“Nitro Nick” Poloson (near lane) and Raymond Dawson.

Who else would tow up and be the first pair out besides Dawson and Poloson as the pressure was on and it was time to fire them up. Dawson's Danny Wright tuned blown alcohol car came to life alongside Poloson's Tom Wood tuned nitro burner. Not only the win light, but the numbers were also key here as the two quickest winners without going under the cap would advance to the final round. The cars were off the line together, but Poloson had issues early and could do nothing but watch Dawson blast to a 4.12 at 144 mph win.

Eric Buchanan

Mary Reep and Eric Buchanan were up next and this one ended early with a -.183 red light by Buchanan. Reep laid down a solid 4.02 at 184 mph in the "Grim Reeper" for the win. Mark Billington was out next lined up with Mark Bowman. Billington took a huge starting line advantage and obliterated the scoreboards with a 3.67 at 199 mph, impressive, but not a final round ticket as he ran well under the cap. Jimmy Jones and Clint Cross fired up as eliminations continued and despite a pedal job, Jones' 4.56 at 161 mph took the win over Cross' 4.98 early shutoff run.