Coughlin: Jeg .002 off the line, Greg shuts off.
Roger Brogdon vs. Ron Krisher: Krisher wins, Roger shuts off.
Erica Enders motors past Kurt Johnson.
Mike Edwards (6.6637) defeated Carr.
Shane Gray vs. Jason Line: Line wins.
Allen Johnson (points leader) vs. Deric Kramer (tested here last week, as did Johnson): it’s Johnson at 6.663 sec.
Final pair – Vincent Nobile vs. Chris McGaha: Nobile drives past for the win.

First round of Funny Car eliminations:
Courtney Force defeats Jim Head.
Matt Hagan KOs tire-smokin’ Jon Capps.
Robert Hight vs. Paul Lee: Lee wins as Hight strikes the tires!
Bob Tasca III falls to Cruz Pedregon.
Mike Neff takes out Jeff Arend.
Wilkerson vs. Gray: Johnny wins as Wilkerson strikes the tires. Johnny will meet Hagan in the next round.
Points leader Jack Beckman vs. John Force: Beckman will meet Neff in Round 2.
Ron Capps vs. Tony Pedregon: Capps gets the win as Pedregon fades at 800 ft.

 

First round of Top Fuel:
Shawn Langdon wins, Clay Millican up in smoke.
Bernstein vs. J.R. Todd: Todd goes to Round 2.
Doug Kalitta vs. Cory McClenathan: close race, Doug wins, Mac on fire at top end. Brief siesta for clean-up.

Spencer Massey (second in points) left lane,T.J. Zizzo right lane: Easy win for Massey.
Tony Schumacher (No. 1 Qualifier) vs. Terry McMillen: Tony wins, Terry goes kaboom. More clean-up.

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Saturday, Oct. 27 (6:30 p.m. Pacific) – Fourth and final round of pro qualifying.

Pro Stock Motorcycle: 1. Eddie Krawiec (6.902 sec./195.11 mph); 2. Hector Arana Jr.; 3. Matt Smith; 4. Andrew Hines; 5. Michael Ray; 6. L.E. Tonglet; 7. Hector Arana; 8. Scotty Pollacheck; 9. Chip Ellis; 10. Steve Johnson; 11. Karen Stoffer; 12. John Hall; 13. Shawn Gann; 14. Jim Underdahl; 15. Redell Harris; 16. G.T. Tonglet Jr.

Krawiec not only earned Las Vegas No. 1 Qualifier status – he also won the rained-out Pro Stock Motorcycle final from Reading, Pa., today.

Pro Stock: 1. Jason Line (6.590 sec./209.72 mph); 2. Allen Johnson; 3. Mike Edwards; 4. Erica Enders; 5. Vincent Nobile; 6. Ron Krisher; 7. Greg Anderson; 8. V Gaines; 9. Warren Johnson; 10. Jeg Coughlin; 11. Roger Brogdon; 12. Chris McGaha; 13. Kurt Johnson; 14. J.R. Carr; 15. Deric Kramer; 16. Shane Gray. Did not qualify: Steve Kent, Larry Morgan, Steve Kalkowski, Mark Wolfe.

Top Fuel Dragster: 1. Tony Schumacher (3.773 sec./323.66 mph); 2. Spencer Massey; 3. Doug Kalitta; 4. Khalid alBalooshi; 5. J.R. Todd; 6. Shawn Langdon; 7. Bob Vandergriff; 8. Steve Torrence; 9. Morgan Lucas; 10. David Grubnic; 11. Clay Millican; 12. Brandon Berstein; 13. Antron Brown; 14. Cory MClenathan; 15. T.J. Zizzo; 16. Terry Milliken. Did not qualify: Steve Chrisman, Mike Salinas, Chris Karamesines, Troy Buff.

Funny Car: 1. Cruz Pedregon (4.066 sec./312.50 mph); 2. Mike Neff; 3. Robert Hight (317.27 mph is a new track speed record); 4. Matt Hagan; 5. Johnny Gray; 6. Courtney Force; 7. Jack Beckman; 8. Ron Capps; 9. Tony Pedregon; 10. John Force; 11. Jim Head; 12. Tim Wilkerson; 13. Jon Capps; 14. Paul Lee; 15. Jeff Arend; 16. Bob Tasca III. Did not qualify: Alexis DeJoria, Josh Crawford, Todd Lesenko, Tommy Johnson, Jeff Diehl, Terry Haddock.

