The blue-collar Top Fuel favorite from Chicago finally has his yellow hat. 

T.J. Zizzo, who had previously scored a provisional No. 1 on a Saturday, sealed the deal at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance.

He is joined atop the leaderboard by Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) in the sixth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

The moment was an emotional one as Zizzo's Friday pass of 3.735 seconds at 331.77 miles per hour in his Rust-Oleum dragster easily held up through the second day of qualifying. He races motorsports icon Tony Stewart in the first round.

“This is a dream come true,” Zizzo said. “I told our team (last week) we have the equipment and the knowledge, the people and the personnel to be No. 1 qualifier and that’s what we’re going to do. That, to me, is a dream come true. It’s pretty amazing.”

Defending event winner Clay Millican qualified second with a 3.746 at 332.84 while defending world champion Doug Kalitta took third with a 3.750 at 332.84.

Prock just keeps on keeping on in Funny Car. The rookie Funny Car driver score low qualifier No. 4 on the strength of his Friday run of 3.907 at 332.43.

Prock, the current points leader, opens eliminations against Jack Wyatt.

“We got a lot of confidence going into tomorrow after making it down the track (in Q4),” Prock said. “It almost made it on the third run, but it knocked the tires loose. The big thing is that we made it, got down and picked up bonus points. Our car is good in the heat. We won Phoenix on a hot, tricky track and we can do that again here. It’s a tough business being a crew chief but I’ve got faith in mine [father, Jimmy]. Besides, the track will get better tomorrow and I think you’ll see some better runs.”

Bob Tasca III is second with Friday’s run of 3.913 at 329.91 and Paul Lee qualified third after going 3.922 at 323.13.

Anderson might have picked up his first Callout victory, but it is Enders who will roll into Sunday's eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier. Friday’s pass of 6.548 at 209.69 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car handed her the second top qualifier this season and 36th in her career.  

“After we ran so well on Friday, that first round of the Callout was not ideal,” Enders said. “T.J. [Coughlin] soldiered on but the rest of us [Team Elite drivers] did not. We didn’t get down the track. Afterward, we had a huge meeting with our crew chiefs and went back the drawing board. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. As much as I wanted to win today, race day and winning that Wally is what it’s all about.”

Troy Coughlin Jr. qualified second with a 6.554 at 209.75 and Anderson starts raceday in third looking for a double-up win.

Let the record reflect it was Smith who broke Gaige Herrera’s record streak of 11 straight No. 1 qualifiers in Pro Stock Motorcycle. His 6.708 at 201.40 was more than enough on his Denso Auto Parts/Matt Smith Racing Buell was more than enough to stay at the top. Herrera’s No. 1 string had dated back to last July, but Smith's Friday pass led to his 53rd career top spot. He’ll begin eliminations against Lance Bonham.

“I’m really excited. I have a good bike. We’ve been testing a lot and getting better and better,” Smith said. “Honestly, I don’t know if lane choice means anything. Both sides are really good. This place has always been good to me. I normally come up here and run really well. This track will take everything you can throw at it. I think we’re back to where we think we should be. A win would be huge. We had the best bike for three runs this weekend and I think we’ll have the best bike tomorrow.”

Herrera can win his eighth straight race on Sunday and qualified second with a run of 6.745 at 200.17. LE Tonglet took third thanks to a run of 6.772 at 200.44.

Eliminations for the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday at Route 66 Raceway.