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Grubnic, Bazemore, Connolly & Hines Earn Top Qualifying Spots at Memphis

MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Funny Car driver Whit Bazemore earned his 28th career No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the 17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.

David Grubnic (Top Fuel), Dave Connolly (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Bike) also were the No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the $1.6 million race, the 17th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

NHRA.com: Saturday Recap
DragRaceCentral.com: Grubnic, Bazemore, Connolly and Hines Earn Top Spots at Memphis

Bazemore scored his fourth No. 1 spot of the season when he sped down the track in his Matco Tools Dodge Stratus R/T in 4.856 seconds at 306.26 mph to lead the 16-car field heading into Sunday’s eliminations where he will face No. 16 qualifier Ron Capps. Bazemore has had some good fortune the past two seasons at Memphis Motorsports Park, earning the top spot en route to the victory at last year’s event. The Indianapolis resident hopes to build on this weekend’s positive qualifying performance and gain some ground on the two drivers ahead of him in the POWERade standings, points leader John Force and his teammate Gary Scelzi.

“Everything is still out there and possible to attain,” Bazemore said. “We haven’t done ourselves any favors lately (losing in the first round at four of the last six events), but there are still seven races left and we must do everything we can to take advantage of every opportunity. The championship is within reach if all goes as planned. People get criticized for stating their goals and then coming up short later. Not us, we hang it all out there. We tell everyone our goal. We want the championship.”

Ladders

Top Fuel
Funny Car
Pro Stock
Pro Stock Bike

First-round Pairings for Sunday Eliminations

TOP FUEL
1. David Grubnic, 4.580 seconds, 315.34 mph vs. 16. Scott Palmer, 4.799, 295.59; 2. Doug Kalitta, 4.580, 309.63 vs. 15. Scott Weis, 4.790, 298.47; 3. Tony Schumacher, 4.581, 318.92 vs. 14. Rhonda Hartman-Smith, 4.774, 291.57; 4. Scott Kalitta, 4.582, 317.94 vs. 13. Joe Hartley, 4.758, 293.54; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 4.583, 320.51 vs. 12. Cory McClenathan, 4.750, 297.94; 6. Morgan Lucas, 4.605, 311.85 vs. 11. Bob Vandergriff, 4.727, 285.65; 7. Larry Dixon, 4.630, 314.39 vs. 10. Brady Kalivoda, 4.704, 309.70; 8. Doug Herbert, 4.642, 315.05 vs. 9. Clay Millican, 4.657, 303.43.

FUNNY CAR
1. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Stratus, 4.856, 309.77 vs. 16. Ron Capps, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.036, 295.53; 2. Gary Scelzi, Stratus, 4.863, 310.20 vs. 15. Bob Gilbertson, Pontiac Firebird, 5.027, 299.40; 3. Gary Densham, Ford Mustang, 4.866, 308.99 vs. 14. Tony Bartone, Firebird, 4.986, 299.13; 4. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.874, 313.22 vs. 13. Jeff Arend, Chevy Corvette, 4.985, 286.32; 5. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.892, 298.73 vs. 12. Jim Head, Toyota Celica, 4.983, 305.77; 6. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.896, 307.16 vs. 11. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.974, 305.70; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.899, 309.91 vs. 10. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.948, 296.37; 8. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.905, 304.94 vs. 9. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.922, 309.84.

PRO STOCK
1. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cavalier, 6.777, 202.61 vs. 16. Steve Johns, Cavalier, 6.828, 201.49; 2. Jeg Coughlin, Cavalier, 6.787, 201.64 vs. 15. Jim Yates, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.826, 201.01; 3. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.794, 202.52 vs. 14. JR Carr, Cavalier, 6.821, 201.01; 4. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.794, 201.19 vs. 13. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.814, 201.49; 5. Greg Anderson, Grand Am, 6.799, 202.12 vs. 12. Mike Edwards, Grand Am, 6.813, 200.62; 6. Jason Line, Grand Am, 6.799, 201.37 vs. 11. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.810, 201.79; 7. Ron Krisher, Cavalier, 6.806, 202.03 vs. 10. Bruce Allen, Grand Am, 6.809, 202.00; 8. Rickie Smith, Cavalier, 6.806, 201.73 vs. 9. Kurt Johnson, Cavalier, 6.807, 201.61.

PRO STOCK BIKE
1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.132, 188.17 vs. 16. Lloyd Straus, Suzuki, 7.333, 180.67; 2. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.191, 186.10 vs. 15. Kurt Matte, Suzuki, 7.322, 181.35; 3. Angelle Savoie, Suzuki, 7.200, 183.82 vs. 14. Blaine Hale, Suzuki, 7.315, 183.54; 4. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.216, 184.32 vs. 13. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.288, 182.58; 5. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.222, 184.95 vs. 12. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.255, 182.82; 6. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.222, 184.17 vs. 11. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.254, 183.94; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.222, 184.22 vs. 10. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.233, 184.55; 8. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.226, 184.09 vs. 9. Chip Hunter, Suzuki, 7.229, 182.58.

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