Justin Ashley, Ron Capps, and Greg Anderson emerged as the No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 14th race of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. 

Ashley’s dominant performance on Saturday at Brainerd Raceway solidified his position at the top as he blazed down the track in his Phillips Connect/Toyota dragster, clocking an impressive time of 3.746 seconds at 328.14 mph. Despite the expected cooler conditions on raceday, Ashley’s outstanding qualifying run sent a clear message to his rivals. 

“That’s a stout run with the conditions what they were,” Ashley said. “Nothing surprises me with the team that we have, but nonetheless, it was going to be tough to go out there and run as well as we did. It really just speaks volumes of our team. It’s kind of a unique situation because I’m not sure how much you can actually take of that and apply it tomorrow. It’s going to be cooler, much different out there tomorrow. But we positioned ourselves the best we can heading into raceday.

“I’m looking forward to what will hopefully be a long and exciting raceday. It’s going to be cool out tomorrow, so I think you’re going to see a lot of really close racing and a lot of really fast racing.”

Finishing closely behind him, Doug Kalitta ended the day in the second spot with a time of 3.757 seconds at 330.31 mph, followed by Steve Torrence at 3.758 seconds and 328.54 mph.

In the highly competitive Funny Car category, Capps secured the No. 1 qualifying position with a run of 3.894 seconds at 330.23 mph in his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra. The back-to-back Funny Car world champion achieved his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 38th of his illustrious career. 

“We’ve been chasing this all year and just haven’t been able to seal the deal and get the job done,” Hight said. “I do feel this Cornwell Tools Camaro has turned the corner, and we’re getting to where we need to be. Really want to thank Mission Foods for putting up the money and this challenge. It makes things exciting on Saturday and gives us some practice out there racing. You better be on your game.

“Throughout the year, people who win this thing seem to go out there and double up, so that’s our goal tomorrow. We need to go out there and get a win.”

Capps’ 3.894 at 330.23 in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra held up from Friday, giving the back-to-back Funny Car world champ his second No. 1 qualifier this season and 38th in his career. He’ll look for his seventh win at Brainerd on Sunday, opening eliminations against Jim Campbell. J.R. Todd took second with a 3.907 at 327.98, and Hagan’s 3.910 at 328.06 put him third.

Capps, aiming for his seventh win at Brainerd, will commence eliminations against Jim Campbell. J.R. Todd secured the second spot with a time of 3.907 seconds at 327.98 mph, closely followed by Matt Hagan at 3.910 seconds and 328.06 mph.

“You never take anything for granted; the equalizer will be those cool conditions,” Capps said. “Tomorrow is going to be epic, some pretty incredible times and speeds. But the yellow hat is just such a tribute to how good our guys are. As a driver, you stage the car and keep it in the groove. But I look back at that first run we had to shut the car off, and I thought, man, that’s really unfortunate. We really don’t get very many races. We get two qualifying runs on Friday, but the fact they caught that, we didn’t get anything hurt, then we went back up and got the No. 1 spot, it sure felt a lot better.”

In the Pro Stock category, Anderson continued to showcase his dominance in qualifying, claiming his first No. 1 position of the season. Anderson seized the top spot with an impressive time of 6.597 seconds at 205.79 mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro during Friday’s session. 

“It’s very gratifying to know that you can run in heat, you can run in cool, you can run in any conditions. I’m proud of the KB Titan Racing guys and the job they’ve done this weekend,” Anderson said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow; it’ll be a more fun day for racers. The cars will be fast and hooked up. It’ll be a throw everything you’ve got at the racetrack, and it should hold it. Those are exciting days for us; that’s how we love to race.”

Matt Hartford secured the second position with a time of 6.598 seconds at 205.54 mph, while Erica Enders locked in the third spot with a time of 6.603 seconds at 207.27 mph.

Eliminations for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway.