NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The final day of qualifying for the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals will set the field in all four classes, but it will also serve as a thrilling race-within-a-race as the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge is contested. 

The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge is a thrilling bonus event that pits the semifinalists from the previous race against one another for a rematch. On the line? Cash and valuable Countdown to the Championship bonus points which will come into play in critical timing after the points are reset and the six-race playoffs begin. The winner of the two semifinal rematches will race one another in the final qualifying session for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty title.

Norwalk winner Leah Pruett, currently No. 4 in Denver Top Fuel qualifying, will take her Dodge Direct Connection dragster to the starting line for a rematch with Austin Prock, No. 11 on the sheet, and his Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist rail. Points leader Justin Ashley, the runner-up in Norwalk, and his Phillips Connect Toyota dragster will square off with reigning world champion Brittany Force and the Monster/Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel car. Ashley will also be looking to rise from No. 13 in the qualifying order, while Force will be aiming to improve from ninth. 

Ashley has been the most successful driver thus far in the challenge, and he will be making his fifth appearance. He has won each of the first four of the bonus events in which he competed. The Denver Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge appearance will be the fourth for Pruett and third for both Brittany Force and her John Force Racing teammate Prock. Of the four, only Ashley has any previous wins in the challenge. 

He isn't competing in the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, but Antron Brown is heading into Saturday aiming to protect the provisional pole he settled into on Friday night. The driver of the Matco Tools Toyota earned the 50th No. 1 of his career earlier this year in Epping and would like to notch that number up one, but a slew of drivers made respectable passes on Friday and remain a threat, including Glendale, Ariz., racer Greg Carrillo, who made a career-best run to step into the No. 6 position in his first competition pass of the year. 

Provisional Funny Car low qualifier Matt Hagan will face off with J.R. Todd, currently 12th in Denver qualifying, in the first round of the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. The other matchup is Bob Tasca III — No. 3 in the lineup — and Ron Capps, the No. 6 qualifier at the head of the day and an alternate in the bonus race as Norwalk winner Blake Alexander was unable to make the trek to Bandimere Speedway.

Hagan, driver of the Dodge Direct Connection entry, and Todd, in the DHL Toyota, will both be competing in the challenge for the third time and looking for a first win. It's the third Mission #2Fast2Tasty challenge for Ford Motorcraft Quicklane campaigner Tasca, who won the Epping run-off, and the fifth for NAPA Toyota Supra wheeler Capps, a two-time winner in the specialty event. 

Outside of the challenge, Funny Car qualifying features 14 cars ready to jockey for position. Chad Green and Chris King are both eager for another shot at the Bandimere Speedway dragstrip as they haven't yet made a satisfying pass, while John Force is nipping at Hagan's heels in the No. 2 spot. 

In Pro Stock, Norwalk winner Matt Hartford and his Rottler/Total Seal/GETTRX Chevrolet are set up to meet again with Aaron Stanfield. It will be the second appearance for both drivers, and they each won in their first attempt at the Mission-backed race. Hartford is currenlty No. 2 in Denver qualifying, and Stanfield is battling in the Janac Bros. Camaro to rise from the 15th spot. Norwalk runner-up Glenn, the class points leader, will be racing in the challenge for the third time in his RAD Torque Chevy and has yet to claim a win. Glenn is No. 3 in qualifying. His opponent, JEGS.com Chevrolet campaigner Troy Coughlin Jr., won the first challenge of the season and will be racing in the event for the second time. He's currently No. 4 in the Pro Stock points. 

Outside of the #2Fast2Tasty competition, provisional low qualifier Erica Enders will be funneling her energy into racing for the Mountain Motor Pro Stock trophy as well as protecting the No. 1 that's in her clutch. With 16 cars vying for position in the 16-car field, no one will be left out — but Fernando Cuadra Jr., currently No. 16, would rather not square off with Elite Motorsports teammate Enders, the reigning world champion, in the first round — he'll be aiming high, as will five-time world champion Greg Anderson, who is settled into the No. 5 position but eager to gain even more ground as he is in the hunt for his first win of the season. Denver native Deric Kramer is sitting mid-pack and has made a clear statement that he wants to take home the last Bandimere Speedway trophy up for grabs. He'll likely be aiming for more on Saturday on the mountain. 

Friday's Pro Stock Motorcycle low qualifier, Hector Arana Jr., will have the honor of competing in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the third time. He's still looking for a win and will need a win over Norwalk semifinalist Matt Smith if he's going to have a shot. Smith is racing in the challenge for the first time, and he is currently No. 8 in Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying. Bristol winner and Norwalk runner-up Steve Johnson, racing in the challenge for the second time, will square off with Jianna Evaristo, who is also making her second appearance in the Mission run-off. Johnson is sitting No. 7 in qualifying, and Evaristo is holding at 11th. 

Arana Jr.'s defense of the top spot, which he earned with a 7.047 track record aboard his GETTRX Buell, will be challenged by the likes of No. 2 man Chase Van Sant, No. 3 Angie Smith — who defeated Arana in a previous challenge — and Mission Foods Suzuki riders Eddie Krawiec (No. 4) and Gaige Herrera (No. 5). This will be the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in which Herrera, the points leader, has not competed. Lance Bonham is currently the caboose in Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying, standing 13th. 

2022 EVENT WINNERS

Leah Pruett, Top Fuel; Robert Hight, Funny Car; Matt Hartford, Pro Stock; Matt Smith, Pro Stock Motorcycle

MOST VICTORIES

Joe Amato, 6, TF; John Force, 8, FC; Bob Glidden and Allen Johnson, 7 each, Pro Stock; Andrew Hines, 5, Pro Stock Motorcycle

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.717 seconds by Brittany Force, July '21; 330.31 mph by Steve Torrence, July '19

Funny Car - 3.889 seconds by Courtney Force, July '17; 329.18 mph by Tim Wilkerson, July '22

Pro Stock - 6.877 seconds by Allen Johnson, July '15; 201.01 mph by Shane Gray, July '15

Pro Stock Motorcycle - 7.047 seconds by Hector Arana Jr., July '23; 190.22 mph by M. Smith, July '22

NATIONAL RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading, Pa.; 338.94 mph by Brittany Force, Nov. ‘22, Pomona, Calif. 

Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 339.87 mph by Robert Hight, July ’17, Sonoma, Calif. 

Pro Stock - 6.450 sec. by Erica Enders, March '22, Gainesville, Fla.; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May '14, Englishtown, N.J. 

Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.665 sec. by Karen Stoffer, March '22, Gainesville, Fla.; 205.04 mph by Matt Smith, July '21, Sonoma, Calif.

EVENT SCHEDULE (Mountain Daylight Time)

SATURDAY, July 15

NHRA Lucas Oil Series Drag Racing Series eliminations at 8:45 a.m

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying at 2:30 and 6:00 p.m. 

SUNDAY, July 16 

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at 11:00 a.m. 

TELEVISION SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, July 16, FS1 will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 10:30 a.m. ET

SUNDAY, July 16, FOX will televise three hours of live finals coverage at 4:00 p.m. ET

Watch all day on NHRA.tv