![\"024-CourtneyForce-Friday-Phoenix\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/024-CourtneyForce-Friday-Phoenix.jpg?resize=300%2C200\")
<\/p>\nCHANDLER, Ariz. \u2013 Courtney Force raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday with a track record performance at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Bo Butner (Pro Stock) also were top qualifiers at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Force, who is looking to redeem last season\u2019s finish with a strong early season start, led the Funny Car field with a track record time of 3.930 seconds at 323.97 mph in her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely what we hoped for,\u201d said Force who carried over her momentum from pre-season testing at Wild Horse just a few weeks ago. \u201cOnce we got the car figured out we were running pretty consistent in the threes so I was excited to come back to this track. We felt comfortable here and we made good runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just love getting (the car) down to the other end of the race track and it definitely feels good from a driver\u2019s standpoint. I definitely think it\u2019s getting my team motivated so we\u2019ll see what we can do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"023-AntronBrown-Friday-Phoenix\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/023-AntronBrown-Friday-Phoenix.jpg?resize=300%2C186\")
<\/p>\n
Defending world champion Brown led Top Fuel qualifying with a 3.765 at 319.45 in his Matco Tools dragster to knock off rival Doug Kalitta\u2019s 3.771 at 323.12 in his Mac Tools dragster.<\/p>\n
After not qualifying where they hoped at the Winternatioanls, Brown and his team looked to get back to their championship standards this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt pretty good to sneak out with that second round run,\u201d said Brown, whose machine lost traction on his first qualifying attempt. \u201cWe thought that someone would run better than our (3.76) because we were the first pair down the race track.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t sleep on any of these cars out here because they\u2019ll take your lunch,\u201d said Brown acknowledging Kalitta and Tony Schumacher\u2019s presence close behind, \u201cWe\u2019ve just got to keep putting that work in.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"025-BoButner-Friday-Phoenix\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/025-BoButner-Friday-Phoenix.jpg?resize=300%2C200\")
<\/p>\n
Butner was quickest in Pro Stock, clocking a 6.618 at 208.88 in his Jim Butner Auto Sales Camaro that held up through two rounds, holding off Greg Anderson by 0.06 seconds. He was also the top qualifier after Friday at the Winternationals in Pomona.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like last race, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll hold up [Saturday],\u201d Butner said. \u201cI\u2019ve got a couple guys with me that are pretty mean and they know what they\u2019re doing, it\u2019s our whole team. We just want to be one two and three and however we end up is great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the season opener Butner and his team have taken the time to really work on the car and he hopes to secure his first career No. 1 qualifying position in only his 19th Pro Stock start.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys worked on some motor stuff and it shows,\u201d Butner said. \u201cI think there’s a whole lot left for us and there\u2019s a whole lot left in the whole class. We\u2018re going to keep chipping away at it and try to widen the gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Qualifying continues Saturday at 1:30 and 4 p.m. for Sunday\u2019s 11 a.m. eliminations.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 32nd annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, second of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.\u00a0 Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.<\/p>\n
Top Fuel — 1. Antron Brown, 3.765 seconds, 319.45 mph; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.771, 323.12; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.772, 322.19; 4. Dave Connolly, 3.794, 309.34; 5. Brittany Force, 3.800, 320.05; 6. J.R. Todd, 3.806, 323.12; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.812, 322.50; 8. Leah Pritchett, 3.859, 314.31; 9. Richie Crampton, 3.865, 302.14; 10. Troy Buff, 3.869, 281.19; 11. Terry McMillen, 3.935, 286.07; 12. Clay Millican, 4.091, 227.69.\u00a0 Not Qualified: 13. Scott Palmer, 4.269, 213.87; 14. Shawn Langdon, 6.057, 113.26.<\/p>\n
Funny Car — 1. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.930, 323.97; 2. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.954, 320.89; 3. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.959, 319.22; 4. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.965, 318.77; 5. John Force, Camaro, 3.973, 321.12; 6. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.973, 319.14; 7. Chad Head, Toyota Camry, 3.976, 314.31; 8. Del Worsham, Camry, 3.980, 316.52; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.995, 315.64; 10. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.030, 318.17; 11. James Campbell, Charger, 4.067, 289.20; 12.\u00a0Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.086, 302.08.\u00a0 Not Qualified: 13. John Hale, 4.183, 303.09; 14. Alexis DeJoria, 4.651, 177.58.<\/p>\n
Pro Stock — 1. Bo Butner, Chevy Camaro, 6.618, 208.88; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.624, 207.72; 3. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.649, 207.85; 4. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.650, 207.94; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Dodge Dart, 6.664, 207.50; 6. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.674, 206.83; 7. Erica Enders, Dart, 6.689, 208.26; 8. Joey Grose, Camaro, 6.715, 206.51; 9. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.722, 207.59; 10. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.772, 206.95; 11. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.829, 208.17; 12. V. Gaines, Dart, 7.237, 204.91.\u00a0Not Qualified: 13. Matt Hartford, 7.638, 164.33.<\/p>\n
(Story and photos courtesy of the NHRA)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CHANDLER, Ariz. \u2013 Courtney Force raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday with a track record performance at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals. Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Bo Butner (Pro Stock) also were top qualifiers at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[54,55,53,6],"class_list":["post-279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhra","tag-antron-brown","tag-bo-butner","tag-courtney-force","tag-nhra"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/024-CourtneyForce-Friday-Phoenix.jpg?fit=2200%2C1464&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-4v","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":303,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions\/303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}