NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Top Fuel R1

One of the most dramatic matches of the season took place in just the second pair of Top Fuelers when both Capco Contractor campaigner Steve Torrence and Monster Energy-backed Brittany Force smoked the tires and pedaled back and forth in a battle for the win light. Giant tufts of gray and white smoke were generated all the way down track, and Torrence got there first, 5.987 to 8.973.

"I got out of that thing, in that thing, back on it, pedaling, pedaling," said Torrence, bursting with adrenaline. "I said, we're riding a bicycle. The amount of effort it took to go five seconds was way more effort than I'm used to making. The drivers did okay, but we're going to have to go back to the drawing board. But any way you can get that win light to come on, you have to do it today. We're working on it, but we've got three more of those, and I hope they don't happen that way."

Tony Stewart had to pedal to get the win over Billy Torrence, as well, and he's chuckling as he talks about the act of taming an 11,000-horsepower nitro beast.

"I've got a lot of experience pedaling race cars, especially here in Pa., a lot of the dirt tracks with the sprint car," said Stewart. "You have to be easy on that throttle. You hit the gas as hard as you can, if it shakes and spins, you have to be ready to catch it and get back in the gas. Getting a lot of practice."

The points leader and defending Top Fuel world champion takes a shocking bow-out in the first round with a puff of tire smoke next to French-Canadian Dan Mercier. The points implications here are huge, though not immediately disastrous. Justin Ashley, who won his first-round meeting with Smax Smith, stands his ground that he's not concerned with counting at the moment.

"Doug is great, and unfortunately he didn't win there – I understand that is good for the points, but we can't focus on that," said Ashley. "We have to focus on ourselves and take advantage of every opportunity we have."

Ida Zetterström makes the quickest run of her NHRA Top Fuel career, a 3.745, but Shawn Langdon's championship hopes are stoked in the Kalitta Air Careers by a holeshot win. His 3.753 gets it done thanks to his .059 light to Zetterström's .089.

Langdon at the top end regarding his quick reaction time: "I'm not Justin Ashley, but I'm doing the best that I can."

Antron Brown goes low of the round with a 3.723 to beat a tire-smoking Jasmine Salinas, and five-time Reading winner Tony Schumacher uses a 3.759 to defeat a hard-charging Doug Foley by .02-second.

Top Fuel pairings for round two (lane choice first): Justin Ashley vs. Clay Millican; Shawn Langdon vs. Tony Stewart; Antron Brown vs. Tony Schumacher; Dan Mercier vs. Steve Torrence

Funny Car R1

You're not ready for this. "Fast Jack" Beckman drives into tire spin at half-track and "Nitro Joe" Morrison and his Paul Smith-led team look to be trucking along for the win. The win light flashes in Morrison's lane, but he was edging toward the center line along the way and kicked the timing block at the top end. Morrison is disqualified for the infraction and Beckman will carry on to round two in the Peak Chevrolet.

The reverse upset is met with an upset-upset as the reigning Funny Car champion is ousted. J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota claim a holeshot win over Matt Hagan, to move around him to No. 3 in the standings.

"We stole one right there; I don't know how we got away with that," said Todd, "It quit before the finish line, had some holes out, knocked the belt off of it, and got the fire bottles. We have a mess to clean up once we get back to the pit area, but my DHL guys, they're some of the best out here. They do whatever it takes to get it done."

Austin Prock wins his match over Mike Smith with low-of-the-round 3.875 to keep the points lead securely in hand.

A big fire for Chad Green, but he's out of the car (and with the win light over a tire-spinning Blake Alexander) and we're down a spell for clean-up.

Funny Car pairings for round two (lane choice first): Bob Tasca vs. Ron Capps; J.R. Todd vs. Jack Beckman; Alexis DeJoria vs. Cruz Predregon; Austin Prock vs. Chad Green

Pro Stock R1

The defending event champion is moving on to the second round. Matt Hartford claims a wire-to-wire win over Eric Latino, flying off the starting line first by a ton (.040 to .120), and finishing the job with a 6.566 to 6.587.

"Man, we needed that. It shook through the top of low gear, but the win light turned on. That's the best light I've had all year [it's actually the second-best] . I'll take it, and we'll go to round two," said Hartford, who was .022 at the Tree in Seattle.

Camrie Caruso and her Big Jeff Audio Camaro claims their first round-win since returning to competition after a crash earlier this year. Jerry Tucker shakes the tires hard, and she drives around for the upset. Chris McGaha and his Harlow Sammons Racing entry get the nod over a red-lighting Jeg Coughlin Jr., who was just .001 too quick. McGaha goes 6.562, an improvement over his qualifying best.

No. 2 in the points entering the day, Aaron Stanfield puts up a .012 reaction time next to Troy Coughlin Jr.'s .023 for a holeshot win in his JHG/Melling Elite Performance Camaro by just .005-second.

Erica Enders and her JHG Melling Performance Chevy battle the racetrack but get the win light over Mason McGaha, and Dallas Glenn's points lead is in-tact after this round as he clocks low elapsed time of the event with a 6.526 in his defeat of Kenny Delco. The HendrickCars.com Chevrolet driven by Greg Anderson showed up for this round as well; he put a 6.529 on the board in his victory over Cory Reed.

