NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Qualifying for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals continues on Saturday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Thus far, Top Fuel's Brittany Force, Funny Car racer Cruz Pedregon, and Pro Stock points leader Dallas Glenn have all dialed the right numbers in their respective categories and remained steady despite four-times the usual ground-shaking horsepower. Who will emerge as the leaders — and who will be left on the outside — when qualifying wraps up today?

Perhaps most intriguing is not who's currently leading, but who seems a bit vexed after two passes down The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In Funny Car. Three drivers are on the outside looking in heading into day two of four-wide qualifying: Blake Alexander is just outside of the quick 16, and J.R. Todd is a few ticks behind, and Jeff "The Surfer" Diehl is also looking to break into the field. 

After a mad hustle from his DHL team to prepare his Toyota GR Supra following a double-dose of catastrophe in Pomona, Todd is looking for complete recovery heading into Saturday. He must improve on a 4.383-second pass and go quicker than bump-spot holder Chad Green's 4.259. 

In the first three races on the season, Alexander has qualified as high as No. 3 (Phoenix), and although he exited in the first round in Pomona two weeks ago, his Jim Head-tuned Pronto Auto Service Center Ford Funny Car is most assuredly capable of making a productive pass. His best so far was a 4.373.

Diehl will need to replace his 4.458 by at least a couple of tenths of a second in order to make the field. 

With 15 Top Fuel dragsters on the property, there won't be anyone locked out — so Saturday is all about jockeying for position. Force's 3.697 in the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac rail anchors the pack, and third-generation racer Krista Baldwin is the caboose with a 7.967, at least for the moment. Baldwin will be aiming for a clean pass on Saturday to ascend in the qualifying order, as will Top Fuel rookie Buddy Hull and part-timer Rob Passey. In a field packed with heavy hitters, Josh Hart, Antron Brown, Austin Prock, and Mike Salinas are currently lingering in the bottom half.

Shane Tucker and Fernando Cuadra Sr. are the two Pro Stock competitors targeting a bump-in on Saturday at The Strip. Cuadra's Corral Boots Chevrolet Camaro has been cantankerous over the course of this early part of the season, and for the third consecutive event, it has struggled to make a clean, straight pass. Tucker, in his first full season of NHRA competition, has also wrangled with his racecar in 2023 and has yet to race on Sunday. They'll both be attempting to dislodge provisional No. 16 qualifier Steve Graham to secure a coveted position. Graham is paused on a 6.772. 

2022 EVENT WINNERS

Brittany Force, Top Fuel; Ron Capps, Funny Car; Erica Enders, Pro Stock

MOST EVENT VICTORIES

Tony Schumacher, 4, TF; Larry Dixon, 4, TF, Robert Hight, 3, FC; Erica Enders, 4, PS.

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.652 sec. by Brittany Force, Nov. ’19; 338.17 mph by B. Force, Nov. ’19

Funny Car - 3.835 sec. by Jack Beckman, Nov. ’19; 335.90 mph by Beckman, Nov. ’19 

Pro Stock - 6.559 seconds by Erica Enders, Oct. '15; 210.28 mph by Enders, Oct. '15.

EVENT SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, April 15

Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 8:00 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. 

Top Alcohol qualifying at 12:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. 

Camping World Series Pro Stock qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. 

Camping World Series Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at noon and 2:30 p.m. 

SUNDAY, April 16 

Pre-race ceremonies, 11 a.m. 

Camping World Series eliminations begin at noon

TELEVISION SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, April 15, FS1 will televise one and half hours of qualifying highlights at 9:30 p.m. (ET)

SUNDAY, April 16, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 9:30 p.m. (ET)

Or watch all day on NHRA.tv