NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The second day of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals has arrived, and Brainerd International Raceway is filling to the brim with fans hungry for drag racing action. With two sessions of nitro, three qualifying rounds of Pro Stock, and the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on the schedule, it's going to be a banger. Follow along in the news and notes.

Early in the day, Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series elimination rounds went off with nary a hitch, and the Johnson's Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock series has dipped into the second round of qualifying. Bo Butner was No. 1 on Friday night in his JHG Chevrolet Camaro, but on Saturday, his parachutes wriggle out on the burnout and he is shut off. He will not have the opportunity to overcome the 6.305, 222.84 that Johnny Pluchino threw down in his Featherlite Batteries Mustang. Butner's wife and fellow accomplished racer Randi Lyn Butner is bumped out this session, as is longtime Mountain Motor campaigner John Montecalvo. There is one session remaining to lock down the field of eight before eliminations.

In the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown competition, two rounds of qualifying are in the books and the field is set. Jason Dietsch and his 2018 Cobra Jet Mustang have fully recovered from a crash in Norwalk just a short time ago to claim the No. 1 spot for the first time. His 7.781 get it done over Las Vegas winner Ricky Hord's 7.804 in his Maximum Effort VI COPO. Anthony Troyer and his Fendt-branded COPO are in the No. 3 position on a 7.838, points leader Stephen Bell and his COPO are locked into the No. 4 spot with a best time of 7.869.

The ladder is set, and Dietsch will race known-to-be-quick-and-fast Joe Welch, Bell will race Bristol winner David Janac, and Jason Allegrucci will square off with Doug Hamp. On the other side of the ladder, Ricky Hord and Kim Shirley will go head-to-head while Lee Hartman and Scott Libersher are matched. Troyer will take on Nash, and Mark "Cowboy" Pawuk will meet Tony Scott Jr. Saddle up!

Pro Stock Q2

A lone session of Pro Stock sent Greg Anderson and his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to the top on Friday evening, but a new day has dawned, and the provisional pole sitter is in trouble. David Cuadra, driving a yellow Corral Boots Mustang, flies to a 6.638, 206.54 to temporarily move into the No. 1 position. Twin brother Cristian Cuadra is up just a couple pairs later and snatches the pole with a 6.625, 206.54 in his matching yellow Ford, but Jerry Tucker and his Outlaw Beers Chevy come in with a vengeance just one pair later. He takes the top spot on a 6.612, 207.78. Big brother Fernando Cuadra Jr. is right there with a 6.625, 207.21 and is No. 2 for a short spell, then along comes Elite Motorsports teammate Erica Enders to bump him down a notch. She's No. 2 at the end of the session with her 6.612, 207.27 in the JHG/Melling Performance Camaro.

Elite Motorsports has the top five spots with one session to go. Mason McGaha and Kenny Delco are on the outside of the field, and Derrick Reese is on the bump with his 6.683, 205.10. Tucker has low e.t. and top speed at the moment with his 6.612, 207.78.

Top Fuel Q3 and Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge R1

Ida Zetterström displays years of experience as she masterfully commands her JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/Comp Cams/Dodge dragster through a tail wagging down-track experience. She crosses the finish line with a 3.825, 328.54 to remain in the lucky 13 spot on qualifying sheet.

Reigning world champion Doug Kalitta makes the best run of the round in his trusty Mac Tools dragster; his 3.747, 329.42 keeps him No. 3 for now.

Tony Stewart is competing in his third #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge and he'll go toe-to-toe with Steve Torrence – the four-time champ is filling in for Sonoma semifinalist Ron August, who did not make the trek to Minnesota to race the challenge. Stewart is up in smoke and provisional low qualifier Torrence continues his strong performance here as he races to a 3.757 win at 332.84 mph.

A win light for Antron Brown in the Matco Tools Toyota on a 3.814, 303.84 as Brittany Force smokes the tires. It will be Brown vs. Torrence in the final of the Top Fuel Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge.

Torrence remains No. 1, Stewart No. 2, Kalitta No. 3. Millican stays on the bottom rung, but he's got one more round to climb up before the field is set.

Funny Car Q3 and Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge R1

Dave Richards gets way loose as soon as he hits the throttle, and he's slip-sliding in the fluid coming from his gorgeous Bluebird Turf/Versatran entry. Somehow, despite the wild swishing of the rear end of the car, Richards tames it. There's a ton of fluid on the track, which seems to be fuel as it's evaporating quickly. Hopefully a quick clean-up.

Annnnnd, we're back. A short cleanup, but there is a lot of tire-smoke this round. No real improvements here for anyone, but now it's time for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, and Ron Capps and his Napa Toyota come to the starting line alongside American Rebel Dodge campaigner Matt Hagan, the reigning world champ and a gentleman who has yet to win this bonus race.

It's a spectacular side-by-side race, the first one we've seen today for the Funny Cars, but there will be no new story for Hagan here. Capps knocks him out by just .011, 3.981 to 3.997.

