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MEMPHIS, qualifying: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car driver Jeff Arend qualified for his 10th consecutive national event on Saturday at the 17th annual O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. Arend qualified for his 12th race of the season in the No. 13 position with a 4.985 at 286.32 mph and will face Tim Wilkerson during the first round of eliminations on Sunday.

Arend joined CMKX teammates Connie Cohen and Tony Bartone on a visit to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in downtown Memphis Friday morning. They visited with dozens of delighted children and their parents, signing autographs and handing out CMKX souvenirs.

The CMKXtreme Machine was one of the first fuel cars to make a trip down the Memphis Motorsports Park quarter-mile Friday afternoon. Arend ran hard to about the half-track mark where tire spin forced him to shut off early. The former NHRA Funny Car national event winner recorded a 5.884 at 163.61 mph to finish the first session in the No. 13 position.

Friday’s second qualifying session was held under the lights and CMKX crew chief Paul Smith took advantage of the cooler evening conditions. Arend thundered to a 4.985 at 286.32 mph, despite tossing a blower belt just before the finish line. The native Canadian moved up four spots and finished the first day of qualifying in the No. 9 position.

Cloudy skies and humid conditions greeted the racers and fans at the O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals on Saturday. The CMKXtreme Machine was in the middle of the pack for the third qualifying session. The world’s fastest Corvette left the starting line with the third-best 60-foot time of the round and was charging hard toward the finish line when Arend felt something strange and wisely shut off early. His crossed the finish line in 5.184-seconds at 224.77 mph and fell two spots on the 16-car ladder to the No. 11 position.

When Arend returned to the pit area the crew discovered that the fuel pump failed on the CMKXtreme Machine. The team skipped the final session to make the necessary repairs for eliminations and finished qualifying in the No. 13 position. Arend will go up against Tim Wilkerson for the first time this season on Sunday.

“The CMKX car was really charging hard on the third qualifying run when the fuel pump failed,” said Arend as the team prepared for Sunday’s eliminations. “I’m just happy that we qualified again and kept our streak going for another race. The crew continues to keep their noses to the grind stone and working hard. We would love nothing more than to park the CMKXtreme Machine in the winner’s circle tomorrow.”