NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

As the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship playoffs continue, drivers and teams will be laser-focused on an NHRA world championship at this weekend’s 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals, which takes place on Sept. 20-22 at "the Bellagio of dragstrips," zMAX Dragway.
 
The NHRA Carolina Nationals marks the second event of the six-race NHRA playoffs, and the race will have competitors in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series taking to the track with championship dreams on their minds.
 
The intense, action-packed weekend will be filled with 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph excitement. The event features two qualifying runs on Friday, including a can’t-miss night session, two qualifying runs on Saturday, and championship Sunday, where all the stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle will leave it all on the line for a playoff victory.
 
Last season, Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all picked up wins at the fall race in Charlotte, and this year’s race will again be broadcast on FS1.
 
The 2023 Countdown to the Championship was the turning point for Kalitta’s season. He kicked off the playoffs with a win in Reading before winning the NHRA Carolina Nationals. He then went on to win the NHRA Finals, in a winner-take-all final round against Leah Pruett, getting that elusive world championship for the first time.

Kalitta entered the 2024 Countdown leading the Top Fuel points, but a first-round exit last weekend at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in Reading dropped him to fourth. Three-time 2023 winner Justin Ashley took over the lead with former Antron Brown, the Reading winner, moving up to the second position. Past world champs Shawn Langdon, Steve Torrence, and Brittany Force, as well as Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals winner Clay Millican and Top Fuel rookie Tony Stewart will all be in the hunt for event titles and valuable points.
 
Funny Car’s Tasca is hungry for his first NHRA championship and enters the playoffs in the best position of his career. He has three wins on the 2024 season and currently sits in second behind Funny Car newcomer Austin Prock. Prock took over driving duties for Robert Hight at the start of the season and has impressed fans throughout the year, winning six races, including Indy and the playoff opener in Reading. Tasca and Prock will need to stay atop their performance game with Jack Beckman, back in the seat racing for John Force, in third, J.R. Todd in fourth, reigning champion Matt Hagan in fifth, and three-time champ Ron Capps in sixth.
 
Anderson has five wins at zMAX Dragway, including most recently at this year’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in April. Last season, he defeated Dallas Glenn to claim the NHRA Carolina Nationals title and has enjoyed another banner year. This season, Glenn has led the points for the majority of the season but lost the lead in Reading as U.S. Nationals champ Aaron Stanfield continued his hot streak with his fifth win in the last seven events. Behind Glenn is reigning champion Erica Enders, with Anderson in fourth, setting up a number of must-see matchups in Charlotte.
 
The performance from Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Herrera has been nothing short of amazing in his last two years with powerhouse Vance & Hines team. Last season, he won 11 races, and he has shown little sign of letting up this year, collecting seven of the nine Pro Stock Motorcycle race titles this season, including the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. 

North Carolina native and six-time champ Matt Smith moved into a tight second place behind Herrera after Reading with Richard Gadson and Hector Arana Jr., the respective runner-up and winner at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, in third and fourth, while other contenders include Chase Van Sant, Jianna Evaristo, John Hall, and Angie Smith.

2024 EVENT WINNERS

Doug Kalitta, Top Fuel; Bob Tasca III, Funny Car; Greg Anderson, Pro Stock; Gaige Herrera, Pro Stock Motorcycle.

MOST EVENT VICTORIES

Antron Brown, 3, TF; Robert Hight, 4, FC; Jason Line, 3 PS; Andrew Hines, 5, PSM.

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.647 seconds by Mike Salinas, Sept. '23; 338.00 mph by Salinas, Sept. '23.
Funny Car - 3.820 seconds by John Force, April '24; 338.34 mph by Bob Tasca III, April '24.
Pro Stock - 6.455 seconds by Jason Line, Mar. '15; 215.48 mph by Greg Anderson, Mar. '15.
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.671 seconds by Gaige Herrera, April ‘24; 203.49 mph by Eddie Krawiec, May ‘21.

NATIONAL RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading, Pa.; 338.94 mph by B. 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; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May '14, Englishtown. N.J.
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.627 sec. by Gaige Herrera, Oct. '23, Gainesville, Fla.; 205.04 mph by Matt Smith, July '21, Sonoma, Calif.

SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, Sept. 19
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series qualifying at 8:00 a.m.
FRIDAY, Sept. 20
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series qualifying at 8:00 a.m.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying at 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Sept. 21
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series eliminations at 8:00 a.m.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, Sept. 22
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at 12:00 p.m.

TELEVISION

Friday, Sept. 20, FOX Sports 1 (FS1), will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 7:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, Sept. 22, FOX Sports 1 (FS1), will televise one and half hours of qualifying coverage at 1:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Sept. 22, FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise three hours of finals coverage at 3:00 p.m. ET

TICKETS

Tickets are available online at www.zmaxdragway.com or call 800-455-FANS (3267).