"We have a little bit of air today, and these Pro Stock cars respond to Maple Grove weather," said Anderson. "It's great, there are a lot of trees around, and I love to race here. Round one in the books, thank God."

Pro Stock pairings for round two (lane choice first): Dallas Glenn vs. Cristian Cuadra; Aaron Stanfield over Chris McGaha; Erica Enders over Matt Hartford; Greg Anderson over Camrie Caruso

Pro Stock Motorcycle R1

Ron Tornow broke a valve spring and it damaged the engine during teardown on Saturday night; he did not make the call. That sent defending event champion Matt Smith, No. 2 in the points, down track on a solo aboard his MSR Denso Buell. Points leader and No. 1 qualifier Gaige Herrera wheeled the Vance & Hines RevZilla Mission Suzuki on a solo as well – opponent Kelly Clontz broke an engine in qualifying and was knocked out for the weekend.

Herrera appeared to have utilized his solo to make a safe pass, knowing he was charted for a bye run in the second round. Smith showed his hand with a 6.813 that was second only to wife and teammate Angie Smith and her glimmering pink Denso Buell. Angie went 6.803; both riders exceeded 200 mph.

Richard Gadson, No. 3 in the points, advances with a strong 6.817 over Geno Scali. John Hall started the Countdown in the No. 4 position, but his untimely first-round exit next to Angie Smith set him back a spot. Chase Van Sant rode his White Alligator Racing/TK Motorsports Trick Tank/Reddy Parts Suzuki to victory over Marc Ingwersen to move into the position previously held by Hall.

Pro Stock Motorcycle pairings for round two (lane choice first): Gaige Herrera vs. bye; Angie Smith vs. Hector Arana Jr.; Matt Smith vs. Steve Johnson; Richard Gadson vs. Chase Van Sant

Top Fuel R2

The U.S. Nationals winner is ousted this round as Justin Ashley, who took over the points lead with his first-round victory, drives his Scag Power Equipment Toyota to victory over Clay Millican. Ashley went a low-of-the-round 3.771. Soon after, Shawn Langdon and the Kalitta Air Careers rail gets around Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta in the points with another round win. Langdon is No. 2 in the standings after his triumph over tire-smoking Tony Stewart.
 
What is even happening? Dan Mercier's day continues to get better as he upsets a tire-smoking Steve Torrence. Antron Brown and the Matco Tools Toyota get the win over Tony Schumacher, who smoked the tires first and with more dramatics. Brown moves around Torrence in the points into the No. 4 spot.
 
"That track is getting tricky out there, but I've got confidence in my guys," says Brown. "They'll make the right adjustments. Great race against the eight-time world champ, but we got that round and we're going to the semis. It's going to be tough matchups all the way through this thing, and we're just happy to be in it."
 
Top Fuel pairings for round three (lane choice first): Justin Ashley vs. Shawn Langdon; Antron Brown vs. Dan Mercier

Funny Car R2

A stunning and uncharacteristic -.002 red light ends the day for Ron Capps, and tire smoke sends J.R. Todd packing. That's giving Jack Beckman a lot of leeway as he was just behind both of them in the points heading into this round. Beckman powers John Force's Peak Chevrolet to a winning 3.917 that stands as quick of the round.

Alexis DeJoria, who put forth a very strong qualifying effort in her Bandero Tequila Toyota, is continuing to shine. She powered through tire shake to get the win over Cruz Pedregon. The freight train that is Austin Prock continues to roll with a win light over Chad Green, whose Bond-Coat team gets a nod for managing a quick turnaround after significant engine fire in the first round.

Funny Car pairings for round two (lane choice first): Austin Prock vs. Bob Tasca III; Jack Beckman vs. Alexis DeJoria

Pro Stock R2

The two Elite Motorsports JHG-branded Chevrolets get the upper hand over their opponents this round as Erica Enders is a dangerously near-perfect .001 at the tree along with a 6.554 at 210.77 mph to defeat Matt Hartford by five-hundredths; teammate Aaron Stanfield gets the nod as well as he's a tidy 6.569, 208.75 to shut down Chris McGaha, who gets loose in the other lane.

"We've got a good hot rod today, I'm driving decent, and I think we have a good shot here," said Stanfield unironically, despite winning four of the last six races.

KB Titan Racing will square off with Elite Motorsports in the semifinals as the top four in the points are the four who advance. Points leader Dallas Glenn is .017 at the tree to Cristian Cuadra's .062, then closes the deal with a low-of-the-round 6.538 in the RAD Torque Systems Chevy. Greg Anderson advances on a 6.555 for HendrickCars.com as Camrie Caruso shakes loose on the racing surface.

"He's really tough," said Glenn, regarding next-round opponent Stanfield. "We've both laid down some good laps against each other and I guarantee this next one isn't going to be any different. That's a great team over there, and no matter what, we're doing way better than last year. We've gotta keep going to the semis at each one of these."

