NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

If you looked at the weather forecast last night (as we all did), you’d have thought we’d be in for a delayed start. As you can see above left, it didn’t look good. We woke up this morning to no rain and even though rain was threatened for 11:45 a.m. with a noon start, we started on time, much to everyone’s surprise, but everyone knows the wet stuff is coming sooner or later.

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Steve Torrence, a six-time winner in four-wide competition, advanced easily into the second round along with Josh Hart, both of whom were in the final quad two weeks ago in Las Vegas. Tony Schumacher finished third while Dan Mercier was a surprising no-show after a good qualifying effort.

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Veteran Pat Dakin, who was back in the saddle of his car for the first time in a long time because his driver, Spencer Massey, welcomed a new child this weekend, advanced to the second round after finishing second behind Leah Pruett. Kalitta Motorsports teammates Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon both lost traction. Dakin’s last NHRA national event win came 50 years ago, in Montreal in 1973.

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Local hero Doug Foley, who qualified No. 16, advanced to the second round behind low qualifier Brittany Force, who blasted to a 3.694, after both Antron Brown and Clay Millican both faltered. Foley is still looking for his first Top Fuel win after a runner-up last year in Gainesville. 

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Austin Prock and the Montana Brand team had low e.t. of the first round with a 3.686 to advance to the second round. He’ll be joined there by Justin Ashley, who coasted to a 5.82 for second place after Mike Salinas smoked the tires and rookie Jacob McNeal red-lighted.

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Second-round quads (lane choice by order): 
Brittany Force vs. Steve Torrence vs. Josh Hart vs. Doug Foley
Austin Prock vs. Leah Pruett vs. Pat Dakin vs. Justin Ashley

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12:20 p.m.: Just after the completion of all four Top Fuel quads, the rain finally arrived. We're down for while.

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LUCAS OIL SERIES SPORTSMAN RESULTS
(Final eliminations for the following classes were held on Saturday evening)

COMP
David Eaton def. Jared Kimbrough

SUPER STOCK
Monty Joe Bogan def. Tyler Caheely

STOCK
Barry Parker def. Steve Foley

SUPER COMP
John Labbous Jr. def. Nichole Stephenson

SUPER GAS

Sherman Adcock Jr. def. Rusty Cook

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP DRAGSTER
Scott Neal def. Ross Laris

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP SPORTSMAN
Brandon Miller def. Michael Scott

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3:38 p.m.: Some three hours and 18 minutes later, the Funny Cars were back on track. A random survey of a half-dozen crew chiefs indicated that most stayed with the basic combo they rolled up with at 12:30 though the air had deteriorated slightly, leading to some supercharger overdrive changes, The track grip, remarkably, was not hurt by the rain, although with the sun now out, obviously, it has heated up about 15 degrees.

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Privateer Dale Creasy Jr. has a tough quad with Matt Hagan, Alexis DeJoria, and Chad Green but Creasy, who qualified with a 4.11, promised to keep them all honest.

“I know in my heart that I can't outrun the fast cars but if I can run my run every run they can't make mistakes,” he said. “We're fast enough now that they can't back off against us anymore and since we added the six-disc clutch two years ago, the car is much more consistent and usually goes right down the track.”

Creasy’s plan was foiled before it started as he red-lighted by .016-second.

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Points leader Matt Hagan’s hot streak ended in round one as he and Creasy gave way to Alexis DeJoria, who pounded out a stout, career-best 3.854 and was followed through by 2023’s feel-good story, Chad Green, who clocked a 3.95.

No matter what happens the rest of the race, Hagan will nonetheless leave Charlotte still as the points leader

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Funny Car low qualifier Bob Tasca III only made it down the track once in four qualifying attempts, in Saturday’s first pass,` but that was almost expected as crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Aaron Brooks fine-tuned their combination.

“I'm not saying tested this weekend, but we were trying a lot of different things,” explained Tasca. “There are only 16 cars here. You're on the Bellagio of racetracks, so if you're going to try something to go really fast, this is the place to do it. We wouldn't have run the run we ran Saturday had we not done what we did Friday."

Tasca advanced to the second round with a 3.89 that finished behind Ron Capps’ 3.88 but cost Tasca a backfired supercharger, Tim Wilkerson and Dave Richards finished third and fourth.

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John Force, who with three wins is the winningest Funny Car driver in four-wide competition, thought he'd been knocked from contention in round one after Cruz Pedregon and John Smith crossed ahead of him, but a replay showed that Smith, tuner by his father 1974 Funny Car championship runner-up Paul Smith, had clipped the finish-line lights and was DQ'd. Blake Alexander also crossed the centerline, but in a much more extreme fashion in Jim Head's car.

