NASCAR and NHRA in the Desert
By: Drew Hierwarter
There will be lots of racing in the desert this weekend but not the kind you might think. Ryan Newman will be starting from the pole at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday night. It’s Newman’s forty third pole which ties him with legendary driver Buck Baker for tenth on the all time list. It’s his fourth pole at Phoenix. The first three coming consecutively from 2002 to 2004. Newman beat Elliott Sadler by a mere .009 seconds. Carl Edwards will start from third place followed by Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne. The green flag drops on the “Subway Fresh Fit 500″ on Saturday night from Phoenix.
There’s more desert racing on tap several hundred miles to the North-West as the NHRA will be in action on the “The Strip at Las Vegas”. Things are wide open in the Funny Car points. Cruz Pedregon has the point lead for the first time since 1998, and seven different drivers have reached the finals in just the first four races contested so far this year. Del Worsham, after failing to qualify for the first two races, ended a two year drought with his win in at Houston. So it’s anybody’s game at this point in the year. In Top Fuel Tony Schumacher leads Larry Dixon by only eight points and Pro Stock is even tighter than that with Greg Anderson in front of Jeg Coughlin by only three markers.
Qualifying in Las Vegas starts today with final eliminations on Sunday. So be sure to check your local listings and catch some of the racing from the desert this weekend.