NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY

For the second straight race, Shawn Langdon and Antron Brown squared off in the first round of Top Fuel, and for the second time, the winner was decided on a holeshot. In Gainesville, Brown got the better of his fellow former world champ, 3.706 to 3.704, but Langdon repaid the favor this time, beating AB on a 3.716 to 3.702 gate job.

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Brittany Force reeled off a pair of low 3.7-second runs in qualifying, then upped the ante in round one with a 3.682 at top speed of the meet, 336.23 to end tire-smoking Josh Hart's very tough weekend. The speed is impressive but shy of the 337.92 mark that she said in 2020 at what was the last race that year for months due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

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Top Fuel low qualifier and Mission Challenge winner (hence the two hats) Doug Kalitta has been looking for his 50th career win since he grabbed No. 49 in St. Louis in late 2020, and he's hoping to parlay his pole position into that milestone win here,

“It would be nice to get to 50 for sure,” he said. “Anytime you can win any of these events, that's the fun part for sure. But 50 would be awesome. Normally I have to fly home [Sunday night] but I have to talk Connie [Kalitta, team owner] into sticking around and spending the night so we can celebrate with the guys. We will give it our best shot and see what happens.”

Kalitta is off to a good start, defeating Rob Passey in the first round, something he wasn't able to do after qualifying No. 1 here last year, but he won't have lane choice against his teammate, Shawn Langdon, in round two.

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What is probably local favorite Jim Maroney's last race in Top Fuel for a while due to business concerns, he had to shut off after the burnout after a bad fuel nozzle was spraying nitro onto the rear slicks, then watched in disbelief as opponent Austin Prock smoked the tires in the other lane.

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Leah Pruett, who got her first career Top Fuel win here in 2016, is a step closer to another Phoenix win, taking a solid, qualifying-matching 3.72 pass after opponent Buddy Hull double-stepped the throttle and red-lighted.

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Steve Torrence, who double-stepped the throttle and red-lighted in the first round of yesterday's Mission Challenge, had no such issues against Krista Baldwin and advanced easily to round two, Torrence owned up to his mistake, saying that he's been working on different foot positioning to improve his reaction times

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Tony Schumacher had owned Justin Ashley in eliminations, running up an 0-4 record against the second-generation nitro racer, but Ashley finally turned on a win light against the class' winningest driver, racing to a 3.74 after Schumacher smoked the tires.

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Second-round Top Fuel pairings (lane choice first): Shawn Langdon vs. Doug Kalitta; Brittany Force vs. Leah Pruett; Mike Salinas vs. Justin Ashley; Steve Torrence vs. Austin Prock

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Bob Tasca III is hoping that he’s got some “last pass” magic at what may be the final NHRA national event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park and can parlay his No. 1 qualifying spot into a win..

“You do remember who won the last race in Atlanta?” he asked rhetorically about the now-closed Atlanta Dragway where he won in the track’s farewell in 2021. “Well, we're going to try to do the same thing here that we did in Atlanta and end on a high note.

"It’s been a bittersweet weekend. I love racing here. To see a sellout crowd and people with the Last Pass T-shirts, it's bittersweet. But please don't go away. This is an iconic place. This is where I got licensed; so many great memories in Phoenix, and to see the fans come out and support us, I'm brokenhearted.”

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Jim Campbell’s first of two races in Jeff Diehl’s Funny Car turned into a disappointing nightmare. The team opted to sit out Friday’s first session, then raced to a 4.57 in Q2 on Saturday, only to have the run thrown out because the car came across the scales light. With just 16 cars on the property, Campbell could qualify with any number, but hearts stopped when the racecar collided with the rear bumper of the tow vehicle in the staging lanes prior to Q3, cracking the left-front fender at the midline, making it unsafe to race.

"Totally my fault," said Campbell, who was behind the wheel. "The handbrake in Jeff's car is different than the last car I drove and I just didn't get there in time."

Many initially thought that meant a DNQ for the team and a first-round bye for low qualifier Bob Tasca III, but Campbell was inserted into the field in the No. 16 spot due to a rule instituted during the 2020 COVID season that allows a team the chance to be on the ladder if they make a “valid qualifying attempt,” which could be burnout and an attempt to stage or, in Campbell’s case, his invalidated pass.

The situation got no better in round one when the car wouldn't fire against Tasca. Campbell is slated to drive Diehl's car again at next weekend's Winternationals.

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In a rematch of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final round from Saturday, Alexis DeJoria again got the best of Toyota teammate J.R. Todd, driving around his slight holeshot for a .002-second win, 3.902 to 3.923.

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Chad Green, who impressed with a semifinal finish at the Gatornationals, chalked up another round win here, albeit a fortunate one. Green's opponent, Bobby Bode, had just lifted with dropped cylinders when Green's Bobd Coat entry made a hard move to the centerline, forcing him to lift, but Green still got the win light.

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Jim Campbell wasn't the only one to not make it to the line as the ignition box in Cruz Pedregon's Snap-on Dodge went sour during the fire-up. The engine lit briefly then shut down and wouldn't restart. Matt Hagan got a solo and clicked iff off early to a 4.17, a run that still earns him second-round lane choice over Chad Green.

