Prior to the opening round of qualifying, track operator Bill Bader Jr. made an appearance in the track Media Center, and provided a “State of the track” address for  media members. Bader touched on a variety of topics, beginning with the importance of the track's annual NHRA Mission Foods Series event. 

“This event is something that I look forward to every year and it’s a monumental amount of work,” Bader said. “Last week, we hosted 643 cars in our [Division 3] Cavalcade of Starts Lucas Oil Series Double-header. We had six inches of rain, but everyone pulled together, and we got through it.

“This is one event that I circle on the calendar every year and think of my dad [Bill Sr.] every year. To be able to host an NHRA national event was a lifelong dream of my father’s. I still think back to the first event in June 2007 and right after the national anthem ended, I gave him a big hug and told him I loved him. Then, three years ago, he passed away on the Sunday of this event, so this weekend has all kinds of meaning to me.” 

Bader also discussed the ongoing improvements to Summit Motorsports Park, particularly ahead of NHRA’s historic 75th Anniversary next season.

“This year, we expanded to 1,200 camp sites and we’re sold out. That’s in part because hotels in this charge exorbitant fees so we’re going to keep adding and expanding,” Bader said. “I also have a few other side projects, most notably bathrooms and showers. That’s a big deal. We are always looking at ways to improve the facility and to improve the customer experience. That’s been a foundation of our business since day one and I don’t see that ever changing.”

Finally, Bader also commented on the track’s famed ice cream scoop, the special prize given only to winners of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. This year, the track added a special ice cream bowl for winners of the Lucas Oil Series event, and the winners of the Summit E.T. Racing Series finals later this year will also get a special billet ice cream cone to commemorate their victories.

“I’ve had pro drivers call to see if they can order additional ice cream scoops, but I won’t do it,” Bader said. “You only get one and it’s for event winners only but I’m glad to see that they have so much meaning.”

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q1

Matt Smith Racing took center stage during Friday’s opening Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying session when John Hall claimed the provisional pole with a 6.848 aboard his Buell V-twin. Hall leads the field, while Smith is not far behind with a 6.862 on his Denso Buell.

Angie Smith, fresh off a final round showing in Richmond, was on her way to a competitive run before her pink Denso Buell slowed to a 7.29. Jianna Evaristo also made a solid run with a 6.958.

So, where were the Vance & Hines bikes? Bristol winner Richard Gadson ran a 6.906 for the No. 3 spot while championship leader Gaige Herrera slipped to a 6.946, and he’s fifth with three runs remaining. 

PRO STOCK Q1

There are 19 Pro Stock cars on the pre-entry list so three drivers will not take part in Sunday’s pre-race ceremonies. The process of narrowing the field to 16 qualifiers began on Friday afternoon where the KB Titan team swept the top five spots in the field.

Greg Anderson, the points leader and reigning world champion, made the best run of the session at 6.633 while Cory Reed was second best a 6.641. Eric Latino followed with a 6.647 while Dallas Glenn and Cody Coughlin also made solid runs of 6.649 and 6.655 respectively. 

The quickest car in the elite field is Greg Stanfield at 6.662. Teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. also ran a 6.662, albeit with a slower top speed. 

FUNNY CAR Q1

The hot and humid conditions may have preserved the Norwalk track record, but that doesn’t mean that the opening round of Funny Car qualifying wasn’t intense. There was a parade of 4.0-second runs in the opening round until reigning world champion Austin Prock lowered the boom with a 3.936, 327.74 run to claim the provisional pole.

Prock was the only driver in the threes, but there were a slew of low 4.0s including 4.005s by Daniel Wilkerson and Spencer Hyde with Wilkerson gaining the better spot by virtue of speed. 

Jack Beckman followed with a fourth-best 4.012 with Bristol winner Ron Capps, fresh off a wild night on the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park circle track, finished fourth with a 4.014. 

TOP FUEL Q1

Brittany Force led the way in the opening round of Top Fuel qualifying with a very impressive 3.784 in her Chevrolet accessories dragster. Force had the quickest car in the round, but not by much as Shawn Langdon closed out the round with a 3.789 in his new look Kalitta Air Careers dragster.

Clay Millican, no stranger to success in Norwalk, picked up a qualifying bonus point with a  3.823 for the third spot while antron Brown was fourth-quickest at 3.864.

Incoming championship leader Tony Stewart got the crowd’s attention, but for all the wrong reasons after he fireballed an engine in his Mopar Direct Connection dragster.  

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q2

Matt Smith took over the top spot in the Pro Stock Motorcycle field during Friday’s second session with a 6.824. Smith also topped the 200-mph mark with a 200.68 mph run on his Denso Buell. 

Smith bumped his teammate, John Hall to the second spot, although Hall also improved in Q2 with a 6.832 on his American Rebel Light Buell.

Smith also had a hand in what many consider the best run of the event which came from Ron “the Rat” Tornow, who improved to a 6.874 which is currently good for the sixth spot.

“This year, Matt Smith is doing our tuning,” said Tornow. “This is my final year and I want to go out strong. Matt has the clutch dialed in and our E.T.’s keep coming down. We’re also going to hit 200 mph really soon.”

Vance & Hines teammates Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson continued to struggle with the heat and humidity in Norwalk. Herrera ran a 6.888 while Gadson ran a 6.944. 

PRO STOCK Q2

As expected, there was significant improvement across the board in Pro Stock although the lead did not change as Greg Anderson powered to a 6.594 and his teammate, Dallas Glenn was close behind at 6.596.

Matt Hartford made perhaps the biggest move of the round with a 6.604 in his Total Seal Camaro and he’s No. 3 ahead of tomorrow’s GETTRX Pro Stock NHRA All-Star Callout event.  Eric Latino is also prepared for the specialty race after a 6.619 in his GESi Camaro.

Erica Enders (6.630) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (6.631) are also set for Saturday’s Callout event as the Elite team continues to take the fight to the rival squad from KB Titan.

FUNNY CAR Q2

It took a few runs for NHRA’s Funny Car stars to find their footing once the sun began to set at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park but the wait was well worth it. 

Hunter Green, a rookie in the Funny Car class, fired one of the first shots with a 3.972 and from that point forward, it was game on as Alex DeJoria followed with a 3.960.

Cruz Pedregon fired the biggest shot of the nightt with a 3.890 in his Snap-on Dodge and later told the crowd that he did it to honor his late car owner Larry Minor.  Pedregon collected three bonus points and will head into Saturday as the top qualifier in the class.

Ron Capps also made a solid run at 3.908 while Matt Hagan followed with a 3.926 while Austin Prock challenged Pedregon, but missed the mark by a hundredth of a second with a 3.900 at331.28 mph, the fastest speed of the event so far.. 

TOP FUEL Q2

Justin Ashley capped a furious day of Top Fuel qualifying when he drove his SCAG Power Equipment dragster to a 3.752 to squeeze his friend Antron Brown from the top spot. Brown had run a 3.755 moments earlier in his Matco Tools dragster.

Tony Stewart also ran 3.755 to qualify No. 3 but his day was expensive as he fireballed an engine on each of the day’s two runs. Brittany Force also found the 3.7s with a 3.784 and so did Shawn Langdon, who posted a 3.798 under the lights. 

Dan Mercier is on pace for one of his best qualifying performances of the season when he drove to a 3.813.Currently, Josh Hart’s 3.818 anchors the top half of the competitive field. 

All told, 15 of 17 cars in Top fuel have logged three-second runs.