NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Welcome to Day 2 of the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals, the third leg of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs. The Mello Yello teams will get their two final qualifying shots today, scheduled for 1:15 and 4:30 p.m. Eastern.

Top Fuel’s Friday low qualifier Steve Torrence said he and the Capco Contractors team will be working on a Sunday tune-up today, feeling comfortable that their 3.711 won’t be bettered or, if it is, not by much. The Texas tornado swept all six bonus points Friday by being low of both sessions and retook the points lead by a couple of points from Doug Kalitta, but he thinks it’s way too early to be counting points with more than half the Countdown remaining.

Reading champ Richie Crampton’s strong playoffs continued with the No. 2 qualifying berth in the DHL/Kalitta dragster with him and three-time world champ Antron Brown in the Torrence sandwich between Steve-o and his father, Billy, the St. Louis winner, who is qualified No. 4 with two sessions remaining.

Another Reading champ, Funny Car’s Jack Beckman, holds the lead halfway through qualifying after a sizzling 3.873 at a track-record 334.07 mph in the Infinite Hero Dodge, but he’s just a few ticks ahead of points leader Robert Hight, who clocked a 3.878 in the Auto Club Camaro for the No. 2 spot.

The tour’s most recent winner, St. Louis champ Shawn Langdon, enters the day on the outside of the field looking in, but with a soft bump of 5.442, he should have no problems getting the Global Lectronics Toyota into the show. Eighteen cars are on hand looking for a spot in the 16-car field and a chance to race in Sunday's final eliminations.

In Pro Stock terms, where every thousandth of a second counts, Erica Enders’ 6.506 from Friday night could easily be considered a crushing blow to the rest of the field. Enders currently enjoys a nearly two-hundredths advantage over her Elite Motorsports teammate, Jeg Coughlin Jr., who is second with a 6.524 in his special edition pink JEGS.com Camaro. Enders, the most recent Pro Stock winner on the Mello Yello tour, added six qualifying bonus points to her score yesterday, and could easily double that total if she can continue to dominate through Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions.

Current points leader Jason Line enters Saturday as the third-quickest qualifier with a 6.534 in his Summit Racing Equipment Camaro. Line is the defending event champion at the NGK Carolina Nationals and he’s also won two of the last four Pro Stock races. Two drivers worth keeping an eye on today are 2017 world champ Bo Butner and championship contender Deric Kramer, who begin the day ranked in the bottom half of the field. Butner, who has four wins this season, is ninth after a 6.572 best while Kramer is 12th with a 6.598 in his American Ethanol Camaro.
 

After recent wins in Indy and Reading, Jerry Savoie remains the hottest rider in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class and his 6.801 run on his White Alligator Suzuki was easily the best performance of the day on Friday. Savoie, who has been the top qualifier ten times in 125 career races, will look to secure the top spot in the field through Saturday’s two runs. He’s currently being chased by Harley-Davidson teammates Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, who clocked runs of 6.818 and 6.837, respectively. Hines and Krawiec have combined to win ten of the 19 Pro Stock Motorcycle races held at zMax Dragway.

Following her win two weeks ago in St. Louis, Karen Stoffer entered the Carolina Nationals as the No. 2 rider in the class, and she’s currently the No. 4 seed following a 6.842 on Friday afternoon. In her St. Louis win, Stoffer defeated world champions Hines, Krawiec, and Matt Smith to earn her ninth-career title. Speaking of Smith, the reigning champion struggled on Friday with two aborted runs. He enters Saturday as the No. 14 qualifier, but there is obviously a massive potential for improvement. Smith is also racing in the Super Comp category this weekend, and won his first round race with a perfect .000 reaction time.

You can catch the action all weekend on FOX Sports 1 and NHRA.tv.

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Live Timing | Standings | Tickets

TELEVISION SCHEDULE: 
Sunday, Oct. 13, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage starting at 12:00 p.m. (ET).

TRACK RECORDS: 
Top Fuel - 3.687 seconds by Mike Salinas, April '19; 332.18 mph by Spencer Massey, April '12.
Funny Car - 3.851 seconds by Courtney Force, April '17; 334.07 mph by Jack Beckman, October '19.
Pro Stock - 6.455 seconds by Jason Line, Mar. '15; 215.48 mph by Greg Anderson, Mar. '15.
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.765 seconds by Jerry Savoie, April '18; 200.32 mph by Matt Smith, April '19.

NATIONAL RECORDS: 
Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading, Pa.; 336.57 mph by Tony Schumacher, Feb. ‘18, Phoenix, Ariz. 
Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd, Minn.; 339.87 mph by Robert Hight, July ’17, Sonoma, Calif.
Pro Stock - 6.455 sec. by Jason Line, March ’15, Charlotte, N.C.; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May ’14, Englishtown N.J.
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.720 sec. by Andrew Hines, March ‘19, Gainesville, Fla.; 201.76 mph by Matt Smith, March ‘19, Gainesville, Fla.