NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Top Fuel Q3

Second-place points driver Justin Ashley and new head crew chief Tommy DeLago put up a second straight 3.74 to show they're in the fight, but the bad news is that the guy in front of them, points leader Doug Kalitta, was a thousandth of a second quicker with a 3.744 to grab three more bonus points and inch his lead to 152 markers.

Ashley's 3.745 earned him two points, and Tony Stewart, who won his first career Top Fuel Wally here in the spring, was third-quick with a 3.762.

Friday qualifying leader Brittany Force didn't make it down under full power with a 4.70 coaster.

Dan Mercier might not be near the top of the qualifying sheet, but the Canadian has put down three really great and quicker runs -- 3.801, 3.795, and 3.791 -- to establish himself as a steady force in the field. His 3.791 was the fourth-best run of the session and has him currently in the No. 9 position.

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Funny Car Q3

Championship frontrunners Austin Prock and Matt Hagan both got session bonus points for the third straight qualifying session, but neither had the best run of the frame. That went to "Fast Jack" Beckman, who clocked a 3.898 ahead of Prock's 3.906 and Hagan's 3.926.

Four other drivers ran in the three-second zone, but no one who hadn't already been there on Friday, so we remain at 13 three-second qualifiers with Jason Rupert on the bump spot with a 4.026.

Ahead of Rupert is Dave Richards, who made his best run of the event, a 4.022 to get himself into the field for now. Cruz Pedregon is 14th with a 4.014 and all three of them are capable of making a three-second run in Q4.

Tim Gibbons, Buddy Hull, Dylan Winefsky, Jeff Diehl, and Chris Morel are on the outside looking in with one session to go.

Pro Stock Q3

The first Pro Stock car down the track was Troy Coughlin Jr., who improved by .002-second with a 6.643 in his JEGS.com Camaro. Coughlin’s run not only showed that improvement was possible, but also fueled expectations that the current 6.650-second bump spot would be lowered.

Chris Vang was one of the drivers who had a great shot to get into the field, but his 6.652 run was two-thousandths off the bump spot.  

Chris McGaha made a 6.650 run that would have been enough to make the field, except his opponent, David Cuadra, improved to a 6.626 to lower to bump spot to a 6.647 by his brother, Cristian.

Two more drivers, two more improvements at Cristian Cuarda ran a 6.627 to move off the bump while Deric Kramer improved upon yesterday’s 6.619 with a 6.615, which in the world of Pro Stock, was enough to move up three spots into the top half of the field.

Dave Connolly also moved up a couple of spots with a 6.621 in the KB Titan entry which is a tribute to late team owner Ken Black and his Vegas General Construction company.

Matt Hartford then stepped up and claimed low E.T. of the session with a 6.609. That run stood until championship leader Dallas Glenn ran 6.600 to make a big move to the No. 3 spot in the field.

Anderson ultimately finished third for the session after Greg Anderson wowed the crowd with a 6.584 to Cory Reed’s 6.594.

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Pro Stock Motorcycle Q3

Steve Johnson, who admittedly had a problem-plagued Friday in Las Vegas, apparently fixed his issue with a 6.838 to open the session and grab a spot in the top half of the field.

Chase Van Sant, who also struggled a bit on Friday, made a sizable improvement with a 6.916 on his Trick Tools Suzuki.

Jianna Evaristo slowed by three thousandths from yesterday’s best, but still made a very respectable run with a 6.890. Clayton Howey also continued his recent run of solid performances with a 6.886. Howey, who normally races in the Division 7 Sportsman Motorcycle series, is riding as a member of Kelly Clontz’s team aboard a Vance & Hines-powered Suzuki.

Perhaps the best side-by-side run of the round featured Matt Smith and Brayden Davis, with Smith being quickest, 6.860 to 6.862.

It took a while, but Angie Smith finally bettered Steve Johnson’s run with a 6.828, backing up yesterday’s 6.824. Smith held on for three bonus points while Johnson gained two, and Gaige Herrera picked up one point after a 6.843.

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Top Fuel Q4

In his second-to-last race as driver/team owner, Josh Hart made his best run of the weekend, a 3.779 after a trio of 3.8-second clockings in the first three, showing that he has a consistent hot rod for Sunday. Hart's R+L Carriers dragster is one of just two cars to make it down the track under full power on all four runs.

