Later in the session, Kris Krabill grabbed the provisional #1 qualifying position by running a leading 6.008 elapsed time at 242.78 MPH. Mendy Fry drove “McCain’s Bomb Squad” Duster (shown) to the second slot with a strong 6.383 in the same lane Beckman had crashed. Rookie Garrett Bateman managed an off-pace 6.784 for the number three slot.  With weather getting colder, the second round of qualifying was moved to Saturday morning in hopes that the left lane would improve.

Beckman returned to Sacramento Raceway for Saturday’s racing and spent much of his time on the announcer’s microphone adding color and insight. The qualifying session brought out some improvement in the ranks as well as some career bests, but the drivers found them only in the right lane. Fry moved ahead of Krabill’s 6.008 with her 6.003/235.60-mph charge to lead all qualifiers going into eliminations. 

Unfortunately attrition bit the already short field, leaving Mike Halstead on the trailer with engine damage and Jim Adolph with a large chunk of fiberglass missing from the side of Bob McIntire's unpainted '69 Camaro flopper.

Although it should have been a bye run for #1 qualifier Mendy Fry, instead she squared off against #14 Dennis LaCharite in his “Back in Black” ’69 GTO. LaCharite has been improving with help from tuner Spike Gorr but was no match for Fry’s first foray into the 5’s with a 5.963 at 239.92 mph to the GTO’s 6.290. 

Mike Savage, driving a replica of a legendary Candies & Hughes Barracuda, defeated a red-lighting Bucky Austin with Savage running a 6.603.