SPOILER ALERT! We will be blogging round-by-round eliminations results in the pro categories tomorrow. If you want to watch the event on TV and not have the ending spoiled, don’t read Sunday’s blog.

Funny Car drivers John Force and Jack Beckman are heroes – especially to Michelle Bukaty of Hamburg, N.Y. Michelle was diagnosed with (incurable) ALS (a.k.a. “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”) in April. The one-and-only item on her bucket list was to come to the NHRA Big O Tires Nationals in Las Vegas. Not only to see the drags, but to spend a moment with John Force (she worked at Lancaster Dragway near Buffalo, N.Y. when he came to town for a match race nearly 20 years ago). Long story short, Michelle was able to hang for a while in the John Force Racing pits – and meet John and Courtney – this morning and it made her day. When Jack Beckman learned of Michelle’s plight, he invited her to his DSR pit area – then gave her a ride in the tow vehicle when he made his third qualifying run. It was a day she will never forget and one of the many reasons why we love drag racing – and drag racers – so much. (See Sunday’s Las Vegas Review-Journal for a story on Michelle by Ron Kantowski.)

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Saturday, Oct. 27 (1 p.m. Pacific) – Third round of pro qualifying.
Track temp is 99 degrees.

Jason Line’s third qualifying pass moved him past Allen Johnson to place him at the top of the Pro Stock roster (6.590 sec./209.72 mph). Still not qualified with only one chance left: Shane Gray, Larry Morgan, Steve Kalkowski and Mark Wolfe.

Eddie Krawiec still is No. 1 Qualifier in the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks. Among the 11 riders still not qualified are Michael Phillips and Jerry Savoie.

Tony Schumacher still stands No. 1 in Top Fuel Dragster qualifying, but his teammate, points leader Antron Brown has dropped to 11th. Still not qualified with only one opportunity remaining are Chris “The Greek” Karamesines, Mike Salinas, Morgan Lucas and Troy Buff.

Mike Neff retained the No. 1 spot after the third round of Funny Car qualifying. Still not qualified (at No. 17) is John Force.

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Friday, Oct. 26 (7:23 p.m. Pacific) – Second round of pro qualifying.

Tony Schumacher’s first-round run stood as the fastest of the day. “It was most important because most of the others didn’t get down the track in the second round.

We made a good clean run, made it down the track. It’s a good car and Vegas has been very kind to me,” said Schumacher.

Mike Neff still is the top Funny Car qualifier after two rounds. “When you can make a good run the very first (time), it puts you on the offense instead of the defense,” said Neff. “It’s a fine line out there – it always is. Tomorrow we’ll be getting ready for Sunday.” Cruz Pedregon currently is second and championship contenders Jack Beckman and Ron Capps are fourth and fifth, respectively. Not in the top 12 yet: Robert Hight, John Force, Matt Hagan, Alexis DeJoria.

Points leader Allen Johnson retained No. 1 Qualifier status after two rounds of Pro Stock qualifying. Johnson tested at The Strip at LVMS the week before the NHRA Big O Tires Nationals. “I felt like today was very successful,” said Johnson. “We’re not setting out to send a message – just get the job done. We’ve improved a lot this year and the Mopar folks have given us a lot of good parts. We’re just enjoying the ride and enjoying the success we’ve had. We don’t want to jinx ourselves and talk about it (the championship).” Jason Line, second in Pro Stock, jumped up to third behind Mike Edwards. 

Eddie Krawiec remains No. 1 in Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying after two rounds. Hector Arana Jr. is second. Karen Stoffer of Gardnerville, Nevada, is ninth. Among the Not-Qualified-Yet: Hector Arana, Shawn Gann and G.T. Tonglet Jr.

Pro Mod qualifying results: 1. Don Walsh, 5.841, 253.85; 2. Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.878, 245.27; 3. Donald Martin 5.917, 244.12; 4. Leah Pruett 5.924, 250.23; 5. Mike Castellana 5.945, 239.91; 6. Todd Tutterow 5.967, 243.11; 7. Pete Farber 5.971, 243.46; 8. Troy Coughlin 5.989, 249.44; 9. Jay Payne 5.995, 241.58; 10. Rickie Smith 6.013, 239.70; 11. Steve Matusek 6.019, 237.59; 12. Mike Janis 6.020, 239.91; 13. Raymond Commisso 6.023, 244.21; 14. Dennis Radford 6.040, 237.63; 15. Kenny Lang 6.140, 242.23; 16. Mike Knowles 6.278, 239.74.
Not Qualified: 17. Clint Satterfield, 6.408, 237.25; 18. Chip King, 7.339, 146.45; 19. Chris Juliano, 9.433, 118.94; 20. Harold Martin, 9.661, 100.81.
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Friday, Oct. 26 (3:50 p.m. Pacific) -- First round of pro qualifying (yes, it took a long time).
After the first session, Don Walsh (Wixom, Mich.) leads Pro Mod qualifying at 5.841 sec./253.85 mph.

