Four-Wide Nationals – Syndication Server

Hagan grabs 50th NHRA Funny Car victory at Charlotte 4-Wide

Reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan picked up his 50th career victory on Sunday, driving past John Force, J.R. Todd and Daniel Wilkerson at zMAX Dragway to get the win at the 14th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. Justin Ashley …

Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the fifth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Hagan went 3.946s at 332.34mph in his Tony Stewart Racing Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat in the final quad to power to his first win this season, defeating Wilkerson on a holeshot to pick up his milestone victory. Hagan was 0.029s on the starting line, holding off Wilkerson’s 3.923s at 327.50mph at the finish line for the win.

Hagan won his opening-round quad with a 3.918s at 331.61mph and then made the second-quickest run of eliminations with a 3.879s at 334.24mph to advance to the final round. That led to his fourth victory at zMAX Dragway, which is less than two hours from home for Hagan.

“This is obviously a massive achievement to win 50 races and to have Dodge sponsoring us for so many years,” Hagan said. “To see so many people come and go out here, you just don’t realize that it’s you, you know, you’re like, ‘Wow, I’ve been out here little bit over 15 years now,” and it’s just a huge accomplishment in my book to be able to be around a group of guys that have been nothing but the best out here, and I think that’s why we won four championships.

“To put us in an elite group of drivers with John Force and [Don] Prudhomme and Kenny Bernstein is pretty crazy. I’m very blessed to still be out here, surrounded by a great group of guys. They gave me a great race car and now we’re going to celebrate.”

It was the first career runner-up for Wilkerson, while Todd took third, going 3.978s at 320.36mph. Austin Prock retained the points lead in the category.

Top Fuel points leader Justin Ashley capped off his stellar weekend with his first career four-wide win, holding off Clay Millican, Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown with a run of 3.710s at 328.06mph in his Scag Power Equipment/Toyota dragster. It’s the second victory this season for Ashley, who swept the weekend by also winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday. He’s been dynamic with double-up wins — Sunday marked his third in the last two seasons — and Ashley did it again on Sunday, winning the first two quads to get to the final round, going 3.711s at 333.58mph in the second round.

In the finals, Ashley left first with another great 0.046s reaction time, holding off the hard-charging Millican, who went 3.722s at a strong 337.92mph, to claim his 15th career victory. Charlotte is where Ashley debuted, so racing at zMAX Dragway will always be special to him and he was thrilled to claim his first four-wide win on Sunday.

“For whatever reason, we’ve struggled a little bit before in four-wide races. We’d go to the traditional format and have a lot of success, but we struggled when we go four-ride racing,” Ashley said. “When you come out here and you race four-wide, the quads are so good. It really doesn’t matter who you’re racing, especially with depth of the Top Fuel field now. The quads are going to be stellar each and every time, and you saw it even in that final round. There was a lot of really good reaction times a lot of really good E.T.s and it made for some close racing.”

Kalitta, the No. 1 qualifier, finished third in the final quad with a 3.725s at 326.00mph.

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In Pro Stock, No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson added another impressive Charlotte victory to his resume, driving past a loaded final-round quad with a standout pass of 6.502s at 210.77mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. Anderson ousted KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn, Aaron Stanfield and Cristian Cuadra to pick up his second victory of the season and the 105th in his career, extending his all-time lead in the category.

It’s been a banner season thus far for Anderson, who won both quads leading into the final round and making the quickest pass each round. He was also 0.011s on the starting line to advance to the finals and then chased down runner-up Stanfield and Glenn, who were both 0.011s in the final round, to pick up another meaningful victory. It’s the fifth Charlotte win for Anderson, who won the fall race last year but had not won the four-wide race at zMAX Dragway since 2012 – until Sunday. Anderson also took over the points lead in the class.

“This feels fantastic,” Anderson said. “There is so much talent out here and I’m so proud to be a part of it. We’re in a spot where anyone can win so you’ve got to dig deep to find it and I had it today. We didn’t back into it and it feels good to win a race at zMAX Dragway. It’s my home track and I love it here.

“You have to find a way to get your heart beating and get those butterflies in your stomach and get your nerves going. You can’t artificially create that. I can’t properly explain what it means to win a race for [Rick Hendrick]. I met Mr. H 20 years ago and we’ve stayed in touch and he obviously know a thing or two about winning and he knows how to motivate people. It’s just an honor to have those colors on my race car.”

Stanfield finished second, going 6.551s at 209.75mph and Glenn was third after his 6.551s at 209.75mph.

