Fri, 30 Apr 2010, 09:44 PM Force, Schumacher, Edwards and Treble Lead Friday Qualifying

Courtesy of NHRA Communications Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

MADISON, Ill. --

John Force

John Force held on to the provisional top spot in Funny Car as rain washed out most of Friday qualifying at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.

Tony Schumacher, Mike Edwards and Craig Treble also took the provisional top spots in their respective categories at the seventh of 23 events on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Force drove his Ford Mustang to a 4.103-second pass at 307.23 mph to become the provisional top qualifier in Funny Car. If it stands it would be his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 134th of his career, just four shy of Pro Stock driver Warren Johnson's NHRA record of most career No. 1 qualifiers at 138.

Defending world champion and Force teammate Robert Hight is currently seventh, while second-place driver Matt Hagan is 11th in the field.

Tony Schumacher

In Top Fuel, defending world champion Schumacher drove his dragster to a 3.829 at 318.62 to take the provisional No. 1 spot. If it stands, it would be Schumacher's second of the season and 60th of his career.

Current points leader Larry Dixon is sitting in the seventh spot while defending event winner Antron Brown is in the 12th spot.

Continuing his dominance over the Pro Stock field, Edwards followed up his win at Las Vegas with the provisional No. 1 qualifier at Gateway. Edwards drove his Pontiac GXP to a 6.644 at 207.75. If it stands, it would be Edwards's sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season in just seven races and 28th of his career.

Treble rode his Valvoline Motorcycle Oils Suzuki to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.907 at 193.05. If it stands, it would be Treble's first No. 1 qualifier of the season and fourth of his career.

Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.