Top Fuel points leader Justin Ashley showcased his dominance in the 2023 season by securing his sixth win at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park. Ashley defeated defending world champion Brittany Force in what is expected to be the final Top Fuel event to ever be contested at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kan. 

Alongside Ashley's victory, Bob Tasca III in Funny Car and Erica Enders in Pro Stock also emerged as winners in the 13th race of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.

Ashley's triumph came with a remarkable performance, clocking in at 3.702 seconds and reaching a speed of 323.58 mph in his Phillips Connect Toyota dragster. This win marked Ashley's 11th career victory and solidified his position as the championship frontrunner. 

Ashley beat Josh Hart, Leah Pruett, and Antron Brown, eventually delivering low elapsed time of the event.

“We have a lot of history as a team here. Jim Epler was the first Funny Car driver to go 300 mph and he did it right here in Topeka and my father won Funny Car here in 2007. This is the first race that him and I have won professionally at the same venue,” Ashley said. “It's really exciting and each one is more special than the next. We had four incredible turnarounds today and the team did a good job. Their ability to maintain composure and consistency on and off the racetrack is really second-to-none. 
 
“It was tough to stay focused today. We really didn't know what today was going to bring but every driver and team were under the same circumstance. We didn't know if we were going to get a race in, let alone four rounds today, was probably the biggest challenge of all. But you have a lot of confidence as a driver when you have a team like the Phillips Connect team.”

Force, who stands third in the Top Fuel [points, showcased her strength by reaching her first final round of the season. To reach the championship round, Force defeated Shawn Langdon, Steve Torrence, and Clay Millican. Notably, this marked her 36th career final round appearance.

Tasca continued his impressive performance at Heartland Motorsports Park, clinching his second consecutive victory at the venue. Tasca emerged victorious by defeating points leader Matt Hagan in the final round, boasting a run of 3.885 seconds at 332.26 mph in his BG-sponsored Ford Mustang. Tasca's win vaulted him to fifth in the points standings and marked his second win of the standout 2023 season.

Tasca faced a merderer's row of competition including Blake Alexander, Alexis DeJoria, and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight. In the final round, Tasca chased down Hagan, producing the sole Funny Car run in the 3.80s throughout the entire weekend. It was Tasca's 14th career win. 

“It was a hard-fought day and I give all the credit to the guys. Every time we warmed up the car, there was something wrong," Tasca said. "They just fought through it. The car shut off in the first round, second round, third round, we were struggling with putting cylinders out and having the safety box shut the car off. That run was a monster run (in the finals).
 
“That's what's different about this team from any team I've been on. I've never had the car that could just step up. This team, led by Aaron Brooks and Todd Okuhara, it's a different attitude than any I've been around. We're one of the quickest qualifying cars year-to-date, hot tracks, cold tracks, anything in between we can go up there and run low E.T. It was a big time run, a statement run for this team. Going into Brainerd and Indy, we're in the top five. If you have that leaving Indy, you have a really good chance to win the championship. This car can go to any race and win, and I don't know if I've ever been able to say that

Hagan, extending his lead by 61 points over Ron Capps, advanced to the final round for the sixth time in the 2023 season and achieved his 85th career final round appearance. His journey included victories over Alex Laughlin, Tim Wilkerson, and J.R. Todd.

Enders, the defending Pro Stock series champion, demonstrated a remarkable performance, improving with each run throughout the weekend. Ultimately, she concluded her exceptional showing by recording a time of 6.617 seconds at 206.13 mph in her Johnson's Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro, defeating long-time rival Greg Anderson in the final round. This victory marked Enders' second win of the 2023 season and her 45th career triumph.

Enders faced a challenging path to victory, defeating Chris McGaha and teammate Aaron Stanfield earlier in the day. In the semi-finals, she squared off against points leader Dallas Glenn, who had triumphed over Enders the day before in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge. 

Enders avenged her previous loss by securing victory via a holeshot finish, gaining an edge with a reaction time of .009 seconds. The final round brought together two five-time world champions, with Enders leading from start to finish. Her achievement propelled her to fifth place in the points standings, significantly boosting her chances of another title run.

“Today was just a great day,” Enders said. “Coming in, we felt like we struggled – yeah, we were No. 4 qualifier, but my car wasn't running as great as some of my teammates, and we certainly weren't running as good as the other guys. We knew we had our work cut out for us today. Looked up the ladder first thing this morning and it was stout. It was pretty cool that I had to battle everybody from a different team this time except for Aaron.
 
“I'm fortunate to have such a great team that when everybody was eliminated everybody was all-hands on deck for the quick turnaround. Like always, when my guys’ backs are against the wall, they perform the best. You give Mark Ingersoll a couple opportunities, and he'll get better. That's exactly what we did today. We improved on every round. I'm just really grateful he's in my corner and I'm glad to have the guys I have that have my back.”
 
Anderson reached the final round for the first time in 2023 and 173rd time in his career after defeating David Cuadra, defending event winner Troy Coughlin Jr. and Deric Kramer. Glenn’s lead now stands at 228 points over Matt Hartford.
 
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action Aug. 17-20 with the 41st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn.