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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q1

The experimental and historic first three-session Saturday kicks off with Pro Stock Motorcycle on a hot track with a temperature of 127 degrees, which will probably be the coolest it is all day. It’s also hot and humid, which also should prove a challenge for the tuners.

It’s a relative home race for Kelly Clontz, who hails from Maryland, and quite the opposite for Japanese national Eiji Kawakami. She runs 6.97 to Kawakami’s 7.27, which sets the bar and expectations for those who will follow.

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Chris Bostick and his Surf RV Resort Suzuki team are up next and have been scratching their heads trying to figure out why their success does not match those of their WAR teammate, Chase Van Sant. While the 2023 rookie of the year recently reached his first career final round in Chicago and has three top-half qualifying efforts in four races (and No. 9 in the fourth) and five round wins, Bostick has yet to turn on a win light and has qualified no better than 10th.

“We are going to try some new things [this weekend],” said Bostick. “Right now, we aren’t pleased with the performance we are getting out of my bike. Even though it has the same horsepower on the dyno that the other WAR bike has, we are trying to understand why my bike doesn’t seem to accelerate from 60 feet like Chase’s does. The acceleration from my motorcycle from the 60-foot mark to half-track is not close to what we are seeing with Chase’s bike. It’s something we have to figure out.”

Bostick goes 1.059 to 60 feet which is a vast improvement, but he clicks the bike off, either by design or by fault, in third gear.

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A few pairs later, Hector Arana Jr. takes over the top spot with a 6.798 but it doesn't last long as Chase Van Sant goes 6.794. By way of comparison to teammate Bostick, Van Sant's 60-foot time was only slightly better, 1.053, which shows that whatever the Bostick team did, appears to have worked.

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Van Sant's lead also doesn't last long as Richard Gadson first runs 6.76 only to be one-upped by his history-making RevZilla teammate, Gaige Herrera, who makes a dazzling track-record pass of 6.703 at 200.83 mph. Matt Smith also runs 200 mph (200.80) but at only 6.788, which slots him third behind the Vance & Hines riders. Angie Smith previously held the track record at 6.756, set in 2022.

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PRO STOCK Q1

Bo Butner makes his first run of the season in Pro Stock with a 6.642 and he's been the defending event champ here since 2019, the last time the factory hot rods ran here. Butner is breaking in a new car for the Cuadra family, who are not in attendance this weekend as they are at a group conference with their leather-goods partners.

No one realizes it at the time, but that was a good run as five of the other first six cars all failed to even break into the six-second zone.

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Eric Latino finally betters Butner with a 6.590 just ahead of Matt Hartford's engine-wounding 6.608 and then Deric Kramer splits them with a 6.596 as the good times start rolling. 

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Reigning world champ Erica Enders storms to the top spot with a 6.586 to take over the No. 1 spot despite a less-than-perfect 1.004 60-foot time, indicating that the Elite team can be even quicker. Kramer was .984 and Latino .985, by way of comparison.

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A bit of starting-line drama in the final pair as Dallas Glenn's parachute pops out of the pack in the water box. Fortunately for him, teammate Greg Anderson is in the other lane and graciously shuts off his car to wait while Glenn's RAD Torque team does the laundry. Glenn's wait pays off with a 6.612 while Anderson clicks 'er early to an 8.75.

You might not recognize Glenn this weekend as his car is in refrigerator-white Plain Jane mode. This is the car that Dave Connolly test-drove for the team recently and they think it's better than his normal ride.

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FUNNY CAR Q1

it's a rough start to the session as first Mike Smith has to be towed off after an air-system leak, then Jim Campbell and Terry Haddock experience woes at opposite ends of the track, Campbell smoking the tires at the hit and Haddock losing traction well downtrack. The left lane also vexes Dave Richards and Blake Alexander. In-between all the tire smoke, Buddy Hull boots Jim Dunn's Funny Car to a 4.18 to take the temporary lead.

