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Texas native Steve Torrence raced to the Top Fuel qualifying lead Friday at the NHRA SpringNationals, the sixth event of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) were also qualifying leaders in their categories at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston.

Torrence, winner of the season-opening Winternationals, piloted his Capco Contractors/Torrence Racing dragster to a track record 3.724-second pass at 329.42 mph during Friday’s second qualifying session. The Kilgore, Texas, native is two sessions away from securing his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and third in a row.

“Houston is one of the racetracks I get to call home. It is really gratifying to be able to run well in front of the home town crowd and all the friends and family I’ve grown up racing with,” Torrence said. “Just have a lot of support here.”

Doug Kalitta is currently in the No. 2 spot, racing his Mac Tools dragster to a 3.743 at 324.36, and Clay Millican and his Parts Plus/Great Clips dragster sit in third with a matching time of 3.743 but slower speed of 323.12.

Two-time world champion Antron Brown and his Matco Tools dragster are in fifth, and points leader Brittany Force is seventh in her Monster Energy dragster.

In Funny Car, Wilkerson set a career-best and track record time of 3.899 at 327.59 in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang. Wilkerson, the 2004 SpringNationals winner, has two wins this season, in Phoenix and Charlotte, and is hoping to earn his first No. 1 qualifier of the year. 

“I’m pretty happy with that performance,” Wilkerson said. “I knew it was a pretty fast run because [the car] went out there in the middle of the track and really took off. Usually when it does that, it’s marching pretty hard.”

Alexis DeJoria is second with a 3.910 at 324.90 in her Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry and is trailed by Courtney Force and her Traxxas Chevy Camaro with a 3.915 at 320.66.

Defending world champion Del Worsham set the track record for speed with a 328.06 run in his DHL Toyota Camry and is currently in the fourth spot, and current Funny Car points leader Robert Hight is in fifth.

In Pro Stock, Anderson powered his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro to a 6.589 at 210.41. Anderson, eyeing his third No. 1 qualifier of the year, has two wins so far this season, in Pomona and Gainesville.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my guys and what they do with our race cars. It’s just a dream to drive right now,” said Anderson, a four-time Pro Stock world champion. “That run tonight was beyond what I thought we could run. That was pretty darn close to a perfect run. We usually get out of the car saying, ‘We did this wrong, and we did that wrong,’ but I can’t pick anything apart on that run. It was a very, very nice run, probably the nicest run I’ve had all year long.”

Anderson’s Ken Black Racing teammates Jason Line and Bo Butner currently sit in the second and third spots with a 6.602 at 209.92 and a 6.623 at 208.91, respectively.

Line and his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro have not qualified outside of second or missed a final-round appearance so far this season.

Butner, in his Bill Butner Auto Chevy Camaro, will be racing for his first Pro Stock victory after finishing runner-up to Line two consecutive times in Charlotte and Las Vegas.

Two-time and defending world champion Erica Enders is in the sixth position. Enders will be racing for her third consecutive victory at Royal Purple Raceway.

The final two qualifying sessions of the NHRA SpringNationals will be at 1 and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Royal Purple Raceway.

Rickie Smith raced to the qualifying lead Friday during the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the event. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, co-presented by the Pro Line Racing and Jerry Bickel Race Cars Inc., is the second of the 10 events in the season.

Smith, the 2014 J&A Service Pro Mod national champion from King, N.C., powered his IDG ’15 Camaro to the top qualifying run of 5.779 seconds at 250.46 mph. Smith won the Pro Mod season-opening event at the Gatornationals in Gainesville and has nine career wins.

Troy Coughlin, the reigning Pro Mod champion, sits second with a 5.798 at 255.92 in his Jegs.com ’15 Corvette, and Von Smith is third with a 5.802 at 249.12 in his Al-Anabi Racing ’16 Corvette. 

The final Pro Mod qualifying session is Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and the first round of eliminations will begin at 5 p.m.