NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

This weekend racers and fans alike will and meet the success that awaits us in the winner circle. Their passion and hard work is about to be rewarded as the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to Epping, New Hampshire, for the first time in two years, and the abundance of opportunity ahead can make it hard to remain patient.

With COVID-19 protocols allowing racing to look more and more like we were a custom to, we are rebuilding and renewing our momentum now that the foundation is firm. For racers that firm foundation means facilities like New England Dragway, with great weather like we’ve seen this weekend, and amazing fans coming out in droves to cheer on their teams and help them through the final hurdles and towards the winner circle once again.

After Friday evening’s qualifying session where atmospheric conditions were epic, but putting that power to the ground proved challenging for nearly every team, Saturday brings with it a new opportunity.

In Top Fuel there is a Torrence in the No. 1 position, but it’s not the Torrence in the No. 1 championship slot. Billy and Steve Torrence were on opposite ends of the qualifying ladder on Friday night. Look for the gap in their two positions to narrow today as other racers work their qualifying sessions to take advantage of the unique latter that this weekend’s field allows.

Justin Ashley and Doug Kalitta are the only other two drivers the least bit comfortable with their qualifying positions. Today will look like a Q1 session again for many drivers, including Antron Brown, Brittany Force, Shawn Langdon, and the rest of the field who all struggled to make competitive runs.

Today’s Funny Car qualifying session will be about chasing the fastest man in New England, Matt Hagan. His Dickie Venables-tuned Dodge Charger Hellcat seems to own this track, and that’s the type of confidence every other Funny Car team in the field is looking to borrow from.

Hagan, No. 5in the Championship points race looks to build from that confidence and gain momentum. While Bob Tasca III looks to take his momentum of being No. 1 in the points Championship to build confidence and improve his No. 10 qualifying position today for his hometown fans.

J.R. Todd’s Toyota Camry Funny Car is enjoying the confidence of both a good championship point position and a good momentum in this weekend’s qualifying. He and Blake Alexander were the only other drivers who were down proper runs in the Friday night's session.

But the list of pros that will need to build from discouragement into success and in the Funny Car ranks are high with Ron Capps, John Force, Alexis DeJoria, and Robert Hight all capable of low-qualifying runs today.

By comparison, the Pro Stock times and performances show a much more competitive footing coming into Saturday. The big-block Chevy engines roared early Friday evening and conservative runs were the rule of the first session.

We saw the battle of 2021 momentum in the form of Matt Hartford’s car go up against the confidence of previous Epping success (Erica Enders) and the freshness of young gun Pro Stock racers (Mason McGaha and Aaron Stanfield) all play out.

McGaha’s low-qualifying run and Stanfield’s success in the first two positions show that driver mindset and mental burdens may be critical to performance when driver capabilities are the key factor in competition. Ender’s past success in Epping also proved to be an advantage.

Enders, who refers to the critical “self-talk” that happens in a driver's mind, says that mental focus makes all the difference. Events like the COVID-19 pandemic expose this, and push the stresses of racing into the spotlight. Teams with an abundance of empathy and understanding for the needs of their people are rewarded.

Look for today’s cautious runs to continue, and expect a tight Pro Stock field with mental toughness and driver focus being the name of the game that drag racing fans will watch play out today in Epping N.H.

Coverage of today's qualifying will air Sunday morning on FS1 at noon Eastern followed by live final eliminations on the FOX Broadcast Network