Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) paced the field on Friday night and hoped to hold their lead on Saturday. Greg Anderson and Jerry Savoie were able to hold on the top spots but Beckman and Dixon could stay on top as Matt Hagen (Funny Car) and Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) grabbed poles in Saturday qualifying.
Funny Car
Jack Beckman paced the field Friday night with his 3.946 ET, 323.43 mph. But it would not hold up on Saturday.
Matt Hagan posted the best time in the first session Saturday with a 3.924 ET / 327.27 mph. Beckman dropped to fourth place with Del Worsham passing him for second place and Tommy Johnson Jr came in third.
Ron Capps who had a great run disqualified Friday night when he hit a center line cone was able to recover Saturday with a qualifying run 3.973 ET/ 322.50 mph. He is in 5th place.
“Glad I could keep in the groove today,” said Capps. “We got a good cart this year and its got to be fun.”
Top Fuel
Larry Dixon jumped the Top Fuel to capture the Friday top spot with his 3.756 ET, 328.06 track setting record.
“It was the best run of the day, so great job by by Mike Guger [crew chief] and the team, said Dixon.
Larry Dixon, Friday night at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Dixon was not able to improve on his Friday night run but he held on to the top qualifying spot for the weekend. Doug Kalitta moved up one spot from third to second Saturday with his 3.763 ET / 323.43 mph. Antron Brown also moved up a spot Saturday to third place with his 3.765 ET/ 322.96 mph run.
But in the final session Friday, Steve Torrence raced to the pole with his track record time of 3.781 at 328.22 mph. This was his first No 1 qualifier position of the season.
“It was unbelievable,” said Torrence. “The car has run really well all weekend.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Gerry Savoie the Friday points leader held on to the top stop with his first session Saturday pass down Gateway’s straight track. Andrew Hines moved into second place for the weekend with a 6.842 ET / 196.47 mph. Steve Johnson also moved up with at 6.852, 195.34.
Pro Stock
Greg Anderson had the top time after Friday night with his 6.513 ET, 213.27 mph. His Friday time held up as no competitor was able to beat his time in the 1st Saturday qualifying session. Bot Butner jumped from 5th to 2nd with his 6.502 ET / 212.73 mph run. Erica Enders, season Pro Stock points leader, improved her time from Friday night but still ended up in third behind Butner.
The top three remained the same after the second Saturday qualifying session.
“It’s been a great day in St. Louis, and I’ll tell you what, I’ve always liked this racetrack,” said Anderson Friday night, a four-time finalist who has one previous win at the facility, which was earned in 2004.
“This racetrack is great, and it seems to be right up Pro Stock’s alley, ” said Anderson. “It’s almost silly how fast it is, and wow, it’s sure enjoyable to drive. I’m having a ball; I just need to apply that to Sunday. I need to get some round-wins and do a better job on race day, but as far as qualifying goes, I couldn’t be happier.”
Anderson continues to track down season points leader Eric Enders who currently has a three-race winning streak. She is also trying to win consecutive Pro Stock world championship.
Erica Enders Made History Last Week
Erica Enders made history at the last race at Charlotte when she passed racing legend Shirley Muldowney’s career win total with her 19th victory last Sunday.
“Passing Shirley was too much to even wrap my head around,” said Enders. She was the person I wanted to be when I grew up and to see her name next to mine is surreal. And then she was one of the first people to call me and say, ‘Good job.’ It’s very special and means more to me than you’ll ever know.”
Enders is a two time champion at Gateway Motorsports Park and just came up short last year.
“I’ve never been shy to say St. Louis is one of my favorite tracks,” Enders said. “I had some success there in the Sportsman days and got my only Countdown win in 2013 there. It’s just an exciting, fun place to race. We recently tested there before Indy, so we got some good data for that facility. I’m excited to go back, especially off the successful three weeks we’ve had.”
SCHEDULE:
Sunday, Sept. 27 – Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
MELLO YELLO SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Sunday, Sept. 27, ESPN2 will televise three hours and 30 minutes of elimination coverage starting at 8:30 p.m. (ET).
2014 EVENT WINNERS: Antron Brown, Top Fuel; Courtney Force, Funny Car; Dave Connolly, Pro Stock; Jerry Savoie, Pro Stock Motorcycle.