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Doug Kalitta secured the Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier Saturday at the 9th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals, the first race of the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.

Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also secured No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 19th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Kalitta piloted his Mac Tools dragster to a 3.721-second pass at 325.77 mph on Friday night that held up through Saturday’s two rounds for his fourth No. 1 qualifying position of the season, 47th of his career, and first at zMAX Dragway. His first opponent in Sunday’s eliminations will be Ike Maier.

“Anytime you can start from pole position is great in my book,” Kalitta said. “We’ve won from there before. Some people wonder if it’s a jinx, but my team, we’re good with low qualifier. Getting the green hats are great and just build momentum and excitement for when we get here tomorrow.”

Brittany Force raced herself into the No. 2 position and will face Chris Karamesines in round one. In third is eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher; his opponent will be Cameron Ferre. Reigning champ and Countdown to the Championship No. 1 seed Antron Brown qualified seventh.

Johnson’s Funny Car track elapsed time record run of 3.876 at 323.43 in his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T held up from Friday’s qualifying. It is his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and 14th of his career. In the first round of eliminations, Johnson will line up against Bob Gilbertson.

“Whenever you go out and run a good run on Friday night, it allows you to play and kind of experiment on Saturday,” Johnson said. “The conditions are usually so much different. It’s kind of what we’ll see on race day, so you have a chance to play a little bit while some of the other guys are still trying to move up in the field or get qualified. So it’s definitely an advantage to make a good run Friday night.”

No. 1 Countdown to the Championship seed Ron Capps qualified in second and will line up against John Hale. Sixteen-time world champion John Force found himself in the No. 3 spot, and his opponent will be Dave Richards. Defending world champion Del Worsham qualified 12th.

Anderson secured his sixth Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier of the season, 86th of his career, with a 6.578 pass at 210.50 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro during the third round of qualifying. Anderson will be racing for his second NHRA Carolina Nationals win. In the first round of eliminations, Anderson will face Alan Prusiensky.

“It’s been a great season so far, but this is a new season,” Anderson said. “This is the Countdown; it’s a whole new season to us, and it doesn’t matter what we’ve done up until now. You’re going to have to earn your keep or go home. We don’t want to have a magical year like we’ve had so far go up in smoke, so we want to do the best job we can and hopefully walk away with a title at the end of the year. Tomorrow is going to be a great day of racing. You can’t win the Countdown in the first race out, but you can lose it.”

Anderson’s Summit Racing Equipment teammate, Jason Line, qualified second and will see Shane Tucker in round one. Qualified third is Vincent Nobile, who will race Curt Steinbach in the first round of eliminations.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Sampey raced her Star Racing/Precision Service Equipment Buell to a 6.815 pass at 196.02 in the third round of qualifying on Saturday to secure the No. 1 qualifying position. This is Sampey’s third consecutive No. 1 qualifier, fourth this season, and 49th of her career. She will face off against Mark Paquette in the first round of eliminations.

“Its perfect timing. We definitely want to be the best we can on every run,” Sampey said. “I want to be the best every run. I want to be the best on Friday, the best on Saturday, and the best on Sunday. That’s the way to do it. I think we’re in the groove now. The bike is running really well, the crew is working really well, I’m driving much better, so it’s all coming together. We’re having a good time.”

Eddie Krawiec qualified No. 2 and will face Karen Stoffer, and Jerry Savoie, who qualified third, will match up against veteran Steve Johnson. No. 1 seed and reigning world champion Andrew Hines secured the No. 6 position.

Eliminations at the NHRA Carolina Nationals will begin at noon at zMAX Dragway.

NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series racer Rickie Smith powered to a first-round victory on Saturday during the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the NHRA Carolina Nationals. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing at zMAX Dragway is presented by the Real Pro Mod (RPM) Association.

Smith, the current points leader and a three-time series champion, defeated Jay Payne with a pass of 5.847 at 249.67 to the trailing run of 5.954 at 245.40. Smith will face Mike Castellana when racing resumes on Sunday.

Smith’s bid for a fourth championship improved when Castellana defeated Troy Coughlin, Smith’s nearest competitor in the points in the opening round. Castellana ousted Coughlin with a winning run of 5.861 at 246.84. Smith is looking for continued success on Sunday to aide his championship aspirations.

"I'm just racing as hard as I can right now and let stuff fall where they fall,” said Smith. “Naturally, I want to win; I want [Coughlin] to lose. That worked out. I don't want anybody to tear up or anything. The biggest thing is I'm just trying to win rounds now. The more rounds I can get ahead of him the better."

In an upset, Von Smith, who qualified No. 1, was defeated by the 16th qualifier, Kevin Rivenbark, who is making his second start of the year. Smith was defeated at the step of the throttle when his car lost traction. Rivenbark posted a time of 5.952 at 241.76. He will face Bob Rahaim on Sunday in the second round.

Second-round matchups will also include Steve Matusek vs. Danny Rowe and Steven Whitely vs. Todd Tutterow.

Eliminations for the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the NHRA Carolina Nationals will continue at 1:35 p.m. on Sunday.