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UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY

News, notes, quotes, video, and photos from the third day of professional qualifying at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. 

Pro Stock Motorcycle Q4

With a significant improvement in weather conditions from Saturday to Sunday, it was nearly a given that there would be a significant improvement in performances during Q4, and for the most part, the Pro Stock Motorcycle class delivered.

Reigning world champ Gaige Herrera got a hold of the starting line for the first time in four runs and the end result was a 6.809, the quickest run of the event so far.

“We came into thie race dealing with a rules change, and for the first few runs, we struggled to get this heavy motorcycle off the starting line,” said Herrera. “I’m glad we picked up a little bit and I hope we carry that into Monday.”

Matt Smith is nipping at Herrera’s heels with a 6.816 on his Denso Buell while Saturday’s low qualifier, John Hall, remains a top contender with a consistent 6.831.

Angie Smith made a solid run with a 6.862 on her new Denso Buell, but the drama began after the finish line when a brake failure resulted in a low speed trip into the Indianapolis Raceway Park sand trap.

“I just went through the lights and had no brakes, the lever went to the handlebar,” said Smith. “I got on the back braces as much as I could. I guess the good thing is I got the motor turned off. I think we got the starting line somewhat figured out. Now we got to get the brakes figured out, but we'll get it.”

After Q4, Jianna Evaristo and Hector Arana Jr. both have locked up their spots in the Countdown to the Championship.

Pro Stock Q4

Last night, provisional No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson said that the early session will be the session today, but hold tight, we're about to find out. Eric Latino, Derrick Reese, Larry Morgan, Chris McGaha, and Kenny Delco will be focused on breaking into the 16-car field in these final two qualifying rounds. The bump spot is a 6.640 held by Deric Kramer.

Morgan and Delco both shake the tires fiercely as soon as they leave the starting line and will go into the final session outside of the pack, as will Chris McGaha, who improves but not quite enough. Latino busts in with a 6.624, 205, but that bumps out Kramer, who rattles the tires and is left on the outside as well.

What a run for Aaron Stanfield in the JHG Melling Performance Chevrolet. After Stanfield's crispy 6.598, Jeg Coughlin Jr. throws down one that matches – but Anderson absolutely blisters the track with his 6.597, 207.88. That's four more bonus points for the seven-time Indy low qualifier who is in the hunt for No. 8.

"There are a lot of hitters out here, they were giving 59s and 60s away like candy out there," said Anderson, who was more concerned with his reaction time than the e.t. "I don't know if you noticed or not, but I didn't get the win light there. But I'm going to bring my A-game tomorrow. I'll be up on the wheel."

Jerry Tucker locked up his spot in the Countdown playoffs.

Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout R1

The elite eight in Funny Car qualifying over the past calendar year saddle up for round one of the specialty event, which will pay the winner $80,000. The callouts were made Saturday morning to set the matchups. The first round also counts towards qualifying.

J.R. Todd, winner of yesterday’s Mission Challenge, kept alive his hopes for a three-win weekend by taking out Chad Green, 3.95 to 4.00. Matt Hagan advanced past Alexis DeJoria with a 3.931 after she had to step off the gas at mid-track with dropped cylinders.

Ron Capps, who won the Funny Car specialty event here back-to-back in 1998 and ’99, smoked the tires and fell to Paul Lee’s 4.01. Lee’s engine appeared to let go in the lights with a brief flash of flame. Bob Tasca III had the second quickest run of the round with a 3.933 after Cruz Pedregon, who’s never won a Funny Car specialty event here (four runner-ups), smoked the tires.

With low e.t. of the round, Hagan had his choice of the remaining three drivers in the semifinals and called out Lee, leaving Tasca to take on Todd.

Funny Car Q4

As the qualifying sessions begin to dwindle, there are probably a lot of chewed fingernails in the pits, especially for those not yet in. With 18 cars on the grounds, two will go home early tonight.

Buddy Hull, making his first Funny Car start at Indy for past U.S. Nationals-winning car owner Jim Dunn, got off the bump and up to No. 14 with a 4.046, which put Chris King on the bump.

King, who damaged the windshield on his car on his first shot Saturday had his crew drive back to Chicago to pick up a spare and worked all morning to install it, and was rewarded with a 4.131, not better than his Friday 4.079, but still a morale booster.

Justin Schriefer’s woes continued in Q4 as he first didn’t make a good burnout and then banged the blower on the launch. He'll have one more shot to crack into the field. Ditto for Dave Richards,, whose Q4 run ended early. He sits 17th with a 4.105 best.

