NHRA NEWS: POWERADE SERIES RESULTS FRIDAY FROM LAS VEGAS

HIGHT, SCHUMACHER AND ANDERSON LEAD QUALIFYING FRIDAY AT LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS -- Robert Hight raced to a track record performance in Funny
Car Friday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, covering the
quarter-mile distance in 4.702 seconds at 327 mph to lead the qualifying
action at the seventh annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals. 

Three-time and reigning Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher and Pro Stock
points leader Greg Anderson also earned provisional No. 1 qualifying
honors at the $1.7 million race, the fifth of 23 events in the $50
million POWERade Drag Racing Series. Schumacher posted a 4.501-second
performance in the first round of action, while Anderson waited until
the cooler evening session to run a 6.787-second pass.

Hight's personal-best elapsed time of 4.702 at 327.11 mph in his Auto
Club Ford Mustang was impressive as only one other Funny Car -- that of
his father-in-law John Force -- managed to run within five-hundredths of
a second of the mark. 

"That was pretty stout," Hight said. "I think it was a little gutsy,
maybe, being not qualified and going like that but Jimmy (Prock, crew
chief) told me he didn't know any other way to run it. He said he was
gonna be aggressive and get after it and that's what he did. I was
getting nervous, but it all turned out good."

Force clocked in at 4.715 at 326.16 mph in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang.
After that, the field dropped back to Checker Schuck's Kragen Chevrolet
Monte Carlo driver Del Worsham's 4.750 at 325.61 mph.

Points leader Ron Capps emerged unscathed from a huge fire at the top
end after his fifth-best 4.771 in his Brut Dodge Stratus R/T. His
teammate and the class' defending series champion, Gary Scelzi, is 12th
with a 4.813. Scelzi is coming off a rare DNQ result in Houston.

Schumacher's U.S. Army dragster lost traction just a few hundred feet
into his second run, but his earlier 4.501 at 327.35 mph kept him in the
No. 1 slot.

"We're so glad it's back-to-back races," Schumacher said. "We lost in
the first round in Houston last weekend and it's terrible to go into a
two-week break off a performance like that. We really wanted to get back
after it and redeem ourselves."

Houston winner Brandon Bernstein ran two more perfect passes Friday,
both within two-thousandths of a second of one another. His best time
was a third-best 4.534 at 330.23 mph in his Budweiser/Lucas Oil
dragster.

Anderson began his quest for a fifth Las Vegas title by running the
quickest pass of opening day -- 6.787 at 202.82 mph in his Summit Racing
Pontiac GTO -- to earn provisional low qualifier honors.

"We've definitely done a good job of qualifying this year," Anderson
said of his three No. 1 qualifying efforts in the first four races. "Our
weak point has been on raceday and that's the important day. We need a
good get-well weekend and I can't think of a better place to do it than
Las Vegas Motor Speedway."

First-round leader Richie Stevens knocked seven thousandths of a second
off his opening pass, but still slipped to second overall with a 6.790
at 202.42 mph in his Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T.

The final two sessions of professional qualifying take place Saturday at
noon and 3 p.m.

LAS VEGAS -- Results Friday after qualifying for the seventh annual NHRA
SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
fifth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 4.501 seconds, 327.35 mph; 2. Larry
Dixon, 4.528, 330.80; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 4.534, 330.23; 4. Hillary
Will, 4.559, 320.43; 5. Doug Herbert, 4.571, 320.97; 6. Melanie Troxel,
4.577, 322.65; 7. Cory McClenathan, 4.579, 330.47; 8. Doug Kalitta,
4.588, 321.88; 9. David Grubnic, 4.589, 325.69; 10. Morgan Lucas, 4.604,
315.86; 11. David Baca, 4.606, 323.19; 12. Bob Vandergriff, 4.608,
326.16; 13. Mike Strasburg, 4.631, 330.15; 14. J.R. Todd, 4.673, 315.64;
15. Rod Fuller, 4.685, 303.30; 16. Scott Weis, 4.736, 311.34.

Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.702, 327.11; 2. John
Force, Mustang, 4.715, 326.16; 3. Del Worsham, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.750,
325.61; 4. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.758, 318.47; 5. Ron Capps, Dodge
Stratus, 4.771, 321.35; 6. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.773, 325.37; 7.
Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.780, 319.14; 8. Jim Head, Stratus, 4.785,
325.14; 9. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.804, 317.49; 10. Whit Bazemore,
Dodge Charger, 4.812, 327.03; 11. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.813, 323.97;
12. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.838, 322.81; 13. Bob Gilbertson,
Stratus, 4.841, 319.37; 14. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.870, 320.97;
15. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.878, 313.58; 16. Tim Wilkerson, Monte
Carlo, 4.908, 282.01.

Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.787, 202.82; 2. Richie
Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 6.790, 202.67; 3. Dave Howard, Chevy Cobalt,
6.797, 202.88; 4. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.798, 202.58; 5. Kurt Johnson,
Cobalt, 6.803, 202.94; 6. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.804, 202.67; 7. Dave
Connolly, Cobalt, 6.806, 202.70; 8. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.813, 202.61;
9. Jason Line, GTO, 6.814, 202.76; 10. Shaun Carlson, Stratus, 6.816,
201.79; 11. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.823, 203.19; 12. Larry Morgan,
Stratus, 6.829, 201.94; 13. Mark Pawuk, Cobalt, 6.829, 201.43; 14. Greg
Stanfield, GTO, 6.834, 202.67; 15. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.840, 201.79;
16. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.843, 201.73.