Austin Prock, Funny Car points leader, recorded the fastest run of his career Friday at Maple Grove Raceway, taking the provisional No. 1 spot at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals. 

Prock stopped the timers at 3.849 seconds at 338.43 mph in his Camaro Funny Car.

Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also hold provisional No. 1 qualifying spots at the 15th race of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. This race marks the start of the Countdown to the Championship, the six-race playoff that determines season champions.

“That was some classic Reading drag racing right there,” Prock said. “This place is always fast, lot of trees around here, the air is always pretty mongo and they gave us a great racetrack tonight. That was pretty stout to go No. 1 again and run a career-best speed. It definitely got all of it. I’m really proud of this team, and it was a heck of a way to start the playoffs today.”

Prock’s pass, his career-best speed, was just shy of the track record and adds to his strong season, where he has already secured 10 No. 1 qualifiers and leads the standings with five wins. He enters the playoffs fresh off a victory at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

“I knew it left hard, and just past the Christmas tree I felt the tire just a hair and it cleared up. I probably got about 200 feet out and I started feeling it trying to make that move inside and I had quite a bit of wheel turning left all the way down the (track). When I tossed the laundry, my brother (Thomas) got on the radio, they were going nuts and that was really special. It was great to hear and the team is really proud of that today.”

Alexis DeJoria enjoyed a strong pair of qualifying sessions, qualifying second with a 3.867 at 336.40, while Prock’s JFR teammate, Jack Beckman, is third after his pass of 3.869 at 330.80

Ashley, who lives on New York’s Long Island, considers Maple Grove Raceway his new hometrack ever since Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ closed, put on quite the show thundering to the provisional No. 1 spot in Top Fuel with a 3.713-second run at 333.49 mph in his Scag Power Equipment/Toyota dragster. If it holds, it would be Ashley’s first No. 1 qualifier of the season and sixth of his career.

“I think we did a good job during Q1 of positioning ourselves to a point where we could be a little more aggressive in Q2. That was the key,” Ashley said. “When you go out there that first run, you want to set that baseline so you have the ability to be a little more aggressive and go after that No. 1 spot. We stayed after Indy, we did some testing, we did some testing after Brainerd.

“The whole team has just been chipping away at it for this reason, for this very moment. We want to make sure we’re prepared when the Countdown comes. It’s day one of the Countdown, but we feel good about where we’re at with everything. Maybe it will hold tomorrow, maybe it won’t, but those three bonus points were critical.” 

Tony Schumacher made a big jump to second after going 3.733 at 328.70 and points leader Doug Kalitta is third with a run of 3.736 at 335.73.

Enders, the defending Pro Stock world champion, led her class with a 6.535-second run at 210.34 mph. She seeks her first win since the season opener in Gainesville, which would mark her 50th career victory.

“I’m feeling confident after Indy,” Enders said. “We didn’t win, our team went to the finals and raced each other, I lost in the semis and I was .014 on the tree,” Enders said. “I feel like my driving has been a lot better and we have a great racecar. We’ve had one all year.

“We put a new bullet in for today and we went right to the top right off the trailer, and it held through the second session. That’s extremely encouraging. Everybody wants to start the Countdown off on the right foot. If you get in too big of a hole it’s hard to dig yourself out. There’s a lot of racing to go, a lot of points to accumulate, and a lot of tough competition but definitely the right foot and I’m proud to be there.”

Greg Anderson moved to second with a run of 6.537 at 209.23 and points leader Dallas Glenn went to third after going 6.540 at 208.91.

Smith, aiming for his fifth Pro Stock Motorcycle No. 1 qualifier of the season, ran 6.801 seconds at 199.49 mph. Smith, a six-time world champion, won in Sonoma earlier this season and has his sights set on a seventh championship.

“The first run was pretty good and the second run, we should have run .79, maybe a high .78 but the bike got stuck in fourth gear out there,” Smith said. “All in all, we had a great run and I can’t say enough. We got everything turned up. We got the high-side rev limiter turned way up or I’d have hit the limiter there. It’s one of them deals, it’s the Countdown. We’re going for seven [championships], and we’ve got to throw everything we’ve got at it.
 
“We brought everything we’ve got for our Denso Buell and we’re going to keep digging, try to keep going, and we’ll see. I think we might put another motor in for tomorrow. We have a brand-new piece that’s really, really good on the dyno and I need to get some tune-ups on it and try to get it right for the Countdown.”

Points leader and defending world champion Gaige Herrera is currently second after going 6.804 at 198.55 and his teammate, Richard Gadson, is in third with a run of 6.807 at 197.45.

Qualifying continues at noon Saturday at Maple Grove Raceway.

Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 39th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, 15th 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, 3.713 seconds, 333.49 mph; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.733, 328.70; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.736, 335.73; 4. Tony Stewart, 3.741, 328.46; 5. Shawn Langdon, 3.741, 324.59; 6. Steve Torrence, 3.754, 332.18; 7. Clay Millican, 3.762, 331.36; 8. Josh Hart, 3.763, 328.78; 9. Jasmine Salinas, 3.768, 330.15; 10. Brittany Force, 3.770, 329.75; 11. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.779, 329.10; 12. Antron Brown, 3.784, 326.87; 13. Billy Torrence, 3.806, 321.35; 14. Dan Mercier, 3.881, 311.56; 15. Doug Foley, 4.680, 158.11; 16. Shawn Reed, 5.339, 134.64. Not Qualified: 17. Smax Smith, 6.606, 88.22; 18. Rit Pustari, 9.942, 82.50. 

Funny Car -- 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.849, 338.43; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 3.867, 336.40; 3. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.869, 330.80; 4. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.878, 331.53; 5. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.890, 336.65; 6. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.897, 331.36; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.906, 323.89; 8. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.910, 325.69; 9. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.934, 326.56; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.955, 326.48; 11. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.033, 303.16; 12. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.091, 264.70; 13. Joe Morrison, Charger, 4.339, 215.72; 14. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 5.223, 141.65; 15. Jim Campbell, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.768, 119.55; 16. Mike Smith, Mustang, broke. 

Pro Stock -- 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.535, 210.54; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.537, 209.65; 3. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.540, 209.26; 4. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.541, 209.88; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.547, 209.65; 6. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.554, 210.14; 7. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.555, 208.91; 8. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.560, 208.62; 9. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.562, 210.01; 10. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.563, 209.23; 11. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.570, 209.69; 12. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.572, 209.62; 13. Camrie Caruso, Camaro, 6.576, 208.94; 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.585, 209.30; 15. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.585, 208.97; 16. Derrick Reese, Mustang, 6.586, 209.10. Not Qualified: 17. Cory Reed, 6.593, 208.97; 18. Brandon Miller, 6.638, 208.14. 

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.801, 199.49; 2. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.804, 198.55; 3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.807, 197.45; 4. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.820, 198.29; 5. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.859, 194.60; 6. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.869, 194.55; 7. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.884, 196.87; 8. John Hall, Beull, 6.892, 195.73; 9. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.898, 197.16; 10. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.922, 194.24; 11. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.939, 192.96; 12. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.974, 194.80; 13. Ron Tornow, Victory, 7.046, 193.57; 14. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.674, 137.25.