Austin Prock, who came into the session as the field leader, had the best run of the round with a 3.925, Alongside him, Daniel Wilkerson had a heartstopping moment with a flaming finish to his pass.

"It seemed fine to me and then it blew up in my lap," said Wilkerson. "Funny Cars are cool though, they do that [stuff]to you. It's a shame we jacked up our Jackal body because it's a cool car, but we've got a good Scag body back at the trailer and we'll diagnose. I'm pretty sure I know what happened, but we'll diagnose, see if I'm right, and we'll drag another one out for Q4."

After Q4, Jack Beckman (for John Force) and Ron Capps officially locked up their spots in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Top Fuel Q4

The real drama coming into the second-to-last Top Fuel qualifying was the plight of points leader Doug Kalitta and his second-place teammate, Shawn Langdon, neither of whom was in the field. Langdon looked to be on his way to rectifying that until the three-time Indy winner's car started dropping cylinders and then banged the blower and his 3.821 fell .007-second shy of the bump spot, which is held by Jasmine Salinas at 3.814.

"That run it felt good early, then I felt it lay over a little bit, and as soon as I felt it lay over it popped," Langdon said. "The team's done a fantastic job, and I have all the faith in the world. We've got one more run so we'll go to Q5 and we'll get in the show, and go from there."

Behind him, Kalitta puffed the tires and also didn't make it in. much to the surprise of tuner Alan Johnson. But no one with any Indy knowledge should count his car out. Johnson has eight U.S. Nationals wins with four different drivers. His most recent triumph came in 2013 with Shawn Langdon in the car and he’s also won Indy with Tony Schumacher ( 2003, ’04, ’06, ’07, and ’08), Gary Scelzi (1998), and Larry Dixon (2010).

People with good memories also will remember that last year's Top Fuel winner, Antron Brown, wasn't in the field until Q5, so there's that.

Krista Baldwin, who also was on the outside looking in, also had a good pass going before the engine went sour at the top end and her 3.87 won’t help.

Justin Ashley, looking for his first U.S. Nationals win, had the best run of the round, a 3.778. His crew chief, Mike Green, has won Indy before as a tuner for Tony Schumacher. Defending event champ Brown put down a solid 3.80 that crew chief Brian Corradi was solely a tune-up for Monday's eliminations and not an attempt to go for No. 1, which would have been a big ask anyway under the conditions.

With one session and Monday to go, Tony Stewart and Clay Millican also secured their spots in the Countdown playoffs.

Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout R2

This semifinal round does not count towards U.S. Nationals qualifying but will set the matchup for the final-round battle for the $80,000 first prize.

Bob Tasca III rides his Dark Horse Mustang into the final round, ending J.R. Todd's bid for a weekend three-peat with a 3.97 after the DHL Toyota breaks traction at mid-track.

Tasca will face off for the big bucks with Paul Lee, who eked out a win over Matt Hagan by just .006-second. It's a pretty amazing occurrence for Lee, who only is in the field because John Force was not able to compete in the event. Lee's 3.968 to 3.972 victory will also earn him lane choice over Tasca when the final round is run during Q5.

***

Pro Stock Motorcycle Q5

For most teams, the theme for the final round of Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying appeared to be “let’s get ready for Monday” as there were few improvements in the 16-bike field. The exceptions were Hector Arana Jr. and Steve Johnson who each made their best runs of the weekend. Arana Jr. rode his GETTRX Buell to a 6.864 while Johnson ran a 6.954 on his Suzuki.

The quickest run of the round went to Gaige Herrera with a 6.850. Herrer grabbed the top spot for the fifth time this season and 19th time in his career which spans just slightly more than two years.

John Hall, winner of Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, was third quickest with a 6.875 on his Denso Buell.

Herrera will race Wes Wells in round one while No. 2 qualifier Matt Smith will have Ron “the Rat” Tornow and Hall will be paired with Marc Ingwersen.

After a trip into the Lucas Oil Raceway sand trap earlier today, Angie Smith elected to sit out the final run in order to prepare for Monday’s final eliminations. Smith finished as the No. 6 qualifier and will take on two-time Indy winner Johnson in round one.

Pro Stock Q5

Heading into the final session of qualifying at this, the most critical race of the regular season, there are five Pro Stock drivers yet to solidify a spot to race on Monday at the U.S. Nationals. Camrie Caruso is on the bump with a 6.628, 205.72, and this being her first race back after her Phoenix crash, she is intent on getting to race the Big Jeff Audio Chevrolet on Monday at the Big Go.

