NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Heading into the second-to-last raceday of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, just eight win lights remain to be claimed in each class and a champion could be crowned before the day is over.

Pro Stock Motorcycle phenom Gaige Herrera, who has dominated th two-wheeled class all season, has the potential to clinch his first world championship, but that’s going to take early exits by his closest rivals – teammate Eddie Krawiec, reigning world champ Matt Smith, and Hector Arana Jr. – and a long day aboard his Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

Herrera had the quickest bike in all four qualifying sessions and earned the maximum amount of bonus points available to push his lead to 161 points over Krawiec. With 191 points available at the season-ending In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, he’s going to have to have a lead of 192 points before heading south on Interstate 15 after the event.

The championship battles in the other three Camping World classes will also go to Pomona but the leads in all three are subject to what happens today. 

In Top Fuel, Leah Pruett holds a single-point lead over Doug Kalitta and a six-point edge on four-time world champ Steve Torrence. Should Pruett and Kalitta each win their first-round races, over Josh Hart and T.J. Zizzo, respectively, they’d face off in round two with a potential date with low qualifier Mike Salinas for the winner in the semifinals. Torrence is on the other side of the ladder.

Matt Hagan has a 35-point lead over low qualifier Bob Tasca IIII with Robert Hight 22 points behind Tasca in third and Ron Capps 42 points behind Hight.

As the top four qualifiers, they can’t face each other until the semifinals, where Hight could take on Capps and  Tasca could face off against Hagan.

Erica Enders has a comfortable lead in Pro Stock of 94 points on Greg Anderson and with a long day for her and a short day for Anderson, she could get close to clinching her sixth championship.

Dallas Glenn is just five points behind Anderson in third with Matt Hartford a scant 16 points behind that.

Enders and Glenn couldn’t match up until the semi’s with Anderson on the other side of the ladder facing a potential second-round race with low qualifier Kyle Koretsky and a matchup with Hartford in the semi’s.

2022 EVENT WINNERS

Brittany Force, Top Fuel; Matt Hagan, Funny Car; Erica Enders, Pro Stock and Hector Arana Jr., Pro Stock Motorcycle.

MOST EVENT VICTORIES

Tony Schumacher, 4, TF; John Force, 4, FC; Ron Capps, 4, FC; Matt Hagan, 4, FC; Greg Anderson, 5, PS; Andrew Hines, 5, PSM.

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.652 sec. by Brittany Force, Nov. ’19; 338.17 mph by B. Force, Nov. ’19.
Funny Car - 3.835 sec. by Jack Beckman, Nov. ’19; 335.90 mph by Beckman, Nov. ’19.
Pro Stock - 6.559 seconds by Erica Enders, Oct. '15; 210.28 mph by Enders, Oct. '15.
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.760 seconds by Gaige Herrera, Oct. '23; 202.27 mph by Matt Smith, Nov. '23

NATIONAL RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. ‘19, Reading, Pa.; 338.43 mph by Brittany Force, Oct. ‘22, St. Louis.
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 – 6.627 sec. by Gaige Herrera, Oct. ’23, Ennis, Texas; 205.04 mph by Matt Smith, July ’21, Sonoma, Calif.

SCHEDULE

re-race ceremony, 10 a.m.; Eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

TELEVISION

SUNDAY, Oct. 29, FS1 will televise two hours of qualifying show 2 at 3 p.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, Oct. 29, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 5 p.m. (ET)