NHRA NEWS: SATURDAY QUALIFYING, BRAINERD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: NHRA Communications, (626) 914-4761


SCHUMACHER, FORCE, ANDERSON AND ELLIS HOLD ON FOR NO.1 QUALIFIERS AT
25TH ANNUAL LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS

BRAINERD, Minn. - Reigning Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher continued
his amazing second-half run Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway
by qualifying No. 1 for the 25th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. 

Schumacher has raced to four finals in a row and back-to-back low
qualifiers to pull to within 121 points of the POWERade Series
championship lead, held by Doug Kalitta.

Joining Schumacher on BIR's low qualifier podium was 13-time Funny Car
champ John Force, three-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson, and rising
Pro Stock Motorcycle star Chip Ellis. Final eliminations for this $1.6
million event are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

Schumacher didn't match his run of record from Friday -- the 4.499 at
330.72 mph that earned the U.S. Army race team its eighth low qualifier
of the year and the 30th of his career -- but the 4.55 and 4.59 he did
post on Saturday prove he's a solid contender for the Brainerd title.
Kalitta ceded four points to Schumacher in qualifying eighth overall
with a 4.580. 

"This is so much fun," Schumacher said. "Last year I had a blast
watching those three Funny Cars race down to the wire for the
championship. Now it looks like we're going to have the same deal in Top
Fuel and I'm happy to be a part of it. The beginning of the year was
heartbreaking but we knew we had a car and that we'd get it going at
some point. Chasing everyone down has been a blast."

Funny Car's Ron Capps made the biggest move Saturday but his 4.778 at
320.20 mph in his Brut Dodge Charger wasn't quite enough to unseat
Friday leader Force's 4.773 at 323.74 mph. The Castrol GTX Ford Mustang
driver now has 130 No. 1 qualifying efforts, second only to Pro Stock
legend Warren Johnson's 136 No. 1 starts.

"It was very important to go down the track on that last run because it
was still in the heat," Force said. "Now we know we have a car that can
play on Sunday. We're just gonna go out and try to win the race."

Whit Bazemore, who won the Seattle race three weeks ago, failed to
qualify for this event in his Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger. 

Anderson's No. 1 starting spot marks the eighth time this year he'll
lead Pro Stock into race day. Just to make sure he'd keep the top slot,
Anderson drove his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO through an
improved 6.736 at 204.20 mph early Saturday. 

"We always say these races are won or lost at the shop," Anderson said.
"After Sonoma we were able to get in four really good days back in
Mooresville [N.C.] to work on everything and I think we actually helped
ourselves a little bit. We've certainly come into this race with a lot
of confidence, especially after the little bit of testing we were able
to do at the track by the shop."

Anderson teammate Jason Line, a fellow Minnesotan and the current points
leader, also improved slightly Saturday, posting a second-best 6.753 at
203.06 mph in his identical Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO.

Soaring humidity readings and a strong headwind kept anyone in Pro Stock
Motorcycle from challenging Ellis' Friday night pass of 7.086 at 186.41
mph. A winner of two of the last three events, Ellis has now earned five
low qualifier awards this season.

"The adjusted altitude readings showed way over 3,000 feet today," Ellis
said. "That, plus a 15-mph wind in your face makes a big difference.
We're happy with the Drag Specialties Buell right now. If we tune it up
right and I ride right we can win this deal."

Andrew Hines, who leads Ellis by 51 points and Angelle Sampey by 33
markers, moved up to second on the grid with a third-round 7.105 at
186.82 mph on his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod. Sampey and her
U.S. Army teammate and fellow title contender Antron brown both earned
top-half starting slots. Sampey is sixth with a 7.134, while Brown is
eighth with a 7.143.

Defending event champion GT Tonglet missed the field by five-thousandths
of a second.

**********

BRAINERD, Minn. -- First-round pairings for professional eliminations
Sunday for the 25th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd
International Raceway, the 16th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying,
which ended Saturday.

 
        Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 4.499 seconds, 330.72 mph  vs.
16. Joe Hartley, 4.826, 287.11; 2. Brandon Bernstein, 4.538, 325.14  vs.
15. Scott Weis, 4.744, 315.56; 3. Larry Dixon, 4.550, 323.97  vs. 14.
Doug Herbert, 4.662, 316.82; 4. Rod Fuller, 4.558, 322.42  vs. 13. Bob
Vandergriff, 4.655, 312.50; 5. Melanie Troxel, 4.564, 325.22  vs. 12.
J.R. Todd, 4.647, 313.15; 6. Cory McClenathan, 4.574, 329.42  vs. 11.
Morgan Lucas, 4.643, 313.80; 7. David Grubnic, 4.577, 323.27  vs. 10.
Hillary Will, 4.619, 322.65; 8. Doug Kalitta, 4.580, 320.36  vs. 9.
David Baca, 4.604, 321.88. 

 
        Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.773, 323.74  vs. 16.
Phil Burkart, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.924, 317.87; 2. Tony Pedregon, Monte
Carlo, 4.773, 321.04  vs. 15. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.920, 306.46;
3. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.778, 320.20  vs. 14. Bob Gilbertson,
Dodge Stratus, 4.908, 313.22; 4. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.781, 320.20
vs. 13. Bob Bode, Monte Carlo, 4.897, 308.28; 5. Tommy Johnson Jr.,
Monte Carlo, 4.796, 321.27  vs. 12. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.892,
313.88; 6. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.797, 321.12  vs. 11. Cruz Pedregon,
Monte Carlo, 4.863, 315.56; 7. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.799, 316.97  vs.
10. Jim Head, Stratus, 4.859, 317.05; 8. Mike Ashley, Stratus, 4.827,
323.19  vs. 9. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.835, 319.98. 

 
        Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.736, 204.20  vs.
16. Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 6.785, 203.00; 2. Jason Line, GTO,
6.753, 203.80  vs. 15. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.783, 202.82; 3. Larry
Morgan, Stratus, 6.762, 203.77  vs. 14. Dave Howard, Chevy Cobalt,
6.775, 203.40; 4. Tom Martino, GTO, 6.762, 203.16  vs. 13. Dave
Connolly, Cobalt, 6.772, 203.03; 5. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.764, 203.49
vs. 12. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.771, 203.31; 6. Allen Johnson, Stratus,
6.764, 203.00  vs. 11. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.771, 203.61; 7. Kurt
Johnson, Cobalt, 6.767, 203.68 vs. 10. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.768, 202.73; 8.
Tom Lee, Cobalt, 6.767, 203.25  vs. 9. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.767, 202.33.


 
        Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.086, 186.41  vs.
16. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.203, 185.26; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson,
7.105, 187.63  vs. 15. Marco Andreano, Buell, 7.194, 183.47; 3. Karen
Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.108, 187.52  vs. 14. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.186,
185.84; 4. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.119, 187.08  vs. 13. Matt Guidera,
Buell, 7.176, 183.97; 5. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.131, 185.69  vs. 12. Craig
Treble, Suzuki, 7.175, 186.67; 6. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.134, 185.59
vs. 11. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.168, 185.92; 7. Chris Rivas, Buell,
7.141,
184.95  vs. 10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.162, 185.46; 8. Antron Brown,
Suzuki, 7.143, 184.83  vs.
9. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.146, 187.34.