Courtesy of the NHRA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jack Beckman secured the No. 1 qualifying spot for the Funny Car class Saturday at the 49th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the third of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
Beckman raced his Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T to a pass of 3.911 seconds at 332.18 mph during the second round of qualifying for the No. 1 position. This is his first No. 1 qualifier of the season, second at this event, and 24th of his career.
“We didn’t have the best car on Saturday,” Beckman said. “Today’s conditions are going to be a lot more like the conditions we race in tomorrow. We just didn’t give credit to the sunshine out there since this is a warmer track than what we’ve run so far this year.”
Beckman will line up against Jim Campbell in round one of eliminations on Sunday. Courtney Force locked-in the No. 2 spot after a 3.914 at 327.66 in her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro. Her teammate and reigning Funny Car world champion Robert Hight is seeded third and will face Dave Richards.
Millican’s second qualifying pass of 3.708 at 324.98 in his Parts Plus/Great Clips dragster stood strong on Saturday for the No. 1 Top Fuel spot. This is his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 12th of his career. He seeks to secure his first career victory at Gainesville Raceway.
“Tomorrow, we must do better than what we did today,” Millican stated. “We came into the weekend wanting to slow the car down. We’re still not on the consistency train. We don’t want to be that one-hit-wonder. Being hot tomorrow will be interesting for us.”
He will face-off against Terry Totten Sunday morning in the first round. Steve Torrence sits in the No. 2 position with a pass of 3.739 at 323.19 in his Capco Contractors/Torrence Racing dragster and three-time world champion Antron Brown is third.
Anderson, a four-time Pro Stock world champion, remained atop of the field Saturday with his pass of 6.522 at 213.00 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro from the second qualifying session on Friday. He seeks to secure his fifth victory at Gainesville and 91st of his career.
“A little bit tougher today,” Anderson said. “This is still a great tune-up for tomorrow though. We think the weather is going to be exactly like this tomorrow. We made four really nice runs and that’s probably the best its been all year.”
Anderson will race Wally Stroupe in the first round of eliminations. Alex Laughlin powered his Gas Monkey Energy Chevrolet Camaro to the No. 2 spot with his pass of 6.525 at 212.26 and Chris McGaha qualified third overall.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hines raced to the top of the two-wheeled category during the fourth qualifying round with his pass of 6.773 at 198.64 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. His last victory at Gainesville was in 2004 and was the runner-up in 2017.
“Last year we figured out how to get our Street Rods off the starting line a lot more consistently,” Hines stated. “Coming here it was just a progression of taking our notes from last year and just making sure we are making the proper calls at the right time.”
The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals first round of eliminations begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday at Gainesville Raceway.
Sellout: NHRA officials announced that for the second consecutive season, the Saturday qualifying session at the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals featured a sellout crowd. The historic event is the traditional East Coast opener and fans from across the region began streaming into the facility early in the morning.
This is the second NHRA event this season to have a sellout, as the Arizona Nationals was sold out on Sunday.
“The AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals has long been known as one of the crown jewels on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit,” said Mike Yurick, general manager of Gainesville Raceway. “Fans in attendance have been able to witness fantastic racing action with picture perfect weather and we thank them for the support.”
Media Center Interviews:
Clay Millican –
Jack Beckman –
Greg Anderson –
Andrew Hines –
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 49th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the third of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Clay Millican, 3.708 seconds, 324.98 mph vs. 16. Terry Totten, 7.106, 96.49; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.739, 323.19 vs. 15. Mike Salinas, 5.557, 117.91; 3. Antron Brown, 3.751, 327.74 vs. 14. Audrey Worm, 5.133, 137.96; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.785, 329.67 vs. 13. Brittany Force, 5.021, 138.17; 5. Pat Dakin, 3.810, 291.26 vs. 12. Shawn Reed, 4.128, 239.74; 6. Leah Pritchett, 3.811, 325.77 vs. 11. Terry Haddock, 4.038, 252.90; 7. Doug Kalitta, 3.827, 327.19 vs. 10. Richie Crampton, 3.942, 305.49; 8. Terry McMillen, 3.830, 320.74 vs. 9. Scott Palmer, 3.889, 316.08.
Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 3.911, 332.18 vs. 16. Jim Campbell, Charger, 5.142, 156.37; 2. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.914, 327.66 vs. 15. John Force, Camaro, 4.281, 222.88; 3. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.917, 333.66 vs. 14. Dave Richards, Ford Mustang, 4.133, 300.93; 4. Shawn Langdon, Toyota Camry, 3.926, 327.03 vs. 13. Gary Densham, Mustang, 4.089, 308.57; 5. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.933, 327.27 vs. 12. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.084, 290.26; 6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.941, 328.22 vs. 11. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.004, 315.05; 7. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.944, 325.06 vs. 10. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.989, 321.58; 8. J.R. Todd, Camry, 3.962, 326.40 vs. 9. Del Worsham, Camry, 3.979, 325.14.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Cory Lee, 8.943, 85.95; 18. Jonnie Lindberg, 9.393, 80.65.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.522, 213.00 vs. 16. Wally Stroupe, Camaro, 7.042, 196.73; 2. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.525, 212.59 vs. 15. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.664, 209.36; 3. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.529, 213.27 vs. 14. John Gaydosh Jr, Chevrolet Camaro, 6.612, 211.03; 4. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.534, 213.03 vs. 13. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Dart, 6.602, 210.24; 5. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.534, 212.93 vs. 12. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.581, 209.75; 6. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.541, 212.59 vs. 11. Tanner Gray, Camaro, 6.571, 212.83; 7. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.541, 212.69 vs. 10. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.570, 211.53; 8. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.544, 212.83 vs. 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.554, 212.06.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.773, 199.05 vs. 16. Mark Paquette, Victory, 6.943, 193.21; 2. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.785, 199.67 vs. 15. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.929, 196.64; 3. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.793, 196.93 vs. 14. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.917, 198.64; 4. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.806, 201.01 vs. 13. Cory Reed, Victory, 6.910, 191.67; 5. Scotty Pollacheck, Suzuki, 6.816, 197.51 vs. 12. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.902, 195.59; 6. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.821, 196.50 vs. 11. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.889, 195.14; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.855, 197.74 vs. 10. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.889, 196.10; 8. Angelle Sampey, Victory, 6.856, 196.07 vs. 9. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.881, 195.22.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Matt Smith, 6.945, 195.87; 18. Kelly Clontz, 6.970, 192.11; 19. Lance Bonham, 7.205, 694.44; 20. Andie Rawlings, 7.223, 182.45.
