Also in the first round, Oklahoma racer Fred Farndon had a chute malfunction and hit the sand pit at speed and actually broke the restraining cable, but the car stopped and Farndon’s only injury was to his wallet as his Mopar F/C was basically destroyed.

Second round qualifying came just 90 minutes after the first round. The Funny Car tuners were licking their chops going into this round of qualifying because of the atmospheric conditions and a perfectly prepped track made for a chance for a record or a personal best speed and/or ET.

Defending IHRA Nitro Funny Car Champ Mike McIntire went from a DNQ to the number-two spot on the qualifying list with an impressive 5.684/2560.12 effort.

Former IHRA Champ Jason Rupert joined the 5.60 group with a 5.699/252.81 of his own. That put the champs in the second and third spot behind Romine. Also going from not qualified to qualified was Shawn Bowen in the “Violator.”

Canadian Tim Boychuk was on the bump with a remarkable 5.872/246.04.