One year after suffering heartbreak in the finals of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Capps could do no wrong Sunday.

Seeking redemption from a loss in the finals one year ago, Capps picked up the win in the inaugural Pep Boys NHRA Funny Car Allstar Callout, and also jumped to the top spot in qualifying heading into race day at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals.

With a stunning final-session pass Sunday that pushed Justin Ashley from his No. 1-qualifying position and rewrote both ends of the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park records, points leader Brittany Force and her Monster Energy Dragster team excelled under pressure to lead the Top Fuel field into Monday eliminations for the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals.

She regained her footing from a shaky start Friday and Saturday and burst to the front of the quickest field in Top Fuel history. Her 3.640-second elapsed time to Dan Mercier’s 3.758 represented the smallest spread from Nos. 1 through 16 since she led the 2019 line-up at this race. That was when she was No. 1 starter with a 3.645-second E.T., and T.J. Zizzo anchored the field with a 3.775.

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Veteran Angelle Sampey won Pro Stock Motorcycle championships in 2000-02. She hasn’t lost a step in the two decades that have followed.

Sampey, aboard her Vance & Hines Suzuki, took the No. 1 qualifying spot with a 6.796-second elapsed time at 199.88 mph. Sampey made the blistering pass during Q2 Saturday afternoon at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, and it held through Q5 Sunday afternoon.

This is Sampey’s 57th No. 1 qualifying spot of her decorated career and fourth of the season. This is also the seventh time she has been the No. 1 qualifier in Indy.

Aaron Stanfield and his Stanfield Racing Engines Chevy COPO Camaro secured the No. 1 qualifier spot and a first round victory today in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown class at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Stanfield, who was the runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Nationals, took over the No. 1 position during the final qualifying session on Saturday with a 7.740-second pass at 177.16 mph.  

“I knew we had a little extra power in the Chevrolet coming into the race. We’d been working really hard in the shop. We’ve got some new SamTech guys on the team and that’s been helping us this year too. It’s definitely cool for them to get to come here and experience some success,” said Stanfield. “That first qualifying run through us for a loop, so naturally we had to back off a little bit the second run and that third run we just let it rip.”

In less than 7.4 seconds Saturday, Steve Torrence removed any skepticism about his ability to dominate in the NHRA Top Fuel class once again, purged his season-long frustrations, and injected a huge dose of drama into not just this weekend’s Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals but also into the upcoming Countdown to the Championship. 

The $80,000 he pocketed for winning the rain-postponed inaugural Pep Boys All-Star Call-Out, which took place during qualifying for the regular-season finale, was further validation. 

Pro Mod points leader Kris Thorne stood on his stellar pass on Saturday night from the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals to secure the number one qualifying position heading into final eliminations.

Thorne kicked off qualifying with a solid 5.831 at over 249 miles per hour in the first session on Friday afternoon but was able to step up big time and take advantage of the killer conditions on Saturday night. Thorne, behind the wheel of his Thorne Site/Boggs Gases Procharged Camarao, laid down a back-breaking 5.718 at over 250 miles per hour on Saturday night to shoot him up to the top of the field. 

Shootouts have been a part of life in the National Hot Rod Association for many years.

The most recent version of shootout drag racing — the Traxxas Nitro Shootout — was a popular side event for the sport for a few years that matched up some of the top teams in the sport racing for big money. But in that race the fields were set ahead of time.

In the new iteration of shootout racing, the Pep Boys NHRA Funny Car Allstar Callout, a new format set up some unique matchups and interesting possibilities. In this race, the drivers choose their opponents, beginning with the top qualifier on down.

When you know, you know.

After only one race, Phillips Connect, a semi-trailer tracking and sensor technologies leader, knew Justin Ashey was their man.

Phillips Connect announced a multi-year extension to its primary sponsorship agreement with Justin Ashley Racing and Davis Motorsports.