A prolonged break did nothing to slow down the dominant defending world champion in Pro Stock Motorcycle, as Gaige Herrera rolled to his second straight win this season on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki with a run of 6.684s at 202.73mph in the final round. Dating back to last season, Herrera has now posted seven consecutive victories, putting together another incredible weekend in Charlotte.

Herrera qualified No. 1, setting the track E.T. record, picked up the victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday and then made the quickest pass of each session on Sunday, defeating John Hall, LE Tonglet and Richard Gadson in the finals to earn his 13th career victory and extend his points lead in the process. Herrera also defended his four-wide win from a season ago at zMAX Dragway.

“After Q1 and Q2 I was a bit worried. On the first run we had a malfunction in our wiring, and then after the second run, Matt [Smith] held on to the top spot and that’s because of the rule change,” said Herrera, referring to a recent NHRA rules revision that mandated the same fuel type for both V-twin and inline four-cylinder bikes. “It has created parity and made for better racing. We still had three Vance & Hines bikes in the final [quad].

“In the end, me and [crew chief] Andrew Hines and the bike bond so well. We’re a hard combo to beat. This is just the beginning. It’s all the haters that make us push that much harder and we’re out there to prove them all wrong. I hear people say it’s the bike and that I can’t cut a light, and today my worst light was a 0.021s, so I was here to prove a point. We had three fast bikes and almost everyone is running the same.”

Hall’s 6.758s at 202.12mph gave him the runner-up finish, while Gadson was third with a 6.767s at 198.41mph.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action May 17-19 with the 24th annual Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.

More consistent Todd eager for first NHRA Charlotte 4-Wide win

J.R. Todd finally has the consistent car his Kalitta Motorsport team has been fighting for over the last few seasons. Todd is second in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings ahead of Sunday’s 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX …

J.R. Todd finally has the consistent car his Kalitta Motorsport team has been fighting for over the last few seasons.

Todd is second in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings ahead of Sunday’s 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway. Not only did he start the year putting his DHL Toyota GR Supra in the win column at Gainesville Raceway, but he went to back-to-back semifinals in the following two races before a second-round loss in the most recent event in Las Vegas.

That kind of consistency was lost for Todd in the last few seasons. The team might have been hot one weekend but struggled to string together good runs. Gainesville put the class on notice that Todd and his team have a car they can contend with weekly.

“It’s always nice to win the first race of the year,” Todd told RACER. “Then to back it up and go to the semifinals after that, it shows the consistency has definitely come around. We’re only a couple rounds out of the points lead right now after four races, which is something we haven’t been able to say in a long time. I feel like our team as a whole, between all three cars, has had the consistency come around, and each car has a win under its belt and is in the title fight so far this year, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Kalitta Motorsports seems to be the hottest team in the NHRA. In addition to Todd’s win in the Funny Car class, Shawn Langdon has won two of the first four Top Fuel races at Gainesville and Phoenix, while reigning champion Doug Kalitta picked one up for himself in Las Vegas.

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It’s been a work in progress for Todd’s teammates to get the dragsters back in contention. Kalitta’s first championship showed proof of concept and Langdon’s strong start – after shuffling some of his team’s personnel — has brought him back into the conversation as one of the biggest threats in the class.

“They have a new chassis between the two cars and it’s the same chassis company [that built my Funny Car],” Todd said. “A lot of different parts and pieces within the organization [have] made us better, and I think the Funny Car team — we’re just building on what we changed last year and fine-tuning it to where we can actually race and be competitive with that setup.”

Entering the 2024 season, Todd had only won twice in the last three seasons. He suffered 10 losses in the first round last year and failed to qualify for the first Las Vegas event, yet has a win/loss record of 9-3 in 2024 with no first-round losses.

“It all starts with Chad Head steering the ship there and getting the right people in the right places and making it happen,” Todd said of Kalitta Motorsports. “Of course, you want to see results right away, and the last three or four years have been so up and down for us… I don’t think any drag racer has patience, and mine [was] wearing thin because you want to do well. You want to win, but you have to be patient and, when that time comes, just ride that wave of momentum as long as you can.”

The start of 2024 has been altogether different for Todd and his Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car team. Marc Gewertz/NHRA

Not only is Todd riding an early season swing of momentum, it’s also been a much calmer go of things for his team in the first few months. Aside from the performance woes, there were multiple incidents in 2023 where Todd’s team lost cars either through incidents of their own or having been collected in another driver’s misfortune.

