NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

NHRA Four Wide racing is nothing if not unpredictable so it stands to reason there will be plenty of surprises as eliminations get underway at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

There was plenty of shuffling during qualifying on Friday and Saturday as the Camping World NHRA tour returned to four professional qualifying sessions for this weekend’s event. Those who were best took advantage of the opportunity included Mike Salinas, Ron Capps, and Aaron Stanfield in Top fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock, respectively.

Brittany Force appeared to have the upper hand in Top Fuel after Friday’s 3.735 in her Monster Energy dragster but Phoenix winner Mike Salinas had other ideas. As one of the last cars down the track on Saturday, Salinas wheeled his Scrappers dragster to a 3.722 to land the pole for the ninth time in his career. Salinas will race against world champ’s Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown.

Force was bumped to No. 2 and her reward will be a quad featuring Josh Hart, Cameron Ferre, and reigning world champ Steve Torrence.

Justin Ashley, Jim Maroney, Clay Millican and Austin Prock will make up another quad while the final quad will feature Leah Pruett, Rob Passey, and teammates Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon.

There was also a change at the top of the Funny Car standings during Saturday’s final qualifying session when reigning world champ Ron Capps bumped John Force from the top spot. Capps drove his NAPA Dodge to a 3.883, a run that was four-thousandths quicker than Force’s 3.887 from Friday.

Blake Alexander held on to the No. 3 spot in Jim Head’s Mustang while Gainesville winner Matt Hagan landed fourth.

Capps will be in a quad that also features Jason Rupert, Tim Wilkerson, and J.R. Todd. John Force, Jim Campbell, Cruz Pedregon, and Alexis DeJoria will make up another quad.

Hagan will race against Bob Tasca III, Jeff Diehl, and Chad Green while the final quad features Alexander, Bobby Bode, Robert Hight, and Tony Jurado.

Aaron Stanfield held on to the top spot in Pro Stock for the second time this season and third overall. Stanfied’s Janac Bros/JC3 Energy Camaro was quick on both days, but his 6.642 was never bettered. Stanfield came into Las Vegas as the points leader after opening the season with a win and a runner-up.

There is less than a tenth of a second separating the entire Pro Stock field with Cristian Cuadra holding down the bump spot at 6.741 seconds.

Stanfield and Cuadra will race in a quad with Matt Hartford and rookie Camrie Caruso. Erica Enders, who has enjoyed much success in Las Vegas, is facing Steve Graham, Troy Coughlin Jr., and Fernando Cuadra Jr.

Reigning world champ Greg Anderson finished as the No. 2 qualifier and he’s scheduled to race Mason McGaha, Kyle Koretsky, and Deric Kramer while the final quad will feature Bo Butner, Chris McGaha, Fernando Cuadra Sr., and Gainesville winner Dallas Glenn.

You can catch the action all weekend on FOX Sports 1 and NHRA.tv.

You can follow NHRA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to get a closer look at the action.

2021 EVENT WINNERS

Steve Torrence, Top Fuel; Bob Tasca III, Funny Car; Erica Enders, Pro Stock.

TRACK RECORDS:

TOP FUEL
3.652 seconds by Brittany Force, Nov. 2019; 338.17 mph by Brittany Force, Nov., 2019
FUNNY CAR
3.835 seconds by Jack Beckman, Nov. 2019; 335.90 mph by Jack Beckman, Nov. 2019
PRO STOCK
6.559 seconds by Erica Enders, Oct. 2015; 210.28 mph by Erica Enders, Oct. 201

SCHEDULE:
Final eliminations are scheduled for noon on Sunday, April 3.

TV SCHEDULE

SUNDAY April 3, FS1 will televise 90 minutes of qualifying highlights at 12:30 p.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, April 3, FS1 will televise 3 hours of finals coverage at 7 p.m. (ET)