Mary Reep

Mark Bowman's "Blown Income" lined up with Kinsley in the "Nitro Junkie" to start off the action as Bowman clicked off a nice and clean 4.13 at 175 mph to Kinsley's 4.35 at 154 mph. Mary Reep picked up where she left off last season, living in the three second zone, with a strong 3.90 at 176 mph in the "Grim Reeper". Bobby Marriott posted a smooth 4.05 at 165 in the "Shockwave" while Jimmy Jones bested that with a 4.03 at 147 mph in the "Texas Tremor".

Chris Trussell (Jason Bryant photo)

As the first qualifying session continued, Chris Trussell blasted to a 3.97 at 182 mph in the "Assassin" which was upped by Howard Farris' 3.92 at 201 mph in the "War Wagon" in the following pair. Aaron Leyda's 4.08 in the Dale Wilkens-owned and -tuned "Hemi Hunter" out of Kansas put that team solidly in the field as the session wrapped up and cars returned to the pits for final qualifying preparations.