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NHRA New England Nationals Saturday preview

The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to rustic New England Dragway for the New England Nationals, the seventh of 20 events on the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing calendar.
01 Jun 2024
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
News
New England Dragway

Friday night qualifying at New England Dragway did not disappoint as the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing series pros delivered a solid show that included track record performances.

After the first two rounds of qualifying, Doug Kalitta, Austin Prock, and Erica Enders are the leaders in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock, respectively. Today, they’ll concentrate on maintaining the top spots as the 16 care fields are set for Sunday’s final eliminations.

The other big story on Saturday will be the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, which features the four semifinal finishers from the previous event at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.

In Top Fuel, Route 66 winner Antron Brown will take on four time world champ Steve Torrence in the first pair while runner-up Shawn Langdon will have a rematch against up-and-coming Canadian nitro racer Dan Mercier.

The 2Fast2Tasty Challenge in Funny Car features Route 66 winner Matt Hagan, who also happens to be the most successful racer in the history of New England Dragway with four wins here. Hagan will race Blake Alexander while John Force will be paired against Blake Alexander.

The Pro Stock final is guaranteed to feature a battle between rivals Elite and KB Titan as the first pair will feature Elite’s Aaron Stanfield and Jerry Don Tucker while Chicago winner Dallas Glenn will race Greg Anderson in the other pair.

Saturday’s packed schedule will also feature the start of eliminations for NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series sportsman competitors and final qualifying for the Congruity Pro Mod series presented by LearnEV+.  The Epping event also features a Street Car Shootout featuring eight cars from Hot Rod’s Drag Week, a drag and drive event designed to showcase the quickest and fastest street legal cars in the sport.