NHRA: Worsham leads top 5 quickest passes in class history

Del Worsham reset the Funny Car elapsed time national record twice on Saturday en route to claiming the No. 1 qualifier at the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle.

It was an extraordinary day for the entire Funny Car class, as it featured the top-five quickest passes in category history.

Worsham, the reigning Funny Car world champion took full advantage of good weather conditions during Saturday's first session to reset the elapsed time national record with a 3.841-second pass at 330.15 mph in his Toyota Camry. Then, in the day's second session, Worsham notched the quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history with a 3.832 at 330.88 to again reset the elapsed time national record.

With the effort, Worsham claimed his second consecutive No. 1 qualifier, third of the season and 20th of his career. This is the first time he has claimed back-to-back top qualifiers in Funny Car. Worsham will face Tim Gibbons in the first round of eliminations, which will be shown live on the FOX national broadcast channel on Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. ET.

"We brought this car out at Denver and this thing has just been on fire," said Worsham, who has victories at Seattle in both Funny Car (1999) and Top Fuel (2011). "The car ran great numbers at Denver, went to Sonoma and qualified No. 1, and came here to Seattle and ran record times. It's coming together at the right time of the year, but tomorrow is when it counts."

Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 16th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

In Top Fuel, Schumacher claimed his 80th No. 1 qualifier in his career and first of the season with a 3.686 at 323.58 in his dragster. Schumacher, who clinched his spot in the Countdown to the Championship, is a three-time Seattle winner. The eight-time world champion has raced to one victory in three final round appearances this season and will go head-to-head with Ron Smith in Sunday's first round.

Nobile sprinted to the No. 1 spot in Pro Stock with a 6.527 at 211.49 in his Chevy Camaro to claim his first top qualifier of the season and fifth of his career. Nobile, who is currently fifth in points, posted a runner-up finish two weeks ago in Denver. He will begin eliminations with a first round bye.

Eliminations are set to begin at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday at Pacific Raceways.