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The three-second zone continues to elude the Funny Car class as Chad Green clicks off a 4.024 and Bob Tasca III, rocking the "dark horse" scheme again this weekend, goes 4.063.  J.R. Todd then goes 4.069 and Virginia's own Matt Hagan puts up a 4.129. Early traction does not seem to be the problem as much as downtrack struggles. Hagan, by the way, is the track record holder with a 3.853 that we're pretty certain won't be challenged this weekend.

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Austin Prock, the No. 1 qualifier at six of the season's first eight events, takes a shot at unseating Green from the top spot but falls just short with a 4.027.

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TOP FUEL Q1

The Top Fuelers take to the well-respected VMP track and none of the first three — Cameron Ferre, Jasmine Salinas, and Dan Mercier — make it past half-track under full power. It's hot out there, folks.

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Like Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock, Shawn Reed has parachute issues in the water box, but since neither he nor qualifying mate Josh Hart had fired, they're able to get it back into the pack and then fire 'em up. Reed has a cylinder out almost immediately, which may have helped him get through midtrack as he goes end to end with a 4.069.

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Brittany Force is back in the HendrickCars.com colors she had in Charlotte but the defending event champ and qualifying mate Tony Stewart both lose traction at midtrack.

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Billy Torrence, making his first appearance at VMP since 2019, gets close to the class' first three-second pass with a 4.034, successfully negotiating the middle of the track but slowing to just 247 mph through the traps.

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Antron Brown and the Matco team simply shake their heads and wonder what everyone is waiting for after blasting a 3.904 to take the lead by a tenth. Brown, by the way, has won at every track on the current NHRA tour except for Bristol Dragway and Virginia Motorsports Park. He has two runner-ups at VMP a decade apart (2009 and ’19). He has one runner-up in Bristol (2011).

"When you get into these conditions, it's the hottest we've ever raced in, but we get two more cracks at it today," said Brown. " I like where we sit, and we'll go backend work on it and see what else we can do."

And that's the way the session ends with Brown leading the way ahead of Billy Torrence and Shawn Reed.

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PRO STOCK Q2 AND MISSION CHALLENGE E1

The heat and high track temperature continue to bedevil the teams regardless of induction type or fuel burned. Five of the first six Pro Stock drivers — Val Smeland, Troy Coughlin Jr., Brandon Miller, Kenny Delco, and Chris McGaha  — all rattle the tires or bog just off the line, but Mason McGaha shows 'em how with a 6.664.

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Deric Kramer (6.639) and Aaron Stanfield (6.656) put up the two best runs of the session so far, but we're still a long way from Mike Edeards' long-standing 6.50 track record (set back in 2009!). Eric Latino looks good again with a 6.612, but the last four drivers, those taking part in the Mission Challenge, will probably better that.

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The Mission Challenge, pitting semifinalists from the event two weeks ago in Bristol, pits KB/Titan teammates Dallas Glenn and Greg Anderson. Anderson repeats the results from Bristol with a 6.62 but it looks like the run may have cost Glenn some engine damage.

An all-KB/Titan match deserves an all-Elite match in the other half, and we have it with Bristol winner Jeg Coughlin Jr. squaring off with current low qualifier Erica Enders. Enders gets the win light this time with another solid pass, low e.t. of the session, with a 6.614, just slightly better than Latino.

Enders already has three Challenge wins this season (Phoenix, Charlotte, and Bristol) and will face Anderson for the bucks and bonus points later today.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q2 AND MISSION CHALLENGE E1

Ron Tornow (6.95) and Kelly Clontz (6.93) have the best passes of the first six riders in the real heat of the heat of the day, then things get real. John Hall (6.847) and Steve Johnson (6.891) run side-by-side 6.80s.  The Hector Arana Jr. schools them all with a 6.796, which is actually .002-second quicker than he went in Q1 and pretty much the only top runner so far to improve in Q2.

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Bristol runner-up Jianna Evaristo takes on Richard Gadson in the first pair of the Mission Challenge, but Jianna turns it red by .002-second to give Gadson a bit of revenge from their semifinal Bristol battle.

