Bob Tasca III picked up his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season in front of a sellout crowd at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, located outside of Reading, Pa.

Also maintaining top spots at the opener for the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship were Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

This event marked the 16th race of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and the first of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Notably, it was the seventh sellout crowd of the season. Due to the anticipated bad weather, the Sunday eliminations were moved up to 9:30 a.m. ET at Maple Grove Raceway.

Tasca, currently ranked fourth in points, drove his Motorcraft/Quick Ford Mustang to a 3.866-second elapsed time at 328.30 mph. This secured his fifth No. 1 spot this season and the 14th of his career. Tasca, seeking his third win of the season and second career victory at Maple Grove Raceway, was thrilled with his team’s performance throughout the qualifying sessions.

“The car performed flawlessly,” Tasca said. “As a driver/team owner, that’s what you ask for from your team. They give you a car that can go out there and compete, and you put yourself in a position to win. We have a lot of unfinished business here this weekend, and tomorrow is a big day.

“I think it’s going to be a very challenging day early in the rounds. We’re going to be here at 9:30 (a.m.), and the track is estimated to be somewhere around 75 degrees. You can shake really easy. You could see some big-time upsets, but we just want to go up there and do the best we can. We’ll manage the conditions as they go. As the day progresses, I think you’re going to fall into the conditions that we’ve run really well in. That gives you a lot of confidence going into Sunday.”

Defending world champion Ron Capps made a late jump to second place in the final session, while Robert Hight, who held the No. 1 spot on Friday, slipped to third.

Ashley secured his third No. 1 spot this season and his fifth as a Top Fuel driver. The Phillips-Connect sponsored driver has already secured six victories this year and faces Scott Farley in the opening round of eliminations.

“We feel great. You’re trying to put yourself in the best position to win the race on Sunday, and I feel like we accomplished that,” Ashley said. “We went down the track three out of four times, and we had that .68 in the quickest session, but tomorrow is going to be different in a lot of ways. It’s going to be faster than what we’ve seen.

“Inherently, there’s more pressure because the playoffs are on, but it doesn’t change our approach. Our mentality is to continue to do the same thing that we’ve been doing since the start of the year. There’s a reason we’re in the position that we’re in now. I think it’s easy to get wrapped up in it being the playoffs and changing what you’re doing or focusing more intently. But we take every race the same way, playoffs or regular season. There is more pressure, but as a group, we’ve stuck to our guns that we’re to have fun, we’re here to have a good time, we’re here to win. I feel confident in the group that we have, and I feel confident that we’re not going to let the pressure get to us.”

Defending world champion Brittany Force stayed second with her 3.689 at 336.57 from Friday and Doug Kalitta took third with his 3.696 at 331.45.

Enders solidified her No. 1 seed for Sunday on Friday with an impressive run of 6.494 seconds at 211.13 mph in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro. This marked her 32nd career No. 1 qualifier and propelled her to second place in the points standings. 

With two strong showings on Saturday, including the quickest run in the final qualifying session, Enders is determined to defend her event victory from Maple Grove Raceway. She will start eliminations against Val Smeland, aiming for her third win of the season and the title of the winningest female in NHRA history.

“It was definitely cool to follow up today with two really great runs,” Enders said. “Super proud of my team, we made some changes this morning to try to pick up a little bit and it went in the opposite direction, so we fixed it and were able to outrun the field. It was pretty substantial, but it’s a challenging race day ahead of us tomorrow, and we have to make sure everything goes right. I’m excited and proud of my guys. We’ve really turned this season around. I’m stoked and ready to go. 

“We were waiting for that pendulum to swing back in our direction after our really sorry to start for the year, but we knew with hard work and determination. My guys have this awesome, never-quit attitude and just amazing tenacity. I’m proud of them. It’s not something that’s easy to go through as a team. We’ve been through the trenches before, but this was a tough one. We rallied together, and we’re doing well. A lot can change in the next six Sundays, but we’re going to ride this wave as long as we can.”

Troy Coughlin stayed second but improved his performance with a 6.497 at 211.23. Aaron Stanfield also bettered his qualifying mark, going 6.500 at 211.13, to qualify third. Points leader Dallas Glenn qualified ninth.

Herrera continued his dominant run in Pro Stock Motorcycle, capturing his ninth No. 1 qualifier in 10 races this year. Herrera’s impressive 6.672-second run at 202.94 mph on his Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki tied for the quickest run of the year. 

Herrera also secured the most possible points in qualifying by making the quickest run in all four sessions.

“I’m very confident. I have to give all the credit to the whole Vance & Hines Mission Suzuki team and Andrew (Hines, crew chief) and all the guys back at the shop,” Herrera said. “We’re basically just showing off their hard work, and to go out there and run that, I’m very happy with it, Andrew is very happy with it. We’re definitely happy with it, and I’m going into tomorrow with all the confidence in the world. I’m glad to get as many points as I can so far going into the Countdown. My whole goal is to try to get as many as I can again. That was my goal, and Andrew is always shooting to be No. 1, so he was all for it.”

Chip Ellis made a big jump to qualify second thanks to his run of 6.741 at 200.17, and Hector Arana Jr. took third with his 6.747 at 201.85.

Sunday’s eliminations are set to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET.