Justin Ashley paced the Top Fuel field Friday with a 3.752-second pass at 330.88 mph to claim the provisional No. 1 spot at the NHRA Summit Nationals. The run at Summit Motorsports Park could mark Ashley’s first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the seventh of his career.
Ashley, the most recent Top Fuel winner in Richmond, has appeared in five final rounds over the past six races. “When you look at the first nine races, we’ve been to a total of five final rounds, and that’s a really difficult thing to do in today’s Top Fuel class,” Ashley said.
The run came ahead of points leader Tony Stewart and three-time champion Antron Brown, who posted 3.755-second runs. Brown earned the second spot by running 333.33 mph, while Stewart went 327.11 in Q2 following a dramatic engine explosion in the opening session.
In Funny Car, Cruz Pedregon delivered a 3.890 at 318.39 mph to secure the top provisional qualifying spot in a field of 21 entries. It puts the veteran on track for his first No. 1 qualifier in over two years.
“We rolled the dice. Going up there it was either going to make a good run or we were going to see a whole lot of tire smoke,” Pedregon said. “We just need a little racing luck. It goes a long way.”
Pedregon credited his young crew, led by crew chief Jason Bunker. “Austin Prock has the Prock Rocket and we have the Bunker Buster,” he added.
Prock sits second after a 3.900 at 331.28, followed by Ron Capps in third with a 3.908 at 325.06.
Pro Stock qualifying was topped by Greg Anderson, who posted the quickest runs in both sessions. His better run came in the evening round with a 6.594-second pass at 206.78.
Anderson also leads the points and enters Saturday’s GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout as the top seed. “I’ve got as much confidence as you can possibly take going into Saturday and Sunday,” Anderson said. “We’ve got four (KB Titan( cars in the (Callout) tomorrow, so I like our chances.”
Anderson, who recently celebrated his 1,000th career round win, called out Erica Enders in the opening round of Saturday’s special event. “There’s no question who I’m going to call out,” he said earlier this week. “It’s going to be a great battle.”
Dallas Glenn is currently second with a 6.596 at 207.15, and Matt Hartford holds third at 6.604 and 207.21.
Matt Smith led Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 6.824-second run at 200.68 mph to close out Friday qualifying. Smith is aiming for his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 59th of his career.
“We’ve gotten beat up this year with the performance of the Vance & Hines bikes,” Smith said. “We’re behind about two or three hundredths but sometimes that’s all it takes.”
Smith’s Denso-backed Buell topped a field that also included strong efforts from teammates. John Hall ran 6.832 at 199.35 for second, and Ron Tornow posted a 6.874 at 197.88 for third.
“We stayed Monday after Virginia to try and better ourselves,” Smith said. “We’re focused on trying to get our four bikes in the top eight.”
The GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout begins Saturday at 11:30 a.m. EDT with semifinals at 1:20 p.m. and finals at 3:50 p.m. NHRA qualifying resumes at noon.
Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 19th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, 10th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Justin Ashley, 3.752 seconds, 330.88 mph; 2. Antron Brown, 3.755, 333.33; 3. Tony Stewart, 3.755, 327.11; 4. Brittany Force, 3.784, 331.77; 5. Shawn Langdon, 3.789, 324.59; 6. Dan Mercier, 3.813, 327.82; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.816, 319.37; 8. Josh Hart, 3.818, 325.37; 9. Clay Millican, 3.823, 324.20; 10. Shawn Reed, 3.847, 322.42; 11. Steve Torrence, 3.858, 326.56; 12. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.895, 305.29; 13. Doug Foley, 3.912, 305.29; 14. Will Smith, 3.997, 283.85; 15. Doug Kalitta, 3.997, 270.32; 16. Lex Joon, 6.317, 112.11.
Not Qualified: 17. Scott Farley, 10.120, 49.76.
Funny Car — 1. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.890, 318.39; 2. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.900, 331.28; 3. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.908, 325.06; 4. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.913, 321.35; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.926, 329.67; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 3.960, 327.11; 7. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.972, 322.50; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.997, 321.50; 9. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 4.005, 314.97; 10. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.040, 317.19; 11. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 4.061, 322.50; 12. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.072, 311.56; 13. Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.087, 312.57; 14. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.127, 276.75; 15. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.150, 299.86; 16. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.229, 230.17.
Not Qualified: 17. Bobby Bode, 4.386, 205.19; 18. Julie Nataas, 5.037, 157.28; 19. Joe Morrison, 5.248, 147.04; 20. Mike McIntire, 5.617, 108.60; 21. Chris King, 6.759, 100.09.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.594, 206.76; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.596, 207.15; 3. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.604, 207.21; 4. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.613, 206.73; 5. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.619, 205.57; 6. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.626, 206.57; 7. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.630, 206.95; 8. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.631, 207.82; 9. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.631, 205.66; 10. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.632, 206.89; 11. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.639, 207.05; 12. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.652, 207.59; 13. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.653, 204.35; 14. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.677, 207.08; 15. Derrick Reese, Ford Mustang, 6.721, 203.98; 16. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.747, 204.73.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.824, 200.68; 2. John Hall, Beull, 6.832, 199.35; 3. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.874, 197.88; 4. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.888, 195.59; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.902, 196.73; 6. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.906, 196.79; 7. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.935, 199.08; 8. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.964, 191.84; 9. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.966, 194.55; 10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.990, 194.72; 11. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.047, 192.63; 12. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.385, 181.89; 13. Odolph Daniels, Suzuki, 7.483, 178.02.
