NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After a solid day of qualifying in front of a huge crowd, the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals continues on Saturday at Gainesville Raceway. On Friday, Steve Torrence, Austin Prock, Erica Enders and Gaige Herrera made the quickest runs in their respective categories.

After several delays, Friday’s second Top Fuel session was run under the lights at Gainesville Raceway and the many fans who stuck around got a show they’ll long remember.

Steve Torrence was the final driver down the track and he blasted to a 3.690 in his Capco Contractors entry to take the provisional No. 1 spot. Torrence edged a rejuvenated Shawn Langdon, who benefited from recent crew moves to record a second-best 3.697. Mike Salinas, the defending event winner, is third quickest at 3.717.

Saturday will also feature the Pep Boys Allstar Top fuel Callout event featuring the best eight cars in the class based on qualifying results from 2023. The field includes Doug Kalitta, Steve Torrence, Antron Brown, Mike Salinas, Shawn Langdon, Brittany Force, Justin Ashley, and defending event winner Josh Hart. Each round will feature a “callout” format where the higher qualified driver will have the option to pick his or her opponent.

Austin Prock, in his first official event in a Funny Car, looks like anything but a rookie with a 3.820 to put his Cornwell Tools Camaro into the top spot after two of four qualifying runs. Prock was one of six drivers to find the 3.8s on Friday as the top of the field also includes Bob Tasca III, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Chad Green, and J.R. Todd.

One of the most impressive runs of the day came from Terry Haddock, who finally earned his first three-second time slip with a 3.989 which is currently good for the No. 11 spot.

As expected, the Pro Stock field is incredibly tight with the top 16 drivers separated by just .05-second. Reigning world champion Erica Enders, in search of her first Gainesville win, leads the pack with a 6.550 and is followed by Cristian Cuadra, Dallas Glenn, Greg Anderson, Troy Coughlin Jr., Matt Hartford, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Aaron Stanfield, who is just two-hundredths of a second slower than Enders at 6.570.

The bottom half of the field stretches to Eric Latino’s 6.610 and it’s sure to get quicker as Kenny Delco, Chris McGaha, Camrie Caruso, Sienna Wildgust, Mason McGaha, and Alan Prusiensky are not currently qualified.

After nearly running the table last year with low qualifying efforts in 14 of 15 events, Gaige Herrera picked up where he left off last year with a 6.752 on his RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki. Herrera has plenty of company at the top of the charts as six-time champ Matt Smith is second with a 6.784 while Steve Johnson, LE Tonglet, Richard Gadson, John Hall, Hector Arana Jr., and Chase Van Sant round out the top eight.

Two riders who are currently not qualified, but should be, are Angie Smith and Joey Gladstone, who will have two more opportunities to qualify on Saturday.

2023 EVENT WINNERS

Mike Salinas, Top Fuel; Matt Hagan, Funny Car;  Troy Coughlin Jr., Pro Stock, Gaige Herrera, Pro Stock Motorcycle.

 MOST VICTORIES

Tony Schumacher, 5, TF; John Force, 8, FC; Warren Johnson, 9, Pro Stock; Eddie Krawiec, 6, PSM.

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.646 seconds by Doug Kalitta, March '23; 337.75 mph by Brittany Force, March ‘22

Funny Car - 3.828 seconds by Robert Hight, March '17; 336.23 mph by Ron Capps, March '22

Pro Stock - 6.450 seconds by Erica Enders, March '23; 214.69 mph by Erica Enders, March '14

Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.665 seconds by Karen Stoffer, March ’22; 203.49 mph by Gaige Herrera, March ’23.

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.

EVENT SCHEDULE (Eastern Time)

SATURDAY, March 9

Lucas Oil Series Drag Racing Series eliminations at 8 a.m.
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying at noon and 3 p.m.

SUNDAY, March 10

Pre-Race ceremonies begin at 9:15 a.m.
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at 10:30 a.m.

TELEVISION SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)

SATURDAY March 9, FS2 will televise 30 minutes of qualifying coverage at noon

SATURDAY, March 9, FS1 will televise 90 minutes of Pep Boys Allstar Top Fuel Callout coverage at 7 p.m.

SUNDAY, March 10, FS1 will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 8:30 a.m.

SUNDAY, March 10, FS1 will televise two and a half hours of eliminations coverage at 10.30 a.m.

SUNDAY, March 10, FS1 will televise 90 minutes of final rounds at 9 p.m.

Watch all day on NHRA.tv