Cruz Pedregon – Syndication Server

Force, Pedregon, Hartford qualify No. 1 at NHRA Vegas Four-Wide Nationals

Cruz Pedregon raced to his second straight No. 1 qualifier, hanging on to the top spot at Saturday’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Brittany Force (Top Fuel) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) also qualified No. 1 …

Cruz Pedregon raced to his second straight No. 1 qualifier, hanging on to the top spot at Saturday’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Brittany Force (Top Fuel) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) also qualified No. 1 qualifiers at the fourth of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Pedregon’s run of 3.910s at 326.71mph in his 11,000-horsepower Snap-On Tools Dodger Charger Hellcat SRT from Friday held up, giving the two-time world champion his second No. 1 spot this season and the 64th in his career. Pedregon will race for his first win of the season on Sunday, with his opening-round quad also featuring Steven Densham, Tim Wilkerson and Bobby Bode.

“We stayed No. 1 and I’m grateful for that,” Pedregon said. “The team made the right calls today and we made down the track three of our four runs. Now, we just need to keep doing the same thing, be consistent and race the track (tomorrow). You have to be smart. The guys that are disciplined and don’t press are the ones that have success. We’ll see what the day brings (on Sunday), but it’s anybody’s race out there.”

Alexis DeJoria stayed second with her run of 3.933s at 329.18mph and points leader Matt Hagan took third with a 3.936s at 327.82mph.

In Top Fuel, Brittany Force’s run 3.697s at 335.73mph in her 11,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster from Friday easily gave her the top spot, giving the defending world champ her second No. 1 qualifier on the season and the 44th in her career. Force is after her third straight victory at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after sweeping both races last season en route to her world title, and she made one strong run on Saturday.

In the opening round, Force will have to face off with Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown, with the trio combining for 13 world titles. All three were in the final quad last year, but only two will advance past the first round on Sunday.

“Our team is very happy. We had three good runs down the track and we stayed in the top spot,” Force said. “Now we’re looking for a win. We were successful here last year and we’d love to do it again. Coming into season, we knew there was a chance for a slow start and I still feel like we’ve already outdone ourselves. We’ve made a lot of changes and done a lot of testing, but I think we’re figuring this out far quicker than we imagined.”

Steve Torrence qualified second after his 3.712s at 330.23mph from Friday and Mike Salinas moved to third in the final session after going 3.729s at 331.77mph.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1430]

A strong weekend got even better for Pro Stock’s Matt Hartford, as the veteran claimed his first career No. 1 qualifier with a run of 6.599s at 206.45mph in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro. Hartford, who is making his 161st career start this season, put down a pair of strong passes on Saturday, vaulting him into the top position for the first time and adding another impressive moment in what has been a strong start to his 2023 season.

The only thing missing is a victory on Sunday, something Hartford will aim to change this weekend and possibly move into the points lead for the first time in his career. His opening-round quad includes Jerry Lee Tucker, Camrie Caruso and Erica Enders, who swept both Las Vegas races last year.

“This is awesome for our entire team. We’ve been working on this since 2006 and it’s been a long time coming,” Hartford said. “Some of these people come out here and within first few races get a number one and we always just watch and go well someday we’ll get it. But it’s hats off to having a great team around me and a great racecar. We just keep our heads down and keep focused on one run at a time.

“There was a time we were 16th and just overjoyed. It’s just a different mindset as you progress through the sport. We’ve come from the bottom and we’ve worked our way up. We have a fast car right now. Our whole goal is to turn this yellow (No. 1 qualifier) hat into a blue (winner’s) hat and then turn that into a white (world champion) hat.”

Current points leader Dallas Glenn, who was the provisional No. 1 qualifier on Friday, took the second spot with a 6.610s at 205.65mph and Aaron Stanfield took third in qualifying on the strength of his 6.614s at 206.95mph.

Eliminations for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip begin at 12 p.m. PT on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Force, Pedregon, Glenn rocket to No. 1 at NHRA Vegas Four-Wide Nationals

Defending Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force continued to roll at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, powering to the provisional No. 1 qualifier position on Friday at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn …

Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the fourth of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Force went 3.697s at 335.73mph in her 11,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster as she looks to pick up her second top spot this season and 44th in her career. A year ago, Force won in dominant fashion at both races at Las Vegas, qualifying No. 1 at the fall race and second at the four-wide race in the spring. It’s been a track where Force has made record runs as well, and now she looks to win for the fourth time in Vegas.

“When I crossed the finish line, it felt like a killer run and it’s very exciting to do that,” Force said. “Our performance (last season) here was great. We’ve been very successful here and made some killer runs at this track. That’s been huge for us and coming into this event, you feel like you already have that behind you to carry into the weekend.

“It feels good to get back on track and the great thing is we get two more runs tomorrow before going into race day on Sunday. It’s chaotic up there in a four-wide race, so you’ve got to clear your mind and just stay focused.”