The other half of the Challenge semi's is a huge match between red-hot Gaige Herrera and Matt Smith; their semifinal tilt in Bristol was one of the most anticipated races of that weekend. Smith, who won the Bristol Mission Challenge but red-lighted on Sunday in Bristol is .017 here on the Tree to take the upset, 6.790 to 6.795, beating the Vance & Hines rider at both ends of the track.

Herrera's stunning 6.70 from Q1 remains on the raceday pole.

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TOP FUEL Q2 AND MISSION CHALLENGE E1

Lex Joon, who skipped the first qualifying session, makes his 2024 season debut here in Q2. Joon and his wife, Gerda, have been helping Top Fuel rookie Travis Shumake this season (with Gerda tuning) but with Shumake not here, they get to run the family car. Joon smokes the tires and backfires the blower but with just 16 cars on the grounds, they'll play Sunday no matter what.

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New second-time father Steve Torrence runs 3.99, which won't even be among his quickest e.t.s ever, but the four-time world champ is probably still pretty happy after a first-run 4.30. It's the best run of a tricky round so far.

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If a 3.99 made Torrence happy, Tony Stewart's 3.920 may be even more so as he goes to No. 2 behind Antron Brown with Justin Ashley's 3.951 slotting third. Jasmine Salinas' 3.96 then moves her to fourth. Josh Hart, Billy Torrence, Shawn Langdon, and first-session hero Antron Brown all then smoke the tires at half-track to take us to the final four and Round 1 of the Mission Challenge in Top Fuel.

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Tony Schumacher, who won the first Mission Challenge of the season, in Phoenix, squares off with Clay Millican, who won the most recent, in Bristol. Schumacher got the better of Millican in Sunday's Bristol semi's and turns the win light on again here as both coast to the stripe after losing traction downtrack.

Brittany Force, who was runner-up to Schumacher in the Phoenix Challenge final, reached just her second semifinal of the year in Bristol but lost there to Doug Kalitta, and could use another feel-good weekend that could start with a revenge victory over the reigning world champ, and she'll get it as Kalitta fouls with an uncharacteristic  -.242 reaction and then finishes off the run with a blower backfire. The lone good news for Kalitta was the 3.957 that showed up on the scoreboard and moved him to No. 4 on the qualifying sheets. Force's 3.984 moves her to sixth and gives her lane choice against Schumacher.

 Stewart's 3.920 ended up low of the round, good for three bonus points.

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FUNNY CAR Q2 AND MISSION CHALLENGE E1

Mike Smith, who lost his first qualifying attempt due to a broken air line that prevented them from firing the car, brings the Hard Guys Mustang back to the line. There are 17 cars here, so he needs to make a full pass to get into the field, though the bump is pretty soft at 12.15 by Dave Richards. The boys didn't take it easy with a 4.28 that carries him to the No. 10 spot and Richards is up next to try to claw his way back into the field, which now sports an 8.90 bump owned by Jim Campbell. The Versatran Ford goes up in smoke again and Richards will enter the final session not in the show.

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Ron Capps, who with just two semifinal finishes in the first eight events this season is having a very un-Capps-like season, runs 4.13, low of the round so far and an improvement over his opening 4.21, but was probably hoping for more. He's sixth on the sheets.

With No. 1 being a 4.03 and the top eight at 4.16, this honestly looks like a 2010 throwback field.

“I really like this experimental scheduling format,” Buddy Hull said before the event. “Saturday you get a chance to make two runs before the throwdown session. For us that is perfect. We can get some track time in race day conditions and then try and run a low number."

Let's hope that's the case. There might be a three out there in Q3, scheduled for just after 6 p.m.

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Bob Tasca III, who made one of the better runs in Q1 (a third-best 4.063), makes the best run of Q2 so far with a 4.097. The early-season knock on the team has been the ability to run in warmer conditions, but it looks like Aaronbrooks and Todd Okuahara may have sorted that out.

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Current qualifying leader Chad Green has a fuel leak on startup but the crew quickly and efficiently handles it, and the Bond Coat Mustang runs 4.120, the second best run of the session to this point, with the Mission Challenge quartet up next.

