NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

TOP FUEL Q3/MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1

With the air temp a cool 66 degrees and the track at just 94 degrees, we're expecting great things in this session, and we got them.

Friday low qualifier Jasmine Salinas' prediction that her 3.794 would not remain No. 1 through today came true early as Justin Ashley's Scag dragster raced to a 3.752, followed quickly by Josh Hart's 3.719 in the Speedmaster entry. It was a get-well moment for Ashley, who's only qualified in the top half of the field three times in the season's first 11 events, and it was Hart's best qualifying e.t. since he qualified No. 1 at the season opener in Gainesville.

Clay Millican made his best run of the season and exactly matched Hart's 3.719, but Millican "stomped on that loud pedal" a little deeper with a speed of 336.74 to Hart's 335.07 to give him the higher spot. Billy Torrence then ran his season-best pass, a 3.706, to take over the top spot from Millican,  but the run was later DQ'd due to a timing issue. Shawn Langdon then took over the vacated No. 1 spot with a 3.707

In the opening pair of the Mission Challenge, Antron Brown beat Doug Kalitta in a pedalfest, 4.08 to 6.05, avenging his semifinal loss to Kalitta in Sonoma while Salinas repeated her win over Leah Pruett in a great race,  3.741 to 3.762, to earn lane choice in the Mission Challenge final against Brown. With Kalitta's loss, it will be just the second time this season that a Kalitta Motorsports machine does not win the Mission Challenge; the only exception was the four-wide event in Charlotte, which Millican won.

Only two drivers (Salinas and Brown) ran in the 3.70s on Friday, and nine did it in this session alone.

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FUNNY CAR Q3/MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1

Austin Prock, who has won this event in Top Fuel (2019) and Funny Car (2024) will race in the final of the Mission Challenge after beating the guy who took over his seat in the Cornwell Chevy, Sonoma winner Jordan Vandergriff. Prock will take on Daniel Wilkerson, hot off of his runner-up to Vandergriff in Sonoma last weekend, also made it to the Mission Challenge final, winning a tire-smoking duel with Jack Beckman, 4.85 to 6.87.

J.R. Todd and "the yella fellas" with the DHL Toyota took over the No. 1 qualifying spot with the field's only 3.8-second pass, a 3.885. Only two other drivers ran in the threes, with Chad Green moving to No. 2 on the ladder with a solid 3.908 and Spencer Hyde, who jumped Jim Head's machine all the way to the No. 4 spot, just behind Friday leaders Cruz Pedregon's 3.926.

Ron Capps, who owns four wins here — including the first of his 80, in Top Fuel at the 1995 event — continued to be stymied with a run of just 4.11 after getting loose downtrack. He ends the session in the No. 14 spot. Vandergriff is also struggling as he's 15th with a 4.49 best with Tim Gibbons on the bump in Gary Densham's car.

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PRO STOCK Q3/MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1

Erica Enders, who entered the day in the No. 17 spot outside the field, quickly rectified that with a 6.505 in the Mission Challenge to edge Elite teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. by .008-second and jump ot the No. 9 spot and into the Mission Challenge final where he will take on Greg Stanfield in a rematch of their Sonoma final, where Stanfield got the win. Stanfield had to drive around Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s 004 light to the win.

With the great atmospheric conditions, the Pro Stock qualifying lead predictably changed hands a number of times from Dallas Glenn's 6.527 Friday lead but the world champ and track-record holder (6.44 last year) ended up back on top with a 6.471 with a backup engine.

"We were looking real good yesterday until we had to swap engines last night, but thankfully all the guys at KB Titan work really hard, and all the engines we have in the trailer; they're all pretty stout," said Glenn. Twelve of the 17 drivers bettered Glenn's Friday best.

2019 Seattle winner Matt Hartford clicked off a 6.477, also with a backup engine after wounding his No. 1 bullet in Friday's action, to grab the No. 2 spot with Cody Anderson just a tick behind at 6.478.

