Kalitta, Force, Enders-Stevens, Krawiec No.1

Doug Kalitta

Veteran Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta raced to his sixth No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park, near St. Louis.

John Force (Funny Car), Erica Enders-Stevens (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also will lead their categories into Sunday's 11 a.m. eliminations as No. 1 qualifiers at the third of six playoff races in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.

Kalitta powered his Mac Tools dragster to a performance of 3.758 seconds at 325.45 mph to take the top spot away from rookie Richie Crampton in the final qualifying session.

Kalitta, who led the series standings for most of the regular season, will try to reverse a recent trend of first round losses over the past three races when he opens eliminations against ageless drag racing legend Chris Karamesines.

"We kinda struggled in the first two Countdown races, but we know we can go rounds," said Kalitta, a three-time winner at Gateway Motorsports Park, his last coming in 2004. "We're real confident about that and now we need to go out there and prove it. We're real excited for tomorrow. The car is running good, the track is holding up good, the lanes are both pretty even and the conditions are really good. I'm looking forward to it."

Crampton's Friday-best of 3.764 at 322.73 in his GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster leaves him in second in the final qualifying order, while series leader Schumacher, who won the first two Countdown playoff races, will start third in his U.S. Army dragster with a 3.768 at 326.16. Kalitta's teammate, J.R. Todd, who qualified No. 1 at the first two Countdown races, will start fourth in his Optima Batteries/Advance Auto Parts dragster with a 3.779 at 325.37.

John Force

In Funny Car, Force earned his sixth No. 1 of the season and 152nd of his career with his Friday run of 4.022 at 319.52 in his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang. Force will race category newcomer Brian Stewart in the opening round.

"I am going to watch him," said Force about his first head-to-head meeting with the former nostalgia Funny Car driver. "It's no different than racing (Matt) Hagan. I used to be an unknown, and every now and then I would whip somebody like (Kenny) Bernstein or The Snake (Don Prudhomme). Maybe I was just lucky. But luck is what it's all about."

Cruz Pedregon will start second in his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry with a 4.022 at 314.02, while Robert Hight moved to third in his Auto Club Ford Mustang with a 4.040 at 316.15. Dallas winner Courtney Force qualified fourth in her Traxxas Ford Mustang with a 4.047 at 317.87.

Enders-Stevens will go for her third consecutive Pro Stock victory at this event from the top spot as she claimed her fourth No. 1 of the season and 10th of her career with 6.511 at 213.03 in her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro. She will face veteran driver Larry Morgan in the first round.

"We were trying to be consistent and have a nice race day setup for tomorrow," Enders-Stevens said about her quickest pass of the weekend that came in her final attempt. "The conditions were definitely conducive to run that number. I am proud of my team for giving me a consistent race car and a fast one at that, so I am excited about tomorrow."

Jeg Coughlin qualified second in his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Dart with a 6.522 at 212.53 and Line qualified third in his Summit Racing Equipment Camaro with a 6.522 at 212.39.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Krawiec improved on his Friday time with a Saturday best of 6.810 at 194.60 on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to claim his ninth No. 1 of the season and 23rd of his career. He will race Shawn Gann in the opener.

Jerry Savoie qualified second with a 6.838 at 197.16 on his Savoie's Alligator Farm Suzuki, Hector Arana Jr. will start third on his Lucas Oil Buell with a 6.851 at 197.68 and series points leader Andrew Hines is fourth on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson with a 6.863 at 195.22.