NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q1

The first pro session of the weekend in Pro Stock Motorcycle kicked off with a 7.060 run by Marcus Hylton, but it didn’t take long for elapsed times to becomes much, much quicker.

Ron Tornow, making his final appearance in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, opened with a solid 6.892 on his Buell, which is tuned by Matt Smith.

The first quad included Ryan Oehler, Marc Ingwersen, Steve Johnson, and Chris Bostick. Bostick was first across the finish line with a 6.842, while Ingrwersen ran 6.862 and Johnson was close behind at 6.889.

The next quad produced significant improvement with Angie Smith riding to a 6.805 while Chase Van Sant and Brayden Davis recorded identical 6.872  elapsed times. Davis got the higher spot based on his better speed, 198.20 to 197.19. Jianna Evaristo finished the quad at 6.943.

The top spot changed hands in the final quad with Gaige Herrera taking the top spot at 6.768 while Reading runner-up Matt Smith was also in the 6.7s at 6.777. Both riders were over 200 mph. Richard Gadson was slightly off-pace at 6.894 while John Hall, the Reading winner, slowed to a 7.418 on his BRAKES Buell.

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PRO STOCK Q1

Stephen Bell, in his first year in the Pro Stock class, opened with a solid 6.621 in his 1320LLC entry while Brandon Miller made a solid 6.662 run in his Dodge. Chris Vang, making his first appearance in the Beaver Motorsports Camaro, ran 6.762.

The Cuadra Bros., Fernando Jr. and Cristian, made two solid runs at 6.583 and 6.585, respectively, to claim the top spots, albeit briefly.

In the next quad produced three more 6.5-second elapsed times, including a 6.582 by Deric Kramer, a 6.585 by Jeg Coughlin Jr., and a 6.587 by Greg Stanfield, a sure sign that the Charlotte field will not only be quick, but also close among the top 16 qualifiers.

The next quad, featuring Erica Enders, Cody Coughlin, Cory Reed, and Eric Latino was a great show with all four in the 6.5s. Latino was quickest with a 6.565, just two-thousandths quicker than Enders’ 6.567. Reed opened with a 6.571, and Coughlin was not far behind that 6.580.

The top spot changed hands in the final quad with Greg Anderson leading the way in his HendrickCars.com Camaro with a 6.557, just ahead of Aaron Stanfield’s 6.559 with points leader and Reading champ Dallas Glenn at 6.571.

After one run, there are 12 drivers in the 6.5,s and the bump spot is Brandon Miller’s 6.662.

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FUNNY CAR Q1

The spectacle of late-season four-wide nitro racing at zMAX Dragway --- not seen since the fall 2009 four-wide exhibition, which led to the first official four-wide race the following spring –- was reintroduced by the Funny Cars, in fine fashion with eight cars running in the threes and a pair of quads where three of the four went below four seconds.

Reigning world champ and points leader Austin Prock bounced back from a disappointing centerline cross last weekend in Reading to chart a 3.913 that leads the field by almost four-hundredths over second-ranked Cruz Pedregon, who followed up his Reading with an opening shot of 3.952.

“I may have been in a little deep [staged] there, but at least I didn’t mow over anything this time,” said Prock of taking out a timing block in Reading.

Chad Green (3.971), Bob Tasca III (3.976), Paul Lee (3.981), J.R. Todd (3.987), Matt Hagan (3.989), and Alexis DeJoria (3.994) also ran in the threes, making the whole top half of the field all under four seconds.

Alex Laughlin, still subbing for Buddy Hull (and talking excitedly about hoping to add a Pro Stock Motorcycle license to his Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock tickets) ran 4.02 in the Jim Dunn entry, and Daniel Wilkerson also just missed with a 4.03.

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TOP FUEL Q1

Reading runner-up Doug Kalitta led the first session of Top Fuel with a 3.790 in the Mac Tools dragster, just .002-second quicker than Brittany Force, who is running the HendrickCars.com colors again here in NASCAR country.

In a “that’s how it’s supposed to look” moment, Force, Steve Torrence, Clay Millican, and Shawn Reed all incredibly ran within .014-second of one another, from Force’s 3.792 to Reading winner Reed’s 3.810.

Steve Torrence sits third with a 3.796, putting the top three under the same performance blanket, with Shawn Langdon in fourth, not far outside with a 3.802.

Regular-season champ Tony Stewart was shut off on the starting line with a hot cylinder that the team didn’t want to risk. After his second-round wreck last weekend in Reading, Stewart is in the team’s backup car, which was the car he ran in 2024, and which Leah Pruett tested on Monday. The new backup to the backup is the car in which Pruett nearly won the 2023 world championship.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q2

With the sun setting behind the massive zMax Dragway grandstands, the Pro Stock Motorcycles took to the track for their second run of the day. Not surprisingly, performances across the board were quicker.

