Del Worsham leads Funny Car qualifying at Brainerd

BRAINERD, Minn. (AP) Del Worsham powered to the top Funny Car qualifying spot Friday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

The defending series campion broke the track time record with a 3.856-second pass at 326.71 mph in his Toyota Camry.

''We thought tonight we would run better than that and we just missed it,'' Worsham said. ''The track is very good, the grip is very good and we just didn't have quite enough horsepower. It kind of got the best of us out there but it was a great run. I thought we were going to run a 3.83, and putting down the kind of numbers we have been, everyone was looking for a little more.''

Tony Schumacher led in Top Fuel, Bo Butner in Pro Stock, and Angelle Sampey in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Schumacher, an eight-time season champion, had a 3.712 at 323.50. Butner had a 6.622 at 207.78 in Chevrolet Camaro, and Sampey ran a 6.848 at 194.94 on a Buell.

The rain-delayed Top Fuel and Funny Car finals from the NHRA Northwest Nationals will be run Saturday in the third qualifying session. Worsham will face Ron Capps in Funny Car, and Steve Torrence will race Antron Brown in Top Fuel.