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Robert Hight (AP Photo/NHRA, Mac Gewertz)
All eyes continued to be focused on the Top Fuel battle between Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon, as Schumacher hopes to continue the trend of the past five seasons.
Schumacher came into the Auto Club NHRA Finals at the Fairplex with a single point advantage over Dixon. In Thursday's qualifying Schumacher took a two-point lead with a top time of 3.832 seconds at 316.52 mph. Dixon followed with a 3.833 at 314.31. Doug Kalitta ran third at 3.836, with Cory McClenathan logging a fourth at 3.838.
"I just like that I doubled my lead," Schumacher said. "You can't say that very often. It was good. The car was a handful. We have been just missing. But it ran great."
The other provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 24th and final race in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for 2009 were Robert Hight (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Karen Stoffer (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Hight nearly sealed the deal on his first NHRA Full Throttle Series, World Championship in Funny Car with a 4.093 at 309.34. He entered the weekend with a 105-point lead over Ashley Force Hood. If he holds a 101-point or more lead through qualifying, he will clinch the title.
In Pro Stock, Edwards’s situation mirrored Hight’s with regard to moving closer to his first NHRA Full Throttle Series championship. His 6.637 at 209.46 mph topped the field. He will be awarded the championship in Pro Stock once points are given after the fourth and final round of qualifying on Saturday.
If Edwards maintains the top spot, it would be his 16th No. 1 of the season, matching the all-time, single-season high in NHRA history set by Greg Anderson in 2004.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Stoffer was fastest with a 6.982-second pass at 191.70 mph.
Cowen taken to hospital for observation
Toward the end of the day, Competition Eliminator racer, Jim Cowan, from Dewey, AZ., missed the green and then ran well, until after the 1,000-foot lights. The car went hard into the guardrail, throwing the front-end body pieces into the air. The car went backwards across the track, hitting the right wall before coasts to a stop in the middle of the track
Cowen was able to get out of the car under his own power but was transported to the hospital for observation after complaining of lower back pain
Qualifying resumes Friday and Saturday with Rounds 2-4 before the 16-car fields are set for Sunday's final eliminations.
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Janelle Jalbert is a fan of a variety of racing formats and equally enjoys the history of the sport. Janelle grew up in an auto mechanic’s family and swears that there is carb spray running through her veins. She can be reached via email for both comments and story ideas. You can follow Janelle as the Southern California Motorsports Examiner on Twitter as @SoCalMotorsport.
Janelle also serves as the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner. Feel free to join the discussion about the hard racing in the CWTS at the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner fan page on Facebook
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