Kelly Clontz opened with a 6.856 on her Steamfitters Local 602 Suzuki, providing a glimpse of the potential. Ryan Oehler did not get down the track in Q1, but made a sizable improvement with a 6.991.

Jianna Evaristo made the best run of the third quad when she rode her JHG Buell to a 6.837. Evaristo was actually quicker than Brayden Davis, who posted a 6.854 aboard the Vance & Hines lead entry, backed by PowerTrain.

Brandon Litten found the 6.8s with a 6.894 but was a couple of hundredths behind Marc Ingwersen, who led the way with a 6.863. Angie Smith, one of the leaders in Q1, slowed to a 6.916 from her earlier 6.8-second pace.

Three of the four riders in contention for the Pro Stock Motorcycle championship raced in the final quad with Gaige Herrera setting low E.T. of the event with a 6.757,  just three thousandths ahead of teammate Richard Gadson’s 6.760. Matt Smith kept the leaders within striking distance with a 6.768, while Chase Van Sant also inched closer to the leaders with a 6.853.

John Hall did not run the second session after wounding an engine in Q1. Hall noted that the team simply ran out of time to get a new V-twin installed and that they planned to run both sessions tomorrow.

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PRO STOCK Q2

Chris Vang, in his first race in the Beaver Motorsports entry, opened a few eyes with a 6.618 to put himself solidly into the field.

Matt Hartford dominated the second quad with a 6.568 that was significantly quicker than second-best Cristian Cuadra, who posted a 6.589. Stephen Bell improved on his earlier 6.621 with a 6.599.

Three of four drivers in the next quad ran 6.55, including Deric Kramer, who took the pole with a 6.551 just ahead of Jeg Coughlin Jr., who ran 6.557, and Greg Stanfield, who was in the mix with a 6.559.

“The run was so smooth it actually felt slow,” said Kramer. 
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Dallas Glenn dropped the hammer on the rest of the field, at least temporarily, with a 6.535 in his RAD Torque Systems Camaro to lead a quad that included 6.56-second runs by Cory Reed, Fernando Cuadra Jr., and Erica Enders.

Not surprisingly, the final quad produced some of the quickest runs of the session with Greg Anderson leading the way at 6.535 while his teammate, Eric Latino, made perhaps the most surprising run of the day with a 6.538 for the provisional No. 3 spot.

The bump is a 6.609 by David Cuadra, and there are 14 cars in the 6.5-second range.

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FUNNY CAR Q2

Matt Hagan has won more quads (22) and advanced to more four-wide final quads (15) than any other driver, took over the qualifying lead with a 3.891 to finish ahead of first-session leader Ausin Prock despite Prock’s improved 3.900.

Reading champ Cruz Pedregon also improved with a 3.910, as did Alexis DeJoria, who has reached the final quad at two of the last three four-wide events at zMAX Dragway, including a runner-up in 2023, who ran a 3.911 for the fourth spot.

Paul Lee rode out a wild fireball of a pass, switching lanes in front of J.R. Todd, who deftly switched over to Lee’s lane only to have Lee come back over there, forcing Tod to make more evasive actions without contact.

"In all the years I've been driving, I have had very few fires, but that was definitely the worst one," said Lee. "It was on a good run going down there right in the lights, but you can't see anything, and the car's bouncing all over the place. We'll fix it and come back out for tomorrow."

"I saw Paul driving away from me, then saw it blow up," said Todd. "Of course, he disappears and get the 'chutesout and coast, and then next thing I know, he's rolling by me on fire, then comes over in my lane so I grab a handful of brake and the same time, get on that MPI steering wheel and turn it to the right, and then here he comes to the right. So like, I get back on the brake, try get the thing stopped and back to the left at the same time. I just had my eyes on him the whole time he's on fire."

Dave Richards improved to a 4.03, which has the Blue Bird Turf entry in the middle of the pack

Ron Capps is now 0-for-2 Friday after following a Q1 5.59 with an even slower 8.49 that has him sitting in the 16th and final spot of the field.

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TOP FUEL Q2

The Queen of Speed, Brittany Force, ruled the e.t.s too in Friday night's primetime session with the only 3.6-second run of Top Fuel qualifying, a 3.698 that was just .002-second quicker than Doug Kalitta's 3.700, stopping the 2023 world champ from getting another three bonus points as he did in Q1.

Steve Torrence was third-quickest, as he was in Q1, with a 3.720, with Shawn Langdon and Justin Ashley right behind with identical 3.728, but Langdon got the top spot thanks to a superior speed, 338.00 to 335.98.

All 13 drivers who ran (Cameron Ferre being the only one who didn't attempt a pass) improved in their opening lap.

Reading champ Shawn Reed rounds out the top eight with a 3.754.