"I don't think it was a reward to be first at this race and have to run Doug Kalitta.” — Rod Fuller referring top the 16th-place qualifier that pole-sitter Tony Schumacher would face in the first round of eliminations
”[It’s] good to see a smile on the team's faces.” — Hillary Will after qualifying 7th, her best start this season
"We dropped an exhaust valve on Friday night and had to shut off and it was difficult to qualify on Saturday. That was proven by the fact that not one car qualified on Saturday. In the first session, not one car got down the track. The track was very inconsistent and when you have the point's leader DNQ, it needs to be addressed." — Whit Bazemore referring to Brandon Bernstein, who he joined on the DNQ list for the first time in his short Top Fuel career
“It’s been a strange year with a lot of people not qualifying for at least one event this season. It’s looking more and more like if you can just qualify everywhere, that will be a big part of staying in the top eight (for the Countdown to the Championship).” — Melanie Troxel after qualifying 10th, on the absence of name racers from raceday and how it might affect the championship chase
"The competition in the NHRA pro classes this year is crazy. Three of the top eight in Top Fuel points, including the points leader, failed to qualify here. Both nitro winners from last week failed to qualify here. It is one of the most bizarre seasons I've ever seen, and we're not even halfway through." — David Grubnic, also a member of the DNQ club at Chicago, on missing eliminations for the first time in 78 events
"We were good, just not good enough.” — Clay Millican after Doug Foley came from behind off the start to oust the number-three qualifier in the opening round
"The tires started spinning as soon as I stepped on the gas. He smoked the tires, too, but he had momentum.” — J.R. Todd on his second-round loss to Foley
"Other than not winning, the weekend couldn't have gone any better.” — Fuller on qualifying second with a career-best 4.464-second E.T., then going to the final against Dixon and retaking the points lead from Bernstein
"You give (crew chief) Donnie (Bender) time and he'll be another Dick LaHaie. He just doesn't have 40 years under his belt. He has a year-and-half being a tuner and I think he's doing a great job.” — Dixon on Bender’s career-first win as the head of a Top Fuel team
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