NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Drivers in the Mission Foods DragRacing Series will get their first of five shots at the famed Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park dragstrip this event, with two more sessions each of Saturday and Sunday, leading to Monday's final eliminations.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Q1

The first few pairs of Pro Stock Motorcycle gave an indication of just how good conditions were on Friday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Malcolm Phillips Jr., the nephew of longtime Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Michael Phillips, made the best run of his career with a 6.888 aboard Chris Bostick’s back-up bike.

Dystany Spurlock who made her NHRA debut earlier this season, was also impressive with a 6.687 atop a bike leased from the Arana racing stable.

Another part-time rider, Brayden Davis, made a lot of noise when he rode to the first 6.7-second run of the round, a 6.795 at 199.17 mph.

Jianna Evaristo became the first rider over 200 mph when she turned in a 6.857, 200.26 on her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Buell.

Angie Smith made a solid opening run with a 6.817, and was followed quickly by her teammates, Matt Smith, with a 6.779 and Norwalk winner John Hall at 6.786.

In the final pair of the round, Vance & Hines teammates Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson put on a show with Herrera blitzing the field at 6.739 and Gadson grabbing the No. 3 spot at 6.782 with both riders over 200 mph.

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Pro Stock Q1

From the first drop of the clutch pedal, it was obvious that Pro Stock racers would have to run deep into the 6.5s in order to stand a chance at Indy. Stephen Bell opened with a 6.583, but that was just a small sampling of what was to come.

Cristian Cuadra upped the ante quickly with a 6.529 in his Corral entry, which is powered by an engine from former Indy winner Frank Iaconio.

Cristian Cuadra held the top spot until six-time champ Erica Enders nudged him to second by a thousandth with a 6.528 in her JHG Camaro. Enders and the Elite team have shown significant progress lately after a slow start to the 2025 season.

“WE got a boost from our semifinal in Brainerd and now I’ve got a lot of confidence in my race car,” said Enders. “I’ve got to thank my guys for all the hard work this year.”

Deric Kramer and Cody Coughlin put on a great side-by-side show with runs of 6.532 and 6.533, respectively. Jeg Coughlin Jr., the class reaction time leader, also fired a solid opening shot with a 6.538.

The most-watched pair of the round featured points leaders Dallas Glenn and teammate Greg Anderson. Racing with heavy hearts following the recent loss of longtime team owner Ken Black, the duo put on a fitting tribute with Anderson blasting the timers with a 6.491 and Glenn second quickest at 6.523. After one run, the bump is a  6.624 by Kenny Delco.

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Funny Car Q1

Could this finally be the event that produces the first all-three-second Funny Car field? We've gotten close many times since Justin Schreifer got us painfully close with a 4.005 that anchored the 2019 U.S. Nationals field, and we've had so many 4.0-second bump spots since. With 19 drivers on the grounds and perfect weather forecast for all of qualifying, this may be it.

That field obviously won't happen in Q1, although we did get 11 three-second passes, fronted by Jack Beckman's 3.865 in the throwback John Force paint scheme that celebrates his 50th anniversary in the class with a look back at his 1976 Chevy Monza.

Also running in the sub-four-second zone were Ron Capps (3.877), Alexis DeJoria (3.891), Matt Hagan (3.893), Chad Green (3.900), JR Todd (3.904), Daniel Wilkerson (3.909), Paul Lee (3.927), Bob Tasca III (3.935), Blake Alexander (3.952), and Bobby Bode (3.962).

Cruz Pedregon, who is attending his milestone 700th Funny Car race. had a spectacular midtrack fire after a blower backfire, but the two-time world champ emerged unhurt.

 The current bump spot is a soft 4.401 by Julie Nataas in Del Worsham's car.

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Top Fuel Q1

Brittany Force once again was the star of qualifying, taking the event sponsor's machine to the No. 1 spot with a 3.666 at a track-record 399.79 mph, just missing adding her 10th 340-mph pass of the season.

Behind Force was a trio of other 3.6-second passes with Jordan Vandergriff,  again subbing for Shawn Reed (who is still planning a return in Reading), with a 3.683 followed by privateer favorite T.J. Zizzo (3.695) and Doug Kalitta (3.697).

Twelve cars are qualified under 3.8 seconds with another independent, Kyle Wurtzel, in the No. 12 spot with a 3.799.

Ten-time Indy Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher's 2025 debut in the American Construction Contractors/Rick Ware Racing didn't go well with an aborted run, the continuation of the frustration the team experienced in Tuesday testing at Virginia Motorsports Park.