NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Pro Stock Q3

The temperature is 83 degrees and headed to a high of 85 as we kicked off Pro Stock at 1 p.m., and most of the teams admitted that they'll be working on tune-ups for Sunday, when the temperatures could reach 89 degrees. The bump spot started at 6.644 and stayed there with Derrick Reese in the final spot and veteran Larry Morgan on the outside looking in, but there were a few improvements.

Local hero Greg Anderson made a solid move, from 6.613 to 6.580, a run that jumped him from the unfamiliar No. 10 spot all the way to No. 2.

“We love racing here in Charlotte; I’m loving it,” said Anderson. “We were a little off yesterday but that was better. Not where we need to be, but better. We’ll see what we can do this afternoon.”

There were some other incremental improvements, but not many and not by much although Chris McGaha did pick up a solid four-hundredths, Camrie Caruso picked up a hundredth and Dallas Glenn picked up a few thousandths with a 6.586 that was the third-best run of the session.

Erica Enders didn’t improve on her Friday-leading 6.557 but her 6.562 was the best of the session and earned her three more points. Points leader Aaron Stanfield also didn’t improve but made his third straight 6.58 pass: 6.586, 6.580, and 6.588.

The highlight of the session may well have been Pro Stock rookie Cory Reed’s perfect .000 reaction time. Reed, who suffered a terrible injury in a top-end accident at zMAX in 2021 after coming off his Pro Stock Motorcycle at speed, has taken to his new class with amazing speed. He’s also adopted a nickname — “Caveman,” bestowed upon him by Jim Whiteley in reference to Reed’s long hair and shaggy beard — and he clubbed his way to an improved 6.602 after a best of 6.631 on Friday and all the way to the No. 10 spot.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Q3

Matt Smith solidified his No. 1 qualifying spot with an improved 6.799, a few ticks better than his Friday 6.803 to give him three more bonus points, and while points leader Gaige Herrera muted that a bit when he picked up two points with a 6.833, the difference in their performance was noticeable.

Herrera’s teammate, Richard Gadson, had the third-best run of the session for the second straight time after being second quickest in Q1, showing that he has a bike to contend with this weekend.

After two nine-second passes Friday, Reading winner Hector Arana Jr. got back on track with a 6.88 that carried from No. 17 to No. 6. Geno Scali, Chase Van Sant, and Chris Bostick were the only other riders to improve and they shuffled around spots in the bottom half of the field.

Top Fuel Q3

Four-time world champ Steve Torrence, who lost in round two of the playoff opener last weekend in Reading, continued to look good with his third straight 3.7-second pass (a 3.77 after runs of 3.72 and 3.74) and downplayed his early exit in Reading, where he had traditionally done poorly. According to team stats, Torrence’s round-win record in Reading is 11-10 and 78-43 thereafter.

“We've been working on learning how to make power,” he explained. “Running on hot tracks used to be our money-maker, but that hasn’t been the case lately, so to run 3.77 on this hot track feels good.”

Canadian Dan Mercier moved his way off the 3.825 bump spot with a 3.780 which was the second-best run of the session and jumped him up to No. 13 and left Billy Torrence on the bump spot with a 3.797 with one session to go. It’s been a rough summer for Billy-Billy, as he has just one round win in the last five events.

Shawn Langdon’s 3.79 was third quickest and, like Torrence, he has a trio of 3.7-second runs on his racing resumé this weekend.

Low qualifier Brittany Force smoked the tires on her shot, but with little chance of a performance gain, this was likely crew chief Dave Grubnic exploring the limits in advance of eliminations.

Mike Bucher ran a 3.896 for an improvement over Friday’s 3.98 but he remained outside the field. Cameron Ferre, who did not run the session, also is on the outside looking in with one session to go.

Funny Car Q3

J.R. Todd and the DHL “yella fellas” had the best run of a checkered session with a strong 3.928, not better than his Friday best of 3.88 but his third straight three-second pass.

Other than a 15th spot during a weather-shortened qualifying in Pomona, Austin Prock has not qualified outside the top four, with 11 No. 1s, two thirds and a fourth, and he’s sitting No. 2 after three sessions here. His Q3 run of 3.941 was third best of the round behind Todd and his own teammate, Jack Beckman, who ran 3.931.

