Bernstein, Force, Anderson, and Brown Earn No. 1 Qualifying Positions at Atlanta Dragway

COMMERCE, Ga. -- Third-year pro Brandon Bernstein secured his first No. 1 qualifying award of the season Saturday to lead the Top Fuel category at the 26th annual Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The son of legendary drag racer Kenny Bernstein was joined by fellow top qualifiers John Force (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Antron Brown (Pro Stock Motorcycle) at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event.

Bernstein earned his ninth career No. 1 qualifying position with his 4.521 at 328.06 mph performance from Friday, and also posted the quickest run Saturday, with a 4.540-second effort.

"It really seems like Tim [Richards, crew chief] has found something," said Bernstein. "He can tune this Budweiser/Lucas Oil car to do what he wants, it seems, no matter if it's sunny or cool. As a driver, it's such a good feeling to know that if you cut a good light and do your job you have a great chance to win the race."

Force's 4.686 at 329.58 performance from Friday's second session stood and the 28-year racing veteran now has four low qualifier awards this year in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang and 129 in his career.

"It's good to run in the heat today," Force said of his 4.809 in Saturday's final qualifying session. "But I see [point leader Ron] Capps over there and he's going straight down the alley every time, just like he has all year. Getting low E.T. is great, but it don't mean a thing if you go home early tomorrow. We got a good hot rod but tomorrow's a new day."

Pro Stock's Anderson earned his fifth No. 1 position of the season and 45th of his career with a 6.704 at 205.22 mph in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO.

"Last night's run came at the right time," Anderson said. "There are a lot of guys and girls running strong right now in this class. Even so, the last 13 elimination ladders have been led by a Summit Racing car. If I don't get it done, Jason [Line, teammate] does. It's a real credit to our team because it isn't easy."

Brown raced to a track-record 7.080 at 188.28 on his U.S. Army Suzuki to claim his first No. 1 qualifying effort of the season in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

"Yet again, this U.S. Army team got the job done," Brown said. "I'm really pumped up for tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be my turn in victory lane."

Eliminations start Sunday at 11 a.m.

COMMERCE, Ga. -- First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 26th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac at Atlanta Dragway, the seventh of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel -- 1. Brandon Bernstein, 4.521 seconds, 328.06 mph vs. 16. Michael Gunderson, 4.735, 316.82; 2. Doug Kalitta, 4.529, 328.30 vs. 15. David Baca, 4.635, 319.45; 3. Rod Fuller, 4.535, 327.74 vs. 14. Clay Millican, 4.625, 315.19; 4. Melanie Troxel, 4.541, 327.03 vs. 13. Bob Vandergriff, 4.613, 322.81; 5. Hillary Will, 4.552, 319.52 vs. 12. Scott Weis, 4.608, 316.67; 6. Larry Dixon, 4.559, 329.10 vs. 11. David Grubnic, 4.600, 324.90; 7. Tony Schumacher, 4.562, 321.81 vs. 10. Cory McClenathan, 4.580, 327.66; 8. Doug Herbert, 4.563, 324.75 vs. 9. Morgan Lucas, 4.571, 321.19.

Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.686, 329.58 vs. 16. Tommy Johnson Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.875, 321.50; 2. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.698, 325.61 vs. 15. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.856, 315.42; 3. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.730, 328.70 vs. 14. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.853, 317.87; 4. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.734, 318.54 vs. 13. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.842, 313.51; 5. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Charger, 4.744, 328.78 vs. 12. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.829, 318.47; 6. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.746, 320.74 vs. 11. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.819, 319.52; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.747, 318.24 vs. 10. Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.803, 319.14; 8. Whit Bazemore, Charger, 4.780, 317.27 vs. 9. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.797, 318.02.

Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.704, 205.22 vs. 16. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.754, 204.35; 2. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.714, 205.19 vs. 15. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.753, 203.92; 3. Jason Line, GTO, 6.724, 205.19 vs. 14. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.748, 205.04; 4. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.724, 204.51 vs. 13. Mike Thomas, Dodge Stratus, 6.747, 204.35; 5. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.726, 205.04 vs. 12. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.746, 205.13; 6. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.726, 204.32 vs. 11. Rickie Smith, GTO, 6.746, 205.19; 7. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.734, 205.79 vs. 10. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.745, 204.63; 8. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.739, 204.73 vs. 9. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.741, 204.79.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.080, 188.28 vs. 16. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.179, 184.77; 2. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.083, 189.07 vs. 15. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.176, 187.36; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.084, 187.16 vs. 14. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.155, 187.47; 4. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.104, 184.77 vs. 13. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.143, 187.83; 5. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.107, 188.33 vs. 12. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.140, 188.96; 6. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.110, 186.15 vs. 11. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.136, 188.20; 7. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.111, 188.07 vs. 10. Marco Andreano, Buell, 7.124, 186.79; 8. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.113, 188.94 vs. 9. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.114, 185.82.