Weekend Update

Friday was a record-breaking day at Rockingham Dragway at the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Simpson Dragstock VII, as several drivers did their best to rewrite history.

Frankie Taylor re-established his place as the fastest man in the ADRL as he went a blistering 3.596 at 210.64 miles per hour to jump to the No. 1 qualifying spot through three qualifying rounds in Pro Extreme, with one more session scheduled for Saturday. Taylor accomplished the record by going 3.61 in his first pass. He topped that on a solo run on his next trip, bringing the huge crowd at Rockingham to its feet. "It felt good. To do it with the sun out was pretty cool," Taylor said. "I wanted to be the first in the 50s, so that's pretty cool, too. I'm very happy and this is pretty exciting."

With a 42-car record-entry Pro Nitrous field that also became the quickest Pro Nitrous field in ADRL history (3.97), several other drivers stood out en route to qualifying in the top spot after day one. Shannon Jenkins went 3.813 to climb to the top, while Dan Millen (3.882 in Extreme 10.5), Ashley Owens (4.022 in Pro Extreme Motorcycle), Brian Gahm (4.062 in Extreme Pro Stock) and Janna Vogler (Pro Junior Dragster) were all top qualifiers. Jenkins, Millen and Owens all ran the quickest times in ADRL history in their respective classes and they will become world E.T. records if they can back it up on Saturday.

Still on Friday, Joshua Hernandez went 3.65 to qualify second, while Jason Scruggs went 3.66 in his third pass to move to the third position. Jenkins dropped to the No. 2 position momentarily after Jim Halsey went 3.84 in Pro Nitrous. But the "Iceman" responded like he usually does, going 3.813 at 198.38 mph to bump Halsey back to second.

"I saw Jim go .84 and just said 'Here we go.' I just got mean with (the car)," Jenkins said. After driving teammate Mike Castellana's car to a win in St. Louis in August, Jenkins looked impressive in his own car, which was back in Jenkins' hands for the first time after his crash in July. The amazing thing is Jenkins thinks it has more potential for Saturday.

Millen had a day to remember in Extreme 10.5, making three 3-second passes, the first of which made him the fifth and final member of the Mickey Thompson 3-Second Club. The Al-Anabi Racing driver celebrated that moment, but then finished the day even better, going 3.882 at 203.09 mph to take the top qualifying spot.