Lucas Oil Raceway – Syndication Server

Ashley, Todd, Glenn, Hall win US Nationals Mission Challenge

Justin Ashley picked up his fourth victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, defeating Ida Zetterstrom in the Top Fuel final of the bonus race as part of this weekend’s 70th annual Toyota …

J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and John Hall (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the final Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at the 14th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

In the final round against Zetterstrom, Ashley went 4.085s at 260.01mph in his Scag Power Equipment/Toyota dragster, also clinching the overall season title in the bonus race for a second straight year. Ashley has enjoyed a stellar 10 wins in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge over the past two seasons, earning 13 bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs this year.

“We feel good. We take the Mission Foods Challenge very seriously,” Ashley said. “It’s important for a number of reasons. Obviously, we want to run well because it’s a part of qualifying and help position ourselves well for raceday, but it’s also points that are going to be added on before the Countdown starts, which is super important to us.

“Anything that we could win, we want to see win lights whether it’s the Mission Challenge or even in qualifying then of course on raceday. I’m super happy for the team, happy for the guys and everybody at Scag Power Equipment. We’ll enjoy it, but then we have to shift our focus to tomorrow.”

Funny Car’s J.R. Todd made the first step in what he hopes is a huge weekend, getting his third Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the year after defeating Chad Green in the final round with a run of 3.953s at 325.22mph in his DHL Toyota GR Supra. Todd is also in the Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout on Sunday, giving the former world champion a rare opportunity to win three times in one weekend.

“We have to thank Mission Foods for allowing us to have the opportunity to race for those bonus points – they’ll come in handy when the Countdown comes around,” Todd said. “We’re already spotting [Austin] Prock over a full round with all the points that he’s racked up, so it’s nice to add to our reset, whatever that may be after Monday. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a good position to maybe finish second in the regular season going into the Countdown and see where we stack up.”

Prock was the dominant overall champion of the bonus race thanks to an incredible seven victories this year. In the two-year existence of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, it’s the most wins anyone has picked up in a single season, giving Prock a whopping 23 bonus points for the playoffs.

In Pro Stock, Dallas Glenn claimed his second Mission #2Fast2Tasty victory of the year, going 6.621s at 206.83mph in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, defeating a red-lighting Mason McGaha in the final round of the bonus race. Glenn has enjoyed a strong season in the bonus race and the points leader in the category will also take 12 bonus points into the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

“This feels good. I don’t have the greatest track record in these bonus races, so it was good to seal another #2Fast2Tasty win,” Glenn said. “I think we have good momentum going into raceday even though we have another day of qualifying ahead of us. It’s going to be pretty interesting.

“We’re figuring stuff out, we’re getting better, I’m getting the car figured out better and trying to cut better lights. I had a great light against Aaron first round, and If I was 0.017s on the tree I would have lost. We’re coming into a stride right at the right time.”

Erica Enders won the overall Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge championship in the category on the strength of three wins and two runner-up finishes in the bonus race. She’ll take 13 bonus points into the Countdown to the Championship.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s John Hall earned his first-ever win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, getting the victory when teammate Matt Smith went red in the final round of the bonus race. Hall, a former U.S. Nationals winner, has come on strong at the right time on his Denso Auto Parts Buell, making a pair of impressive runs on Saturday.

“Today was a great day. I honestly didn’t know what to expect because we didn’t get to make a run on Friday night,” Hall said. “Normally, missing the first run wouldn’t be a big deal but when you have to go right into the Mission Challenge, you don’t know what the bike will run or what kind of a light you’ll have. I did just fine in the first run with a 0.011s light and I’m not sure what happened in the second, but I have to thank Matt for going red because I was way off.”

Gaige Herrera claimed the overall title in the category, slipping past Matt Smith on a tiebreaker. Both standouts finished with 12 bonus points for the playoffs, but Herrera won the tiebreaker by virtue of his three overall Challenge wins to Smith’s two.

