NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Ponies ran rampant at the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties. Chris Holbrook took pole position in the SAMTech.edu Factory Stock Showdown in his 2019 Ford Mustang with an 8.024-second pass at 173.36 mph. His Mustang was one of five in the top half of the field after the third and final qualifying session wrapped. 

VIDEO: Every run from the third and final Factory Stock qualifying session below. Catch the first round of eliminations on NHRA.tv and tune in to FS1 at 10 p.m. Eastern for more NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing coverage. 

2017 Pro Stock world champion Bo Butner slotted into the second spot, also driving a Ford-powered machine. He ran an 8.045 at 176.01 to finish ahead of the best-performing Chevrolet Camaro in the category. Randy Taylor qualified third at 8.062 at 170.49 in his 2019 Camaro, booking a matchup with Scott Libersher (another Camaro campaigner) in the first round of eliminations – set to begin at 2:45 p.m. Central Time on Saturday. 

Defending Factory Stock world champion Leah Pritchett finished eighth on the sheet with the best qualifying Dodge Challenger. Her Mopar-bannering machine ran an 8.105 at 169.23 and earned her a battle against Joe Welch, who also runs a Dodge. 

Welch survived the bumping that always takes place in the final qualifying session. He ran an 8.162 and qualified in the No. 16 position. Leonard Libersher was not so lucky, and missed out on the field by .012-second. So, too, did David Kramer, father of Pro Stock campaigner Deric Kramer, in his first Factory Stock race while running a Chevy Camaro.