Friday night at zMAX Dragway sorted out quickly once the conditions came around.
When the sun dropped and the racing surface tightened, veterans took over the top of the qualifying sheets as Shawn Langdon, Ron Capps, Greg Anderson, and Matt Smith moved into provisional No. 1 positions at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
Langdon led Top Fuel with the only 3.60-second run of the day, posting a 3.674 at 339.19 mph in the final quad Friday night. The former NHRA champion was quickest in both sessions and continued a sharp early season pace for the Kalitta Air team.
“It’s just a testament to the team,” Langdon said. “The guys have done a great job giving me a great race car. It’s all the hard work that they did in the off-season, a lot of things that they looked at to try to improve on from last year in the last two years, and just little by little, it’s been shown.”
Langdon said the team believes it has a car capable of adapting to changing conditions.
“We feel pretty confident right now that if the track conditions are hot, we feel like we can make the necessary changes,” he said. “Then, when we get situations like this, where you try to throw down a little bit, we have a good handle on that as well.”
Leah Pruett was second at 3.700, while points leader Doug Kalitta was third at 3.711.
In Funny Car, Capps used the best air of the day to move to the top with a 3.883 at 333.91 in his Toyota GR Supra. It puts him in line for his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 39th of his career.
“This is classic zMAX,” Capps said. “The first run, there was a little humidity, and the track hadn’t been run on and everybody was tiptoeing. But this place is always good, and when the sun goes down, it’s great.”
Capps knew his team was preparing to take a serious shot at the top spot.
“We started hearing the good numbers being run ahead of us, and I could hear ‘Guido’ on the radio,” Capps said of crew chief Dean Antonelli. “I knew he was getting after it.”
Jordan Vandergriff was second at 3.899, while Matt Hagan, fresh off the 1,000th Funny Car victory in Pomona, sat third at 3.901.
Anderson again paced Pro Stock, running 6.498 at 211.23 in his Chevrolet Camaro. The six-time champion was the only driver in the 6.40s and is positioned for his third straight No. 1 qualifier this season and the 143rd of his career.
“It did feel very good. I can’t lie,” Anderson said. “Sometimes when you make a run, you say to yourself that we felt pretty damn good, and that’s what I said going down the race track. The scoreboard matched
what I thought. I had fun today.”
The run also came with sponsor Rick Hendrick in attendance.
“Mr. H was out here today, and he had a good time,” Anderson said. “He left before the second run and he called a little bit before it went up, and he’s like, ‘Make sure you don’t lose that pole.’ So I guess I got a little extra pressure there and got orders from the boss, and we got the job done.”
Dallas Glenn was second at 6.521, while Matt Latino was third at 6.527.
Smith took over Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 6.739 at 203.09 on his Buell at his home track. If the run holds, Smith will earn the 60th No. 1 qualifier of his career and move past Angelle Sampey for the most in class history.
“I didn’t think it would stick. I drove to the center line, but all in all, it did stick, and we’re No. 1,” Smith said. “This is a great
place to race and I love the four-wide. It’s a challenge and I’m getting old, and I like more challenges as I’m getting old.”
Smith said there was more left in the run had the bike not slightly strayed off-course.
“I think if the bike had gone straight there, I would have gotten a little bit more 60-foot, and I think I could have gone .71 there,” Smith said. “If people can go faster than that, they deserve to be No. 1.”
Ryan Oehler was second, while Gaige Herrera was third.
Saturday qualifying begins at 12:30 p.m. EDT with final sessions scheduled at zMAX Dragway, followed by the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge bonus races.
Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 16th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, fourth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.674 seconds, 339.19 mph; 2. Leah Pruett, 3.700, 333.82; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.711, 334.73; 4. Josh Hart, 3.733, 324.59; 5. Billy Torrence, 3.748, 329.34; 6. Antron Brown, 3.761, 333.25; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.781, 327.98; 8. Jasmine Salinas, 3.783, 331.77; 9. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.789, 328.14; 10. Clay Millican, 3.792, 323.58; 11. Will Smith, 3.797, 328.22; 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.812, 328.14; 13. Maddi Gordon, 3.828, 326.32; 14. Justin Ashley, 3.877, 292.39; 15. Tony Stewart, 3.882, 277.20; 16. Dan Mercier, 3.888, 317.94.
Not Qualified: 17. Scott Farley, 4.086, 268.33; 18. Keith Murt, 7.246, 84.28; 19. Shawn Reed, 11.452, 50.44.
Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.883, 333.91; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.899, 328.70; 3. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.901, 326.16; 4. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.910, 336.40; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.932, 331.20; 6. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.933, 314.97; 7. Dave Richards, Ford Mustang, 3.939, 332.59; 8. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.941, 321.73; 9. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.981, 319.67; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.993, 305.70; 11. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.001, 282.84; 12. Hunter Green, Charger, 4.049, 313.88; 13. John Smith, Charger, 4.117, 308.50; 14. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.234, 247.47; 15. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 4.525, 198.96; 16. Austin Prock, Mustang, 4.977, 176.56.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.498, 211.46; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.521, 210.77; 3. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.527, 210.64; 4. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.539, 209.14; 5. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.545, 209.39; 6. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.553, 210.87; 7. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.553, 210.64; 8. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.555, 208.17; 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.564, 210.08; 10. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.566, 208.78; 11. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.574, 210.37; 12. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.577, 209.20; 13. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.586, 210.41; 14. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.588, 208.84; 15. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.594, 208.23; 16. Brandon Miller, Dodge Dart, 6.618, 208.84.
Not Qualified: 17. Mason McGaha, 6.622, 209.23; 18. Chris McGaha, 6.624, 209.75; 19. Shane Tucker, 6.639, 207.62; 20. Cody Coughlin, 6.777, 207.21; 21. Alan Prusiensky, 6.921, 197.31.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.739, 203.09; 2. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.752, 201.55; 3. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.756, 200.50; 4. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.759, 200.35; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.781, 201.46; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.785, 201.46; 7. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.793, 199.97; 8. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.804, 200.11; 9. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.805, 195.79; 10. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.822, 200.17; 11. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.843, 198.44; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.843, 195.99; 13. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.844, 200.02; 14. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.934, 196.70; 15. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.144, 187.29; 16. Michael Ray, Buell, 10.350, 81.45.