Final qualifying begins at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Prock, Force, Anderson, Hall move to the top at NHRA US Nationals

Funny Car’s Austin Prock moved into the No. 1 position on Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, taking over the provisional top spot at the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals. Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and …

Funny Car’s Austin Prock moved into the No. 1 position on Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, taking over the provisional top spot at the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and John Hall (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 14th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Prock made the quickest run in both qualifying sessions, including a weekend-best run of 3.855s at 328.38mph in his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS. If that holds, Prock, who is looking to win for the first time at the U.S. Nationals, would pick up his 10th No. 1 qualifier of the season in the first 14 races of the 2024 season.

“It’s been an outstanding weekend so far,” Prock said. “Everybody has just been having fun in this Cornwell Tools pit this weekend and I feel like we have a good attitude about the U.S. Nationals and going into the playoffs. It’s been an exciting weekend so far, and to lock up that Mission #2Fast2Tasty Championship says a lot about this race team and how consistent this racecar is with the job that they’re doing.

“Through life you have your ups and downs, but after [Brainerd], I feel like I have a brand new attitude and new mindset that can’t be shook. I’ve been annihilating the Christmas Tree this weekend which makes me feel really good and the hard work that I’ve been putting in is paying off. It’s a great start to the weekend. I’m just so proud of my family and this whole Cornwell Tools team and all of John Force Racing. We’ve been outstanding all weekend, all three race cars are just flying and it’s a great time to be doing it.”

Bob Tasca took over the second spot with a 3.871s at 336.23mph and Jack Beckman is in third after going 3.877s at 329.10mph.

Selections were also made for the opening round of the Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout. Top seed Tasca selected Cruz Pedregon, while Ron Capps picked Paul Lee and Matt Hagan chose Alexis DeJoria, setting J.R. Todd and Chad Green as the final first-round matchup.

After a strong start to her weekend, Top Fuel’s Brittany Force enjoyed another standout day, improving on Friday’s time and staying as the provisional No. 1 qualifier with a run of 3.693s at 333.08mph in her Chevrolet Accessories dragster. Needing a big weekend after coming into Indy 10th in points, Force has done that so far, accumulating some much-needed qualifying bonus points in the process. She remains in prime position to pick up her second top qualifier of the season and the 48th in her career.

“There is a lot on the line this weekend, so to be able to improve and step up – our No. 1 spot was taken from us in Q2, and we knew we had to step it up. That was already David Grubnic’s plan, so to go from a 0.74s to a 0.69s was pretty awesome for this team,” Force said. “We’re very proud of that and very happy. We’re moving ahead, and we’re going to try to grasp as many points as we can get.

“The momentum is building for the entire team. We’re excited to be here, it’s the biggest race of the season. We’re sitting 10th and there is so much coming this weekend, so much pressure, but having three good runs down the racetrack really amps us up that much more. We’re excited to be here, but we’re waiting to get to Monday.”

Tony Stewart made a strong improvement as well, racing to the second spot with a pass of 3.707s at 331.04mph, while T.J. Zizzo is third with a 3.716s at 332.67mph.

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Greg Anderson believed there was more in his car and that proved to be true on Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, making a major improvement with a run of 6.588s at 206.20mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. He stays in the No. 1 spot for a second straight day and there was plenty for the five-time champion to like. Anderson, who has won the U.S. Nationals seven times, made the quickest run during both sessions on Saturday, putting him on a strong path to collect his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season.

“I knew if we didn’t do something like that, we wouldn’t be No. 1,” Anderson said. “The guys did a fantastic job. My car was No. 1 to 60-foot, I didn’t quite expect that, and that’s what got us the provisional pole. Everything has to go perfect for you to get a No. 1 spot and win rounds anymore. We did a great job but we’re only halfway through the weekend, still have another whole day of qualifying left and it looks like tomorrow is going to be a tick better again.

“The pole is not safe. You’ll have to find a way to do a better job again. They’re all nipping at my heels, without a doubt, and anybody can get that pole. There are a lot of people capable of taking it, so we’ll have to give it all we’ve got and try to be perfect. We’re three for three so far, it’ll be quite a feather in the cap if we can go five for five in qualifying and bring momentum into Monday.”

