Number-two qualifier Quain Stott models what the fashionable Pro Extreme driver will be wearing this season. The hat is a gift from the Swearingen team and meant to complement the purple hue on Stott's '63 Corvette. (Ian Tocher photo)

1. Jason Scruggs 3.859/196.76 (Track records)
2. Quain Stott 3.883/194.89
3. Troy Critchley 3.894/192.55
4. Bennie McDonald Jr.  3.903/187.97
5. Joshua Hernandez 3.970/190.03
6. Bubba Stanton 3.978/185.11
7. Joe Baker 4.000/189.23
8. Bil Clanton 4.008/180.65
9. Michael Neal 4.013/180.72
10. Travis Swearingen 4.070/184.80
11. Hugh Scott 4.107/178.57
12. Kelly Martin 4.108/180.65
13. Greg Holt 4.114/167.04
14. Brian Daniels 4.114/178.22
15. Todd Tutterow 4.141/173.95
16. Bryan Dyar 4.184/166.36

Joey Martin (shown) stepped in this morning to drive defending Pro Nitrous champ Keith Baker's second car, but mustered only a 4.173-seconds pass at 173.54 mph that was good enough only for 19th place. Baker also struggled in his '63 Vette and suffered a rare DNQ. (Ian Tocher photo)

1. Greg Godwin 4.084/177.65 (track record ET for nitrous car)
2. Tom Myers 4.100/177.30
3. Charles Carpenter 4.105/179.43
4. Steve Vick 4.112/178.71
5. Johnny Pilcher 4.112/177.87
6. John Deflorian 4.113/177.94
7. Doug Riesterer 4.116/173.74
8. Harold Martin 4.121/180.00
9. Stan Allen 4.128/178.01
10. Mike Lockwood 4.135/178.57
11. Rod Houck 4.143/174.28
12. Billy Harper 4.145/175.30
13. Randy Weatherford 4.145/176.54
14. Jamie Hancock 4.154/175.99
15. Terry Housley 4.159/166.48
16. Shanon Jenkins 4.161/177.03

1. Mike Hill 4.383/169.24
2. Steve Gorman 4.449/161.99
3. Kenny Kneece 4.449/162.93
4. Bill Jewett 4.490/165.99
5. Michael Neal 4.496/165.08
6. Michelle Wilson 4.609/155.01
7. Rodney Rosensteil 4.630/163.22
8. Alex Viscardi 4.663/152.54

1. C. Thomas 4.389/163.64
2. A. Owens 4.392/162.51
3. J. Young 4.398/163.40
4. B. Vose 4.406/160.83
5. T. Wynn 4.420/158.67
6. S. Gray 4.424/158.01
7. B. Yarbrough 4.438/157.95
8. S. Drake 4.453/160.09
9. M. Thompson 4.463/161.64
10. C. Wilkerson 4.464/159.07
11. L. Grist 4.482/159.74
12. C. Prophit 4.504/159.01
13. R. Holder 4.516/157.73
14. P. Bowers 4.518/156.36
15. T. Jones 4.523/158.67
16. M. Campbell 4.540/150.30
Alt. B. Cramer 4.547/154.37

With pre-qualifying ceremonies about to begin at 7:45 p.m., spectators are flowing into the Huntsville Dragway grounds with cars lined up a quarter mile or more back to the street.

It was hot and muggy most of the afternoon during testing for the 3rd annual ADRL AMS Staff Leasing Summer Drags at Huntsville Dragway, but after a very brief rain shower the temperature dropped a good 10 degrees to the high-70s.

Quickest in testing was Jason Scruggs who ran 3.91 at 194 mph in his Pro Extreme ‘63 Vette. Troy Critchley also laid down a number in the “Jackhammer” Corvette, going 3.93 at 191 mph.

With the opening round of qualifying about to begin, 25 Pro Extreme cars are on the list, with 26 Pro Nitrous entries, 15 Pro Extreme Motorcycles, but only seven Extreme 10.5 teams making the trip to Huntsville.

Mike Hill made a memorable Extreme 10.5 debut with a holeshot win over Todd Tutterow in the ADRL Georgia Drags final at South Georgia Motorsports Park. He'll be looking to double up in the win column this weekend at Huntsville Dragway. (Ian Tocher photo)

As the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League’s two “original” classes head into the halfway points of their seasons this weekend at the AMS Staff Leasing Summer Drags, the question hovering over both the Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous classes is whether or not anyone can actually take control of either category.

The last seven ADRL Pro Extreme events have featured seven different winners, with only one driver - 2005 ADRL world champion John Lynam - able to reach more than one final round in that span. On the Pro Nitrous side, the last nine ADRL national events have produced eight different winners, with only defending Summer Drags champion Terry Housley able to win twice in that more than year-long span.

The AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts points standings reflect the wide-open nature of both classes, as no driver has yet been able to distance himself from his foes. In Pro Extreme, Joshua Hernandez holds down the top spot (992 points), thanks to his much-delayed, long-anticipated win in the rain-delayed 2006 ADRL World Finals (which were finally completed earlier this month at Valdosta). He leads by a little more than one full round over Houston winner Mike Bell (868) and by more than two rounds over Lynam (788).

Valdosta winner Joe Baker is fourth (663), leading a tight grouping of 10 or so drivers who are within 300 points of each other. The all-important gap between eighth place (Bobby Booth) and ninth (Dwayne Watkins) is a mere 10 points. The top eight drivers in each class at the conclusion of September’s Eastern Race Fuels Dragstock IV event will qualify for the Battle for the Belts championship eliminators.

The situation is much the same in Pro Nitrous, where Valdosta winner Johnny Pilcher (981) leads Terry Housley (869) by one-plus round and Shannon Jenkins by (782) by essentially two rounds. Further down the list, the fifth- through seventh-place drivers (Keith Baker, Dennis Radford, and Charles Carpenter) are separated by a mere seven points, while the pivotal gap between eighth and ninth is a negligible 12 points.

Housley and Brian Daniels are the event’s defending champions. Daniels took a sensational event win last year when he was inserted into the field as an alternate, then beat four straight higher-qualified drivers to score his first career ADRL national event title.

Following open testing throughout Friday, action in both Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous gets under way Friday evening with a single qualifying session at 8 p.m. (local time). Two more qualifying sessions on Saturday will determine the 16-car fields for Saturday evening’s eliminations.

For more information, including live, round-by-round coverage of the AMS Staff Leasing Summer Drags, visit www.adrl.us