The conditions are moving into unfavorable territory, and it seems unlikely we'll be seeing improvement here for many, though. Kenny Delco, Larry Morgan, Derrick Reese, Chris McGaha, and Deric Kramer did not make the field, but Camrie Caruso will get her shot at a U.S. Nationals trophy.

Cristian Cuadra, currently No. 8 in the Pro Stock points, hasn't raced all of the events this year – that means he is not guaranteed a position to battle for the championship and will have to lock into the top 10 this weekend. With Kramer and Chris McGaha, the closest to him in the points, locked out of the U.S. Nationals field, his path to the Countdown to the Championship is looking brighter.

Yet again, it's Greg Anderson and his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet at the top of the pack – his 6.602 seals the deal on sweeping all of the top points in qualifying, and he'll start No. 1 for the 127th time in his career and fifth time this season.

As Anderson was making his steady journey down the quarter-mile, reigning world champion Erica Enders was right beside him again. Her 6.621 was fourth best of the session for a bonus point. Not only is her JHG/Melling Performance Camaro generating results, her driving has been tuned up as well.

"This is the time of year that I love, when my guys' backs are against the wall they do great and I thrive under pressure," said Enders. "I'm just thankful. I've been driving a lot better, and that gives me a little bit more confidence."

Funny Car Q5

The final session for the fuel coupes starts with a 4.079 bump spot with Chris King in the final spot and Justin Schriefer and Dave Richards on the outside looking in. 

King is unable to make the call due to a stripped thread on a head stud, leaving him vulnerable, but he's on the starting line watching intently. Schriefer’s recalcitrant racecar fights him again and he DNQs, leaving all the drama to Richards, but he misses, too, with a 4.38, so King and his Bob Peck-tuned Competition Products/Howards Cams team will race for the U.S. Nationals title for the first time.

"I am ecstatic and so proud of my guys," said King. "We're the little guys with no budget and we're here on the biggest stage!"

Some great runs followed all that, including a surprising 3.89 for Daniel Wilkerson (whose team was able to repair the Jackal Scag body after all) that jumped him to th eNo. 5 spot. Matt Hagan also made his best run of qualifying with a 3.908 that, most importantly, moved him into the No. 8 spot with first-riund lane choice.

J.R. Todd's 3.98 didn't make much of a splash until you realize that it was the DHL Toyota team's fifth straight three-second pass; the only other Funny Car driver who can make that claim at this race is low qualifier Austin Prock.

Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout Final

The big-money payout turns into a coasting match as the machines of both Paul Lee and Bob Tasca III are out of power well before the stripe, and Lee lights the win lamp with a 4.24 at just 234 mph to Tasca's 4.25 at just 222 mph. It's a very nice birthday present for Lee's crew, Jonnie Lindberg.

Top Fuel Q5

All eyes will be on Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon, Nos. 1 and 2 in the points, and whether they can bump their way past Jasmine Salinas' 3.814 bump spot. If not, it would be a terrible disappointment for two guys who have dominated the regular season and who have climbed the highest mountain with wins at this event in the past.

After both Krista Baldwin and Lex Joon failed to make the cut on their final attempts, Doug Kalitta ran 3.793 to qualify. That was the good news. The bad news was it put him on the bump spot with Langdon still to come, and the math said that both Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuelers won't qualify.

It took just 3.784 seconds for Langdon to make the world champ a Monday spectator, his first DNQ since the fall Las Vegas in 2010, a span of 301 events.

But, like Kalitta, Langdon's run was only good enough to put him on the bump, with Jasmine Salinas still to come, but Salinas' car loses traction early and the Top Fuel rookie suffers her first Pro DNQ. It also ends her admittedly longshot bid to make the Countdown to the Championship playoffs and probably puts a bit of a dent in her chances to win the Rookie of the Year award,

Tripp Tatum, whose gold-accented black fueler is tuned by John Stewart and Dom Lagana, had the best run of the final session, a 3.747 to go with his earlier 3.729, which raised some eyebrows on the starting line. Antron Brown was next best with a 3.771 (he earned bonus points in four of five sessions) while Steve Torrence ran a 3.773 that, while impressive, did not get him out of a first-round date with his father, Billy. "We're living in self-inflicted futility," summarized co-crew chief Bobby Lagana Jr.

Brittany Force stayed No. 1 but won't have an easy draw in round one with Shawn Langdon.

Let's get ready for raceday!