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These Four-Wide Nationals were an almost 180-degree turn for J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota team than the painful weekend they spent in Las Vegas. Fresh off of destroying two cars at the Winternationals, they failed to qualify marking Todd’s first in a Funny Car and his first period since the 2013 U.S. Nationals, while he was still competing in Top Fuel on a part-time basis.

While he couldn’t get down the track in four runs in Vegas qualifying, the “yella fellas” ran 3.97 right out of the box.

“The 3.97 we ran in the first round of qualifying was no stellar run, but it was instant relief for everyone,” Todd said. “If we could have done that in Las Vegas, we would have been high-fiving. Running as well as we did Saturday [388 and 3.89] gives us a lot of confidence for race day. The DHL Toyota is in the hunt with the top guys again, and that feels really good.”

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Mike McIntire Jr., who surprisingly made the final quad last year but finished fourth behind John Force, Robert Hight, and Ron Capps, may be headed back there again this year after running 3.94 to finish second behind Robert Hight's 3.92 and ahead of Todd and Alex Laughlin,

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Second-round Funny Car quads (lane choice by order): 
Alexis DeJoria vs. Ron Capps vs. Bob Tasca III vs. Chad Green
Cruz Pedregon vs. Robert Hight vs. Mike McIntire Jr. vs. John Force
 

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After the fireworks and upsets we saw in Top Fuel and Funny Car, it’s wise to expect the unexpected in Pro Stock and it didn’t take long for that sort of drama to unfold as Greg Anderson and Aaron Stanfield advanced while No. 4 qualifier Cristian Cuadra did not. Anderson made the quickest run of the quad with a 6.58 while Stanfield used a holeshot to hold off Cuadra, 6.600 to 6.598. Chris McGaha finished fourth despite a competitive 6.621 effort in his Harlow Sammons Camaro.

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Erica Enders’ 2023 woes continued as the reigning and five-time champ suffered her third round-one loss of the season. Kyle Koretsky won the quad with a 6.586 in his Lucas Oil Camaro while rookie Jerry Don Tucker had the quickest reaction time of the round with a .020 and finished second with his 6.609. Enders was four-thousandths of a second quicker than Tucker, but did not advance. In perhaps the most shocking development of the 2023 season, Enders is well outside the top ten after the first five races of the season. “With three Elite cars in that quad and only one advancing we certainly didn’t do our job,” said Enders. “My car has been a real peach this year. We’re not worried yet. We’re really fricken determined so watch out.”

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Camrie Caruso made the quickest run of her quad, but it came with a red-light start, sending Dallas Glenn and Fernando Cuadra Jr. on to the semifinal round. Glenn, winner of two races this season, advanced with a 6.604 while Cuadra Jr. posted a 6.629.

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Both Matt Hartford and Deric Kramer were strong during qualifying and they continued that trend in eliminations as they both made it through to the second round. Kramer was quickest with a 6.592 while Hartford, the low qualifier, was just a thousandth of a second behind with a 6.593 to move on at the expense of Troy Coughlin Jr., and rookie David Cuadra, who left before the Tree was activated in his Pro Stock debut.

Second-round Pro Stock quads (lane choice by order):
Greg Anderson vs. Deric Kramer vs. Matt Hartford vs. Aaron Stanfield
Kyle Koretsky vs. Dallas Glenn vs. Jerry Tucker vs. Fernando Cuadra Jr.

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Championship contenders Matt Smith and Jerry Savoie moved on in the opening quad of Pro Stock Motorcycle. Smith was quickest with a 6.862 on his Denso Suzuki while Savoie was just a few ticks off with a 6.894. Marc Ingwersen made one of his best runs of eliminations with a 6.875, but it wasn’t enough. Likewise, rookie Chase Van Sant couldn’t duplicate his Gainesville success with a 6.982.

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There was a bit of controversy in the second quad after John Hall was timed out because he didn’t get his BRAKES Suzuki staged during the seven-second allowed window. Hall’s inability to get staged had a negative effect on Jianna Evaristo, who never left the starting line on her Scrappers Suzuki. That allowed Joey Gladstone and Steve Johnson to move on with matching 6.840 elapsed times, two of the best runs of the round.

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Chasing his 50th win, Eddie Kraweic had little trouble advancing with a solid 6.822 on his Vance & Hines Suzuki. Hector Arana Jr., also moved on thanks to a respectable 6.914 effort to stop Ron Tornow and Angie Smith, who slowed off the starting line on her Denso Buell. Smith’s loss means the No. 2, 3, and 4 ranked riders in the standings did not advance past the opening round.