Steve Torrence, who was the quickest in the opening session, is second after his 3.712s at 330.23mph and Leah Pruett’s 3.747s at 322.50mph has her third heading into Saturday.

Pedregon is in line for his second straight No. 1 qualifier in his 11,000-horsepower Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat after his run of 3.910s at 326.71mph. It would also be the 64th career No. 1 spot for the two-time world champion if it holds. Next on the list for the veteran is turning strong qualifying performances into race wins.

Pedregon has just one round win through the first three races, but he feels good about what his team can accomplish this weekend.

“The track was really good and for us, it’s been trying to back the car down,” Pedregon said. “It’s really just a matter of backing it down a little bit and trying to go down the track and race smart. We’re looking for that consistency and I’m just trying to drive it straighter. We’re starting to see flashes like we had in Pomona and we’re grateful for performances like this. If we can wrangle some more low 3.90s tomorrow and keep our car hooked up, we’ll feel good about Sunday.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1430]

Alexis DeJoria continued her strong start to the year, making a pair of 3.933 runs with a speed of 329.18. Points leader Matt Hagan jumped to third in Friday’s second qualifier, going 3.936s at 327.82mph.

Following his victory in Pomona and taking the points lead for the first time in his young career, Pro Stock’s Dallas Glenn continued to impress on Friday in Las Vegas, making the quickest run in each qualifying session, including a class-best 6.629s at 206.07mph in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.

If that holds, Glenn would pick up his first No. 1 qualifier this season and the third in his career and the former NHRA Rookie of the Year appears to be on a great path. He’s enjoyed previous success in Las Vegas, winning the fall race in 2021, and advanced to the final quad at the four-wide race a year ago.

“Matt (Hartford) and I had the best two cars in Pomona, and I think it just carried right on over,” Glenn said. “This track just kind of agrees with me, from the starting line to my driving style, and the way the car is set up. I didn’t expect to see that good of a run in Q2, because we made a really nice run in Q1, and the air was worse. Hopefully, that means there’s even a little more left in it because I think tomorrow morning is going to be the good run.

“I know I change my style a little bit for four-wide. I almost rush myself a little bit in staging because I do kind of take a long time to stage. For four-wide, I try to make sure I don’t dilly-dally around. Four-wide racing is a great time; it changes it up a little bit.”

Hartford is currently second with his 6.635s at 205.66mph, while Gainesville winner Troy Coughlin Jr. is right behind after he went 6.636s at 207.11mph.

Qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. PT on Saturday at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ashley, Pedregon, Caruso go No. 1 at NHRA Winternationals at Pomona

Justin Ashley picked up the win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge as part of the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, also racing to the No. 1 qualifier position in Top Fuel to close out Saturday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. In the …

In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Chad Green (Funny Car) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) also picked up wins in the bonus event in Pomona. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) and Camrie Caruso (Pro Stock) qualified No. 1 at the third of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Ashley went 3.707s at 330.15mph in his 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by National Debt Relief to beat Leah Pruett in the final round, earning the bonus purse and bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. The run also gave Ashley, who won last weekend in Phoenix, his third career No. 1 qualifier and plenty of momentum heading into Sunday.

“This is probably the best Saturday I’ve ever had at the racetrack,” said Ashley, who will race Krista Baldwin in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. “It’s been pretty amazing and just a really positive step in the right direction. It’s a new tune-up and a new combination, and my team has obviously done a great job learning and adapting and I thought you saw the results here in this last session.”

Brittany Force finished No. 2 with a 3.712s at 328.86mph and Pruett took third with a 3.725s at 331.04mph.

It was a memorable moment for Chad Green, who picked up the win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge over Alexis DeJoria with a run of 3.974s at 316.08mph in his 11,000-horsepower Bond-Coat Ford Mustang. Green knocked off Robert Hight, who finished third in qualifying, earlier and then got past DeJoria, who qualified second, with a strong run in the final round of the bonus event, enjoying the biggest moment in his young Funny Car career in the process.

“It’s a really big moment for us,” Green said. “It’s our first win in Funny Cars as a team. This season is going a little better than I expected to start the season off, but we’re not surprised. I mean, we’ve got a good car. We’ve got a good group of guys, and we’re focused this year.

“It definitely proves we’re for real and we do feel we can do some damage. We definitely don’t have the car running as fast as we think we can get it running, but it’s been really consistent.”

Pedregon’s 3.865s at 302.28mph from Friday in his 11,000-horsepower Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger Hellcat SRT kept the two-time champ at the top, giving him the top position for the first time this season and 63rd in his career. He’ll open eliminations against John Force, looking to pick up his second straight win at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip after closing out 2022 with a victory.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1430]

“I didn’t think that 0.86s would hold up at all particularly last night because I shut the engine off and I questioned myself because thought, ‘Man I probably could wring its neck out a little longer there.’ I thought we left a little on the table there, but the weather warmed up just enough to keep the guys from getting there,” Pedregon said.

