J.R. Carr didn't have the quickest or fastest Mountain Motor Pro Stock car during qualifying for the NHRA Carolina Nationals outside of Charlotte, NC. And, for the Richland, Wash.-based driver, he didn't need to.

On race day, Carr was the quickest and fastest when it meant the most.

Carr, a former NHRA 500-inch Pro Stock, captured his third win of the season behind the wheel of his 840-inch Camaro. He finished the four-race tour with three wins, the latest coming at the expense of John DeFlorian.

"We struggled in qualifying.," Carr admitted. "We knew everybody was going to be tough with an 8-car field, which they always are. Hell, they're tough with the 16-car field in this class. We just had the better car today, and I drove pretty well, and we'll take it. It's sure not easy."

Carr entered eliminations from the uncharacteristically slower sixth qualifying spot. He took out Indy champion Johnny Pluchino in the opening round and then No. 1 qualifier Elijah Morton. 

Carr's team does their engines in-house with their F5 Motorsports shop, headed up by crew chief Frank Gugliotta. It takes a complete package to win one of these races, and Carr knows he has one. 

"We have a good motor program," Carr confirmed. "We have a great crew. We have Frank, who's a legend, in my mind anyway, one of the best ever. And there's not too many guys out here anymore that can tune, drive the truck, build the motors, everything, develop the motors. He's one of the last ones in my mind, and I'm fortunate to have him. It's been 13 years, and it's been good for him, good for me."

And yes, F5 has symbolism.

"A hurricane is coming," Carr added.

Carr has learned not to get excited when his car isn't up to snuff in qualifying. He prefers to opt for better performance in eliminations. 

"I put so much pressure on myself that I sometimes couldn't get out of my own way, and it was on me. I had the car. But I'm like, 'you're supposed to win, you're supposed to qualify number one. Now it's up to you," Carr said. "Then I would just make too big a deal out of it instead of getting in and driving like I've been doing the last couple of years. So I've learned to take the pressure and just, I don't want to say relax, because you can't relax in these cars, but kind of channel it to where I can focus. 

"I know I plan on doing my job, and if things go bad or somebody takes me out, it isn't because I was super late or we did a bad job. It's just going to be they beat us. So that's been better for me. It's still not easy, though."

Taking it easy and rolling with the punches is how Carr likes to roll these days. 

"I don't want to be out here 23 races every weekend," Carr said. "It's just too much. And so I think it's just the perfect class for me, and that's why I've stayed with it."

That's why he's learned not to sweat the qualifying stuff.