Heartland Motorsports Park – Syndication Server

Ashley, Tasca, Enders take Heartland Park NHRA wins

Top Fuel points leader Justin Ashley continued his impressive 2023 season, defeating defending world champion Brittany Force in the final round and picking up his sixth win of the year on Sunday at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park. Bob Tasca III (Funny Car, pictured) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) also took victories

In the championship round, Ashley went 3.702 seconds at 323.58 mph in his Phillips Connect Toyota dragster to slip past Force’s 3.707 at 323.58 in the final NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series national event at Heartland Motorsports Park. After battling through several weather delays, the final round finished up under the lights as Ashley earned his 11th career win.

Ashley knocked off Josh Hart, Leah Pruett and Antron Brown to reach the final round before turning in the quickest run of the weekend to continue his dream season. He also stretched his lead to 83 points over Steve Torrence.

“We have a lot of history as a team here. Jim Epler was the first Funny Car driver to go 300 mph and he did it right here in Topeka and my father won Funny Car here in 2007. This is the first race that him and I have won professionally at the same venue,” Ashley said. “It’s really exciting and each one is more special than the next. We had four incredible turnarounds today and the team did a good job. Their ability to maintain composure and consistency on and off the racetrack is really second-to-none.

“It was tough to stay focused today. We really didn’t know what today was going to bring but every driver and team were under the same circumstance. We didn’t know if we were going to get a race in, let alone four rounds today, was probably the biggest challenge of all. But you have a lot of confidence as a driver when you have a team like the Phillips Connect team.”

Force, who stayed third in points, reached her first final round of the season, knocking off Shawn Langdon, Torrence and Clay Millican. It is also her 36th career final round.

In Funny Car, Bob Tasca III continued to impress at Heartland Motorsports Park, earning his second straight victory at the facility by taking down points leader Matt Hagan in the final round with a run of 3.885 at 332.26 in his BG3 Ford Mustang. Tasca delivered the quickest run of the Funny Car weekend under the lights against Hagan, moving to fifth in points while also picking up his second victory in what has been a standout 2023 season.

To reach the finals, Tasca got past Blake Alexander, Alexis DeJoria and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight, posting an identical reaction time and E.T. with Hagan to set up the thrilling final round. Tasca quickly chased down Hagan, making the only Funny Car run in the 3.80s this weekend to clinch his 14th career win.

“It was a hard-fought day and I give all the credit to the guys. Every time we warmed up the car, there was something wrong,” Tasca said. “They just fought through it. The car shut off in the first round, second round, third round, we were struggling with putting cylinders out and having the safety box shut the car off. That run was a monster run (in the finals).

“That’s what’s different about this team from any team I’ve been on. I’ve never had the car that could just step up. This team, led by Aaron Brooks and Todd Okuhara, it’s a different attitude than any I’ve been around. We’re one of the quickest qualifying cars year-to-date, hot tracks, cold tracks, anything in between we can go up there and run low E.T. It was a big time run, a statement run for this team. Going into Brainerd and Indy, we’re in the top five. If you have that leaving Indy, you have a really good chance to win the championship. This car can go to any race and win, and I don’t know if I’ve ever been able to say that before.”

Hagan stretched his lead to 61 points over defending world champ Ron Capps, beating Alex Laughlin, Tim Wilkerson and J.R. Todd to reach the final round for the sixth time this season and 85th time in his career.

Defending Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders seemingly got better with each run this weekend in Topeka, finishing off her weekend with an impressive run of 6.617 at 206.13 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro to defeat longtime rival Greg Anderson in the final round. Enders earned her second victory this season and 45th in her career, beating a strong list of contenders to reach the final round. She knocked off Chris McGaha and teammate Aaron Stanfield to open the day before facing off with points leader Dallas Glenn, who won against Enders a day earlier in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge.

This time, though, Enders won on a holeshot, using a .009 reaction time to slip past the points leader. That set up her 10th career final round matchup against Anderson, leading from start-to-finish in a race featuring a pair of five-time world champions. She moved to fifth in points, making a big step toward another title run.

“Today was just a great day,” Enders said. “Coming in, we felt like we struggled – yeah, we were No. 4 qualifier, but my car wasn’t running as great as some of my teammates, and we certainly weren’t running as good as the other guys. We knew we had our work cut out for us today. Looked up the ladder first thing this morning and it was stout. It was pretty cool that I had to battle everybody from a different team this time except for Aaron.

