NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The final day of qualifying for the penultimate race of the 2024 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will roar to life today at The Strip at  Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the fields are set for Sunday's final eliminations in the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals.

Four racers, there's still a lot on the line for championship battles that will undoubtedly go down to the In-N-Out Burger Finals in Pomona with lots of points still on the line in bonus and qualifying rewards before we even start to get to crowning race winners on Sunday.

Austin Prock holds the No. 1 spot in Funny Car as he has so many times already this season. His opening pass of 3.843 in Q1 set the pace for the field and if he holds on to the No. 1 spot through today's two performance-possible sessions he will notch his 14th No. 1 and break the single-season records set by his boss and team owner, John Force, in 1996.

The Funny Car field is deep in talent and 12 drivers made three-second runs in Friday's two sessions, and the stars appear to be lining up for what could be the first all-three-second Funny Car field in NHRA history. The previous record is 4.005 set in 2019 at the US Nationals. Two drivers who have yet to run a three, but are almost sure to, are Bob Tasca III and Chad Green. Several others including Terry Haddock and Jeff Diehl, are also more than capable.

In Top Fuel, Prock’s teammate, Brittany Force, is back in her familiar spot atop the field with a strong run in Q1 in her Chevrolet Performance/Monster Energy entry. Force has experienced a lot of success in Las Vegas, including sweeping both the spring and fall events in 2022, one of only three drivers in total history to have accomplished that feat. 

Points frontrunners Justin Ashley and Antron Brown had a mixed day of qualifying Friday, both failing to get down the track once as they continue to battle for bonus points, qualifying position, and every possible point that they hope will carry them into the Finals in position to win a championship.

There is drama at the bottom of the Top Fuel field where six-time world champ Tony Schumacher and his JCM Racing teammate Ida Zetterström are not qualified yet. With 19 cars on the grounds, they'll need to make a representative pass in one of today's sessions to make the field. the bump spot in Top Fuel is currently 4.05, but it's sure to get quicker, perhaps even 3.7s.

In Pro Stock, multi-time champion Greg Anderson is trying to keep his hat in the ring for a championship and has his HendrickCars.com Camaro in the No. 1 spot heading into today's final two sessions. Anderson’s KB/Titan racing teammate Dallas Glenn is the points leader with Aaron Stanfield out of the rival Elite Performance team in second. Anderson is several rounds back and needs a long run on Sunday to get him back into contention heading to the final race of the season.

The points battle is also raging in Pro Stock Motorcycle where reigning world champ Gaige Herrera is trying to fend off perennial rival Matt Smith for the championship. Smith had the best run of both qualifying sessions Friday, earning enough bonus points to get down to 58 points behind Herrera, which could mean a lot heading into Pomona where rounds are worth 30 points each. With both expected to have long Sundays, if Smith can keep Herrera’s lead under two rounds, that'll be a big bonus heading into the final race.

Saturday's schedule also includes qualifying and eliminations in the Congruity Pro Mod Series, Johnson's Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock class, Holley EFI Factory X, the Legends Nitro Funny Car class, as well as the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the Summit E.T. Racing Series.

2023 EVENT WINNERS
Mike Salinas, Top Fuel; Robert Hight, Funny Car; Erica Enders, Pro Stock; Gaige Herrera, Pro Stock Motorcycle.

TRACK RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.652 seconds by Brittany Force, Nov. '19; 338.17 mph by  Force, Nov., ‘19.
Funny Car - 3.816 seconds by Robert Hight, Nov. '23; 335.90 mph by Jack Beckman, Nov. '19.
Pro Stock - 6.552 seconds by Kyle Koretsky, Oct. '23; 210.28 mph by Erica Enders, Oct. '10.
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.755 seconds by Gaige Herrera, Oct. ’23; 202.27 by Matt Smith, Nov. ‘22.

NATIONAL RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. ‘19, Reading; 338.94 mph by B. Force, Nov. ‘22, Pomona
Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 339.87 mph by Hight, July ’17, Sonoma
Pro Stock - 6.450 sec. by Erica Enders, Mar. ’22, Gainesville; 215.55 mph by Enders, May ’14, Englishtown
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.627 by Gaige Herrera, October ’23, Dallas; 205.04 by Matt Smith, July ’21, Sonoma

SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, November 2: Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 8 a.m.; Pro Stock qualifying at noon and 2:30 p.m.; Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, November 3: Pre-race ceremony, 9:30 a.m.; eliminations begin at 11 a.m. (NOTE: Daylight savings time ends on Sunday at 2 a.m.)

TELEVISION
SUNDAY, November 1: FS1 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 3 p.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, November 3: FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 5 p.m. (ET).
SUNDAY, November 3: FSI will televise a 30-minute post-show at 8:30 p.m. (ET)