“It’s funny hearing the crew guys say this has been the best offseason they’ve had in the last five years between the new body styles and new chassis and repairing stuff from getting damaged,” Todd said. “It’s nice to have a smooth transition into 2024 and not have any hiccups or any setbacks. Now you can focus on making good runs and testing out different parts and pieces to get ready for the later part of the season when it really counts. So far, we’re off to a good start and it’s kind of relaxing, I guess you could say.”

A victory at zMAX Dragway would make things even better for Todd. It’s a facility he’s not won at yet.

“I want to win [it] really bad,” Todd said. “You always want to win when you’re in NASCAR country. It’s four-wide, which we’ve done well in the past at the Vegas event and, just for whatever reason, haven’t done that well at the Charlotte event. That’s one I want to check off the list. It’s always nice to be in [this] area of the country. [There are] a lot of friends [here]. A lot of NASCAR people come check us out, so it’s one that I want to win, and the track itself is probably one of the nicest, if not the nicest, facility that we go to on the tour.”

Kalitta takes second No. 1 at Charlotte 4-Wide

Defending Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta enjoyed his second straight No. 1 qualifier, cementing the top spot on Saturday at zMAX Dragway at the 14th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. John Force (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 for the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series event.

Kalitta’s run of 3.691s at 337.92mph from Friday in his Mac Tools dragster held up through two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, handing the reigning world champion his second straight No. 1 spot and the 55th in his career. The result of taking the top position worked well in Las Vegas for Kalitta, as he claimed his first career four-wide win and he’ll look to replicate that on Sunday in Charlotte, also finishing qualifying with a strong 3.710s at 332.18mph.

“We kind of struggled a little bit today. We put this other blower on and just had a little bit too much power in that first run and smoked the tires, and then that last run, we got right to the finish line and kind of took care of that blower, unfortunately,” Kalitta said. “So we’re going to have to start from scratch again. But now that we’ve got our setup that we’ve been running, we’re going to be in good shape for tomorrow.”

Antron Brown clinched the second spot thanks to his 3.698s at 332.18mph, while points leader Justin Ashley’s 3.701s at 334.32mph, which happened during his winning run in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, sent him to the third spot.

In Funny Car, John Force stayed in the top spot thanks to Friday’s track E.T. record of 3.820s at 330.96mph in his PEAK Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS. It gives the legendary 16-time world champion his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 167th in his iconic career, putting him in a strong position for eliminations on Sunday. Force is aiming for his second win this season, closing out qualifying with a solid pass as well.

“I’ve got a real good Camaro and I’m learning how to drive it,” Force said. “It was a good day for my good chiefs. We tried to run it hard earlier [in the third qualifying session] and had a problem then came back and got cloud cover and ran [3.85s]. Now we’ve got to race tomorrow, and that’s a whole new baby. So we’ll see what happens but I’m having fun with my teams and my sponsors.”

Bob Tasca, who won the 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas two weeks ago, took second with a 3.834s at 338.34mph, setting the track speed record and also claiming the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win. Points leader Austin Prock is third with a 3.852s at 333.58mph.

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Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson finished as the No. 1 qualifier on the strength of Friday’s run of 6.500s at 210.90mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro, but Saturday certainly featured plenty of other headlines. His qualifying run in the third session – as part of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge – was disqualified due to a technical violation after bypassing a safety device. It eliminated that pass and took Anderson out of the specialty event, as his replacement, Erica Enders, went on to win the Challenge.

But Anderson still has momentum as the No. 1 qualifier at the home track for KB Titan Racing. He’s after his second victory this season after picking up his first top spot of 2024 and the remarkable 125th in his standout career.

“I’m not sure where to start but yesterday in Q2 we had an issue with our ECU [Electronic Control Unit] where the engine wasn’t getting a spark,” Anderson said. “We had a mad thrash in the pits and in the process, one of my guys disconnected a wire that goes to the system that deploys the parachutes in the event of low air pressure. In the process, he forgot to plug that wire back in so our win in the (Mission) #2Fast2Tasty Challenge was disallowed.

“I beat Jeg and Erica and David Cuadra, and then the bottom fell out. It was a simple mistake, but we lost the run and lost the win. Otherwise, the car ran great. It was just a crazy day but it’s over now and I’m ready for race day. Tomorrow, we’re going to make damn sure all the wires are where they should be. I’ve got a really good race car and we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”

Cristian Cuadra qualified second with a 6.507s at 210.18mph and Aaron Stanfield took third thanks to a 6.508s at 209.92mph.

