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SUNDAY FINAL – ASHLEY, ALEXANDER, GLENN HEADLINE WINNERS AT LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS
Justin Ashley captured his third Top Fuel victory of the season on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, defeating Shawn Langdon in the final round of the 42nd Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.
Blake Alexander (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also took wins at the 13th of 20 races in the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Ashley led from start to finish against Langdon, posting a 3.745-second run at 329.34 mph in his dragster to earn his 14th career win. The victory, Ashley’s first since April, moved him to third in the points standings.
The win is his first in Top Fuel and his second in Brainerd, dating back to 2017 when he won as a Top Alcohol driver.
“Everything we’ve done this season has been with intent and purpose,” Ashley said. “We want to win every race, but ultimately, it’s about positioning ourselves well for Indy and beyond. The car performed consistently today, which is crucial in this sport.”
Langdon made his sixth final-round appearance of the season, overcoming Shawn Reed, Doug Kalitta, and Ida Zetterstrom, who debuted in Top Fuel. Kalitta now leads Langdon by 84 points in the standings.
Alexander claimed his first Funny Car victory of the season, bouncing back after a tough weekend in Sonoma. Alexander posted a 3.927-second run at 324.67 mph in the final round when defending champion Matt Hagan red-lighted. This marked Alexander’s fourth career win and second in Funny Car.
“Sonoma was the hardest race of my career, and to come here and win means a lot,” Alexander said. “We’re making legit horsepower now, and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made.”
Despite a challenging qualifying round, Hagan reached the finals for the fourth time this year, overcoming Ron Capps, Daniel Wilkerson, and J.R. Todd. Austin Prock remains the points leader with a 218-point lead over Bob Tasca III heading to Indianapolis.
Dallas Glenn returned to the winner’s circle in Pro Stock, claiming his third win of the season by defeating Mason McGaha in the final round with a 6.613-second run at 206.95 mph. Glenn, who leads the Pro Stock standings, extended his points lead to 184 over teammate Greg Anderson.
Glenn ended Elite Perfomance’s six-race winning streak by stopping Sonoma winner Aaron Stanfield in the semi-finals.
“It feels really good to get back to winning,” Glenn said. “We had a tough day with some strong competition, but the team pulled through.”
McGaha reached his first final of the season, advancing past Jerry Tucker, David Cuadra, and Fernando Cuadra Jr.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series resumes Aug. 28-Sept. 2 with the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
SATURDAY QUALIFYING – PROCK, S. TORRENCE, TUCKER LEAD BRAINERD NO. 1 QUALIFIERS
Austin Prock got a two-for-one deal on Saturday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. On the last Funny Car run of the day, he drove the John Force Racing Funny Car to 3.860 seconds at 334.07 mph to secure his ninth No. 1 qualifier of the season. He also defeated Ron Capps to win his seventh #2Fast2Tasty title of 2024.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Jerry Tucker (Pro Stock) also qualified No. 1 at the 13th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Like he’s done several times in 2024, Prock will look for a clean sweep of the weekend on Sunday, opening eliminations against Jim Campbell.
“It was impressive, but the conditions were coming to everybody,” Prock said. “Safety Safari did an outstanding job of getting the race track back into tip-top shape. I’m really proud of the team; we had a great day and were low in both sessions.
“I was nervous but a little excited to get another shot at a late run here because last night we threw up. We were kind of scratching our heads on why. It was really close to making it and it just didn’t go. (Today), it went right down there and made a really nice pass. We ended up with three more points, a Mission win, and another yellow hat – pretty proud of that.”
Bob Tasca III was second after going 3.868 at 334.98 in the final session, while Blake Alexander took third thank to Friday’s run of 3.874 at 331.61.
Torrence kept the No. 1 position on the strength of Friday’s 3.688 at 335.32, and for the four-time world champ, this marks his first Brainerd No. 1 qualifier.
“This is a time where you really get up on your A-game and start working on trying to go win a championship,” Torrence said. “We have here and Indy left, and then it’s ‘katy bar the door.’ Everybody is going to be swinging as hard as they can and trying to go out and win a championship. We’re right in the thick of things, and we need to capitalize on every opportunity we have to stay a top three car and start the Countdown strong.”
Tony Stewart remained second thanks to Friday’s 3.688 at 332.18, and Brittany Force jumped to third with a run of 3.698 at 335.48.
Tucker earned his second career No. 1 qualifier of the year with a pass of 6.612 at 207.78. He’s coming off a semi-final finish in Sonoma.
“We knew we had it in us. We went to Sonoma, and we were probably the fastest car. I let the team down,” Tucker said. “We went over to Rock Falls and did some testing, and we were faster than Jeg, TJ, and Erica. Really, in testing, if you’re that fast, you’ve got a good racecar. When the car is that fast, it’s a lot of pressure on a guy not to mess up a good deal. Erica drove that car for five years, and there are no issues with that car. It’s the fastest car.
“The Elite team is something it’s hard to put your finger on. Everyone is pulling in the same direction. Erica Enders has been great to me, Jeg has been right beside me. Anytime you have that many championships trying to keep you in line, it’s kind of hard to mess up. My team is good that works on my car, so it’s really just up to the driver.”
Enders is second with a 6.612 at 207.27 and Anderson qualified third.
Eliminations for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals begin at 10:30 a.m. CT on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway.
