[coverattach=1]MADISON, Ill. - The racing at Gateway International Raceway began under clear blue skies Saturday, a marked difference from Friday, when the first day of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals Presented by Castrol was rained out after only one round of NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying.
Cool temps provided great racing as defending GIR PSM winner Andrew Hines broke the national ET record with a 6.860 and Greg Stanfield earned the top qualifier in Pro Stock for Sunday's eliminations with a Gateway speed record of 210.37 mph. Morgan Lucas, two weeks removed from his first-ever Top Fuel win, took the pole for Sunday's finals with a top speed of 307.02 and an ET of 3.881. Funny Car points leader Ron Capps, who earned his first FC win here in 1997, topped the qualifying charts in that class with a speed of 298.80 and an ET of 4.111.
Last year's Funny Car winner and Springfield, Ill.-native Tim Wilkerson, qualified sixth, facing off against John Force Racing's Mike Neff tomorrow. It's an ironic pairing as the two faced each other in the finals last year, a day that saw Neff take his first-ever NHRA Full Throttle Series round win. Six-time Top Fuel champion and current points leader Tony Schumacher qualified third with an ET of 3.885, just .003 seconds behind his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Cory McClenathan.
Spectator gates for the finals of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals Presented by Castrol at Gateway International Raceway open at 9 a.m., with pre-race ceremonies starting at 10 and Pro series racing scheduled to kick off at 11.
Race fans can purchase tickets at the gate Sunday morning as some seats are still available. The finals will air on ESPN2 tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Cool temps provided great racing as defending GIR PSM winner Andrew Hines broke the national ET record with a 6.860 and Greg Stanfield earned the top qualifier in Pro Stock for Sunday's eliminations with a Gateway speed record of 210.37 mph. Morgan Lucas, two weeks removed from his first-ever Top Fuel win, took the pole for Sunday's finals with a top speed of 307.02 and an ET of 3.881. Funny Car points leader Ron Capps, who earned his first FC win here in 1997, topped the qualifying charts in that class with a speed of 298.80 and an ET of 4.111.
Last year's Funny Car winner and Springfield, Ill.-native Tim Wilkerson, qualified sixth, facing off against John Force Racing's Mike Neff tomorrow. It's an ironic pairing as the two faced each other in the finals last year, a day that saw Neff take his first-ever NHRA Full Throttle Series round win. Six-time Top Fuel champion and current points leader Tony Schumacher qualified third with an ET of 3.885, just .003 seconds behind his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Cory McClenathan.
Spectator gates for the finals of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals Presented by Castrol at Gateway International Raceway open at 9 a.m., with pre-race ceremonies starting at 10 and Pro series racing scheduled to kick off at 11.
Race fans can purchase tickets at the gate Sunday morning as some seats are still available. The finals will air on ESPN2 tomorrow at 6 p.m.
