NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After two brutally hot, humid, and sunny days of qualifying at Heartland Motorsports Park, raceday at the 34th annual Menards NHRA Nationals dawned with a vastly different tone. Drivers were awakened in the early morning hours by bursts of thunder, and when they stepped outside, they were greeted with grey skies and showers. As the morning wears on, the skies appear to be clearing, and the forecast for the day has gone from dreadful to promising. That should be good news for the Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock competitors who are eager to battle for one of the last trophies up for grabs in the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series regular season. 

Steve Torrence stands at the top of the pack in Top Fuel after claiming the 35th No. 1 qualifier award of his career. He went 3.76-second at 326 mph in the CAPCO Contractors Toyota dragster to claim the top spot, and for his effort, Torrence has earned a first-round meeting with Terry Totten. Torrence, who won this event in 2019, would like to repeat the performance and double up after scoring the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge title on Saturday at Heartland Motorsports Park. He'd also like to get around points leader Justin Ashley. He currently trails Ashley by just 23 points – a little more than a round – after a string of success stories over the last few races. 

Ashley, a five-time winner on the season, is qualified in the No. 7 position for the fourth time this season. He's won from the No. 7 spot twice this year, and if he's going to do it again, he'll need to get past Josh Hart in the opening round. 

Matco-backed Antron Brown, the defending event winner, and Mac Tools pilot Doug Kalitta are tied with two wins a piece in Topeka – the most of any active drivers in the category. Brown has been a top half qualifier in each of the most recent three events, but here in Topeka, he's starting eleventh – but that's the very position from which he won last year. He'll race Mike Salinas in round one. Kalitta, starting from the No. 3 position, will square off with Austin Prock.

Leah Pruett and her Dodge Direct Connection dragster won Norwalk, then had a rough go for a spell. She appears to be on the road to recovery; three consecutive first-round losses followed the win in Norwalk, but Pruett qualified No. 2 here in Topeka – her best since claiming the Norwalk pole. She'll start the day with a first-round meeting with Lex Joon. 

Tony Schumacher is also hoping his qualifying effort will initiate a surge – his start from the No. 4 position is his best qualifying effort this season. The eight-time champ and driver of the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fueler won this race in 2010 and will meet Scott Palmer in the first round. Clay Millican and his Rick Ware Racing Parts Plus dragster are starting fifth, his best start since Denver, and he will race Buddy Hull in the opening act, while reigning champion Brittany Force – who won here in 2021 – and her Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pack dragster will meet 2013 Topeka winner Shawn Langdon. 

Funny Car's John Force has won Topeka more than any driver in any category. Starting fifth, he's aiming for Heartland Motorsports Park win No. 11 as he takes his PEAK Chevrolet Camaro to the starting line for a first-round match with Alexis DeJoria. Force's teammate, Robert Hight, has three wins in Topeka and is starting from the pole for the 80th time in his career. He'll race Jack Wyatt in round one as he looks to make up ground in the standings. He's currently No. 4 in the Funny Car points with two wins on the season. 

Reigning world champion Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon will be looking to break their tie as the second-most winning Funny Car driver at Heartland Motorsports Park; they have four each.  Starting ninth, Pedregon and his Snap-On Tools Toyota will race Paul Lee, while Capps, the No. 2 qualifier, will line up next to Dave Richards. Capps is No. 2 in the Funny Car standings with his NAPA Toyota, just 21 points behind Matt Hagan, who won the Topeka Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge title on Saturday in his American Rebel Dodge. Hagan, the No. 3 qualifier, will race Alex Laughlin in Jim Dunn's DiPinto-branded Charger as he targets a sister to go with the trophy he earned here in 2016. 

Sonoma winner J.R. Todd, No. 7 on the qualifying sheet in the DHL Toyota, defeated Chad Green two weeks ago in the final, and they'll have a rematch here in round one as Todd looks to go back-to-back and Bond Coat, Inc. campaigner Green continues his charge towards the first Funny Car win of his career. 

Norwalk winner Blake Alexander is aiming to bounce back from a far too early exit in Sonoma in the Head Racing Pronto Funny Car, and he'll start the climb in round one next to No. 4 qualifier Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft Quicklane Ford. Tasca is the defending event winner and currently No. 7 in the class standings. Tim Wilkerson, who won at Topeka in a Top Alcohol Funny Car in 1994, is No. 6 in his SCAG Ford Mustang. He'll race Terry Haddock in round one. 

Pro Stock points leader Dallas Glenn closed out qualifying with the run of the weekend so far, a 6.64 at 205 mph that knocked KB Titan Racing boss Greg Anderson down a notch and brought home the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge title. Driving his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, Glenn is penciled in for a first-round rendezvous with Fernando Cuadra Sr. and the Corral Boots Chevy, while Anderson, the most winning active Pro Stock driver in Topeka, is starting from the No. 2 position and eager to go to bat with David Cuadra, one of Fernando Sr.'s three sons. Anderson, a 101-time winner on the tour and the second-most winning Professional driver in the sport, has four Heartland Motorsports Park victories and is digging for his first trophy of the season.

The remaining two Cuadra offspring, Cristian and Fernando Jr., are qualified No. 12 and No. 14, respectively. For the first time, all four of the Pro Stock Cuadras made the field, and quite notably, their positions on the ladder allow the possibility that the semifinals could be overtaken by the family name. Cristian races Aaron Stanfield, and Fernando Jr. is paired with Matt Hartford. Defending Pro Stock champion Erica Enders, qualified No. 4, will race Chris McGaha. No. 6 qualifier Deric Kramer, who won his first Pro Stock trophy at Topeka in 2018, will race Jerry Tucker, while Camrie Caruso and Bo Butner will go head-to-head in the first pair. Troy Coughlin Jr., the defending event champion, will race Kyle Koretsky in round one. 

2022 EVENT WINNERS

Antron Brown, Top Fuel; Bob Tasca III, Funny Car; Troy Coughlin Jr., Pro Stock

MOST VICTORIES

Scott Kalitta, 6, TF; John Force, 10, FC; Warren Johnson, 5, Pro Stock

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.660 seconds by Tony Schumacher, May '17; 334.90 mph by Clay Millican, May '18 

Funny Car - 3.802 seconds by Matt Hagan, May '17; 338.85 mph by Hagan, May '17

Pro Stock - 6.515 seconds by Erica Enders, May '15; 211.43 mph by Enders, May '15

NATIONAL RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading, Pa.; 338.94 mph by Brittany Force, Nov. ‘22, Pomona, Calif. 

Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 339.87 mph by Robert Hight, July ’17, Sonoma, Calif. 

Pro Stock - 6.450 sec. by Erica Enders, March '22, Gainesville, Fla.; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May '14, Englishtown, N.J. 

EVENT SCHEDULE (Central Time)

SUNDAY, August 13
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series eliminations TBD due to rain

TELEVISION SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, August 13, FS1 will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 1:00 p.m. ET

SUNDAY, August 13, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 3:00 p.m. ET

Watch all day on NHRA.tv