Erica Enders remained in second, improving to a 6.592s at 207.11mph, while Jerry Tucker nearly dipped into the 6.50s as well, moving to third with a 6.600s at 207.59mph.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith Racing continued to have a strong weekend at Indy, with John Hall making a big move to the No. 1 position with a run of 6.830s at 198.76mph on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. Hall made the best run of both sessions on Saturday, putting him in a great position to earn his first career No. 1 qualifier. Hall is a previous U.S. Nationals winner and knows full well what success at this race means.

“In this weather, I think a 6.83s is pretty good,” Hall said. “Normally, the Friday run would have been the best, but it was hot yesterday, so we had an opportunity to pick up today. I was in a similar spot in 2013 but this time I have more confidence than ever and that’s the No. 1 thing you can have. This is the biggest race of the year and the one you really want. We want to win all of them, but this is the one that sticks with you for life. I was fortunate to win once but I’d love to have two.”

Matt Smith is currently second after going 6.836s at 199.35mph, while points leader Gaige Herrera moved up to third thanks to a 6.850s at 196.64mph.

Final qualifying begins at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Majeski dominates in Trucks at IRP

Winless this season before Friday night’s TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Majseki put an old-fashioned beating on the rest of the field in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoff opener. The driver of the No. 98 ThorSport Racing …

The driver of the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford cemented a spot in the Round of 8 in dominating fashion, leading 179 of 200 laps, sweeping the first two stages of the race and beating pole winner and runner-up Christian Eckes to the finish line by 3.422s.

That was the smallest margin Majeski held at the end of any stage. He held a 3.904-second advantage over eventual eighth-place finisher Corey Heim at the finish of Stage 1. He was up by six seconds over Heim before the second stage ended under caution for Chris Hacker’s spin on the backstretch.

Clearly, the short-track ace was in his element at the 0.686-mile speedway.

“I’m proud of the effort, but this is just the start of our playoff run,” said Majeski, who failed to win with the fastest truck two weekends ago at Richmond.

In that race, Majeski sped on pit road, and his team failed to cover a late green-flag pit stop by race winner Carson Hocevar. In contrast, the effort of the entire No. 98 team was impeccable on Friday night.

“Mistakes really cost us (at Richmond),” Majeski said. “We learned from those. Obviously, tonight we were in a really similar situation, and we were able to execute on all fronts. The pit crew was great, (crew chief) Joe (Shear Jr.) made great calls, and I felt like I executed pretty good on the restarts.

“We put it all together as a race team tonight, and I’m pretty proud of that.”

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Hocevar came home fourth behind non-playoff driver Layne Riggs. Reigning series champion Zane Smith was fifth after starting from the rear of the field because of unapproved adjustments to his No. 38 Ford.

William Sawalich was a career-best sixth in his fourth Truck Series start, followed by fellow non-playoff driver Rajah Caruth. Heim, in eighth, was penalized for too many men over the wall late in the race. Three-time series champion Matt Crafton and Matt DiBenedetto completed the top 10.

The race also was a triumph for another driver who never led a lap and finished 19th in the first car one lap down. Shane van Gisbergen, who took the NASCAR world by storm by winning the Chicago Street Race in his only Cup start, avoided all trouble and got plenty of seat time in his first trip around an oval.

“It was awesome,” said the New Zealander. “With 10 to go, I finally dropped off the lead lap. “I had a ball. It was awesome racing with people, a lot of fun… I’m living the dream, it was really cool, and everyone was respectful. It was awesome.”

Heim, the regular-season champion, retained the series lead by three points over Majeski.

After the next two races — at the Milwaukee Mile (Aug. 27) and Kansas Speedway (Sept. 8) — the playoff field will be cut from 10 drivers to eight. The two drivers currently below the cut line are Crafton and DiBenedetto, who trail eighth place Nick Sanchez by two points and three points respectively.

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