Photos by Ron Lewis, Burghardt Photography
Brittany Force made the fastest run in Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park history Friday night, claiming the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Joining her atop the Indianapolis leaderboard were Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Force went 3.666 seconds at a track-record 339.79 mph in her Cornwell Quality Tools dragster, putting her on pace for her fourth No. 1 of the season and 56th of her career. She said the timing of the effort – Indy is the final race of the regular season before the Countdown to the Championship – makes the effort especially significant.
“This is what our team’s been chasing all season long, building everything up,” Force said. “All our hard work has come to this point at Indy this weekend, when the points reset, and now it’s game on for this Countdown. So, it was an exciting way to do that. Put a 3.66 on the board. It was a killer run for David Grubnic and all these guys and in Cornwell colors.”
Force, a two-time NHRA champion, said the real prize remains her first Indy win.
“It’s what every driver wants. It’s definitely been on my bucket list for a long time,” Force said. “We’ve accomplished a lot, but one thing we haven’t done is win here in Indy. I was runner-up twice a few years ago, and so we’ve been successful here, but we’ve never been able to take it to the winner’s circle, and we’d love to do that.”
Jordan Vandergriff was second at 3.683, and T.J. Zizzo followed third with a 3.695.
Past Funny Car champion Jack Beckman delivered a highlight in John Force Racing’s “Brute Force” tribute car, going 3.865 at 332.26 in his Chevrolet SS.
“When you’re strapped in that car towing up in the staging lanes, last pair at Indy driving a John Force ‘Brute Force’ tribute car, that’s about as good as it gets,” Beckman said. “I’m trying to do a better job of living in the moment. I just try to tell myself, ‘Just stop, pause, take a breath, look around and let it sink in a little bit.’ I don’t know if that run will hold [for No. 1], but I know it was the best of Friday night.”
Ron Capps was second at 3.877, and Alexis DeJoria third with a 3.891.
Pro Stock champion Anderson set a track record of his own, making a 6.491-second run at 210.44 mph in his Camaro. Anderson said he carried extra motivation after the passing of longtime team owner Ken Black earlier in the week.
“This is for Ken Black, who we lost this week. It’s a sad, sad deal, but we’re going to celebrate,” Anderson said. “He’d want us to go out and win this race, and that’s exactly what I’m going to try my best to do.”
Dallas Glenn, Anderson’s teammate and the Pro Stock points leader, was second with a 6.523, and Erica Enders was third at 6.528.
Herrera set the track Pro Stock Motorcycle E.T. record with a 6.739 at 200.98 aboard his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
“It’s hard to prepare for five runs here at Indy because you know anything can happen. I was shocked that we ran 6.73, but we just treated it like a test lap and we hit it hard,” Herrera said. “I don’t think we could have run any faster. That’s all she’s got.”
Matt Smith was second at 6.779, and Richard Gadson third at 6.782.
Qualifying resumes Saturday at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Friday’s results after the first one of five rounds of qualifying for the 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, 14th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.666 seconds, 339.79 mph; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, 3.683, 333.33; 3. T.J. Zizzo, 3.695, 333.08; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.697, 329.99; 5. Antron Brown, 3.702, 332.75; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.712, 337.24; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.727, 332.10; 8. Josh Hart, 3.734, 333.00; 9. Tripp Tatum, 3.737, 316.60; 10. Tony Stewart, 3.744, 328.78; 11. Justin Ashley, 3.757, 333.41; 12. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.799, 296.63; 13. Clay Millican, 4.109, 205.60; 14. Tony Schumacher, 8.239, 86.86; 15. Ida Zetterstrom, 9.855, 64.55; 16. Jasmine Salinas, 10.760, 74.44.
Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.865, 332.26; 2. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.877, 331.69; 3. Alexis DeJoria, Dodge Charger, 3.891, 329.02; 4. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.893, 330.88; 5. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.900, 324.83; 6. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.904, 323.50; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.909, 313.22; 8. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.927, 322.81; 9. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.935, 299.93; 10. Blake Alexander, Charger, 3.952, 325.30; 11. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.962, 307.02; 12. Austin Prock, Camaro, 4.084, 238.17; 13. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 4.164, 230.53; 14. Justin Schriefer, Charger, 4.242, 233.28; 15. Chris King, Charger, 4.309, 235.31; 16. Julie Nataas, GR Supra, 4.401, 199.52.
Not Qualified: 17. Cruz Pedregon, 4.570, 160.08; 18. Dave Richards, 5.309, 145.42; 19. Alex Laughlin, 8.402, 82.69.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.491, 210.44; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.523, 209.59; 3. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.528, 211.26; 4. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.529, 210.08; 5. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.532, 210.44; 6. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.533, 209.04; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.538, 209.69; 8. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.540, 209.79; 9. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.541, 209.88; 10. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.545, 210.18; 11. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.549, 209.62; 12. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.579, 209.20; 13. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.583, 209.79; 14. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.591, 209.30; 15. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.606, 209.98; 16. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.624, 205.16.
Not Qualified: 17. Greg Stanfield, 10.453, 87.61; 18. Troy Coughlin Jr., 10.514, 85.18; 19. David Cuadra, 22.605, 45.74.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.739, 200.98; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.779, 199.88; 3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.782, 200.47; 4. John Hall, Beull, 6.786, 189.34; 5. Brayden Davis, Suzuki, 6.795, 199.17; 6. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.817, 199.29; 7. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.835, 197.86; 8. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.857, 200.26; 9. Dystany Spurlock, Buell, 6.867, 197.25; 10. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.874, 193.96; 11. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.885, 195.85; 12. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.888, 195.73; 13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.905, 195.00; 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.927, 195.68; 15. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 7.153, 189.73; 16. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.156, 189.12.
Not Qualified: 17. Hector Arana Jr, 7.186, 192.77; 18. Charles Poskey, 7.213, 188.38; 19. Wesley Wells, 7.277, 182.72.
