NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

TOP FUEL Q3

Following an overnight rain storm that stretched into Saturday morning, the racers in Brainerd woke up to conditions that differed greatly from Friday. Cooler temperatures and overcast skies led to dramatic improvements in the Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying session and there was no reason to think that wouldn’t extend to the three professional classes.

It didn’t take long for the top spot in Top Fuel to change hands as Tony Stewart powered to a 3.732 in his American Rebel Light entry.

A few pairs later, Brittany Force continued her recent string of incredible performances with a 3.697 at a track record 340.82 mph.

Three runs into his stint as a replacement driver for Shawn Reed, Jordan Vandergriff appeared to get comfortable with a 3.757 at over 333-mph. Another part-time driver, Billy Torrence, also impressed with a 3.746 in the Capco dragster.

In the opening round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Shawn Langdon shut off early and coasted to a 3.999,  but that was enough to win over Friday’s low qualifier Antron Brown, who smoked the tires early and coasted to a 6.005.

Langdon will meet teammate Doug Kalitta in the final round after Kalitta topped Justin Ashley in the other semifinal pairing. Kalitta also took over the top spot in qualifying with a 3.655 at 339.36 mph. 
 

FUNNY CAR Q3

There was also significant improvement in the Funny Car class including a new low qualifier replacing Friday leader Austin Prock.

Cruz Pedregon did not get down the track on Friday but his Jason Bunker-led Snap-on team fixed that with a 3.938 to get solidly qualified.

J.R. Todd has been consistent all weekend and continued that with a 3.908 at 331.45 in the DHL Toyota.

Alexis DeJoria and Daniel Wilkerson provided a solid side-by-side run with DeJoria running a 3.913 to beat Wilkerson’s 3.941 even though Wilkerson shut off well before the finish line.

In the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Matt Hagan avenged a semifinal loss in Sonoma with a win over championship leader Austin Prock. The two cars were side-by-side until half track, where Prock’s Cornwell Tools entry broke the tires loose, sending Hagan on to the win with a 3.935.

Hagan will be paired with Jack Beckman in the final after Beckman took out Spencer Hyde in Jim Head’s entry. Hyde smoked the tires early but it may not have mattered as Beckman rocketed to the best run of the weekend with a 3.879 to earn lane choice for the final and take over the top spot.
 

PRO STOCK Q3

The Pro Stock cars benefitted greatly from the improved weather conditions and that became apparent early. Chris Vang opened with a 6.668 in his Camaro, which is owned by David Kramer and will eventually be driven by Vang’s wife, Daria. Joesph Wilcezk also impressed with a 6.962, the first six-second run for his homebuilt Hemi-powered Mustang.

Cory Reed, the Norwalk champ, became the first driver in Pro Stock to venture into the 6.5s with a 6.590 in his J&A Service Camaro. Reed ran alongside Cristian Cuadra, who also improved with a 6.618.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. made a big move with a 6.611 in the SCAG entry while Eric Latino, in his first race back from knee surgery, made a solid run at 6.629 in his GESI Camaro.

Matt Hartford, the leader after Q1, made an engine swap before Q3 and that appeared to pay dividends with a 6.593 the finished slightly ahead of David Cuadra’s 6.600, a further sign that the Elite team has closed the gap to their KB Titan rivals.

Erica Enders, driving the same car that carried Greg Stanfield to the win in Sonoma, became the third racer into the 6.5s with a 6.594 with Cody Coughlin just a tick behind at 6.602.

The final round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in Pro Stock will feature Dallas Glenn and Greg Anderson, both of whom lit up the scoreboards. Glenn overcame a nearly perfect .002 light from Aaron Stanfield to win with a 6.569. Glenn held the top spot only briefly as Anderson followed with a 6.555 against Greg Stanfield, who suffered a two-step malfunction and fouled.
 

TOP FUEL Q4

There was a bit of shuffling in the Top Fuel field after the fourth and final session of the weekend and a wild ending to the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.

Justin Ashley opened with a solid 3.758 in the SCAG Power Equipment dragster and it turns out that was just a warm-up for the act that followed as Jordan Vandergriff wheeled Shawn Reed’s dragster to a 3.705 at 334.32 mph, a career best speed.

Clay Millican remained consistent with a 3.741 while Billy Torrence made his best run of the weekend with a 3.713.

The final round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge was wild as Shawn Langdon got a huge holeshot advantage over teammate Doug Kalitta and made it stand up with a 3.742 to 3.677 victory. Kalitta got a nice consolation prize as he locked up the top spot in qualifying and with 14 cars in the field, he can potentially get a quarterfinal bye run.
 

FUNNY CAR Q4

The first two runs of the final Funny Car session were good, but neither of them counted. Cruz Pedregon started with a 3.913, but after the run it was determined that the body was not properly secured, so the run was DQ’d.

The second infraction was a bit more obvious as Chad Green hit a timing block which negates a 3.978 run.

Hunter Green followed with a 3.906 alongside a 3.907 from Ron Capps and his NAPA Toyota.

Alexis DeJoria remained consistent with a 3.953 and the same can be said for Daniel Wilkerson, who drove to a 3.964 while opponent J.R. Todd had a flash fire in his DHL entry.

The final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge was over quickly as Matt Hagan did not make it to the finish line under power, so he had a ringside seat for Jack Beckman’s winning  3.942 in the PEAK Camaro.
 

PRO STOCK Q4

Facing a stiff 6.66-second bump spot, Kenny Delco tried his best to bump his way into the field, but couldn’t do it after his Camaro made a hard move to the right after he dumped the clutch. That pretty much guaranteed that Chris Vang would qualify in his NHRA debut. Vang ended up on the bump and will race Greg Anderson on Sunday

There were several noteworty runs including a 6.605 by Eric Latino and a consistent 6.615 by Jeg Coughlin Jr. but perhaps the most impressive performance came from Cristian Cuadra who made a big move in the standings with a 6.589 in his Corral Tequila entry. Erica Enders also continued to make steady improvements with a 6.590.

Matt Hartford grabbed a couple of bonus points with a 6.575.

The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge final was somewhat predictable as Dallas Glenn grabbed a slight lead over Greg Anderson at the starting line, but Anderson stormed back to win by a 6.561 to 6.612 margin. Anderson also held on to the lead and will be the low qualifier for the fifth time this season and 137th time in his career. Oddly enough, it was Anderson's first win of the season in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.