Eddie Krawiec is No. 1 after one round of Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying (6.938 sec./193.88 mph). Twenty-five bikes are entered this weekend.

Points leader Allen Johnson topped the Pro Stock scoreboard after one round of qualifying: 6.600 sec./208.68 mph. Of the 19 cars entered, so far these guys are not in the show: Shane Gray, J.R. Carr, Steve Kent, Steve Kalkowski, Jason Line, Warren Johnson, Vincent Nobile.

Mike Neff currently is No. 1 Qualifier after one round of Funny Car time trials. Neff ran 4.070 sec./313.73 mph. Points leader Jack Beckman is fourth at 4.093 sec./306.88 mph. Below the Top 12: Hagan, Wilkerson, Lee, DeJoria, Crawford, Johnson.

Still goin’ – 83-year old Chris “The Greek” Karamesines shut off early during his first Top Fuel Dragster qualifying pass. At this point, he’s in the show – in 10th place.
Tony Schumacher is the No. 1 Qualifier after one round of Top Fuel Dragster time trials (3.773 sec./323.66 mph). Points leader Antron Brown currently is sixth at 3.869 sec./313.88 mph.
Second round of Pro Mod qualifying is under way as this blog is posted.
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Friday, Oct. 26 (noon):
Welcome to the LVMS live blog of the NHRA Big O Tires Nationals. I am John Bisci, P.R. Manager for LVMS.

Happy Nevada Day. Today is the second day of the event – the first day belonged solely to the sportsman classes. Qualifying begins today for Top Fuel Dragster, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

If you are coming to the track, you can hear the announcers on 103.9 FM. This weekend marks the final Las Vegas appearance by NHRA chief announcer Bob Frey, who is retiring at the end of the 2012 season. We will miss his wit, wisdom and style.

This weekend’s blog is dedicated to the memory of Jon Knapp, who passed away in Charlotte this week following a lengthy battle with cancer. Jon was the longtime p.r. person for the Summit-sponsored Pro Stock teams. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Joanne. May he rest in peace, finally free from pain and suffering.

The NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series Presented By ProCare Rx season will conclude here this weekend. Topping the points standings are series leader Mike Castellana, second-place Rickie Smith and surging Troy Coughlin, each looking for his first season crown.

Friday, Oct. 26
7:30 a.m. – Spectator gates open.
8 a.m. – Sportsman eliminations.
10:15 a.m. – Comp Eliminator qualifying.
10:45 a.m. – Top Alcohol Funny Car and Dragster qualifying.
Noon – Pro Mod qualifying, followed by Pro Stock Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
1 p.m. – Top Fuel Funny Car and Top Fuel Dragster qualifying.
2 p.m. – Pro Mod qualifying.
2:30 p.m. – Comp Eliminator qualifying.
3 p.m. – Pro Stock Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying.
4 p.m. – Top Fuel Funny Car and Top Fuel Dragster qualifying.
5 p.m. – Top Alcohol Funny Car and Dragster qualifying.
6 p.m. – Track closed.

Saturday, Oct. 27
7:30 a.m. – Spectator gates open.
8 a.m. – Sportsman eliminations.
9:45 a.m. – First round of Comp Eliminator.
10:30 a.m. – Pro Mod qualifying.
11 a.m. – Pro Stock Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying.
Noon – Top Fuel Funny Car and Top Fuel Dragster qualifying.
1 p.m. – Top Alcohol Funny Car and Dragster qualifying.
2 p.m. – Pro Stock Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying.
3 p.m. – Top Fuel Funny Car and Top Fuel Dragster qualifying.
4 p.m. – First round of Pro Mod eliminations.
4:30 p.m. – First round of Top Alcohol Funny Car and Dragster eliminations.
6 p.m. – Track closed.

Sunday, Oct. 28
7:30 a.m. – Spectator gates open.
9 a.m. – Sportsman eliminations.
10 a.m. – Pre-race ceremonies.
11 a.m. – Final eliminations.
4:30 p.m. – Track closed.