KALITTA, BAZEMORE AND GANN HOLD ON TO THE TOP SPOTS IN HOUSTON, YATES STEALS THE NO. 1 POSITION ON SATURDAY AT THE NHRA O'REILLY SPRING NATIONALS

BAYTOWN, Texas -  Whit Bazemore earned the top qualifying position in Funny Car at the NHRA O'Reilly Spring Nationals with a quarter-mile run of 4.800 seconds at 318.92 mph in his Matco Tools Pontiac Firebird.
Doug Kalitta, Jim Yates and Shawn Gann led their respective divisions at the $1.9 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing event at Houston Raceway Park.

Bazemore, who qualified in the No. 1 position at nine of the final 12 events last season, will be on the top of the elimination ladder for the first time in 2002. "It's been disappointing, it's been frustrating," Bazemore said. "Everybody knows what we are capable of and we just keep plugging away and get better and better each race. You do wonder where did it go from last year until now. It's all still there. We just have to find it."

All eyes will be on John Force as he attempts to capture his 100th career win in Funny Car. Force qualified fourth and will face Dale Creasy Jr. in the first round of Sunday's eliminations. The focus on Force takes the pressure off of Bazemore. "For several reasons I am glad he hasn't gone and won it right away," said Bazemore. "100 wins is an incredible accomplishment. As long as he doesn't do it against us in a final round, I'll be the first to congratulate him. I'd like to see him do it. He's going to do it, it is just a matter of time. I think it is going to be a great moment in our sport and a great moment for him. It's just an incredible accomplishment for whatever sport you are in. After winning his 99th NHRA national event in Pomona, Calif., Force has yet to win the elusive 100th in the last three events. Force has won six times at Houston Raceway Park.

Kalitta led the Top Fuel order with a 4.579 at 320.81 pass in his Mac Tools dragster, jumping to the front of the field for fifth time in his career. Kalitta's best effort came during night qualifying on Friday and was strong enough to hold off the field. "You never know," said Kalitta. "With these guys out here these days, there is a handful of guys that can do it (take the top spot) in the hot weather. It's certainly pretty tough to do and we're pretty happy we were able to hold on to it."

Yates earned his first top qualifying award of the season to lead the Pro Stock division with a run of 6.822 at 202.24 in his Splitfire/Peak Pontiac Grand Am. Yates took the top qualifying position during the Saturday morning session and ran low elapsed time during the afternoon session.
"That's good if you can run 82 and 84 and be the fastest car both sessions," said Yates, a two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion. "That gives us a good tune-up for tomorrow and it's going to take a good tune-up and a lot of good driving to win this race."

Gann's Suzuki led the Pro Stock Motorcycle field with a pass of 7.185 at 192.58. Gann edged out defending series champion Angelle Savoie for his first No. 1 qualifying position of his career. "It's a big deal to beat her out," Gann said. "We've got the most horsepower this weekend."
Final eliminations start Sunday at 11 a.m.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 15th annual O'Reilly Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, the fifth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.
 
        Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Kalitta, 4.579 seconds, 320.81 mph  vs. 16. Ken Zeal, 4.830, 306.95; 2. Kenny Bernstein, 4.586, 323.66  vs. 15. Bruce Litton, 4.826, 312.13; 3. Cory McClenathan, 4.615, 321.50  vs. 14. Andrew Cowin, 4.819, 310.34; 4. Larry Dixon, 4.630, 320.51  vs. 13. Mitch King, 4.784, 303.30; 5. Tony Schumacher, 4.650, 319.37  vs. 12. Melanie Troxel, 4.762, 303.78; 6. Doug Herbert, 4.702, 312.42  vs. 11. Mark Kinsella, 4.738, 308.07; 7. Darrell Russell, 4.728, 311.20  vs. 10. John Smith, 4.734, 298.93; 8. David Grubnic, 4.731, 301.74  vs. 9. Scott Weis, 4.733, 316.15.
 
        Funny Car -- 1. Whit Bazemore, Pontiac Firebird, 4.800, 318.92  vs. 16. Frank Pedregon, Firebird, 5.327, 265.22; 2. Tony Pedregon, Ford Mustang, 4.865, 312.86  vs. 15. Todd Paton, Chevy Camaro, 5.166, 283.61; 3. Gary Densham, Mustang, 4.883, 319.82  vs. 14. Scotty Cannon, Firebird, 5.111, 277.20; 4. John Force, Mustang, 4.895, 311.13  vs. 13. Dale Creasy Jr., Firebird, 5.098, 301.33; 5. Bob Gilbertson, Firebird, 4.901, 309.13  vs. 12. Del Worsham, Firebird, 5.058, 298.47; 6. Dean Skuza, Dodge Stratus R/T, 4.915, 271.90  vs. 11. Tommy Johnson Jr., Camaro, 4.999, 278.06; 7. Ron Capps, Camaro, 4.927, 305.42  vs. 10. Johnny Gray, Firebird, 4.992, 306.88; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Firebird, 4.933, 280.19  vs. 9. Gary Scelzi, Toyota Celica, 4.941, 304.19.
 
        Pro Stock -- 1. Jim Yates, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.822, 202.24  vs. 16. John Geyer, Dodge Neon R/T, 6.871, 200.50; 2. Greg Anderson, Chevy Cavalier, 6.824, 201.88  vs. 15. Troy Coughlin, Cavalier, 6.870, 200.26; 3. Warren Johnson, Grand Am, 6.829, 202.15  vs. 14. Jeg Coughlin, Cavalier, 6.864, 200.80; 4. Ron Krisher, Cavalier, 6.832, 202.30  vs. 13. Bruce Allen, Grand Am, 6.861, 200.89; 5. Mike Edwards, Cavalier, 6.833, 200.92  vs. 12. Steve Schmidt, Grand Am, 6.858, 200.35; 6. George Marnell, Grand Am, 6.849, 200.59  vs. 11. Darrell Alderman, Neon R/T, 6.858, 202.24; 7. Tom Hammonds, Cavalier, 6.850, 201.07  vs. 10. Kurt Johnson, Cavalier, 6.857, 201.28; 8. JR Carr, Pontiac Firebird, 6.851, 201.40  vs. 9. V. Gaines, Cavalier, 6.854, 201.79.
 
        Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.185, 192.58  vs. 16. Brian DeLong, Suzuki, 7.357, 183.52; 2. Angelle Savoie, Suzuki, 7.190, 191.05  vs. 15. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.353, 187.94; 3. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.209, 187.08  vs. 14. Reggie Showers, Suzuki, 7.350, 183.62; 4. Matt Hines, Suzuki, 7.226, 190.78  vs. 13. Blaine Hale, Suzuki, 7.344, 180.79; 5. Geno Scali, Kawasaki, 7.235, 188.04  vs. 12. Chris Reuter, Suzuki, 7.340, 179.40; 6. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.260, 187.36  vs. 11. Thomas Miceli, Suzuki, 7.339, 181.32; 7. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.284, 186.00  vs. 10. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.339, 186.61; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.294, 182.16  vs. 9. Terry Kizer, Suzuki, 7.320, 182.75.