Zizzo, Hight, Butner And Matt Smith Lead Friday Qualifying At Gainesville

Part-time Top Fuel racer T.J. Zizzo sits atop of the field after qualifying on Friday at the 50th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.Robert Hight (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also No. 1 provisional qualifiers in their respective categories at the third of 24 events on the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Zizzo piloted his Rustoleum dragster to a 3.762-second lap at 323.35 mph to earn the provisional No. 1 spot. The part-time team made its debut of the 2019 season in Gainesville.“Our guys worked really hard on our race car,” Zizzo said. “I realize that I haven’t raced since the U.S. Nationals. Some part time teams, they park their car for an extended period of time then they kind of get it out of the woodwork and run their car just to run it. We don’t do that. We really race hard. I choose to spend time away from my family so I better make it worthwhile.”