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Courtney Force, Antron Brown and Bo Butner head Friday qualifying at Phoenix

Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park saw Force set a track record in Funny Car as Top Fuel champ Antron Brown and Bo Butner (Pro Stock) headed their respective categories.

Courtney Force

Courtney Force

NHRA

After setting her track record time of 3.930 seconds at 323.97mph in her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro, Force attributed her pace to preseason testing at Wild Horse Pass.

“Once we got the car figured out, we were running pretty consistent in the threes, so I was excited to come back to this track. We felt comfortable here, and we made good runs.

“I just love getting [the car] down to the other end of the racetrack, and I definitely think it’s getting my team motivated, so we’ll see what we can do with it.”

Defending Top Fuel champion Brown led Top Fuel qualifying with a 3.765 at 319.45 in his Matco Tools dragster.

“It felt pretty good to sneak out with that second-round run,” said Brown, whose machine lost traction on his first qualifying attempt. “We thought that someone would run better than our [3.76] because we were the first pair down the racetrack.

“You can’t sleep on any of these cars out here because they’ll take your lunch,” added Brown, acknowledging Kalitta and Tony Schumacher’s presence close behind. “We’ve just got to keep putting that work in.”

Butner was quickest in Pro Stock, clocking a 6.618 at 208.88 in his Jim Butner Auto Sales Camaro that held up through two rounds, holding off Greg Anderson by .06-second. He was also the top qualifier after Friday at the Winternationals in Pomona.

Since the season opener, Butner and his team have taken the time to really work on the car, and he hopes to secure his first career No. 1 qualifying position in only his 19th Pro Stock start.

“The guys worked on some motor stuff, and it shows,” Butner said. “I think there’s a whole lot left for us, and there’s a whole lot left in the whole class. We’re going to keep chipping away at it and try to widen the gap.”

Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying :

Top Fuel  1. Antron Brown, 3.765 seconds, 319.45 mph; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.771, 323.12; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.772, 322.19; 4. Dave Connolly, 3.794, 309.34; 5. Brittany Force, 3.800, 320.05; 6. J.R. Todd, 3.806, 323.12; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.812, 322.50; 8. Leah Pritchett, 3.859, 314.31; 9. Richie Crampton, 3.865, 302.14; 10. Troy Buff, 3.869, 281.19; 11. Terry McMillen, 3.935, 286.07; 12. Clay Millican, 4.091, 227.69.  Not Qualified: 13. Scott Palmer, 4.269, 213.87; 14. Shawn Langdon, 6.057, 113.26.

Funny Car1. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.930, 323.97; 2. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.954, 320.89; 3. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.959, 319.22; 4. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.965, 318.77; 5. John Force, Camaro, 3.973, 321.12; 6. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.973, 319.14; 7. Chad Head, Toyota Camry, 3.976, 314.31; 8. Del Worsham, Camry, 3.980, 316.52; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.995, 315.64; 10. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.030, 318.17; 11. James Campbell, Charger, 4.067, 289.20; 12. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.086, 302.08.  Not Qualified: 13. John Hale, 4.183, 303.09; 14. Alexis DeJoria, 4.651, 177.58.

Pro Stock  1. Bo Butner, Chevy Camaro, 6.618, 208.88; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.624, 207.72; 3. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.649, 207.85; 4. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.650, 207.94; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Dodge Dart, 6.664, 207.50; 6. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.674, 206.83; 7. Erica Enders, Dart, 6.689, 208.26; 8. Joey Grose, Camaro, 6.715, 206.51; 9. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.722, 207.59; 10. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.772, 206.95; 11. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.829, 208.17; 12. V. Gaines, Dart, 7.237, 204.91.

Not Qualified: 13. Matt Hartford, 7.638, 164.33.

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