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TOP FUEL Q4/MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

After losing a season-best 3.706 in Q3 due to a timing-system issue, Billy Torrence's Capco team bounced back with an even better 3.692 in Q4 only to be trumped by a resurgent Josh Hart, who posted a 3.685. It's Hart's second career No. 1 start and will earn him a first-round bye for the 15-car field, a welcome bonus as Hart and the Speedmaster team have only been to the semifinals once (in Chicago) since his win at the season-opening Gatornationals

After the Mac Tools team waded through some issues with its timing controller, Doug Kalitta zoomed from the No. 11 spot earlier in the session into what was then the No. 1 spot, picking up a solid tenth with a 3.703, but the two-time world champ eventually ended up in the No. 3 spot.

Antron Brown won the Mission Challenge Top Fuel final with a 3.73 after Jasmine Salinas had to lift early after losing traction. It's Brown's first Mission Challenge win.

Top eight qualifiers:

1. Josh Hart: 3.685
2. Billy Torrence: 3.692
3. Doug Kalitta: 3.703
4. Shawn Langdon: 3.707
5. Leah Pruett: 3.710
6. Clay Millican: 3.719
7. Antron Brown: 3.730
8. Maddi Gordon: 3.731

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FUNNY CAR Q4/MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

Daniel Wilkerson scored his first Mission Challenge title, racing to a weekend best of 3.92 to defeat tire-smoking Auston Prock for the bonus cash and points. Prock won't have to wait long for a shot at revenge as they're also slated to face one another in Sunday's first round. Wilekrson is the eighth different driver to win a Funny Car Mission Challenge this season.

Jack Beckman had the best run of the session with a 3.890 but not enough to unseat J.R. Todd's 3.885 from Q3, marking Todd's 17th career No. 1 qualifying effort. Todd will take on Jeff Arend and the Jim Dunn entry, who only made it to the line for two of the four scheduled qualifying sessions.

Alexis DeJoria (3.900) and Matt Hagan (3.903) had the second- and third-best runs of the session, setting them up for a great eliminations day.

Ron Capps and the NAPA team finally found the secret sauce and raced to a 3.94 to get from the bottom three into the No. 10 spot in the field while Jordan Vandergriff's 3.936 took him to the No. 9 spot.

Thirteen cars ended up qualified in the three-second range, and the whole 16-car field was in at 4.10 or better. 

Top eight qualifiers

1. J.R. Todd: 3.885
2. Jack Beckman: 3.890
3. Alexis DeJoria: 3.900
4. Matt Hagan: 3.903
5. Chad Green: 3.908
6. Daniel Wilkerson: 3.924
7. Cruz Pedregon: 3.926
8. Spencer Hyde: 3.929

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PRO STOCK Q4/MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

The Mission Challenge final pitted Elite Motorsports teammates Greg Stanfield and Erica Enders in what was a rematch of last weekend's final in Sonoma, and this one went the same way, in Stanfield's favor, for his first Mission Challenge win of the season. The race was never in doubt as Stanfield had a great light and raced to a 6.497 to 6.507 victory.

The final qualifying session was a bit of a mixed bag with some teams improving and others taking big swings that missed, and, outside of the all-team Elite Mission Challenge, it was KB Titan teammates Dallas Glenn and Greg Anderson who raised eyebrows with matching 6.470 passes, with Glenn ending up the No. 1 qualifier on speed, 211.89 to Anderson's 211.06. Believe it or not, it's the points leader's first No. 1 qualifier of the season after four No. 2 berths.

After a 6.477 in Q3, Matt Hartford continued to look sporty with a 6.489 while Stanfield's 6.497 and Eric Latino's matching number were also sub-6.50.

The session kicked off in dramatic fashion as Joey Grose lost the handle on his pretty Trust Me Vodka Camaro. Grose’s car crossed the centerline and made contact with the left guard wall before flipping over on its roof. The car then struck the right guard wall before coming to a stop. Grose exited the car and was alert, and was examined on-site by NHRA medical personnel before being transported to a local medical facility.
 

Top eight qualifiers

1. Dallas Glenn: 6.470
2. Greg Anderson: 6.470
3. Matt Hartford: 6.477
4. Cody Anderson: 6.478
5. Greg Stanfield: 6.487
6. Eric Latino: 6.497
7. Matt Latino: 6.500
8. Troy Coughlin Jr.: 6.503