by Candida Benson, NHRA.com
Antron Brown took over the top spot on the Top Fuel ladder during the single qualifying run Saturday at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. The other three classes remained unchanged with Ashley Force Hood (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock), and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) staying in front. Interestingly, all four low qualifiers lead their fields in No. 1 starts this season (Brown, Force Hood, and Edwards hold that distinction on their own, while Arana is tied with Andrew Hines for the most).

(Left to right) Crew chief Darian Grubb and Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice Swagger Chevrolet, talk on the grid Monday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. Their strategy forBy Reid Spencer (Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service)
LONG POND, Pa.— As it turned out, Denny Hamlin was right ... but not without a struggle, and not without a heavy heart.

Having said Friday that he expected to win the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway, Hamlin charged to the front from the sixth position with 13th laps left in Monday’s rain-postponed race and ended a 50-race drought in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

After beating Juan Pablo Montoya to the checkered flag by .869 seconds, Hamlin wept in victory lane, overcome with emotion in the aftermath of the recent deaths of his grandmother, Thelma Clark, and the mother of tire specialist Patrick Mullen at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Mechanicsburg, PA—July 24, 2009—It's no secret that the Pennsylvania Posse were at the top of their game in May when the World of Outlaws made their first stop of the season at the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and defended their turf, picking up nine of the Top-10 spots in the final rundown, including the win, with Greg Hodnett, who was the World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year in 1993, coming out on top.

by Phil Burgess, NHRA.com
Larry Dixon, Mike Neff, Greg Anderson, and Andrew Hines finished qualifying atop their fields Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk. The event is the 12th of the 24-race 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and marks the midpoint of the season schedule.

Anderson, disappointed by being denied in the final round of the K&N Horsepower Challenge, at least had the satisfaction of putting his Summit Pontiac atop the Pro Stock pack at his sponsor's event at the racetrack that bears their name and to have teammate Jason Line third. Hines, too, had to be proud as he and teammate Eddie Krawiec also finished the day Nos. 1 and 3.

Dixon and crew chief Jason McCulloch remained atop the Top Fuel field with a steady dominance that included the only three-second pass on a hot and tricky track. Although their 3.979 in the first session was almost a tenth shy of their Friday-leading 3.882 with the Al-Anabi machine, they were the class of the field.

by Candida Benson, NHRA.com
Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Ashley Force Hood (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Motorcycle) paced their respective fields during the opening day of action at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals, the 11th of 24 races on the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule.

Force Hood is very familiar with the top spot in the flopper class; she enters the Englishtown event with three No. 1 starts — Atlanta, Bristol, and Topeka — in the last five events. Surprisingly, Schumacher has not yet qualified No. 1 this season, but he is well on his way to doing so after he led both of Friday’s sessions. Johnson and Treble are also seeking their first top starts of the 2009 season.

Though he has three wins this season, Schumacher is lacking a No. 1 start, but after a strong Friday showing in Englishtown, it looks likely that will change. After opening the day with a 3.932 that was best of the first Top Fuel session, Schumacher wheeled his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.818 in the night session to take the top spot heading into Saturday.