Crew chief Dean "Guido" Antonelli explains that although they reached the final in Sonoma, they're back in the car that they blew up in Seattle.

Next up: six-time Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge winner Austin Prock and his Cornwell Tools Chevy vs. Bob Tasca III and his Motorcraft Quick Lane Ford. Tasca's tires twist and complain, but Prock races to strenuous a 3.945, 326.00 for the win.

"It's hot and humid out here, and I had my hands full down there," said Prock. "Definitely was fun, but it was probably ugly from the starting line."

Pro Stock Q3 and Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge R1

Neither Kenny Delco (6.714) nor Mason McGaha (6.688) make the cut with these passes, but they'll have one more shot this later this afternoon.

Points leader Dallas Glenn makes the best pass of the round so far, 6.643, 205.82. Cristian Cuadra improves on that by two-hun with a 6.641.

The first pair in the Pro Stock Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge rolls into the waterbox and it's the most winning driver in the history of the class, Greg Anderson, vs. one of the most versatile drivers in the sport, Aaron Stanfield. Anderson has two previous challenge wins, and Stanfield won it in Seattle. It will be Anderson and his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet advancing to the final of the bonus event as a 6.631, 206.10 defeats a 6.642, 205.01.

Jerry Tucker, who currently has hold of the pole, goes low of the session with a very neat and tidy 6.626, 207.40, but rookie Pro Stock driver Cory Reed is first off the starting line, .022 to .066, to claim the holeshot win and advance to the final round of the challenge. His 6.648, 206.07 does the job.

Going into the final session, Tucker remains on the pole.

Top Fuel Q4 and Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge Final

Clay Millican and the Parts Plus Rick Ware Racing team finally makes the run they've been looking for, he goes 3.780, 330.55.

Crew chief "Jim O" Oberhofer says they were a little bit too aggressive yesterday and they were conservative here just to get down the track.

Justin Ashley makes a great run in his SCAG Cheetah II/Turf Tiger II Toyota dragster, a 3.749, 328.06 next to Josh Hart's tire smoker. Suddenly, the clouds open up and we're getting drenched. This is unexpected, but we're on hold until this shower passes through and we can get the track back in form.

***

The surprise rain showers have moved out, the track is dry, and yes that IS the sound of Top Fuel dragsters! Final qualifying is underway, and the Brainerd Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge are about to be decided. Hold tight!

The Top Fuelers are showing us that the racing surface hasn't been negatively impacted by the rain. Brittany Force makes a strong run right off the bat, a 3.698, next to Billy Torrence's 3.733. Jasmine Salinas and Shawn Langdon follow suit with two good runs, as does Tony Stewart. 

Steve Torrence and the Capco Contractors rail pull to the starting line alongside Antron Brown and the Matco Tools dragster for the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, and it's Antron Brown with the win as Torrence smokes the tires. 

Unfortunately, there is oil on the racetrack and we are on hold once more.

Funny Car Q4 and Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final

After an hour and 45 minutes, we're back in action. Dave Richards is first up on a solo and goes right on down to a 4.09 to move up into the No. 14 spot for now. There is going to be one man left out, and right now it's Buddy Hull. Jim Campbell comes up next up and he's trucking but gets in trouble down track. He'll stand on his 4.44 from earlier in the day and is No. 16 for now. 

Bobby Bode and Jack Wyatt have elected to sit out the final session, but neither are in jeopardy of falling out of the field at this point. Buddy Hull makes his pass and appears to be on a good one, but downtrack he's dropping cylinders. Hull's 4.815 isn't quite enough, and he will sit out Sunday. 

Everyone is making good runs out there, but when Bob Tasca III comes up in his Motorcraft Quick Lane Ford, he's clearly on a tear that could shake things up. Sure enough, his 3.868 takes over the top spot with a speed of 334.98. 

The Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge Funny Car final is now, and Austin Prock and Ron Capps are flying side-by-side in an incredible race. At the stripe, it's Prock for the sixth consecutive and seventh overall #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win in his Cornwell Tools Funny Car. 

Pro Stock Q4 and Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final

After all of the delays, we're ending the night with Pro Stock as efficiently as possible before it becomes too dark. There are no lights for night racing here, so the pressure is on to set the field and determine a winner in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. 

Derrick Reese and Kenny Delco both give it their best, but it's Mason McGaha who breaks in and gets the No. 16 spot in his Harlow Sammons Racing entry. He powers to a 6.658, 205.16 to get it done. 

It was an exciting session as the conditions were changed enough to allow potential change, but for the second time in his career, it's Jerry Tucker with the No. 1 qualifier award. 

In the Mission Challenge, Greg Anderson and Cory Reed are nearly identical as they leave the starting line – Anderson with a .023-second reaction time to his opponent and teammate's .028. They're tied together going down the track but the final timers are tripped and the win light flashes in Anderson's lane, 6.618, 204.79 to 6.640, 206.07.  It's his third Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge win of the season.