Hartford enjoyed some redemption in the Pro Stock ranks, picking up a win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge. He defeated Camrie Caruso, who beat him in the semifinals in Phoenix, and then Kyle Koretsky in the final round in his GETTRX Chevrolet Camaro, going 6.546s at 210.80mph in the final round to earn the bonus points and bonus purse in the special race. Hartford also finished second in qualifying.

“I felt that we should have won in Phoenix if the driver had done his job and to come here and have a chance at some redemption, it’s really run and NHRA and Mission did a phenomenal job of putting this together,” Hartford said. “It was great, but all that being said, we’ve got a huge day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Caruso did enjoy one highlight on Saturday in her Powerbuilt Tools Camaro, finishing as the No. 1 qualifier when her run of 6.518s at 211.79mph from Friday held up. It gave the 2022 NHRA Rookie of the Year her second career No. 1 spot and plenty of excitement heading into eliminations, where she will meet Steve Graham in the opening round.

“I think we’ll be just fine (on Sunday),” Caruso said. “My guys are really smart and they know what they’re doing. I’m just going to continue to try and stay calm and not let anything rattle me. We’re going to focus on trying to get win lights and see what we can put together on race day.”

Eliminations for the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals begin at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

Force, Pedregon, Caruso top early NHRA qualifying at Pomona

Reigning Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force powered to the provisional No. 1 spot on Friday, making the quickest run of the day to kick off the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) and …

Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) and Camrie Caruso (Pro Stock) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the third of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Force went 3.712s at 328.86mph in her 11,00-horsepower Flav-R-Pac dragster to vault to the top at her home track, putting the two-time champion in line for her second No. 1 qualifier this season and 44th in her career. Force, who made the fastest run in Top Fuel history at Pomona last year (338.94mph), is also after her first win of the season.

“Honestly, it didn’t feel like a great run to me,” Force said. “It was exciting to go No. 1, but we know we have a little more in it. That’s a good, solid run. Our team made some big, big changes this off-season, but I think in the long run it’s going to be good for us. We’re ready for that first win of the season and I hope it comes sooner than later. We’re aware it might take a couple races, but I feel like we’re getting our footing and I’m confident we’ll have this car figured out soon.”

Justin Ashley, last week’s winner in Phoenix, drove to second thanks to his 3.729s at 329.99mph, while Antron Brown went to 3.730s at 329.34mph to put him third. Ashley will also take on Steve Torrence in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, while the other matchup features Leah Pruett racing Shawn Langdon.

The last time Cruz Pedregon was at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, the two-time Funny Car champ made a series of career-best runs and drove to the win. Months later, Pedregon is once again performing at a high level in Pomona, going 3.865s at 302.28mph in his 11,000-horsepower Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger Hellcat SRT to take the provisional No. 1 spot. It would be the veteran’s 63rd career No. 1 qualifier if it holds up as Pedregon looks to keep on rolling in Pomona and possibly pick up his second straight win at the legendary facility.

“I’ve been trying really hard to keep the car in the groove,” Pedregon said. “That was my focus and it was a great run. It wasn’t the start we wanted in Gainesville or Phoenix, but I just think we’re notoriously slow starters. I think we’ll have a really great car for this year and I think we’ll be good the rest of the year. I think we got all the bugs worked out and some of the things we learned at the first two races we were able to apply here. It was just a team effort and it showed with our performance today.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1430]

Robert Hight, who won last weekend in Phoenix, went to the second spot with his 3.892s at 329.99mph, and Alexis DeJoria is third after going 3.883s at 333.49mph. In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday, Hight will take on Chad Green, while DeJoria, who won the first challenge of the year, will face off with Phoenix event runner-up Ron Capps.

Coming off her first career Pro Stock victory, Caruso continued to roll on Friday in Pomona, racing to the provisional No. 1 spot in her Powerbuilt Tools Camaro with a run of 6.518s at 211.79mph. If it holds, the 2022 NHRA Rookie of the Year would pick up her second career No. 1 qualifier and the first of the season. It was another impressive performance from Caruso, who has enjoyed a quick start with the new KB Titan Racing team and is looking to keep the momentum going this weekend at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

“That was just awesome,” Caruso said. “Pomona has always been good to us, but to go No. 1 right after we won in Phoenix was super special. We weren’t part of the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in Phoenix, but now we are and it’s a special incentive for us. It’s just really cool and I’m thankful they’ve put together something like this. It’s been really awesome starting off the season like this, especially coming into a team that’s been so successful. I didn’t want to hold them back, so it was a relief getting that first win.”

Matt Hartford, who takes on Caruso in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday, is currently second with a run of 6.524s at 211.13mph and Dallas Glenn’s 6.528s at 211.33mph puts him third. The other Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge matchup includes Kyle Koretsky and Phoenix runner-up Bo Butner.

Qualifying continues at 12 p.m. PT on Saturday at Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.