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Robert Hight could muster just a 4.21 best in four qualifying passes in his Flav-R-Pac Camaro, qualifying him in the bottom half of the field (No. 9) and forcing him into a first-round date with his boss, John Force, whose 4.057 best was eighth.

Only twice in 22 events last year — in Richmond and Seattle — did Hight not run in the threes in qualifying but, guess what: He won both of those races. Force, meanwhile, had three races where he didn’t qualify in the threes last year and he had two first-round losses and a second-round loss.

Hight found the threes against eight-time Phoenix winner Force with a stout 3.911 that not only won the round and gave him second-round lane choice against Bob Tasca III, but also extended Hight's consecutive first-round win streak to 24 straight races, dating back to the start of the 2022 campaign in which he went undefeated in the opening stanza.

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Reigning world champ Ron Capps made the third-best run of the first round, a 3.912 to defeat Alex Laughlin, which will earn him second-round lane choice over Blake Alexander, who ran 3.96 to defeat Paul Lee.

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Second-round Funny Car pairings (lane choice first): Robert Hight vs. Bob Tasca III; Matt Hagan vs. Chad Green; Alexis DeJoria vs. Tim Wilkerson; Ron Capps vs. Blake Alexander

Pro Stock sophomore Camrie Caruso, who got her first career win light at this event last year, got an easy pass to round two after Deric Kramer's Camaro, which had problems staying lit after the burnout, bogged and shut off again at the green.

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Troy Coughlin Jr. has a streak of six straight win lights going in Pro Stock – four in winning the Gatornationals and two in winning Satyrday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, but he knows it’s only going to get tougher from here out.

“The class is brutal,” he said. “This sport is brutal. Pro Stock is so tight. The drivers are incredible. You learn to hone and be incredible in a Pro Stock car, and if you love it enough — which everybody who drives one of these cars really does — you  can you make it here, and that's what makes it super exciting to be a part of.”

In a rematch of Saturday's Mission Challenge final, Coughlin's streak ended when he went red against Greg Anderson, who powered to a 6.56 win. The top three points leaders would all lose in round one, giving Anderson the chance to take the points lead

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Reigning world champ Erica Enders will start the new season 0-2 in first-round races after losing a tight clash with Johnson's Horsepowered Garage teammate Bo Butner,  6.565 to 6.569. The five-time champ lost in round one at the Gatornationals when her Camaro wouldn't start. Enders hasn't had a start like this since 2016, when she lost in the first round of the first three events behind the wheel of a Dodge.

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Cristian Cuadra made NHRA history Saturday by being the first Mexican-born No. 1 qualifier in the Pro ranks and obviously could make bigger history by winning the event, but it’s not just the thrill of representing his country that has him eager for a win.

“I want to buy a BMW [135e],” he said, “I told my dad I'm working for it, I'm saving money, but he said, ‘If you win a race, I will help you, so that's why we're focused on winning."

Being the No. 1 qualifier, Cuadra knows he has a target on his back, but he’s got a few coping mechanisms in place.

“Usually I get really nervous,” he said. “I'm trying to learn how to control it. I always talk to Erica [Enders] because she was always teaching me, always telling me, ‘Relax, enjoy it.'  so I think I'm ready for it, but I don't want to be really excited. So I'm just thinking in my mind that I'm the 16th qualifier.”

After round one, he's a step closer to that new ride after beating Alan Pruseinsky with a 6.562.

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Local hero Matt Hartford blasted to a low e.t.-tying 6.552 to defeat Mason McGaha and earn second-round lane choice over defending event champ Aaron Stanfield, who ran 6.558 to beat Jerry Tucker. 

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Cuadra's brother, Fernando Jr., turned the tables on "Double-Oh Dallas' Glenn, hitting a .008 light to beat Glenn on a holeshot, 6.574 to 6.561

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Second-round Pro Stock pairings (lane choice first): Cristian Cuadra vs. Camrie Caruso; Matt Hartford vs. Aaron Stanfield; Greg Anderson vs. Kyle Koretsky; Bo Butner vs. Fernando Cuadra Jr.

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Steve Torrence guaranteed himself a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for the second straight race by defeating Austin Prock in round two. After a little staging battle, Prock got the jump on the four-time champ but couldn't hold the lead to the stripe, where Torrence crossed first by a tight .007-second. 

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In a rematch of their 2016 final round in Phoenix, Leah Pruett again got the win, this time with her second straight 3.72 pass to beat Brittany Force, who smoked the tires. Like Torrence, she'll be appearing in her second straight Mission Challenge in Pomona next weekend.

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Justin Ashley took down Gatornationals champ Mike Salinas in their clash, 3.74 to 3.75, sending Salinas to his first loss of the season. With his loss, Torrence takes over the points lead.

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Doug Kalitta's 50th win will have to wait another day as he smoked the tires almost immediately at the green against teammate Shawn Langdon, who pedaled through a traction loss further downtrack to light the win lamp with a 4.00.

