With a new day brought new conditions for the crew chiefs with much more favorable air conditions and the first pair of eliminations brought Bobby Marriott and Chris Trussell to the line, number two and four in points. Trussell got the jump off the line but shortly after started smoking the tires as Marriott blasted to a 4.07 at 180 mph to take the win. Trussell backed his car down as the same thing happened in the final qualifying session, but couldn’t find the traction he needed to take out Marriott, who posted his best run of the event so far.
Brad Rigler and David Purifoy were out next as Purifoy hoped to defend his title from last season by taking out the number one qualifier. Purifoy had the starting line advantage but shook early in the run and had the best seat in the house to watch Rigler click off a career best 3.95 at 180 to take the win.
Jimmy Jones and Anthony Whitfield lined up next in a good side by side drag race. Jones had the jump and held the lead all the way through, blasting down the eighth mile to a 3.99 at 179 mph but Whitfield gave him a solid run, clicking off his best pass of the event with a 4.16 at 165 mph but it came up just short at the stripe.