Two-time Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force secured the provisional No. 1 position during qualifying Friday at the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals. Force recorded a time of 3.690 seconds at 334.24 mph in her HendrickCars.com Chevrolet dragster.

Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also earned provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their categories. This event marks the 16th of 20 races in the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and the second of six in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Force’s performance puts her on track for her third No. 1 qualifier of the year and the 49th of her career. She is now ninth in points and aims for a strong weekend after her previous season’s success.

“To end qualifying with two solid runs, we picked up points, and we’re leaving currently No. 1; our Monster Energy/HendrickCars.com team are all very excited and very proud of that,” Force said. 

“Our mindset for tomorrow is what it was coming into today. We want to do exactly what we accomplished today. We want to pick up points where we can tomorrow in the conditions we’re running in where the track temp is going to be quite a bit different, and we’ve got to figure that track out for Sunday. That’s where it really matters.”

Shawn Reed is second in Top Fuel with a time of 3.700 seconds, while defending champion Doug Kalitta is third at 3.710 seconds.

Hagan, needing a solid performance to remain in the championship hunt, recorded the quickest pass of both sessions in Funny Car. His run of 3.832 seconds at 333.25 mph puts him in contention for his first No. 1 qualifier of the season.

“That’s definitely a good shot in the arm. Our qualifying positions all year long have been a struggle, and we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to figure it out,” Hagan said. “It’s always tough when you see a guy like [crew chief] Dickie Venables scratch his head. That’s when you’re going, ‘This must be pretty bad if the guy’s not got it figured out,’ but those guys never give up. 

“It’s just good to come back and see our guys smiling in the pit and everybody high-fiving and to be on top. There’s a lot of times that these race cars will kick you, and it’s just an awful feeling because it’s just so humbling because you work so hard at it, and then you every now and then you get a little shot in arm.”

Points leader Austin Prock finished second in Funny Car with a run of 3.833 seconds. His teammate, Jack Beckman, is third at 3.850 seconds.

In Pro Stock, Enders moved to No. 1 with a time of 6.557 seconds at 208.20 mph. After finishing as the runner-up in the previous playoff event, Enders seeks her sixth top qualifier of the season.

“Those [qualifying bonus points] can be huge and make or break a championship run,” Enders said. “I think in 2015 when we won the championship, we accumulated the most ‘baby’ points in the Countdown, and it was definitely helpful for us to lock it up. We got six today, and if we do the same tomorrow, that will be 12, and that’s more than half a round of racing, so it’s a pretty significant chunk.

‘I’m sure it’ll be sunny and hot and sticky tomorrow, so I just want to go out there and make good runs. I want to make two really clean cracks at the Christmas Tree, trying to redeem myself on last week’s holeshot loss in the finals. I’ve got a little bit of work to do in the cockpit.”

Currently second in points, Aaron Stanfield claimed the second spot with a run of 6.580 seconds. Dallas Glenn, also near the top of the points standings, is third after a time of 6.590 seconds.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith took the provisional No. 1 position with a run of 6.803 seconds at 198.47 mph. He aims for his fifth top spot of the season, just outside the points lead.

“Those [qualifying bonus points] can be huge and make or break a championship run,” Enders said. “I think in 2015 when we won the championship, we accumulated the most ‘baby’ points in the Countdown, and it was definitely helpful for us to lock it up. We got six today, and if we do the same tomorrow, that will be 12, and that’s more than half a round of racing, so it’s a pretty significant chunk.

‘I’m sure it’ll be sunny and hot and sticky tomorrow, so I just want to go out there and make good runs. I want to make two really clean cracks at the Christmas Tree, trying to redeem myself on last week’s holeshot loss in the finals. I’ve got a little bit of work to do in the cockpit.”

Defending champion Gaige Herrera follows closely with a run of 6.812 seconds. His teammate Richard Gadson rounds out the top three with a time of 6.836 seconds.

Qualifying continues Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET at zMAX Dragway.​