“I’m fortunate to have such a great team that when everybody was eliminated everybody was all-hands on deck for the quick turnaround. Like always, when my guys’ backs are against the wall, they perform the best. You give Mark Ingersoll a couple opportunities, and he’ll get better. That’s exactly what we did today. We improved on every round. I’m just really grateful he’s in my corner and I’m glad to have the guys I have that have my back.”

Anderson reached the final round for the first time in 2023 and 173rd time in his career after defeating David Cuadra, defending event winner Troy Coughlin Jr. and Deric Kramer. Glenn’s lead now stands at 228 points over Matt Hartford.

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action Aug. 17-20 with the 41st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn.

Hight reignites NHRA Countdown hopes with No. 1 run at Topeka

Robert Hight hung on to the No. 1 qualifier position in Funny Car at Heartland Motorsports Park, earning his 80th career top spot on Saturday at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor. Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) …

Robert Hight hung on to the No. 1 qualifier position in Funny Car at Heartland Motorsports Park, earning his 80th career top spot on Saturday at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also qualified No. 1 at the 13th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Hight’s strong run of 3.948s at 321.19mph in his Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS from Friday held up, handing the multi-time world champ his third No. 1 qualifier this season and a remarkable 80th in his standout career. Hight also made a strong run to close out qualifying on Saturday as he looks for his third win of the 2023 season. Currently fourth in points, Hight has his sights on a major move over the next three races and he’ll open eliminations on Sunday against Jack Wyatt.

“That 3.80s is a big number. It shows I’ve been doing it a long time, but it also shows I’ve had great teams behind me,” Hight said. “You’re not No. 1 qualifier without a really good race car. This is a tribute to all the good people I’ve worked with. This is big for us. I think we’re turning a corner with this new combination; it’s starting to respond. Jimmy [Prock, crew chief] was happy.

“It’s not too late to get back in this points deal and leave Indy with the No. 1 spot. It can happen. Points and a half at Indy, we do good here, do good at Brainerd, we’re right back in the thick of things. That’s our mindset.”

Defending and back-to-back world champ Ron Capps took second in qualifying with a 3.950s at 314.17mph and Matt Hagan’s 3.960s at 318.24mph put him third.

A host of competitors came close, but Steve Torrence claimed his first No. 1 qualifier of the season thanks to Friday’s run of 3.764s at 326.24mph in his Capco Contractors/Toyota dragster. He nearly topped it in his final run of the day where Torrence went 3.767s and Leah Pruett made a huge jump with her pass of 3.768s, but the Texan hung on for his 35th career top spot. He’ll open eliminations against Terry Totten, trying to pick up his second win in three races and possibly move into the points lead in the process.

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“This morning I felt safe. The conditions have changed and evolved to cloudy and cool,” Torrence said. “The big thing is, picking up bonus points throughout the rounds, that’s key, that’s crucial. We need to pick up those points. I’ve won a championship by less than two or three points. It’ll be a big deal at the end. Consistency wins races and championships, and that, along with being quick, is what we pride ourselves in. We’re going to do the best we can to keep this up.”

Pruett’s 3.768s at 325.77mph put her second in qualifying, while Doug Kalitta went to third with a 3.799s at 316.45mph.

Topeka continues to be very good for Pro Stock points leader Dallas Glenn, who turned in a terrific Saturday with two strong runs, including a 6.642s at 205.26mph in his RAD Torque Systems to close out the day and give Glenn his second No. 1 spot this season. Glenn tied KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson earlier in the day with a run of 6.653s and 205.66mph, and Anderson made an impressive pass of 6.645s at 205.79mph in the final session. But Glenn responded with his run to move to the No. 1 spot for the fourth time in his career. He’ll open eliminations against Fernando Cuadra Sr., looking for his fourth win in 2023.

“As a driver, you cannot make any mistakes,” Glenn said. “If you miss one shift, you can fall back four or five spots, just that easy. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s probably two-hundredths between No. 1 through No. 9. It’s going to be a really tight field and a really tough Sunday, and we’ve got a lot different weather rolling in for tomorrow so that’s going to throw an extra variable into the mix, but I think we have a really good car for them.”

Anderson took the second spot after making three stellar runs during qualifying, while Matt Hartford claimed third with a 6.657s at 206.23mph.

