One week ago at Sonoma, Calif., Josh Hart rolled out a new Top Fuel chassis with hopes it would elevate his John Force Racing program. On Saturday at Pacific Raceways, that faith paid off.
After a week of tuning and refinement, Hart drove the Speedmaster dragster to the No. 1 qualifying position for the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals. J.R. Todd claimed the top spot in Funny Car and Dallas Glenn completed a dominant weekend in Pro Stock. Sunday’s eliminations now begin with three proven contenders leading their respective fields.
For Hart, the performance wasn’t just another No. 1 qualifier, it was validation that the new dragster is beginning to respond the way crew chiefs John Collins and David Grubnic envisioned. After opening the season with a victory in his John Force Racing debut, Hart has since watched the team search for consistency while adapting to the new combination.
Saturday’s showing erased much of that frustration.
Hart blasted to a career-best 3.685-second run at 335.40 mph during the final qualifying session, earning just the second No. 1 qualifier of his NHRA career and giving the Speedmaster dragster its first signature performance.
The run also rewarded weeks of work that never showed on the scoreboard.
Collins and Grubnic continued making changes after Sonoma, believing the performance was hidden somewhere inside the new chassis. Saturday’s runs proved their patience wasn’t misplaced.
Hart said the entire team deserved to enjoy the breakthrough.
“We absolutely had to have that because J.C. [Collins] and Grubnic have been working so hard, putting in the time and effort and the results weren’t there yet,” Hart said. “The team makes very little mechanical mistakes, so we knew it was going to come around. We changed just about everything, and you know I’m the lucky one that gets to be in the seat.
“It’s a whole different level than the confidence. You just have to stay patient, keep the faith, and know that this team has had so much success in the past, and I’m just blessed to be able to share in that.”
The timing couldn’t be much better as Hart receives a first-round bye Sunday.
Billy Torrence qualified second with a 3.692-second pass at 338.17 mph, while Doug Kalitta secured the third spot with a 3.703, 336.57.
In Funny Car, Todd finally saw the consistency his Kalitta Motorsports team had been chasing all weekend.
After struggling with clutch controller problems since unloading in Seattle, Todd responded with two of the quickest runs of qualifying. His best came during the third session, when he powered to a 3.885-second run at 335.73 mph in his DHL Toyota GR Supra to secure his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 17th of his career.
Jack Beckman qualified second with a 3.890, 327.43, while Alexis DeJoria took the third position with a 3.900, 337.41.
Todd believes the pieces are beginning to come together at the right time.
“That was a really good run there in Q3, and then we backed it up with another consistent run in Q4,” Todd said. “We’ve been battling [clutch controller] issues since we unloaded, so my guys have been busting their butts nonstop, and, luckily, we got it turned around here today. I think that the weather played a big role in the performance today, and I think it’s going to be cool again tomorrow, so it should be a pretty exciting race day.
“Now’s the time to get rolling. We still have a shot at the regular-season championship but, big picture, we’re looking at the Countdown to the Championship. Hopefully, we can rack up some points going into Brainerd and Indy, then let it eat those last six races.”
In Pro Stock, Glenn earned his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 13th of his career.
Greg Anderson matched Glenn’s elapsed time during the final session with his own 6.470, but Glenn’s higher speed earned him the $2,000 GESi No. 1 Qualifier Award.
Matt Hartford qualified third with a 6.477, 211.73 mph.
Eliminations for the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals begin at 10 a.m. PDT at Pacific Raceways.
SATURDAY’S #2FAST2TASTY – ANTRON, WILKERSON, G. STANFIELD CASH IN WITH MISSION #2FAST2TASTY WINS AS SEATTLE ELIMINATIONS TAKE SHAPE
One day before Northwest Nationals trophies are handed out at Pacific Raceways, Antron Brown reminded everyone why championship-caliber teams treat Saturday as more than another qualifying session.
Brown, Daniel Wilkerson and Greg Stanfield claimed Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victories Saturday, turning bonus points into momentum heading into Sunday’s eliminations at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals.
For Brown, the victory represented more than a specialty race paycheck.
The four-time NHRA Top Fuel champion defeated Friday’s standout Jasmine Salinas with a 3.730-second pass at 332.59 mph in his Matco Tools dragster, collecting his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory of the season. It continued a steady climb that has seen Brown reach the Bristol winner’s circle, finish runner-up at Norwalk, and advance to the semifinals last weekend in Sonoma.
Brown believes the value of these Saturday races won’t be fully understood until the Countdown to the Championship begins.
“The Mission Challenge is going to pay dividends this year. I can already tell just how close the field’s going to be,” Brown said. “We know Dougie [Kalitta] and Shawn [Langdon] already have a lot of them, but for the rest of the field, it’ll help us out. It’ll help us when we get to those tight places. You think about, ‘Man, I wish I would have won that Mission race,’ or ‘That Mission race really panned out.’
“It pushes us to race [on Saturday] and get ready for race day. You’re getting warmed up for Sunday. I attacked the Tree these last two rounds, and I think it was .050 and a .046 [reaction times], so that’s definitely getting me ready for tomorrow. If I can repeat that tomorrow and given the way our car is running, it puts us in a good spot to be super competitive.”
Brown’s win also halted what had become one of the weekend’s biggest stories. Salinas entered Saturday after pacing Friday qualifying and building on last week’s breakthrough runner-up finish in Sonoma. However, on Saturday, her rivals stepped up their performance, and Salinas wound up as the No. 11 qualifier in a 15-car field.
In Funny Car, Wilkerson continues to build a résumé that suggests his first national-event victory is becoming a matter of when instead of if.
Wilkerson defeated Austin Prock with a 3.924-second run at 327.98 mph in his SCAG Racing Ford Mustang, becoming the eighth different Funny Car winner in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge this season. After reaching final rounds at Bristol and Sonoma, Saturday finally rewarded the progress his team has been making.
Wilkerson said those runner-up finishes never shook his confidence.
“At Bristol and at Sonoma both, I was positive they were wasting their time showing up in the finals because I was just so sure we were going to win those races. So, to be able to get a victory, even though it’s a little later than I wanted to, it’s really good,” Wilkerson said. “It does a ton for the team and it helps morale a ton. We just needed another run in the good conditions, so it’s exciting.
“These bonus points are going to mean a lot. I think we were four points out of fourth last year, so to snatch up three right here, it’s going to be pretty important. I think anyone who thinks we’re not going to be a super big threat in the Countdown to win the whole freaking thing is joking themselves, so we’re going to need all these little points we can take.”
The Pro Stock Challenge carried an Elite Motorsports guarantee before the first pair even rolled to the starting line.
With four Elite entries qualifying for the Challenge based on Sonoma results, the organization was assured of another Saturday victory. Greg Stanfield emerged on top, defeating teammate Erica Enders to continue a productive West Coast swing.
For Stanfield, the victory reflected the strength of the Elite Motorsports program as much as his own performance.
“It’s pretty cool for an all-Elite Mission race,” Stanfield said. “I hate it for Erica, but turning the win light on is great for our team and everybody that sponsors us. The momentum’s great and helping us to keep going. It’s because of all the hard work everybody at Elite Motorsports puts into these teams, so just for me to do my job for those guys, not let them down, that means a lot to me. I think if we can just pick up a little more, I think we can be dangerous.
“I think the Mission race is cool on Saturday. It gets the heart rate going because it’s not just qualifying, especially for the old guy. It helps me get going for Sunday.”
