NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

RIGHT TRAILERS OUTLAW STREET Q3

The Right Trailers Outlaw Street class opened before the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series took to the track in the near heat of the day, which proved to be a challenge for the first half of the cars that went down zMax Dragway.

Chevy Reeves, Paige Coughlin, Ryan Martin, Clay Cole, and Chris Rankin all had some sort of issues that caused them to lift and pedal their respective race machines. 

However, Carson Baker and Shawn "Murder Nova" Ellington had no problem getting down the track. Baker, in the left lane, improved on his time from round two of qualifying with a 3.713. Ellington did not, but still clocked a respective e.t. of 3.727 in the right lane.

Kyle Canion and Scott Taylor keep trading the No. 1 qualifier award back and forth, but this time, Canion stole it back from Taylor with a 3.667 to Taylor's still- stout 3.688.

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TOP FUEL MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1/Q3

Doug Kalitta, undefeated in Mission Challenge competition so far this season, added another round win, getting to the stripe first ahead of a troubled trio with a 3.873, with Clay Millican finishing second and also advancing to the final with a 4.35 after Justin Ashley (a .020 reaction time!) and Leah Pruett ran into traction woes.

Josh Hart (3.957) and Billy Torrence (4.086) joined Kalitta and Millican in the final after finishing 1-2 in their quad ahead of traction-plagued Shawn Langdon and Tony Stewart

Jasmine Salinas had low e.t. of the session with a 3.833, with rookie Maddi Gordon third-best behind Salinas and Kalitta with a 3.885.

Dan Mercier remains on the bump spot at 3.888 with Shawn Reed, Scott Farley, and Keith Murt hoping to displace him in the final session.

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FUNNY CAR MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1/Q3

J.R. Todd, winner of the Mission Challenge in Phoenix, is back in the final round after winning his quad with a 3.935, finishing well ahead of second-place Matt Hagan's 3.972, and both will advance to the final. Jack Beckman ran 3.98 but didn't advance while Daniel Wilkerson, replacing Jason Rupert, who didn't make the long tow from California, finished fourth with a 4.103

Jordan Vandergriff, competing in his first four-wide racing, won his quad on a holeshot with a 3.982 to beat Ron Capps' 3.957 to the stripe, and both will advance to the final. Like her John Force Racing teammate Beckman, Alexis DeJoria has nothing to show for a fine 3.99, which finished third with Chad Green coming in fourth.

Todd's run was low e.t. of the round.

On the other end of the performance spectrum, yet again, is world champ Austin Prock, whose 6.083 left him on the bump spot as the team continues to hunt for the tune-up with brand-new parts since joining Tasca Racing. Only Phil Burkart Jr., who hasn't been able to stage Bob Gilbertson's car in the first three sessions, can knock Prock out in the final session, which is under a small threat of afternoon rain.

“I don’t think there’s one thing; it's literally everything,” said an exasperated Prock. “There’s not a part on this racecar other than the Goodyears on it and the VP in the tank that we're familiar with. So we’re just picking away at it. We've been making progress every weekend, and we just had nothing to show for it. We'll keep chipping away at it. I'm bummed it shut off there; I needed to pedal it. We're on the bump, and you’ve got to get as much gap between you and the bump as you can. So we’re praying the weather stays away and get another attempt at it.”

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PRO STOCK MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1/Q3

Aaron Stanfield, who replaced Dave Connolly in the specialty race, and Eric Latino were the first to punch their tickets to go to the final of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. In the same quad, Dallas Glenn was uncharacteristically red lit by thirteen thousandths of a second, and Erica Enders was just not quick enough to advance. Meeting Aaron and Eric will be Matt Latino, who won on a holeshot with a reaction time of .008, and Greg Anderson, who ran a 6.554. 

Cody Coughlin, who had not yet qualified for race day, moved up on the ladder to the No. 13 position with a 6.579. However, he's not comfortable with the spot he's in and wants to improve in the final round set for later today.

"We had a fuel injection issue in Q1. Then, we had a tire issue in Q2," Coughlin shared. "Hopefully the weather holds off because I don't want to be stuck in the No. 13 position."

The four-wide staging bug bit Chris McGaha, who timed out in his quad with Kenny Delco and Alan Prusiensky. 

Matt Hartford made his best run of the weekend with 6.545, also low e.t. of the round, which was stout for the conditions that were dealt during the session. 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1/Q3

Two-time world champ Gaige Herrera is no stranger to the Mission Foods race within a race, and he will move on to the final round as he won his quad with a 6.756. John Hall followed with a 6.783 and will also advance. Meanwhile, in the same quad, Steve Johnson's engine expired, and Angie Smith was behind from the start as she was the last one to move at the starting line.

Matt Smith ran his quad with a 6.739, which beat reigning world champ Richard Gadson's 6.790, but he will join Smith in the final four bikes of the Challenge. Clayton Howey red lit, and Chase Van Sant just wasn't quick enough to move on.