FRIDAY QUALIFYING – S. TORRENCE, ALEXANDER, ANDERSON MAKE THEIR MARK IN DAY ONE BRAINERD QUALIFYING
Steve Torrence, a four-time Top Fuel world champion, secured the provisional No. 1 position on Friday at the 42nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
Joining Torrence atop their respective professional categories were Blake Alexander (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock).
Torrence edged out motorsports icon Tony Stewart in the second qualifying session, clocking a 3.688-second run at 335.32 mph in his Capco Contractors dragster.
“We’ve been working on trying to make power,” Torrence said. “At the end of the day, power is speed, and the high mile an hour is just an exhibition of power and being able to get it down. These conditions here are different than a lot of places we go, so it’s rather difficult to make power here. I was a little surprised to see .68 being low.
“The track is good, everything is good, but people are struggling to make the power they want. We were wanting to run quicker than .68, and that’s just what it gave us. We were just a little closer to it than everybody else, only a little better than Smoke. Pretty cool to see him come out and do as well as he’s done right here. We got lucky, and it’s been a good day.”
Stewart also recorded a 3.688-second run, but his slower speed of 332.18 mph relegated him to second. Reigning world champion and points leader Doug Kalitta is currently third with a 3.703-second run at 335.40 mph.
In Funny Car, 2023 NHRA Norwalk champion Alexander jumped to the top spot with a 3.874-second run at 331.61 mph in his Head Racing Ford Mustang. This would be Alexander’s first career No. 1 qualifier if it holds.
“Given the circumstances of the previous race, that was very sweet – but also, I think we’re capable of doing that, and it wasn’t exactly surprising,” Alexander said. “It’s repetitive – that’s the second time we’ve run 3.87, and that’s when you start becoming a problem for these guys out here who are, quite frankly, bigger outfits than us. It feels pretty good to be able to run with them.
“We’re having the best season we’ve ever had, to be honest. We just haven’t won a race yet. I think that gets lost in the nature of this business is you’re only as good as your last run. That will happen tomorrow, and that will happen on Sunday, but right now, we’re happy with where we’re at.”
Alexis DeJoria is second in Funny Car with a 3.882-second run at 332.84 mph, while Bob Tasca III, the recent winner in Sonoma, is third with a 3.884-second run at 332.59 mph.
Anderson, a native of Duluth, Minn., is racing at his longtime home track and claimed the provisional No. 1 position in Pro Stock with a 6.641-second run at 207.08 mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.
Anderson, a five-time world champion, is aiming for his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and first win in Brainerd since 2011.
“I was hoping we could have run a little bit quicker, but the bottom line is that we did all we could do today. We got all the points that they had to give, and we won Friday,” Anderson said. “So, we’ll move into tomorrow as a new day, and we’ll use that as tuning data. There’s definitely a lot of room left in it, we know we can run better which is great news.
“I love racing here at Brainerd. When it’s cloudy and cool like this, the racetrack is great. The bottom line is that the racetrack is better than we went up there prepared for. That’s a good problem. You go home and find some courage; come back tomorrow and be better. That’s what we’ll do. We’ll come back like a lion tomorrow and hopefully run better and take No. 1 home with us.”
Aaron Stanfield, who has won three of the last four races, is second in Pro Stock with a 6.642-second run at 206.26 mph. Matt Hartford is close behind with a 6.643-second run at 204.66 mph.
Qualifying continues Saturday at 12 p.m. CT at Brainerd International Raceway.
Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 42nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, 13th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Steve Torrence, 3.688 seconds, 335.32 mph; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.688, 332.18; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.703, 335.40; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.705, 330.07; 5. Jasmine Salinas, 3.714, 334.90; 6. Brittany Force, 3.720, 336.07; 7. Billy Torrence, 3.730, 333.08; 8. Justin Ashley, 3.736, 332.75; 9. Antron Brown, 3.768, 330.31; 10. Josh Hart, 3.796, 325.61; 11. Shawn Reed, 3.807, 320.13; 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.808, 323.04; 13. Ida
Zetterstrom, 3.809, 326.87; 14. Clay Millican, 4.341, 186.25.
Funny Car — 1. Blake Alexander, Ford Mustang, 3.874, 331.61; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 3.882, 332.84; 3. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.884, 332.59; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.894, 330.07; 5. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.912, 321.12; 6. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.916, 330.15; 7. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.920, 322.65; 8. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.938, 325.22; 9. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.942, 325.92; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.956, 326.00; 11. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.975, 298.54; 12. Jack Wyatt, Charger, 4.359, 226.54; 13. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 6.440, 113.20; 14. Matt Hagan, Charger, 6.509, 113.08; 15. Dave Richards, Toyota Camry, 7.500, 90.84; 16. Buddy Hull, Charger, 9.867, 72.68.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.641, 207.08; 2. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.642, 206.26; 3. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.643, 204.66; 4. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.644, 205.38; 5. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.647, 204.88; 6. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.648, 207.15; 7. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.649, 206.76; 8. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.650, 206.23; 9. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.660, 205.76; 10. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.663, 206.29; 11. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.666, 205.51; 12. David Cuadra, Mustang, 6.668, 206.32; 13. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.696, 206.20; 14. Derrick Reese, Mustang, 6.697, 204.82; 15. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.705, 204.91; 16. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.715, 204.98.
Not Qualified: 17. Deric Kramer, 8.619, 108.98.