Pro Stock pairings for the third round (lane choice first): Dallas Glenn vs. Aaron Stanfield; Erica Enders vs. Greg Anderson

Pro Stock Motorcycle R2

Hector Arana Jr. is taking the GETTRX Buell to the semifinals here at Reading, as he did last year, after locking out Angie Smith by .009-second. Arana used the quickest run of the round to get it done, a 6.812.

"My dad built one helluva machine. This GETTRX Buell is bad to the bone," said Arana Jr., whose father, Hector Arana Sr., builds the engines for their family owned operation.

The Smith family will be represented in the semis, though, as Matt Smith takes his Denso Buell to a win over Steve Johnson by just .005. Johnson was .006 at the Tree and led well down the track, but Smith nipped him at the end.

Richard Gadson's .004 light and 6.893 keeps the RevZilla Mission Foods Suzuki in the game; Chase Van Sant goes 6.905 in the other lane.

Pro Stock Motorcycle pairings for round three (lane choice first): Hector Arana Jr. vs. Gaige. Herrera; Matt Smith vs. Richard Gadson

Top Fuel R3

After round wins over championship hopefuls Doug Kalitta and Steve Torrence, the upsets ended here for Dan Mercier. Antron Brown's Matco Tools rail smoked the tires down track, but Mercier was up in smoke as soon as he launched from the starting line. Brown jumped up a spot to No. 4 in the standings, while Torrence was bumped to fifth.

"We picked up that semifinals win, now we just gotta shake those dice and see if we can bring it home," said Brown, a three-time winner this year. He's heading to the 37th Top Fuel final of his career.

He was the points leader coming into this round, but Justin Ashley smokes the tires and it's Shawn Langdon heading to the final round. Langdon can go around Ashley if he wins the final, but Brown plans to have something to say about that. If Brown wins, he goes around Langdon.

Langdon will be making his seventh trip to the final this year and is looking for his third win on the season. It will be the 45th final of his nitro career.

Final round pairing (lane choice first): Shawn Langdon vs. Antron Brown

Funny Car R3

Alexis DeJoria and Jack Beckman both fell into tire smoke at the same time, and it becomes another pedalfest. Beckman eases back in to reclaim his momentum and it triggers the win light, 6.652 to 6.723.

"In the last three years and nine months, I never once rehearsed for that. When it smoked, I lifted and counted to 420 and then tried to just gently drive back into the thing. When I saw Alexis nose poke out in front of me, you gotta resist the temptation to mash the thing because you know it's just going to smoke and go sideways again. It wasn't good, but it was good enough."

Bob Tasca and the Dark Horse Ford Mustang have trouble as well, and that spells good news for points leader Austin Prock and the John Force Racing team; they're assured a Maple Grove Raceway trophy today. Prock advances to the final on a 3.931.

Prock is advancing to his ninth final of the year and looking for his sixth win in Funny Car. Overall, this is his 17th nitro final. He has nine wins overall across Top Fuel and Funny Car. Beckman's most recent final was a win in 2020 at Texas Motorplex; he has 33 Funny Car wins on his scorecard, plus two in the Sportsman categories. The Reading finish will mark his 73rd career final.

Final round pairing (lane choice first): Austin Prock vs. Jack Beckman

Pro Stock R3

The Elite Motorsports vs. KB Titan Racing rivalry is humming as the naturally aspirated hot rods put on a great show for the fans. Defending Pro Stock champion Erica Enders defeats five-time world champ Greg Anderson by just .005-second and points leader Dallas Glenn rattles the tires and watches as Aaron Stanfield surges ahead with ease. Stanfield has low elapsed time of the round with a 6.562, and the two Johnson's Horsepowered Garage Chevrolets will meet in the final

"That's huge for Elite Motorsports, it's been an uphill battle because they've had fast racecars all weekend," said Enders. "Going to the final round, we can't lose today and I’m so grateful for that."

Enders is seeking the 50th win of her career; she has 48 in Pro Stock and one in Super Gas. Stanfield's scorecard has expanded this year to include 30 career wins over Pro Stock (12), Sportsman (16), and Factory X (2). This will be the 51st final round of his career across all categories.

If Stanfield should win the race, he will go around Glenn for the points lead. Enders has gone around Anderson to move into the No. 3 position in the standings; if she wins, she moves to second place.

Pro Stock pairings final round (lane choice first): Aaron Stanfield vs. Erica Enders

Pro Stock Motorcycle R3

Defending event champion Matt Smith's bike shuts off early in the run, and that sends Richard Gadson ahead to the final round at the Philly native's home race. Gaige Herrera's stunning -.002 red light edges Hector Arana Jr. into the final.

This race marks the second final round of the year – and of his career – for Gadson. If he should win, he will hop over both Smith and Herrera to take over the points lead. If not, he remains third in the standings. Arana is racing in the final for the first time this season and 34th time in his career. He's aiming at a 19th career win, and no matter the outcome of the event, he will leave Maple Grove Raceway No. 4 in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings – an enormous move from his incoming position of eighth.

Pro Stock Motorcycle pairings final round (lane choice first): Richard Gadson vs. Hector Arana Jr.