This weekend isn’t over yet, but it has already been fantastic for Greg Anderson.

Anderson, NHRA’s all-time leader in Pro Stock wins with 105, qualified No. 1 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, thanks to his 6.592-second elapsed time at 204.94 mph from Q1 Friday. He followed that up Saturday by winning the #Mission2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge race.

Doug Kalitta, Austin Prock, and Greg Anderson secured two top spots on the second day of qualifying for the 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals when they won #2Fast2Tasty titles and held on to their top qualifying spots on the final day of qualifying. 

The bikes featured Ricky Gadson as the Mission Challenge Pro Stock Bike winner, while Matt Smith remained the top qualifier from his Friday performance. 

Kalitta's #2Fast2Tasty win marked his first of the year, and he did so by going 3.703 seconds at a track-record 337.16 mph to defeat Antron Brown’s 3.755. I

This has been quite the world championship title defense for Top Fuel veteran Doug Kalitta so far this season.

Kalitta arrived at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio – the 10th race of the season – first in the points standings on the strength of three wins and three No. 1 qualifiers.

Well, Kalitta made a strong case to claim his fourth No. 1 qualifier thanks to his blistering 3.692-second elapsed time at 332.92 mph in Q2 Friday night to grab the provisional No. 1 spot.

“That 3.69 was a solid run,” Kalitta said. “Obviously, they have this place in very good condition, and once again the hospitality that the Baders have for the fans -- they have this firework stuff going on -- and it ended up being a really good night for us and the fans.

This is a habit Austin Prock can’t seem to break – and he’s not complaining.

Prock, who has been the No. 1 qualifier six times this season, put himself in position for No. 7 on Friday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

Prock clocked a 3.863-second elapsed time at 327.51 mph in Q2 to take the provisional No. 1 position. That barely edged out J.R. Todd's 3.865-second burst.

Austin Prock, the lone driver representing John Force Racing this weekend, understood the magnitude of the situation. And when Friday qualifying was complete at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, he delivered a performance of epic proportions.

Prock drove his way to the No. 1 qualifying position at the tenth event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series tour. He was joined atop the Friday leaderboard in Norwalk by Doug kalitta (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Prock, also the NHRA Funny Car points leader, scored the best run in Friday’s qualifying by turning in a new track record. His 3.863 seconds at 327.51 mph under the lights put him in line for his seventh No. 1 qualifier in 10 races.
“That was a heck of a lick right there tonight and two great runs for us today,” Prock said. “I’m thinking of Brittany and John, and the whole Force family. I miss all of them out here – it’s just not the same. But the race car is running (well) and that always helps a little bit.

The latest report from John Force Racing [JFR] provides more insight into what the 17-time drag racing world champion faces following his violent crash on Sunday, June 23, 2024, at the NHRA Virginia Nationals outside of Richmond, Va.

JFR confirmed Force has moved from the trauma intensive care unit to the neuro intensive care unit, where the medical team can focus on his head injury, which is their primary concern.

When Krista Baldwin purchased longtime racer Pat Dakin’s Top Fuel Dragster in April, she knew she would have a learning curve getting used to the parts and pieces.
 
“The first half of this year, we have had a little bit of bad luck, and a couple of different gremlins have come up,” Baldwin said. “Everything from my driving style to some of the tune-up. We’ve just had some bad luck the last couple of races.”
 
Baldwin has competed in four races this season, mostly recently in Las Vegas and Chicago.

Having a passion for something and a commitment can take a person places. For NHRA Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr., it's taken him into the Hall of Fame. 

Coughlin was inducted into the White Castle Cravers Hall of Fame Wednesday recently at the White Castle Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.

"Craver Extraordinaire," the title White Castle bestows upon well-known people who have demonstrated their passion for and commitment to the White Castle brand.

Maybe Matt Hagan can hit the home run no other drag racer has been able to.

The reigning NHRA Funny Car champion is the latest drag racer to be nominated for the 2024 ESPYS Best Driver Award for his standout 2023 NHRA championship season.

Hagan, a four-time NHRA champion, joined legends John Force, Kenny Bernstein and Don Prudhomme as the only Funny Car drivers in NHRA history with four or more world titles. He also gave Tony Stewart Racing its first world title in just its second year.

 
“It was impossible to miss Roger Richards,” veteran sportswriter Thomas Pope and Competition Plus contributor said.
  
“Nobody looked like "Geezer," Pope said. “Most noticeable was the distinctive Fu Manchu mustache - accented by a soul patch – that bracketed an ever-present, wide smile. There was the hat that stylishly kept his slick noggin' protected from the broiling sun. He possessed a unique take on anything that was said in any dragstrip press room. And I can't explain how or why I arrived at this conclusion, but I always had the distinct sense that there was very little going on behind the scenes in the sport to which he wasn't privy.”