The first round of supercharged Pro Extreme action guaranteed a victory by Michael Neal as father and son squared off, with Junior taking the win in his 1992 Lumina while his dad shut down early. Next up was Todd Tutterow (who qualified his Mustang third on the same DOT rear tires that he runs at the "Big Dog" races at Piedmont Dragway), against Thomas Patterson and his Hemi-powered Willys. Tutterow got away first, but lost his blower belt by half-track, which allowed Patterson to reach the semis. Critchley then took care of Ron Stokes and Lynam eliminated Ware in the closest match of the opening round.

In Pro Nitrous, James Hancock -- debuting a new Alan Pittman-built 2004 Corvette in competition -- upset Shannon Jenkins in the opener when the former IHRA champ suffered engine trouble. Next, Kenny Rucker earned a holeshot win over Harold Galtney with a .049 reaction to Galtney's comatose 1.102, with Rucker's 5.208 beating the 4.612 in Galtney's lane. Pilcher was up next, taking the win over J.T. Thompson, and finally, Smith disposed of Stan Allen, who nevertheless made his best pass of the weekend at 4.370 seconds.

Stan Allen, a Hub City regular, made a good showing by qualifying his Trans Am in the Pro Nitrous field, but fell to Pro Stock and Pro Mod veteran Rickie Smith in round one of eliminations.

In the semis, Critchley defeated Patterson and Neal took out a tire-shaking Lynam to set the Pro Extreme final. "We'd been racing right on the edge all day long, so I wasn't really surprised that happened," Lynam said. "It's a fine line and we just crossed it."

The nitrous semis featured two good races, with Pilcher edging Rucker and Smith winning an even closer match against Hancock. "It's a brand-new car and we're just edging up on it," the Alabama-based driver said. "We're happy with a semi-final finish."

James Hancock qualified fifth with his new Alan Pittman-built Corvette that carries a 704-cubic-inch Sonny Leonard engine with three-stage nitrous injection. The motor used to reside in David Griffis' Dodge Viper before the trailer it was being carried in was hit by a train last October on the way to Dragstock.  

Critchley said his team searched for the right clutch set up throughout testing and qualifying at Hattiesburg and after winding up second by going 4.053 in the last session,

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they left the clutch alone right up to the final round. Unfortunately, it proved too much for the cool track (58 degrees) as Critchley shook the tires hard right off the start while Neal cruised to the event win in 4.196 secs at 171.57 mph. "I could just see a blurry version of him," Critchley said later. "I got off and on it and tried to catch him, but he got just too far away."

Neal said his car performed well all day, though he did have trouble during qualifying in the left lane. "Then they kept putting me over there," he said. "That was a mistake because give me enough time and I'm going to figure it out." He also credited crew chief John Farr for the win, saying, "He puts just as much work and time and love into it as I do."