Sunday final eliminations

MOHNTON, Pa. --

In a final round that matched teacher against student, Funny Car driver Jack Beckman raced to his second win of the season at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals.
Tony Schumacher, Jeg Coughlin, and Matt Smith also were winners at the 17th of 24 events on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Beckman drove his Dodge Charger R/T to a 4.183-second run at 291.57 mph past Frank Hawley for his first win at Maple Grove. Hawley, who owns a drag racing school, employs Beckman as a drag racing instructor.

"Racing Frank Hawley was huge," said Beckman. "It's like a little league pitcher that's just a huge fan of the sport and they bring up Mickey Mantle to play ball with you. Frank has meant so much to the sport and having him back in the sport is only going to make it better."

The weekend ended with all 10 spots in the Funny Car Countdown to the Championship playoffs claimed. By the end of the weekend, John and Ashley Force, Gary Densham, Beckman, Mike Neff and Ron Capps had all received their invitations.

In yet another dominant performance, Schumacher drove his dragster to a 3.845 at 313.88. It was Schumacher's 10th win of the season and fifth consecutive win. The win also moved Schumacher within one win of Top Fuel legend Joe Amato, who holds the all- time wins record at 52.

"This has simply been incredible," said Schumacher. "There really aren't any words to describe it. It has been a gift of a year. Of all the years, this has been the most dominant we've ever been. It's just an awesome car."

Doug Herbert clinched his spot in the Countdown to 1, while ninth and 10th place drivers Dave Grubnic and Doug Kalitta, Kalitta Motorsports teammates, sit in the final two open spots in the category. Those final invitations will be issued after the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in two weeks.

In Pro Stock, Cagnazzi teammates Jeg Coughlin and Dave Connolly met in the final round, but it was Coughlin who drove his Chevy Cobalt to an easy win at 6.650 at 206.39 after Connolly fouled out on the starting line. It was Coughlin's second win of the season and 40th of his career.

"We were pretty fortunate here today," said Coughlin. "To have Kurt Johnson and Dave Connolly both go red against you isn't something you expect and we'll take it, that's for sure."

Though Connolly finished second in the event, he clinched his spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs along with Mike Edwards and V Gaines.

Smith grabbed his fourth win of the year in Pro Stock Motorcycle, riding his Buell to a 6.957 at 188.81 past runner-up Angelle Sampey.

"We had the fastest bike every round today," said Smith. "We got over the transmission problems that we had Saturday and we really got it done today."

Sampey, Matt Guidera, Eddie Krawiec, and Chris Rivas all clinched a spot in the Countdown to 1.

Sunday's final results from the 24th annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. The race is the 17th of 24 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Tony Schumacher, 3.845 seconds, 313.88 mph def. Larry Dixon, 3.891 seconds, 302.35 mph.

Funny Car -- Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.183, 291.57 def. Frank Hawley, Charger, 6.967, 95.08.

Pro Stock -- Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.650, 206.39 def. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, foul.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Matt Smith, Buell, 6.957, 188.81 def. Angelle Sampey, Buell, 7.061, 186.28.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Marty Thacker, 5.397, 267.00 def. Mike Lewis, 5.762, 261.22.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.601, 259.26 def. Eric Lourie, Chevy Camaro, 5.737, 248.80.

Super Stock -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 9.311, 138.02 def. Anthony Bertozzi, Pontiac Grand Am, 9.176, 144.57.

Stock Eliminator -- Anthony Fetch, Chevy Camaro, 11.213, 113.15 def. David Ficacci, Camaro, 10.359, 127.45.

Super Comp -- Jeff Strickland, Dragster, 8.917, 156.21 def. Richard Dorr, Dragster, 8.887, 170.92.

Super Gas -- Iggie Boicesco, Chevy Corvette, 9.904, 165.62 def. Tom Goldman, Corvette, 9.880, 144.97.

Saturday final qualifying

Friday qualifying

MOHNTON, Pa. --

Top Fuel points leader Tony Schumacher raced to the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot Friday at the 24th annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
Cruz Pedregon, Jason Line and Matt Smith also were No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 17th of 24 events on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Schumacher drove his U.S. Army dragster to a strong 3.816-second pass at 316.67 mph to take the top spot in the category. It would be Schumacher' s sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season, 53rd of his career and sixth at Maple Grove.

"I knew that Alan (Johnson, crew chief) wasn't going to go easy," said Schumacher. "He was going to go out there and try to run what the track would take, which is the only way he knows how to run these things, you know, go all out and it was great."

Hillary Will clinched her spot in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs with her first qualifying run of the day while defending event winner Doug Herbert currently sits third in the field.

In Funny Car, Cruz Pedregon drove his Advanced Auto Parts Toyota Solara to a 4.109-second pass at 299 mph to take the provisional top spot. It would be Pedregon's second No. 1 qualifier of the season, 35th of his career second at Maple Grove Raceway.

"That's a solid run," said Pedregon. "It pulled the entire run. I just can't thank the team enough. We were working on not spinning the tires in the middle but in the process Rahn (Tobler, crew chief) did step it up down low so it ran really good early and we were able to carry it through."

Ashley Force clinched her spot in the Countdown to 1 after her first session of qualifying as well, while defending event winner Tony Pedregon sits sixth in the Funny Car field.

Jason Line ran the quickest time in the Pro Stock category, driving his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a 6.639 at 207.40. It would be Line's third No. 1 qualifier of the season, 16th of his career and second at Maple Grove.

"We'll see whether (that time) stands up or not," said Line. "I think the weather's going to be better tomorrow and I seriously doubt that it will hold but if it does, great, and if it doesn't, I think we can go faster than we did today too."

Points leader Greg Anderson sits third in the field while defending event winner Dave Connolly is 10th.

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Smith had the fastest run on a motorcycle, riding his NitroFish Buell to a 6.909 at 192.38. It would be Smith's third of the season and second consecutive No. 1 qualifier.

"The conditions are pretty good," said Smith. "The track's really tight and I think a lot of people missed it on the first pass. We hit it pretty good. We'd tweaked the tune up just a bit and went a little faster so we'll see what tomorrow brings."

Points leader Andrew Hines sits sixth while defending event winner Matt Guidera is 11th.

Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.