Gaige Herrera’s qualifying dominance in Pro Stock Motorcycle continued on Saturday in Charlotte, but it took until the final session when the defending world champ put together a track-record run of 6.671s at 202.70mph on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. It’s the quickest run in zMAX Dragway history and also hands Herrera his 11th straight No. 1 qualifier dating back to last season. It’s already the 16th career top spot for the young phenom, who will look to stay perfect this season on Sunday.

“Yesterday, we had a malfunction on the first run that set us back, and then we ran 6.68s on the second and that was a good run,” Herrera said. “Today, I ran a 6.70s and then that 6.67s and that’s just our team learning how to fine-tune the new fuel. There was not much left on my bike. It went straight and required very little correction. Tomorrow will be a lot of fun.”

Matt Smith’s 6.685s at 201.61mph from Friday qualified him in the second spot, while LE Tonglet is third after his 6.703s at 200.77mph from Friday as well.

Eliminations for the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals begin at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.

Brown aiming to use NHRA’s next 4-Wide event to his advantage

Antron Brown wants to be the cat sitting in the tree this weekend at Charlotte’s zMAX Dragway for the 4-Wide Nationals. “You want to be poised,” Brown told RACER. “You might have four mice running at you, but you want to focus on one that you want …

Antron Brown wants to be the cat sitting in the tree this weekend at Charlotte’s zMAX Dragway for the 4-Wide Nationals.

“You want to be poised,” Brown told RACER. “You might have four mice running at you, but you want to focus on one that you want to jump at because you’re not going to catch all four of them. You have to focus on the one that you need.”

zMAX Dragway is the site of the second four-wide event of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Brown, a three-time Top Fuel champion, knows success at the facility when it’s four lanes with two event wins (2014 and ’15) and a runner-up finish (2016). He’s won a total of six times in his career at zMAX Dragway.

Brown has been in the elimination quad in four of the last seven four-wide events between Las Vegas and Charlotte, including two weeks ago in Las Vegas.

“I think the biggest trap in four-wide racing is when you race somebody else, you can kind of go into machine mode without thinking,” Brown said. “But when you add two additional competitors, you don’t want to be the first one to stage, but you don’t want to be the last one.”

In four-wide racing, it’s not only two additional lanes and competitors but an additional Christmas tree, which means there are additional chances of being led into a mistake. Some happen during staging (like timing out), or red lighting because a driver believes they hear someone else on the throttle, or even looking at the wrong Christmas tree.

“Everyone has motions in their mind, and I think that’s what makes it difficult,” Brown said. “Because you’re not thinking about the one person you’re racing where you go, ‘Hey, this person isn’t that good on the tree. All I’ve got to do is get off the starting line, and if we go A to B, we’ll be good to go.’ Now you have to think about, ‘Well, hold up. I’m not just racing Steve Torrence. Now I’ve got Justin Ashley in the other lane. Gosh, dog, he’s quick on the tree. Steve’s decent on the tree, but his car runs really, really well, so I’ve got to be quick on the tree. Thank God my car is running well because Justin’s car runs well, and he’s quick on the tree.’

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“Then you go, ‘[Man], Doug Kalitta is the last one. …We’ve got Doug Kalitta, too.’ It’s one of those deals where the hardest part is you’ve got to try to tone down your senses because they are heightened because you’ve got so much happening around you. Before, the narrative was so easy because it was one [competitor].

“When you add [more] in, it’s kind of like a battle royal where you have to throw your best blow. You literally go in there and it’s so easy to get off the tangent because you’ll see this light blink on, then this light blinks on, then the third light, and the fourth.”

The addition of a Christmas tree changes a driver’s procedure and sight-lines. It’s where a mistake is most likely to occur.

“If you’re on the two inner lanes, your light bulbs are on the opposite side of the tree,” Brown said. “So, if you’re in lane two, your bulks are over on the left side of the tree. It’s not on the side of the track that you’re on. The people who can’t think are at a [big] disadvantage.

“Some people will drive these cars and the cars are so fast that they can’t keep up, and then you throw [all] that in the cogs and they don’t know how to function. For somebody who can keep it steady, it makes it a little bit easier, but it’s hard. It’s hard.”

Brown has always been someone who felt he could slow everything down. Outside of his dragster, Brown is full of life and has a contagious personality, but when it comes to racing, he doesn’t get too up or down.

And that’s what he can use to his advantage when he’s looking at the mice he wants to catch.

“I think that’s why I’ve been so successful at four-wide; it’s kind of played into my favor,” Brown said. “It fell into my wheelhouse because there is more going on, and it’s showing my mindset capabilities where some people don’t have that mindset.”

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.

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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.”

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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.