Record Qualifying Night at the President’s Cup Nationals Fueled by Sunoco at MDIR - Speedway Digest

The first day of the President’s Cup Nationals Fueled by Sunoco is in the books with qualifying taking place at Maryland International Raceway. The second session was cut short due to rain showers in the area and will continue tomorrow on the quarter-mile drag strip.

The AMSOIL Nitro Funny Cars presented by Aeromotive completed two qualifying sessions with Mark Sanders coming out on top in both. “Mr. Explosive” turned his luck around after not qualifying for the last Nitro Jam event at Cordova International Raceway. The eight-car field is set with Steve Nichols not advancing into eliminations tomorrow evening.

The U.S. Bounty Hunters Pro Stock class experienced the closest ET’s, with only .045 seconds separating the top-five in the first qualifying session. John DeFlorian Jr. was on top of the board in the first session and JR Carr stepped up in the second session and put his 2015 Camaro on the provisional pole.

There was a new track record in the Nitro Harley class. Jay Turner put down a 6.321 second pass on the quarter-mile drag strip. His momentum continued into the second session and secured his spot as the top qualifier heading into tomorrow’s event.

Rain cut the Crower Pro Mods second run short this evening and will resume tomorrow. In the first qualifying session, Billy Harper recorded the best time with a 5.976 second, 239.57 mph pass in his 2000 Viper. This weekend marked Billy’s return to IHRA racing after a hiatus for several years.

Lastly, the Jet Dragsters fell victim to the rain and were only able to get one qualifying session in. Marisha Falk was the fastest qualifier running 273.33 mph with a 5.830 second pass. There was only a .028 second difference between Marisha’s qualifying run and second-place qualifier Elaine Larsen.

For the complete qualifying results, click here. For more information, please visit www.NitroJam.com, www.RaceMDIR.com or call (301) 884-9833.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.