Brittany Force showed both speed and resilience Friday night at zMAX Dragway, surging to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel at the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals. Joining her atop the professional leaderboard were Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Force’s run came just days after she announced that the 2025 season would be her last as a full-time driver.
Force powered her HendrickCars.com dragster to a 3.698-second pass at 338.85 mph, becoming the only driver to break into the 3.60s. If the performance holds through Saturday, it would mark her fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 57th of her career.
The timing was critical for Force, who slipped to seventh in the standings after a second-round exit in Reading, Pennsylvania, to open the Countdown to the Championship. With four championships still in reach, the two-time champion highlighted the unique energy she felt entering Charlotte.
“I don’t know why I had a good feeling about it,” Force said. “I saw the cars out ahead of us going low 3.70s, and I don’t know why it popped in my head, ‘3.69.’ We’ve done it before, and I felt like we could do it, and they told me 3.69 down there on the top end. Sometimes the driver is just in tune and you know what we’re aiming to run.”
She added that racing under the lights made the moment even more intense. “This is such a beautiful facility,” Force said. “To pull up here and it’s dark out, you’ve got lights going all the way down the racetrack, and then, just to see these cars go down the track, flames coming out of the headers – there’s nothing like it.”
Doug Kalitta, the points leader, sits second with a 3.700 at 332.18 mph, while Steve Torrence is third at 3.720, 331.28.
In Funny Car, Hagan rebounded from his Reading troubles – a first-round engine explosion that blew the body of the car in half – with a 3.891 at 329.67 in his Direct Connection Dodge/SRT Hellcat. It was the only pass in the 3.80s and put the four-time champion in line for his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 54th of his career.
Hagan, 55 points behind Austin Prock in the standings, credited his team’s effort and attention to detail in preparation for the first day of action at zMAX.
“We’ve had some pretty bad boomers here lately, and they’ve been giving no warning,” Hagan said. “The guys spent 15 hours here yesterday, flying in early, doing all the measurements, making sure the [valve] lashes are right. So, to come out here and make two good runs back to back and then be sitting [No. 1], I’m glad to do that.”
Prock is second with a 3.900 at 327.74, while Reading winner Cruz Pedregon sits third at 3.910.
Glenn, the Pro Stock point leader, kept his momentum going with a 6.535 at 209.69 in his Chevrolet, fresh off his playoff-opening victory. Glenn enters the weekend as the winner of the last two NHRA events at zMAX.
“I felt pretty good coming in here,” Glenn said. “We’ve definitely got a hot streak going, and I’ve got a great car right now. As long as we can keep going up there and keep making good rounds and keep putting pressure on [the competition], we can just let everybody else make mistakes.”
Greg Anderson, his teammate and reigning NHRA champion, nearly matched him with a 6.535 at 209.20, while Eric Latino followed with a 6.538, 208.01.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Herrera rebounded from a disappointing Reading finish with a 6.757 at 201.22 aboard his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki. It was the quickest run of both sessions and put the two-time champion on pace for his sixth No. 1 qualifier this season and the 29th of his career.
“Coming out here and making two good runs is kind of just what we needed after last weekend,” Herrera said. “I went out in round two, and Richard [Gadson] went out in the semis, and it felt like we just missed it. We were ready to leave that place and come here. We just hope to keep that fast, consistent motorcycle all weekend.”
Teammate Gadson ran 6.760 at 200.26 to slot second, while six-time champion Matt Smith, who won this event a year ago, is third with a 6.768 at 201.01.
Qualifying continues Saturday at 12:30 p.m. EDT, in the second race of the six-event Countdown to the Championship.
