Tucson Dragway

MEDLEN RECEIVES TRIBUTE AS NHRA RETURNS TO COMPETITION AT O'REILLY SPRING NATIONALS

 

Bazemore, Cruz Pedregon, Coughlin and Matt Smith earn provisional No. 1 qualifying positions


Story by NHRA
Photos by Les Welch

BAYTOWN, Texas -- Nineteen-year Funny Car veteran Whit Bazemore is turning out to be a quick study in Top Fuel as he raced to the provisional No. 1 spot in just his fourth race in the class, posting a 4.514 at 326.87 mph to lead Friday qualifying at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

Racing stopped momentarily during the first round of Funny Car qualifying when the spot that would have been reserved for Eric Medlen, the popular driver who died one week earlier after a crash in testing, came up.

NHRA announcer Bob Frey spoke for a couple of minutes before a tribute video was shown on Motel 6 Vision and a moment of silence was observed.

Then 2005 Funny Car world champion Gary Scelzi made a solo run down the track -- with the lane reserved for Medlen empty -- as racing resumed and by day's end Funny Car champ Cruz Pedregon, Pro Stock veteran Jeg Coughlin, and Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Matt Smith had joined Bazemore as provisional No. 1 qualifiers.
After aborting his first run, Bazemore ran first in the evening session and quickly moved to the top slot with his 4.514 at 326.87 mph in the Matco Tools dragster. Interestingly, no one else in the field managed to go any quicker, leaving him on top for the first time in his brief Top Fuel career.

"I'm surprised to be No. 1 to be honest," Bazemore said, "especially after struggling in Round 1 and being the first pair out. After we put that up there I was sure someone would step it up, especially my teammate Rod Fuller since they knew our tune-up, but it didn't happen."

Melanie Troxel placed her Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA dragster in between Bazemore and his David Powers Motorsports teammate Rod Fuller with a second-best 4.530 at 323.89 mph. Fuller's Caterpillar dragster dropped to third on the grid with a best of 4.533.

Pedregon lived out the zero-to-hero drag racing axiom in one day, going from out of the field to the No. 1 spot with a 4.796 at 300.20 mph in his Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Monte Carlo in Round 2 after failing to get down the track under power in the opening session.

"Being No. 1 is great and it would be good to keep it through tomorrow but I'd trade it right now for some consistency," Pedregon said. "If we can run another 4.79 in the morning and then step it up and go a little quicker after that I'd be happy, no matter where we end up on the ladder. I just want to get down the track and pull the 'chutes a few times."

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