Prock was on pace for another No. 1 last night that would have brought him to within one pole position of his tying his team owner, legendary John Force, but he lifted early and Matt Hagan snuck around him by a thousandth of a second.

Dave Richards’ cursed season continued as the Bluebird Turf entry was shut off on the starting line with a fluid leak and sits 14th. if he can;t get out of that spot, he'll face the No. 1 qualifier in Sunday's first round.

Top Fuel Motorcycle Q3

Larry "Spiderman" McBride completed a sweep of No. 1 qualifying spots at the four races in the inaugural Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle Series, pacing the field with a 4.824. heading into round one later today,

Mich Brown is the only one who can stop McBride's run to the championship. Brown made his best run of the season, a 4.911, to qualify No. 2. He'll have to hope for someone to stop McBride in round one or two because McBride will clinch the title simply by making the final round.

Pro Stock Q4

Erica Enders completed a sweep of qualifying bonus points with the best run of all four qualifying sessions, including a 6.573 in Q4. That’s 12 points in her book plus 10 more for the low qualifier spot, a good haul as she tries to make up ground on her points-leading teammate Aaron Stanfield.

Jeg Coughlin Jr., another of Enders’ Elite/Scag teammates, had the second-best run of the session with a 6.591 while Stanfield was fourth with a 6/599 with Greg Anderson breaking up the lovefest with a 6.593.

Larry Morgan gave it a good shot on his final pass but his 6.656 fell short of cracking the field, which was sealed by Derrick Reese’s 6.64. Reese will be Enders’ first-round opponent Sunday as she begins anew her quest for her milestone 50th career win.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Q4

Gaige Herrera battled back and had the quickest run of the final session with a 6.815 but not good enough to displace Matt Smith from the No. 1 spot which will earn him a bye run in round one for the 15-bike field.

Smith charted a 6.834 on his final lap, third-best of the round behind Herrera and Herrera’s teammate, Richard Gadson, who clocked his best run of the race, a 6.830 that leaves him No. 3 behind Smith and Herrera.

Smith collected nine bonus points in qualifying while Herrera netted eight. Smith earned 10 points for No. 1 and Herrera nine for the No. 2 overall spot, which leaves Herrera with a 15-point lead heading into eliminations.

Hector Arana Jr. continued to distance himself from a dreadful Friday with another strong pass, a 6.834.

Top Fuel Q4

Justin Ashley, who came into the event with a slim one-point lead over Antron Brown, put a little more space between himself and the three-time world champ by running low e.t of the final session with a 3.745, not better than his 3.714 from Friday night but a morale builder nonetheless.

Brittany Force stayed No. 1 with her 3.690 and had the second-best run of the session with a 3.776 with Steve Torrence, who was quickest in Q3, running a third-best 3.793.

Shanw Reed stayed a career-high No. 2 with reigning world champ Doug Kalitta in third and Ahsley sitting fourth.

NHRA Top Fuel rookie Ida Zetterström, the reigning FIA world champ, held on for the bump spot in a very quick field with a 3.797, a run matched but at a faster speed by Billy Torrence, who finished 15th, and Tony Stewart, who clocked a 3.976 but ended up 14th.

Funny Car Q4

With the possibility of a second-round bye for the low qualifier, the knives were expected to be out between No. 1 Matt Hagan and No. 2 Austin Prock for the top spot. A prolonged wait after a Dave Richards cleanup in the first air moved everyone else into cooler conditions aided by some late-afternoon cloud cover.

Ron Capps made his best run of qualifying, bettering his Q1 pass of 3.910 with a 3.906 giving Prock some hope, but the Cornwell Tools Camaro got loose on the top end and slowed to a 4.03. Hagan didn’t fare much better with a 4.15.

Jack Beckman had the quickest run of the session with a 3.896 with Capps next at 3.906. Three other drivers — Bob Tasca III, J.R. Todd, and Chad Green — made three-second tune-up runs for Sunday but none bettered their earlier runs.

Top Fuel Motorcycle E1

Mitch Brown kept alive his championship hopes by beating Elmeri Salakari in round one, but some oil smoke in the shutdown area may indicate that he wounded the engine in the process.

Points leader Larry McBride then got past round one when Micha Fenwick red-lighted to him. McBride now has a bye in the semifinals and if he can stage the bike, he will be the champion.