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Top Fuel semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Leah Pruett vs. Shawn Langdon; Steve Torrence vs. Justin Ashley

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Alexis DeJoria, who scored her first career Funny Car victory at this event in 2014, racked up her fourth straight win light of the weekend as Saturday's Mission Challenge winner defeated tire-smoking Tim Wilkerson with a 3.94 to make it into the Mission event for the upcoming Winternationals. DeJoria can take over the points lead from Matt Hagan if she reaches the final round.

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Chad Green, a surprise semifinalist at the gatornationals, is in the final four again after beating Gatornationals champ Matt Hagan, who smoked the tires for the second straight round. Green's crew chief, Daniel Wilkerson, son of Tim, acknowledged that he took note of his dad's traction woes and dialed back his tune-up for the race.

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Defending world champ Ron Capps assured himself a spot in the Mission Challenge in Pomona with a solid 3.98 after Blake Alexander's machine crept through the staging beams, triggering a red-light start. Capps will cede lane choice to his Toyota teammate DeJoria in the semifinals.

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Robert Hight is in his first semifinal of the year and will have lane choice over Green thanks to a 3.93 victory over low qualifier Bob Tasca III. Hight's team will test Monday after the event as it continues to work on a new combination that crew chief Jimmy Prock has brewed up.

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Funny Car semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Robert Hight vs. Chad Green; Alexis DeJoria vs. Ron Capps

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Bo Butner added his name to the Mission Challenge in Pomona by reaching the semifinals in a tight 6.59 to 6.60 victory over Fernando Cuadra Jr. Butner lost lane choice for the semifinals after Kyle Koretsky drove around Greg Anderson's .011 light to win with a 6.589.

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Low qualifier Cristian Cuadra was timed out on the starting line during a confusing staging process against Camrie Caruso, who accidentally double-bulbed while staging. According to Cuadra's father, Cristian expected Caruso to back out of the second beam and courtesy stage, although that's not required by the rules. To make matters even more frustrating for the Cuadras, Caruso rattled the tires hard and coasted to a 13-second win.

Caruso, obviously, won't get lane choice, a fact that became especially pronounced after Matt Hartford ripped off another sterling 6.55 pass in defeating defending event champ Aaron Stanfield.

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Pro Stock semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hartford vs. Camrie Caruso; Kyle Koretsky vs. Bo Butner.

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Justin Ashley advanced to the Top Fuel final round, the 12th of his career, with a chance to even his record at 6-6 after defeating fireballing Steve Torrence in a tight 3.740 to 3.743 race. The finish wasn't as close as those numbers might indicate as Ashley grabbed a .035 to .070 holeshot at the start. Despite the loss, Torrence will leave her as the points leader.

Ashley will cede lane choice in the final to Shawn Langdon, whose DHL machine ran its second 3.71 of eliminations to end the day of Leah Pruett, who won this race back-to-back in 2016 and '17. It's Langdon's 35th career Top Fuel final.

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Ron Capps reached the final round for the second time in the last three events, stopping Mission Challenge winner Alexis Dejoria in an all-Toyota tilt in which both ran 3.93.

Capps will surrender lane choice to a resurgent Robert Hight, who is working hard to make up for a mechanical malfunction that ended his day there in round two. Hight powered to low e.t. of eliminations, 3.900, to end Chad Green's second straight Cinderella outing.

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The last time that an NHRA national event venue announced its last race, Camrie Caruso was in the final round last year at Houston Raceway Park, where she faced off against the red Camaro of Erica Enders. She's in the final of what could be the last event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park and she'll face another red Camaro, this one belonging to Bo Butner.

Caruso, who lost that Houston final to Enders, reached the money round by beating Matt Hartford on a 6.568 to 6.586 holeshot and will have lane choice over Butner, who rattled the tires but escaped with the semifinal win after Kyle Korestky red-lighted.

FINAL-ROUND RESULTS: Caruso is second female Pro Stock champ; Ashley, Hight also win at Phoenix finale

LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES FINAL-ROUND RESULTS

Competition Eliminator -- Bruno Massel, Chevy Cobalt, 7.043, 185.28 def. Ralph VanPaepeghem, Bantam, 7.301, 181.64. 

Super Stock -- Brad Burton, Pontiac Firebird, 9.332, 136.75 def. Kyle Rizzoli, Chevy Cobalt, 9.085, 139.88. 

Stock Eliminator -- Jody Lang, Chevy Malibu Wagon, 12.125, 94.65 def. Tony DeFrank, Chevy Camaro, 19.726, 65.29. 

Super Comp -- Thomas Bayer, Dragster, 8.938, 163.08 def. Brandon Dolezal, Dragster, 8.942, 180.45. 

Super Gas -- Chris Bishop, Chevy Corvette, 9.966, 154.67 def. Bill Dennis, XLR, 9.926, 166.46. 

Top Sportsman -- Sammy Gonzales, Pontiac Grand Am, 7.157, 192.49 def. Lance Abbott, Chevy S-10, 6.895, 193.16. 

Top Dragster -- Chad Axford, Dragster, 6.808, 193.32 def. Dylan Hough, Dragster, 6.650, 202.48.