Brittany Force, Jack Beckman, Greg Anderson and Gaige Herrera retained their No. 1 qualifying positions Sunday at the 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, setting the stage for Monday’s eliminations at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Beckman’s 3.865-second pass at 332.26 mph on Friday in his “Brute Force” tribute Chevrolet SS held up through the weekend, giving the former world champion his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the year. He will open eliminations against Justin Schriefer. Beckman, who has won Indy twice in Funny Car, said a third victory at The Big Go would carry special meaning.
“We know exactly what we need to do for race day,” Beckman said. “This race is as big as it gets, and it took winning Indy in 2015 to realize how big it was to win it.” Ron Capps qualified third at 3.877, 331.69.
Funny Car points leader Austin Prock won the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout on Sunday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, defeating Ron Capps in the final round of the specialty race at the prestigious Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Prock went a Sunday-best 3.873-seconds at 333.00 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet SS, driving past Capps to win his first career bonus race for John Force Racing. Prock beat Cruz Pedregon and Matt Hagan earlier in the day to set up the marquee matchup with Capps.
Capps made it close early, but Prock drove away with a stellar run to close out the day. It also gave Prock, who had struggled throughout qualifying this weekend, the No. 2 spot in qualifying and the chance for a massive double-up weekend. He’ll also clinch the regular-season championship, already netting the reigning world champion $230,000 this weekend.
In Top Fuel, Force remained on top with her Friday run of 3.666 at 339.79, the quickest and fastest of the weekend. The two-time world champion will face Ida Zetterstrom in the first round as she continues to pursue her first U.S. Nationals win.
“We feel ready and confident going into race day,” Force said. “Now, the U.S. Nationals? Yes, this is a special one. This is on everybody’s bucket list. Everybody wants to win here, especially our team.”
Jordan Vandergriff qualified second at 3.683, 333.33, and T.J. Zizzo was third with a 3.695 at 333.08. Shawn Langdon set a track speed record at 340.90 mph.
Anderson stayed atop Pro Stock with his 6.491 at 210.44 from Friday in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. The run marked his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 138th of his career, tying Warren Johnson for the most in class history. Anderson enters Monday in a tight points race with teammate Dallas Glenn, separated by only a few markers, with the chance to claim an eighth Indy title.
“It’s pretty cool when you can tie Warren’s records,” Anderson said. “We’ve made five great runs, and we’re hoping for four more tomorrow. Hopefully we can make some more history tomorrow.” Glenn qualified second at 6.510, 210.90, with Erica Enders third at 6.516, 211.39.
Herrera closed qualifying in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 6.738 at 200.98, improving on his own track E.T. record set Friday. The defending U.S. Nationals winner secured his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and enters Monday with a chance to lock down the regular-season championship.
“I didn’t think we’d run better than we did Friday night, but we literally put the same tune-up back in the bike and that’s what it ran,” Herrera said. “I’m also happy about my lights. Today, I was .009 and then .002, so I feel like that gives me a lot of momentum going into tomorrow.”
Richard Gadson qualified second at 6.744, 201.01, and Brayden Davis was third at 6.753, 200.50.
Eliminations begin at 10 a.m. ET Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