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Gainesville winner Gaige Herrera continued to impose his will on the rest of the Pro Stock Motorcycle field with a 6.754 that easily stood for low elapsed time of the round. Herrera had no trouble moving on and he was joined by Kelly Clontz, who ran a 6.874. Ryan Oehler had a good chance to take second place, but his 6.832 was accompanied by a  -.008 red-light start. The real drama came after the finish line where rookie Marcus Hylton went into the sand trap, narrowly missing Clontz in the process. Neither rider was hurt.

Second-round Pro Stock Motorcycle quads (lane choice by order)
Gaies Herrera vs. Matt Smith vs. Kelly Clontz vs. Jerry Savoie
Eddie Krawiec vs. Steve Johnson vs. Joey Gladstone vs. Hector Arana Jr.

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Josh Hart and Steve Torrence will get another shot at a four-wide title as the Las Vegas finalists both advanced to the final. Hart won the round on a holeshot, 3.706 to 3.705 after beating Torrence off the line, .049 to .061. Low qualifier Brittany Force puffed the tires and fell to fourth behind Doug Foley’s solid 3.79. Torrence is guaranteed to lead the event with the points lead.

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Justin Ashely was .028 on the Tree in his quad but the engine in the Phillips Connect entry went sour downtrack. Austin Prock took the win with a 3.715 ahead of Leah Pruett's 3.75. Pat Dakin finished third with a fine 3.77 ahead of Ashley.

Pruett has a chance to make some history as both she and her husband Tony are in final rounds as Stewart, who won in Top Alcohol Dragster in Las Vegas, is back in the final quad again. No husband and wife have ever won on the same day at an NHRA national event.

Final-round Top Fuel quad (by lane choice):
Steve Torrence Josh Hart vs. Austin Prock vs. Leah Pruett

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Robert Hight and his boss, John Force, will make up half of the fnal-round quad in Funny Car as they finished 1-2 ahead of Mike McIntire Jr. and Cruz Pedregon. Hight won with a 3.87 while deep-staged Force beat McIntire with a slower time, 3.96 to 3.94.

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Bob Tasca III had to switch back to his Motorcraft/Quick Lane body after nagging up the BG body in a first-round blower backfire but he smoked thw tires and finished fourth. Ron Capps took the win with a 3.881 with Alexis DeJoria a close second at 3.883. Chad Green finished in third.

If Capps should go on to win the event, he'd pull to within 31 points of frontrunner Matt Hagan.

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Final-round Funny Car quad (by lane choice):
Robert Hight vs. Ron Capps vs. Alexis DeJoria vs. John Force

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The opening quad of the second round of Pro Stock featured the No. 2, 3, and 6 finishers from last season but it was Deric Kramer, who did not finish in the Top 10, who lit the win light with a 6.558 in his GetBioFuel.com Camaro. The second place spot was decided by a thousandth of a second as low qualifier Matt Hartford tree’d Greg Anderson ***and advanced to the final, 6.594  to 6.560. Aaron Stanfield had a decent shot to advance, but shook the tires just off the starting line and shut off early.

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The second quad featured four solid runs with Fernando Cuadra Jr. lighting the win light thanks to a 6.569 in his Corral Boots Mustang. Cuadra, who highlighted the win with a .015 light, led Dallas Glenn across the strip despite a strong 6.580 by the championship leader. Kyle Koretsky and Jerry Tucker ran 6.621 and 6.600 respectively, but neither was able to move on to the final round.

Final round quad (lane choice by order)
Kramer vs. Cuadra vs. Glenn vs. Hartford

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Joey Gladstone and Hector Arana Jr. were both nearly perfect off the starting line in the first Pro Stock Motorcycle quad, but neither had much to show for it at the end of the race as they were overpowered by Eddie Krawiec and Steve Johnson. Krawiec made the best pass of the quad with a 6.784 while Johnson was not far behind with a 6.806 on his MacRak Suzuki.

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Gaige Herrera and Matt Smith advanced from quad two over Jerry Savoie and Kelly Clontz, but it wasn’t exactly a textbook race. Herrera had the quickest run of the round with a 6.857 but ran just 170.02 mph, indicating a very early shut-off. Smith managed to claim second place with a 6.916, thanks in large part to a nearly perfect .004 reaction time. Clontz ran 6.858, but gave up too much on the starting line to overcome Smith’s advantage. Smith is now third in the standings, moving past his wife, Angie.

Final round quad (lane choice by order)
Krawiec vs. Johnson vs. Herrera vs. Smith

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FINAL-ROUND RESULTS

Prock, Hight, Kramer, and Herrera conquer Charlotte Four-Wide event