The Mission Foods 2Fast2Tasty Challenge has become a regular staple in the NHRA’s Saturday afternoon qualifying sessions. Before a packed house at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, it delivered quite the show with Clay Millican scoring a victory in the Top Fuel portion in explosive fashion. 


Millican was joined in the Winner’s Circle by Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle). Three of the winners, Millican, Prock, and Smith, ended the day as the event’s No. 1 qualifiers. 


Millican picked up his first Mission Challenge by stopping Shawn Langdon in the final round on a run where he exploded the supercharger at the finish line but had enough momentum to score the win. 


Millican was first off the line and held on for a 3.839, 302.41 win. Langdon made it close with a 3.861, 310.70. 


“It’s absolutely awesome,” Millican said. “But I cannot sit here and tell you all that I’m like, woo! That was a costly 2Fast2Tasty Challenge because we… How do I say this politely? We blew the rat poop out of that thing coming up on the finish line. It was a big old bang.”


Millican knew when the team fired the engine for the run; it didn’t sound like usual. 


“I’m like, ‘We’ve got a little bit of a rough idle happening,” Millican said. “When I get no reply, when I say something like that, that means one thing. Stomp on that loud pedal, and it ran good, obviously. 


“We are definitely chasing points. Last year, if you all remember, we made a mistake and bumped ourself out of the Top 10. So we’re looking at every point we can possibly get when we can get them. And man, I’m so excited to get a win in the 2Fast2Tasty.”


Prock exacted revenge on boss John Force as he left the starting line and fended off the winningest Funny Car driver in the world. The win marked his second Mission Foods #2Fast2TastyChallenge victory. 


“That’s exactly how we dreamed it up,” Prock said. “We wanted to race again in the final and see if I could get him back. So we achieved that today—another outstanding day for my team. My dad, Thomas, and Nate Hildahl are doing a great job. So this race car is so much fun to drive. Even that round one matchup against Daniel [Wilkerson], that was a really close race and even had to pedal it down track to get the W.”


Enders picked up her third win of the season in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge by stopping Dallas Glenn in the final round. She ran a 6.644 elapsed time at 207 miles an hour. The little points add up for Enders, who now has three victories, accounting for nine bonus points. 


Yeah, definitely. 


“We want to get a handle on our hot race day set up,” Enders said. “Greg [Anderson] threw some huge numbers on the board for the weather conditions, which was crazy, but we’re just going to put our heads down and do our own thing. We made two pretty decent runs, .64 both times. Those points mean an awful lot at the end of the year. My first championship in 2014, had I have lost that final round, I would’ve lost the championship by one point and we won by 19. So, it’s always down to the wire. So, those points are very important.”


Matt Smith continued his domination of the Pro Stock Motorcycle division as he scored the victory in the specialty event by beating his wife, Angie Smith, in a race where the couple blew kisses to one another before they staged. 


Smith grabbed .083 off the starting line and never looked back en route to a 6.802, 199.05. Angie lost with a 6.951, 173.70. 


“This DENSO bike’s is pretty mean right now,” Smith said. “We’ve gone to work, we’ve got improvement in our program with 60-foots, and we’ve got good power, and it is showing. And just the hard work and all.


Like I said, in Chicago we’ve done more testing since Gainesville than the whole class combined. So we’re putting the work in, we’re spending the money to get better and it’s showing.”


In the opening round, Matt Smith did something no other rider has done this season: he beat Gaige Hererra in an all-out drag race.











Share the Insights?

Click here to share the article.

ad space x ad space

ad space x ad space

Competition Plus Team

Since our inception, we have been passionately dedicated to delivering the most accurate, timely, and compelling content in the world of drag racing. Our readers depend on us for the latest news, in-depth features, expert analysis, and exclusive interviews that connect you to the sport’s pulse.

Sign up for our newsletters and email list.

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

MILLICAN, PROCK, ENDERS, M. SMITH PICK UP MISSION #2FAST2TASTY WINS

Picture of John Doe

John Doe

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit dolor

More Posts

Send Us A Message

Don’t miss these other exciting stories!

Explore more action packed posts on Competition Plus, where we dive into the latest in Drag Racing News. Discover a range of topics, from race coverage to in-depth interviews, to keep you informed and entertained.