Funny Car racer Del Worsham is trying to close a sub-par year with a big finish by qualifying No. 1 in the provisional field of the 42nd annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. Worsham stopped the quarter-mile timers in 4.712 seconds to take the early lead. It was the quickest pass of his career. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) shared the Day 1 podium with Worsham.

The three remaining championship races continue to heat up at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. Schumacher stands to gain a little ground on points leader Doug Kalitta, who qualified fifth overall with a 4.546. Funny Car hopefuls John Force and Ron Capps are just two positions and three-hundredths of a second apart after one round. Hines continues to do all he can to hold off Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown, who both qualified in the top half of the field alongside the pending champ.

Schumacher’s much-anticipated run at a national record will have to wait another day as his 4.490 at 328.54 mph was well off the national mark of 4.437 he’ll need to better to gain the valuable bonus points a record is worth. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army car is on top of the grid as the only dragster in the 4.4-second range so far.

Brandon Bernstein, who remains mathematically alive for the Top Fuel title, is second here after a stout 4.519 at 330.47 mph. Kalitta is fifth after a very conservative 4.546 at 326.87 mph in the Mac Tools rail.

Championship rivals Force and Capps ended the day third and fifth, respectively. Force posted a 4.731 in his Castrol GTX Mustang, while Capps’ Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T carried him to a 4.769. The only other racer still alive in the championship chase, Robert Hight, shut off early and is on the bump after a 5.637 at 170.90 mph in his Auto Club Ford.

[NHRA]