SONOMA, Calif. -- Mike Ashley took a big step towards
securing one of the seven remaining spots in the Countdown to the
Championship field with a top qualifying effort in Funny Car at the
20th annual Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals.
Ashley (4.743 seconds) and Top Fuel leader Doug Herbert (4.556)
both used their Friday night passes to wrap up their No. 1 spots at
Infineon Raceway, while Pro Stock front man Greg Anderson needed to
improve to 6.605 seconds on Saturday to stay on top.
Angelle Sampey led the Pro Stock Motorcycle class with her
final-round run of 6.924 seconds.
Ashley earned his fourth No. 1 qualifying effort of the season
and fourth of his career. His Friday night run of 4.743 seconds at
326.79 mph in his Dodge Charger was completely unchallenged
Saturday with the quickest run of the day being John Force's 4.870.
The 14-time champion Force will face his daughter Ashley Force
in the first round on Sunday. Ashley Force had the higher-qualified
car and will have the lane choice over her dad, whom she beat
earlier this year in Atlanta in their only previous head-to-head
matchup.