This is a memory NHRA rookie Pro Stock driver Camrie Caruso will likely never forget.

In just her fifth career start, Caruso, thanks to her 6.547-second lap at 209.39 mph Friday night, held on to the top qualifying spot at the SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park Saturday.

“Honestly, it means the world to me and my team and everybody who backs me,” Caruso said. “They definitely deserve it. So, I'm thankful. And we're happy to head into race day No. 1.

Caruso who pilots the Sand Haulers of America Chevrolet Camaro, will meet up with No. 16 qualifier Fernando Cuadra in round one.

Caruso also talked about some issues at the top end of her final qualifying run against Erica Enders.

“We're good. The race car has got to get fixed, but we're fine,” Caruso said. “So, we're excited to head into race day. We went through the finish line. I pulled the chute. I'm assuming she pulled the chutes at the same time. As we headed towards the top end, I think she veered towards me. And then when we got out up there, the Safety Safari people had their hands up, so I stopped, and it didn't go as planned.”

There was damage to Caruso’s car, but she knows she will answer the bell for first round.

“Yeah, it'll be all good. It'll be ready for race day (Sunday). Honestly, it could have been anybody. She (Enders) is a great racer and I'm sure she didn't want the incident to happen either. Sucks that it happened, but it's racing, and anything could happen.”

This is the last NHRA national event at Houston Raceway Park as it will be shutdown at season’s end. That wasn’t lost on Caruso.

“Honestly, I'm super grateful for that opportunity,” she said. “And to be it, it's definitely... I never would've thought that we could've achieved such a cool thing so soon.”

When Caruso went to bed Friday night with the provisional No. 1 qualifying position, she wasn’t taking anything for granted.

“Honestly, I just see it as another learning experience, because the competition up here is crazy, so anybody could have taken it over today,” she said. “It doesn't matter that we were No. 1 (Friday). We have to keep it through Q3.”

Caruso acknowledged when she embarked on her rookie campaign it was with lofty goals.

“Honestly, when we first started this, that was all of my goals,” she said. “When I met Jim (Yates, her crew chief), I was like, ‘I want to be No. 1 qualifier, (I) want to win races. I want to win the championship.’ He was like, ‘You need to chill.’ And we've done just that. We're really heading in the right direction. And it's all because of my team and my partner, so I'm super thankful.”

Caruso has a simple game plan for Sunday.

“Just keep making passes up and down the racetrack, being consistent and working as a team,” Caruso said. 

This weekend her team also includes her father and grandfather.

“Honestly, I've said it from Day 1, I don't want to disappoint any of them,” she said. “They don't put as much pressure on me as I put on myself, because they've all done so much for me and worked so hard, and I really just want to make them all proud.

“It's definitely a career and it's definitely a business. And trust me, I remind myself of that every day, but it's so much fun and I wouldn't be able to do it without my family. Jim and Tony and Mike and Sean and John are all family now, too. And I wouldn't want to do it with anybody if my family wasn't involved.”