Oct. 3--Track conditions at the NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals on Friday were so favorable to record-setting speeds that pass after pass became a game of "how low can you go."

Track records fell in all four pro classes as the cool temperatures and low humidity created conditions at Memphis Motorsports Park that can tempt crew chiefs into throwing the kitchen sink at their engines and see just how fast they could run.

"The air is great here, but this Memphis racetrack is unbelievable," said Funny Car provisional No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight. "It is the best racetrack we've been down in a long time.

"That's saying a lot, because you've got places like Charlotte that are brand new. This time a year, with this weather -- it's awesome. A lot of racetracks need sportsman cars to help (get the track in shape) for the fuel cars. Not this place. It was awesome for us right off the bat."

Hight set track records in both low elapsed time and speed with a 4.074 second pass at 310.70 mph in his Auto Club Ford Mustang.

"It's only going to get better," said Hight, who has won the last two NHRA events. "My Mustang is fun to drive right now. This thing is on a string right now."

Other provisional No. 1s were Larry Dixon in Top Fuel, Mike Edwards in Pro Stock and Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Conditions were changing so rapidly late in the day, that Dixon's crew chief decided to change from scuffed tires to new tires in the staging lanes while they were waiting for the NHRA Safety Safari to clean up the track after another car's engine blew up during the run.

Dixon, who got his start in the NHRA as a crew member, was right there helping out.

"It's cool to be able to do that kind of stuff," Dixon said. "It's a challenge to get the crew all involved in a last-minute change like that, then go out there and have the car respond. For everybody on the Al-Anabi Racing team it was a great day."

That response was significant as Dixon drove a blistering track record pass of 3.810 at 318.99 mph. On top of that, Dixon collected six bonus points for being low qualifier in both the first and second rounds.

"Who would have thought we'd have it this good in Memphis," said Dixon, who has plenty of memories of racing at MMP in the heat and humidity of August. "We got six points on the day, so it was a good day."

Memphis-area native Clay Millican is in 13th spot in qualifying after a best run of 3.957 at 310.98 mph.

Also gobbling up those bonus points was Pro Stock points leader Edwards. His best run of the day in the ART Pontiac GXP was 6.552 at 210.18 mph (both track records).