Rodger Brogdon hopes luck smiles on him during Las Vegas eliminations

LAS VEGAS – Rodger Brogdon is hoping to give his competition a kick in the teeth during eliminations at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Battling pain from a cracked tooth, Brogdon sped to the No. 5 qualifying position as he looks to chase down Pro Stock’s best on Sunday.

“We’ve got a good car,” Brogdon said. “We’re going to make a good run at it tomorrow. We’ve got lane choice, which is one thing we’ve always said is important. We’ll be good for tomorrow. We’ve got a fast car and a good team.”

Brogdon’s top qualifying pass was 6.630 seconds at 208.49 mph, but he made two other solid runs during the four qualifying sessions. He was fourth in the final session (6.668 seconds at 207.78 mph), third in Q3 (6.656 at 208.42 mph), and third in the first session (his best pass).

On Sunday, he’ll square off against Vincent Nobile, who qualified No. 12 with a pass of 6.690 seconds at 207.40 mph. Nobile raced to the final of the K&N Horsepower Challenge on Saturday, so Brogdon knows he has his work cut out. Then again, so does Nobile.

“We’ve got to race Vincent,” Brogdon said. “I’ve just got to go out there and do my job and we ought to be fine.”

Brogdon has a tooth that needs a crown or a root canal, and he has been in some pain this weekend. Taking pain relievers has helped, but a Q2 pass where Brogdon shook the tires off the starting line was difficult to endure.

“When I shook yesterday, it was something,” Brogdon said. “I’m afraid when that happens, if I squeeze my teeth, I’m going to crack it more. I’ve broken off the front of my tooth in one of these things already with tire shake. I don’t wear a mouthpiece — maybe I should.

“I’ve been taking Advil every day; maybe I need an Advil sponsorship. I’ve got all kinds of aches and pains: my shoulder, my neck, my back, and now my tooth.”