The Flyin' Ryan Oehler Buells continued their momentum into Saturday and performed well in this session. Oehler rode to a 6.784, while his teammate, Brayden Davis' talent continued to shine through with a 6.759.

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RIGHT TRAILERS OUTLAW STREET ROUND 1

Drama kicked off round one of eliminations for the newly introduced Right Trailers Outlaw Street. Chris Rankin had to be pushed off the starting line, as he was leaking fluid. His first-round opponent, hometown racer Carson Baker, drove his "Speedo Cheeto" to a 3.753 at 205.32 mph.

Ryan Martin admitted that he struggled in qualifying and ended up in the No. 8 spot, which left him paired up with No. 1 qualifier Kyle Canion. Call it an upset, but now Martin is one step closer to getting his first Wally as he took out Canion, who had a delayed reaction time of .103 at the Tree. Martin clocked a 3.724 to Canion's 3.807.

Fan-favorite Shawn "Murder Nova" Ellington, who had low e.t. of the round with a 3.707, defeated his opponent, Clay Cole's 3.796.

Paige Coughlin had an impressive reaction time on the Christmas Tree, .006, but could not run down Scott Taylor's 3.710. Coughlin ultimately raced to an e.t. of 3.877.

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TOP FUEL MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL/Q4

Clay Millican won the  Mission Challenge, the first time he's won a four-wide final after being in eight previous final quads in Sunday competition, and did it on a holeshot. 3.832 to 3.829, over Billy Torrence, both finishing ahead of Doug Kalitta and Josh Hart. It's a big win for Millican in the home race for car owner Rick Ware.

Shawn Langdon, who had the best run of both Friday sessions but missed the tune-up in Q3 earlier today, was low of the session with a 3.758, and Will Smith, racing in memory of past great Ken Hirata, was next best with a 3.775 in the Buebird Turf car, and Antron Brown was third-quick with a 3.804.

Dan Mercier improved from a 3.88 to a 3.86 but stayed on the bump; he actually drove Tony Stewart momentarily on the bump, but "Smoke" responded with a hugely improved 3.808.

Keith Murt was the only one who got a shot at the field, but tossed the blower belt and slowed to a 3.93, the best run for the Paton Racing team but a few ticks shy of the field. Neither Shawn Reed nor Scott Farley came back for a final attempt, sealing the field.

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FUNNY CAR MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL/Q4

Jordan Vandergriff scored his first major win for John Force Racing, his 3.933 winning on a double holeshot over Ron Capps' 3.929 and J.R. Todd's 3.933. Only Matt Hagan failed to make it down under power.

Capps' run was the best of the session, with Vandergriff and Todd collecting the rest of the session bonus points, and Capps remained the No. 1 qualifier with his Friday pass of 3.883. It's the 29th No. 1 of Capps' career and his second of the year. Capps and Todd are the only two drivers to make three-second passes on all four runs.

After misses in Q2 and Q3, Rookie of the Year and newly expectant father Spencer Hyde got back into the threes with a 3.994.

World champ Austin Prock's team struggled again but still hung on to make the field in the No. 16 spot with their event best, a 4.833.

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PRO STOCK MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL/Q4

Greg Anderson raced to his first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty win of the season with a 6.549 at 207.11 mph, and in doing so, he locked up the No. 1 qualifier award for the 143rd time in his career. To earn his win, Anderson defeated Aaron Stanfield, who came in second, followed by the father and son duo, Eric and Matt Latino.

Cody Coughlin ran his best e.t. of the weekend, a 6.545, but moved down from No. 13 to No. 14, where he will begin race day. 

Rodger Brogdon ended up being the No. 16 qualifier, but Chris and Mason McGaha, Brandon Miller, Shane Tucker, and Alan Prusiensky will leave Concord, NC, with DNQs in the column next to their names.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL/Q4

Gaige Herrera raced to the first Pro Stock Motorcycle Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win on a .018 holeshot over Matt Smith, 6.759 to 6.70. He also defeated John Hall, who was off the pace at 8.842. However, Smith will hold onto the No. 1 pole and surpass Angelle Sampey and Don Prudhomme with 60 number one qualifier awards and tenth overall in NHRA history.

Richard Gadson was supposed to be the fourth rider in the specialty race, but he admittedly made a mistake in the final round.

"I've been struggling this weekend. It hasn't been my weekend from a rider's standpoint so far," Gadson confessed on the starting line. "I didn't pop the clutch. The four-wide kind of got me. I'm glad it's today and not Sunday. I'm going to shake it off and come back ready to race tomorrow."

Angie Smith also backed her bike off the starting line and did not make the final round of qualifying. 

Marc Ingwerson did not make the call but will start from the No. 11 spot on race day.