NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

NHRA Nevada Nationals Saturday preview

After an action-packed day on Friday, the NHRA Nevada Nationals resumes on Saturday with two more rounds of pro qualifying plus elimination in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series as well as the popular jet dragster exhibition.
29 Oct 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Race coverage
Las Vegas


After an action-packed day on Friday, the NHRA Nevada Nationals resumes on Saturday with two more rounds of pro qualifying plus elimination in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series as well as the popular jet dragster exhibition. Brittany Force, Robert Hight, Aaron Stanfield, and Matt Smith, each in contention for Campong World Series championships, lead their respective fields after two full qualifying rounds.

Force, who entered the event 51 points behind Justin Ashley in the race for the Top Fuel title, leads the way with an impressive 3.665 at over 337-mph in her David Grubnic-tuned Monster Energy dragster. Force, who has been the top qualifier in eight of the first 20 race this season, will be eligible for a bye run on Sunday if she can hold on to the top spot since there are 15 dragsters racing this weekend.

Mike Salinas, also a contender for the Top Fuel title, is currently No. 2 with a 3.697 while Steve Torrence and Justin Ashley round out the top four in Top Fuel.

Hight set the pace in Funny Car on Friday with a 3.857 run in his Auto Club Camaro, bumping Bob Tasca III to the second spot following his earlier 3.865. Hight entered Las Vegas as the championship leader by ten points over Ron Capps, who finished the day in the No. 4 spot following a 3.889. Hight and Capps are both seeking to win a fourth Camping World Funny Car title.

The top 12 qualifiers in Funny Car are in the three second zone and with 19 cars on the grounds, Bobby Bode, Jeff Arend, and Jason Rupert are currently not in the field and much run quicker than the current bump spot of 4.596 in order to make the show.

The Pro Stock field is easily one of the most competitive of the season with just six hundredths of a second separating the entire 16 car field. Two-time Factory Stock champ Aaron Stanfield leads the pack with a 6.595, just a thousandth of a second ahead of runaway points leader Erica Enders. The rest of the top half of the field includes Troy Couhglin Jr., Greg Anderson, Bo Butner, Dallas Glenn, Deric Kramer, and Cristian Cuadra, who was a runner-up here in April during the Four Wide event.

The current bump spot in Pro Stock is held by Kenny Delco at 6.654 with Alan Prusiensky and Shane Tucker still outside the 16 car field.

Incoming leader Matt Smith added three bonus points to his total yesterday when he set the Pro Stock Motorcycle track record with a 6.797, 201.04 on his Denso Buell. Smith leads Joey Gladstone as he chases his sixth championship in the class.

Suzuki riders Angelle Sampey, Steve Johnson, and Jerry Savoie are all trialing Smith with low 6.8-second runs while Smith’s wife, Angie, is the current No. 5 qualifier at 6.846 on her Denso Buell. Title contender Joey Gladstone begins the day in the No. 8 spot with his Fatheadz Suzuki.

In addition to the Camping World NHRA Series pros, the Nevada Nationals will also feature the Summit E.T. Racing Series Finals, the Red Line Oil Legends Funny Car class, plus a full slate of Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series action.

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; Cruz Pedregon, Funny Car; Dallas Glenn, Pro Stock; Steve Johnson, Pro Stock Motorcycle.

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; 336.90 mph by Jack Beckman, Nov. 2019.
PRO STOCK
6.559 seconds by Erica Enders, Oct. 2015; 210.28 mph by Erica Enders, Oct. 2015
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
6.797 seconds by Matt Smith, Oct. 2022; 201.04 by Matt Smith, Oct. 2022.

SCHEDULE:

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, October 29 at noon and 3:30 p.m. PT. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 30.

TV SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, Oct. 30, FS1 will televise one hour of qualifying at 9:30 a.m. (ET) and 90 minutes of qualifying at noon.
SUNDAY, Oct. 30, FS1 will televise 3 hours of finals coverage at 5 p.m. (ET).