Eliminations for the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor begin at 10 a.m. CT on Sunday at Heartland Motorsports Park.

Torrence blasts to provisional No. 1 at NHRA Topeka Nationals

Four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence made the only run in the 3.70s on Friday at Heartland Motorsports Park, driving to the provisional No. 1 spot at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor. Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Greg …

Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 13th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. It is also the final NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series national event at Heartland Motorsports Park.

Torrence put together a run of 3.764s at 326.24mph in his Capco Contractors/Toyota dragster to close out the opening round of qualifying in a thrilling side-by-side run with points leader Justin Ashley. If it holds, Torrence, who is currently second in points, would pick up his first No. 1 qualifier this season and 35th in his career as he also gets closer and closer to getting into championship form. Torrence won in Seattle and ran well in Sonoma, and will look to build on that this weekend in Topeka.

“This is a huge confidence booster, just for getting the momentum going early in the weekend and getting us set up to go into tomorrow for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge,” Torrence said. “We needed to have a good qualifying run tonight to set us up to go into that race tomorrow with a competitive car and try to compete for those three points.

“That’s going to be huge going into the Countdown, where we’re able to kind of cut that lead down or see if we can cut it to nothing between now and then with Justin Ashley being so far ahead of us. These guys, we’ve been working hard. Everybody is putting in a whole lot of blood sweat and tears in this thing.”

Clay Millican, who has a pair of wins this season, is currently second with his 3.813s at 316.15mph and Ashley’s run of 3.818s at 322.88mph puts him third. Ashley currently has five victories this season.

After a Western Swing that didn’t go according to plan, Funny Car’s Robert Hight appeared to bounce back on Friday, powering to the provisional No. 1 position with a run of 3.948s at 321.19mph in his Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS. If that holds, the multi-time world champ would earn his third No. 1 qualifier this season and 80th in his career. Hight enjoyed a strong start to the season, winning in both Phoenix and Charlotte, but hasn’t been past the semifinals since. That makes Topeka a big weekend as Hight and his team look to get back in championship form.

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“This was definitely much needed,” Hight said. “We kind of went off of last year when we ran [3.93s] here in similar conditions. We’ve been struggling, and the car hasn’t been cooperating with every adjustment (crew chief) Jimmy [Prock] makes. He’s really set on this new clutch combination, but he believes that he’s the one that’s been making the mistakes. He beats himself up pretty bad and it was just awesome to hear the excitement in his voice when he told me what it ran. We needed that run big time.

“It’s going to be pretty hot out there, and it’s really setting yourself up for race day. It’s not going to do us any good to make a good run here tonight and go out there tomorrow and smoke the tires or drop cylinders. We really need to make good, quality runs so we’re set up for Sunday and get to where we can race this thing a little better.”

Defending and back-to-back world champ Ron Capps is currently second following his run of 3.950s at 314.17mph and defending event winner Bob Tasca III is third thanks to a pass of 3.967s at 316.60mph.

Greg Anderson hopes Friday is the start of his Pro Stock turnaround in 2023, as the five-time world champ went to the No. 1 spot with a run of 6.677s at 205.38mph in his HendricksCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. Currently seventh in points, the season hasn’t gone as planned thus far for Anderson, who is still seeking his first appearance in the final round. He took a good step during what he hopes is a big weekend in Topeka with his run on Friday, also putting him on track for his 122nd career No. 1 qualifier.

“We made a lot of changes – we had three weeks at home and did a lot of work, but you just never know what you have until you get to the racetrack,” Anderson said. “This year, I’ve been kind of let down when I get to the racetrack, but this was a good night. It’s a great feeling I haven’t had for a while, and I think we can even do better. It was good to see that when we pull the run up on the computer, it’s got a little bit of room. Hopefully we can improve.

“[It was] completely different conditions than we’ve seen all year, but maybe that’s what my race car needed. It went right up to the top, and I’m not going to complain one little bit. It’s still going to be hot tomorrow but slightly cooler conditions to see if we can improve on that.”

Reigning world champ Erica Enders is in the second spot after her run of 6.686s at 204.63mph, as Anderson and Enders were the only two drivers in the 6.60s. Troy Coughlin Jr., the defending event winner in Topeka, is third with a 6.704s at 205.16mph. Coughlin is also the most recent winner in the category after his Denver triumph.

Qualifying continues at 2:15 p.m. CT on Saturday at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park.