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Points leader and Bristol winner Austin Prock lines up alongside the homestate favorite, four-time and reigning world champ Matt Hagan, for their Bristol semifinal rematch, which again goes to Prock, 4.12 to 4.14. Hagan led until half-track before a cylinder went wet.

Prock, who also won the Bristol Mission Challenge and, before that, the Challenge at the Las Vegas four-wide event, will take on his boss, John Force, who avenged his Bristol loss over J.R. Todd with a 4.13.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q3 AND MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

With 14 bikes on the grounds, no one is getting bumped, which is just fine with Chris Bostic, Eiji Kawakami, Kelly Clontz, and Marc Ingwersen, none of who made it far under power to kick off the third and final session of the day, and three of which had e.t.s in the double digits.

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Under the watch full eye of Matt and Angie Smith, John Hall takes their Buell to a strong 6.82 and it's worth noting, as announcer Alan Reinhart did, that Angie was up there sans leathers, indicating that she won't be taking her final pass.

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Points leader and season dominator Gaige Herrera, who can make more history on Sunday, runs a strong 6.795, his third 6.7-second pass of qualifying and holds the provisional qualifying lead with his opening 6.70 pass. Only Matt Smith, coming up next in the Mission Challenge final is likely to take it away.

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The Mission Challenge final comprises the two Bristol semifinal losers looking for the ultimate redemption, and Matt Smith gets it with a 6.767, low e.t. of the round, to Richard Gadson's 6.88. It's Smith's second straight Challenge win. The points and the money are welcome, but Smith doesn't run quick enough to change his scheduled first-round date with wife Angie.

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PRO STOCK Q3 AND MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

After two misses, Epping winner Troy Coughlin Jr. finally connects and from No. 15 to the No. 13 spot with a 6.676. Val Smeland also makes his best run of qualifying with a 6.666 for the No. 12 position.

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As expected, few improvements in the final session, and the ones that are mostly are feel-good runs about making it down the track successfully in their last shot before tomorrow's eliminations. There's little doubt that Erica Enders will stay No. 1 and the conditions just aren't there and drivers typically have fallen off two-hundredths from their Q2 efforts, though Deric Kramer and Aaron Stanfield did slightly improve but did not better their Q1 passes.

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It's Mission Challenge final time, with three-time Challenge winner Erica Enders going off against arch-rival Greg Anderson, who has yet to claim a Mission win over the past two seasons of the program. But now, thanks to a brilliant .004 reaction time, we can scratch that stat as he also edges her on e.t., 6.626 to 6.627.

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FUNNY CAR Q3 AND MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

4.0-second runs came cheap in the final qualifying session with six drivers getting close to the three-second zone, but none reached it.

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Bob Tasca III concluded an impressive three-run stretch of qualifying by taking over the No. 1 spot with a 4.024, his third 4.0-second run of the day. Tasca's 4.024 matched Chad Green's earlier run, but he got the top spot based on a better speed.

Blake Alexander went 4.04 in Jim Head's car and was joined in that region by Alexis DeJoria (4.058) and Daniel Wilkerson (4.071), leading up to the Mission Challenge finals. Buddy Hull ended up on the bump spot at 4.158 with Jim Campbell the lone nonqualifier.

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Austin Prock scored his third Mission Challenge victory by defeating his boss, John Force, in a great 4.03 to 4.04 final. Prock's 4,037 moved him into the No. 2 spot behind Tasca.

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TOP FUEL Q3 AND MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

As it was in Funny Car, the Top Fuel teams found their best footing in the day's final session, where a new leader emerged in Shawn Langdon, who booted the Kalitta Ai dragster to a 3.872 to take the lead, staying just ahead of teammate Doug Kalitta's 3.882.

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Incoming qualifying leader Antron Brown nearly matched his first-session 3.903 with a 3.908, but that was nowhere good enough in the session and he slid to the No. 5 spot behind Langdon, Kalitta, Tony Stewart (3.885), and Shawn Reed (3.890).

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Brittany Force got a feel-good win for the team, her first major score in a while and her first in the Mission Challenge competition when she took the Hendrickcars.com rail to a 3.96 to beat traction-plagued Bristol winner Tony Schumacher.