Doug Foley came to the Darana Raceway media center with a question on his mind. When was the last time he qualified No. 1? The answer stretched back nearly two decades, to 2007 in San Antonio, where shutdown issues forced IHRA officials to shorten an event to an eighth mile. Foley took advantage of the change and claimed the first No. 1 qualifier of his career.
On Friday night, Foley left Hebron with his answer and another No. 1 position. His 3.805-second run at 321.66 mph stood as the best of the session, giving him low elapsed time and top speed in a competitive Top Fuel category. Foley was joined atop the leaderboard by Del Worsham in Funny Car, Frankie Taylor in Outlaw Pro Mod and John Montecalvo in Mountain Motor Pro Stock as qualifying concluded for the fourth stop on the IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series.
The path to the top was not without trouble. Foley admitted that his team stumbled out of the gate with mechanical failure, forcing him to recover quickly for the night session.
“To go out there, we had confidence that we could do well,” Foley said. “We had a mechanical failure first round and I apologized to anybody that I messed the track up on for quite a while, but we just had to forget about it. We had put a new bullet in it, forget about it, go up there. We know we’re a good team, we know we’re capable, but Darryl’s got this vision and that vision keeps bringing more cars, so it makes it tough on us.”
Foley, a veteran who has spent years balancing a part-time Top Fuel career with family and business commitments, said the local setting added importance to his performance. His sponsors, Alloy Employer Services and United Garage Door, are based in the Columbus area, and he wanted to reward their support. “This is their hometown,” Foley said. “So they love me racing here, I love racing here. And a number one sure doesn’t hurt.”
Behind Foley, IHRA first-timer Jasmine Salinas posted a 3.844-second pass at 314.69 mph to qualify second, while Shawn Reed slotted into third with a 3.854-second run at 322.81 mph. Reed, who returned to driving this weekend after recovering from a crash earlier this summer, proved he’s ready to return to competition.
The rest of the Top Fuel order reflected the depth of the field. Krista Baldwin was fourth, followed by veteran Lex Joon. Todd Paton, Mitch King and Larry Dixon Jr. filled the remaining spots. Dixon, a multi-time NHRA champion, faces Foley in the first round on Saturday. Scott Palmer, who won the season-opening IHRA race at Darana Raceway in July, missed the cut by one position in a field that showed little margin for error.
While Top Fuel drew much of the attention, Funny Car had no shortage of drama. Worsham, who won the previous IHRA race in Milan, Michigan, picked up where he left off. His 4.094-second run at 302.62 mph put him at the top of the ladder and made him the only driver to crack the four-second zone.
Jack Wyatt was second with a 4.266 at 250.14, while Dan Hix, Dale Creasy and Terry Haddock rounded out the top five.
Worsham, who has raced and tuned in both NHRA and IHRA competition, said he wanted to deliver more for the crowd but was pleased with the result.
“The first run was a great run,” Worsham said. “I was kind of bummed, though. We’re in the evening here and it’s nighttime, it’s Columbus. The track’s great. And I really, really, really want, want to make a three-second run for everybody here. And every chance I get like in Milan, I push it and try, and then it just keeps fighting back a little bit. But for everybody here, the track’s in good shape. There’s a lot of great competitors here. There’s a lot of funny cars, a lot of dragsters. And tomorrow’s going to be a really cool day of racing.”
The eight-car Funny Car ladder also included Eric Stevens, McKailen Haddock and Jody Austin. Mike McIntire, the winner at Darana in July, failed to qualify and will watch eliminations from the sidelines.
Mountain Motor Pro Stock continued its resurgence with Montecalvo leading the way. A longtime class veteran, Montecalvo ran 4.056 seconds at 176.82 mph to establish himself as the driver to beat. Chris Powers followed with a 4.095 at 175.37 mph, while several others looked to close the gap in Saturday’s eliminations.
Montecalvo set a new world record en route to the top of the Pro Stock leaderboard.
“We made a pretty good lap on the first one and the second one, quite honestly, we were looking to go like an .08 or .09,” Montecalvo said. “Never dreamed we could go a .05 out there, but at the last second, my crew chief Lump, he turned it up and he definitely made the right call. New World Record, by the way.”
In Pro Mod, Taylor set the pace with a 3.679-second run at 199.73 mph. Kye Kelley grabbed the second spot with the fastest speed of the day at 202.34 mph. Taylor also doubled up by qualifying second in Outlaw Pro Mod, running an identical 3.624 to Brandon Pesz. Pesz earned the top spot with a faster speed of 212.36 mph, showcasing how tight the battle has become in the outlaw ranks.
Smith, one of IHRA’s most decorated champions, returned to the series and proved he had not lost his touch. The five-time Mountain Motor Pro Stock champion and longtime Pro Mod standout claimed No. 1 in Pro Nitrous with a 3.713-second pass at 203.99 mph. He said his decision to
compete was tied directly to supporting IHRA owner Darryl Cuttell.
“I’ve been crew chief some, I’ve been racing some this year,” Smith said. “I wanted to come and support IHRA owner Darryl Cuttell, because he’s done a heck of a job giving us a good place to race, and paying us like what we begged for for 20 years. So I’m here, and I’ll make all the rest of them. And just glad to go out there. We missed it first round, and got our stuff together for the second round and ended up number one qualifier. But what I’m looking at, three or four of us is all running right there with a couple of hundred. So it’s going to be anybody’s game tomorrow.”
The two-wheel crowd also had its turn in the spotlight. Jordan Peterson topped Top Fuel Harley with a 5.368-second run at 207.18 mph, showing the strength of the class at the quarter-mile track.
Other standout performances came in the alcohol and exhibition categories, where Jared Dreher led Top Alcohol Dragster, Phil Esz paced Top Alcohol Funny Car and Rob Lowe Sr. took top honors in Outlaw Snowmobile.
Saturday’s eliminations will also include the Pro-Am categories, which bring regional racers into the mix alongside the professional classes. Racing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and continue through the afternoon, with champions crowned in all categories.