"We've made it down the track every run, maybe not as fast as we want, but we'll take that into raceday," said Hart, who will drive for John Force Racing in 2026. "We'd really like to finish this season on a high note."

Championship contender Justin Ashley is the only other driver to make four full pulls with runs of 3.796, 3.744, 3.745, and 3.773. Ashley's 3.773 was the second-best run of the session, behind Clay Millican's 3.758 and just ahead of Shawn Reed's 3.779.

Brittany Force only ran 3.87 on her final pass after her engine dropped cylinders and crew chief David Grubnic remotely shut down the pass, but she remained the No. 1 qualifier for her 58th  career top spot and will get a bye in round one.

Rob Passey opted not to make the final pass, so he locked into the No. 13 spot and a first-round date with Kalitta, with the winner earning a second-round bye run into the semifinals. Fans may remember a few years ago when Passey put Kalitta on the trailer in round one of the 2022 Arizona Nationals.

The top three drivers in the championship chase — Kalitta, Ashley, and Shawn Langdon — are all on the same side of the eliminations ladder.

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Funny Car Q4

After watching teammate Jack Beckman outrun them in Q3, 3.898 to 3.906, then to see him steal their 3.895 No. 1 qualifying lead a pair ahead of him with a 3.892, Jimmy Prock had no option other than to steal it right back, tuning his son Austin Prock to a dramatic 3.885 to seal their seventh No. 1 of the year and the 25th of Austin's career. 

The Procks picked up 19 of a possible 20 points in qualifying (11 in session bonus points and eight for the No. 1 spot) while second-place Matt Hagan only picked up 10, giving Prock a lead of 121 points.

Beckman's run was second best, and Bob Tasca III's excellent 3.908 was third best of the frame and lifted him from eighth in the field to fourth.

Prock, Hagan, and Spencer Hyde were the only three drivers to make full passes in all four sessions.

On the other end of the field, Jeff Diehl made his best run of qualifying with a 4.131 in the Gary Densham-tuned Big Time Pest Control entry, but it wasn't enough to get him past Jason Rupert's 4.02 bump spot. Ditto for Buddy Hull in his return to competition following hand injuries suffered in Sonoma. The Jim Dunn/KGC entry ran 4.163 and will sit out Sunday.

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PRO STOCK Q4

With the late afternoon sun setting behind the packed grandstands at LVMS, there were a few improvements in the Pro Stock field during Q4. Coming into the session, the bump was 6.643 and the only driver not in the field who almost made it was Kenny Delco, who ran 6.645.

Fernando Cuadra Jr. picked up .002-second with a 6.626 to make a small move up the ladder. Cuadra’s brother, David, also made a slight improvement with a 6.621.

Another driver who picked up .005-second was Jeg Coughlin Jr., who ran 6.613, and given the nature of Pro Stock, that was just enough to shuffle the ladder and gain two spots.

Matt Latino made a big move to get into the top half of the field with a 6.612 so the rookie driver will have lane choice in his round one match tomorrow morning.

The ladder moved when Aaron Stanfield made his best run of the weekend with a 6.593 to move, at least temporarily, into the No. 2 spot. Stanfield not only broke up the stranglehold that KB Titan team had on the top spot, but he also put championship contenders Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn on the same side of the ladder as they could race in the semifinals.

As for Anderson, he solidified the top spot with a 6.572 to sweep the qualifying bonus points for the day and claim the top spot for the 140th time in his career.
 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q4

The Pro Stock field was able to show a slight improvement in Q4 and the Pro Stock Motorcycle field showed likewise with several riders recording their best runs of the event.

One of the biggest improvements came from Kelly Clontz, who rode her Suzuki to a 6.918, although it wasn’t enough to improve her qualifying position.

Clayton Howey, making just his sixth appearance on a Pro Stock Motorcycle, qualified in the top half of the field with a 6.870.

Brayden Davis moved into the third spot in the field when he made his best run of the weekend with a 6.826 on his PowerTrain Suzuki.

The ladder was set in the final pair as title contenders Richard Gadson and Gaige Herrera squared off. Herrera went low for the round for the third time in four rounds with a 6.809 to pick up three more points. Herrera and Gadson are now on the same side of the ladder and could possibly race in the semifinals in a race that could possibly go a long way toward deciding the title.