The first round of Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations produced plenty of drama Sunday. Gaige Herrera, No. 1 qualifier for the second of the season’s only two bike-class appearances so far this year, kept his momentum rolling. The Gatornationals winner – who already owns four of the Pro Stock Bikes’ top-10 elapsed times – advanced to the semifinal, then the final round once again. But the wild action for that quad happened after Herrera won in Round 2. Kelly Clontz also advanced out of the first round for only the fifth time in her career.

As she and Herrera made the turnout from the top end of the track, debuting rider Marcus Hylton plowed between them and into the sand pit on his Blake Gann-owned Pirana Racing entry. 

Competition Plus’ water-cooler topics from the Circle K Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway at Concord, N.C.

1. More hurrahs for Herrera - Vance & Hines newcomer Gaige Herrera’s Pro Stock Motorcycle record is untarnished this season.

Although the campaign is just two races old, Herrera clearly is the racer to beat. He has scored back-to-back No. 1 starts and victories aboard the Gen 3 Hayabusa Suzuki.

The bikes will be back in action, in conventional two-wide format along with the rest of the pro categories, at the May 19-21 Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 Nationals at Joliet, Ill. 

As Josh Hart sees it, if he can throw off world-class Top Fuel drivers just by taking his time staging, it says a lot about them, not him. He’s not saying that he should be considered the scapegoat. Hart refuses to be one.

Hart was the source of ire from his fellow competitors, who took exception to the slower staging process. In the spirit of drag racers, even though NHRA drag racers are afforded seven seconds to stage once their opponent rolls into the beam, it is customary to stage rapidly, especially in fuel racing. 

This time, Hart had two drivers expressing their displeasure with him. 

John Force Racing crew chief Dave Grubnic knew that zMAX Dragway could yield a 3.689-second run Friday night at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. And he was right – but it came from Top Fuel rival driver Josh Hart. 

“We’re developing a new program,” Grubnic said following the more-than-respectable 3.730-second pass at 328.70 mph from his own driver, Brittany Force. That moved her into the tentative top half of the field, at No. 7. But Grubnic wasn’t content to guide Force to a respectable or even more-than-respectable elapsed time. He was going for dominating, leading, No. 1.