The world is now back to spinning on its normal axis.
After two races where Austin Prock did not leading qualifying, the 2024 NHRA Funny Car rookie who rewrote class records in both success and performance ended his mini-slump to jump to the top of the list at the NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals in Pomona, California.
Prock was the only new face at the top of the In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip leaderboard as Brittany Force (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) held on to their top spots from Friday.
Prock secured the No. 1 role with a blistering 3.816 seconds at 338.26 mph run. He will face Blake Alexander in the opening round of eliminations as he seeks his first victory of 2025. This marks the 20th time in his career that Prock will enter race day as the top qualifier.
Arizona Nationals winner Paul Lee qualified second with a 3.829, 331.45, and Ron Capps is third after going 3.830, 328.94.
Force earned her first top qualifier of the year with a run of 3.646 seconds at 334.82 mph. She will face Steve Chrisman in the first round and aim for her first Winternationals victory.
“We’ve had some really strong performance on track. We want to turn on four win lights tomorrow,” Force said. “I love this place. It’s just home for me … so we want to finish strong.”
Saturday’s #2Fast2Tasty winner Shawn Langdon qualified second in Top Fuel with a 3.657-second run at 335.15.
“We’ve had some really strong performance on track,” Force said. “We earned a No. 1 qualifier. We went 3.64 twice and then a 3.69 today. We want to turn on four win lights tomorrow. Looking at our ladder, we could have a bye second round, which is awesome for us. I love this place. It’s just home for me. I grew up out of here at this racetrack and in the stands. You just have that good feeling coming out here, and we want to do well. My whole family’s out here. I’ve had all my friends this weekend popping in and out, and it’s just our home race track, so we want to finish strong.”
Anderson maintained his No. 1 ranking in Pro Stock with a time of 6.490 seconds at 210.77 mph in his HendrickCars.com Camaro. This is Anderson’s 134th career top qualifier as he seeks his second consecutive win at Pomona.
“Running 6.40s seems to be the price of poker out here this weekend,” Anderson said. “You better run 6.40 or you’re probably going to go home. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of cars that can do it. I think only two of them didn’t today, but there’s a lot of them that can do it, and you’re going to see more of it tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it. It should be a hell of a race.
“You kind of need to have a lot of luck because there’s too many good cars, too many good drivers, and too many good race teams. You better not only have a fast race car, but you also better have some luck.”
Saturday’s #2Fast2Tasty winner Matt Hartford qualified second in Pro Stock with a 6.490, 210.67, while Deric Kramer sits third with a run of 6.511 seconds, 210.80.
Eliminations for the 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals will begin at 11 a.m. PDT on Sunday.
Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, the third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.646 seconds, 338.34 mph vs. 14. Steven Chrisman, 5.362, 131.05; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.657, 335.15 vs. 13. Scott Palmer, 3.818, 313.80; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.662, 338.68 vs. 12. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.741, 334.24; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.665, 337.50 vs. 11. Jasmine Salinas, 3.700, 324.83; 5. Clay Millican, 3.674, 332.59 vs. 10. Shawn Reed, 3.698, 333.91; 6. Josh Hart, 3.675, 332.34 vs. 9. Justin Ashley, 3.695, 333.66; 7. Antron Brown, 3.695, 337.16 vs. 8. Tony Stewart, 3.695, 329.75.
Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.816, 338.26 vs. 16. Blake Alexander, Dodge Charger, 4.011, 324.98; 2. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.829, 331.45 vs. 15. Bobby Bode, Toyota GR Supra, 3.978, 323.12; 3. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.830, 330.47 vs. 14. