As the NHRA Countdown to the Championship returned to zMAX Dragway for the NHRA Carolina Nationals, Funny Car driver Matt Hagan picked up where he left off in the spring. After winning the April four-wide event to earn his 50th career victory, the Virginia native powered his Tony Stewart Racing machine to the provisional No. 1 qualifier spot Friday night.
Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also led the field in their respective categories through the first two rounds of qualifying.
Topping the field by 0.001 of a second, Hagan took top honors with a 3.832-second pass at 332.25 mph in the final Funny Car qualifying session of the night to earn provisional No. 1 qualifying honors heading into Saturday’s qualifying.
Following right behind with a time of 3.833 seconds was Funny Car points leader Austin Prock and his John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman with a 3.850-second pass.
After picking up his 50th career win in the spring NHRA 4-wide Nationals, Hagan is looking to make a Charlotte sweep this season in his fight for the championship.
“I think it says a lot for us to come out here, qualify on the bottom of the field pretty much all year and kind of figure it out when it counts,” Hagan said. “It’s just good to come back and see our guys smiling in the pits and that’s why we do it.”
Taking the fourth and fifth spot were Blake Alexander with a 3.884-second run and Bob Tasca at 3.886 seconds.
Force Tops Opening Night Qualifying in Top Fuel
After earning the top spot through Friday’s first round, Force saw veteran Doug Kalitta briefly earn the lowest ET during the late session, but bested her earlier time – and his – with a 3.690-second run at 334.24 mph to lead the field heading into the weekend.
“I tried to look at the scoreboard when we flew by, but couldn’t make it out. They came on the radio, couldn’t make out anything they were saying,” Force said. “I didn’t know until we got to the top end, but I was pumped because I thought that was a killer run. Sometimes as a driver, you just feel it.”
Despite sitting ninth in Top Fuel points, Force said she remains confident in her team’s ability to make a push toward a championship at season’s end.
“Our mindset for tomorrow is what it was coming into today,” Force said. “We want to take it one round at a time. We want to pick up points where we can. Track temp is going to be quite a bit different, so we’ve got to figure that track out going into Sunday.”
Shawn Reed, Kalitta, Justin Ashley and Tony Schumacher round out the Top 5 with two qualifying sessions remaining on Saturday.
Enders Dominates Friday Pro Stock Qualifying
Enders’ 6.557-second pass at 208.20 mph, led the field in both qualifying sessions, besting second-place provisional qualifier and current points leader Aaron Stanfield by 0.023 seconds. Dallas Glenn, Matt Hartford and Cristian Cuadra rounded out the top five spots.
“It’s a brand new car for me this year. I raced my last car to four championships in five years, so getting a new car at the beginning of the season, I was just really skeptical,” Enders said. “It’s taken me all season to get comfortable in it. We went through kind of a holeshot slump – something I’m not proud of, obviously, because we pride ourselves on that. Getting ourselves all fixed before the Countdown, performance is everything. Moreso than that, it’s getting our swagger back and a little bit of confidence.”
A two-time winner at zMAX Dragway, the defending world champion will look to improve her third-place position in the overall standings during Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions, setting up a Sunday elimination day that could prove pivotal in keeping her championship hopes alive.
Smith Draws Closer to Herrera in Pro Stock Motorcycle Night One
In the Pro Stock Motorcycle division, North Carolina native Matt Smith set the stage with a 6.803 time at 198.47 mph, attempting to chase down points leader Gaige Herrera who qualified second with a 6.812 time. Cutting Herrera’s 17-point lead down to only 14, Smith said they’re looking for a win to push them to the points lead.
“They’re just little points, you just gotta keep going, keep digging,” Smith said. “All in all, we’re ready; we’re ready to battle.”
Richard Gadson (6.836 seconds), Jianna Evaristo (6.850 seconds) and Marc Ingwersen (6.878 seconds) finished out the top five for the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.
TICKETS:
Single-day tickets for Saturday and Sunday’s NHRA Carolina Nationals are available online at charlottemotorspeedway.com, by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or at the gate.
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