TEAM REPORTS (LAS VEGAS) - It's Lucky Seven for Ashley after two rounds in Vegas

Mike Ashley drove the Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger R/T to the provisional No. 7 qualifying spot and the fastest lap of the day at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.

Under the evening lights and a full moon, Ashley delivered a 4.819/326.95 pass to set the day's speed mark for Funny Cars. He already holds the track speed record at 334.32 mph, which he set in April of this year.

"Actually, we would have gone faster that we did, but we blew a rod at about 1000 feet, and that slowed us down at the end of the track. No matter though, because we got a good lap under our belts, so tomorrow Brian [Corradi, crew chief] can just fine tune our setup for Sunday," Ashley said.

"We're really confident, because we've had a lot of success here at this track. The weather should be premium for racing, so I expect we'll get a good taste of what to expect," he said.

Qualifying continues on Saturday with rounds scheduled for 1:15 and 3:30, and eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday, October 28.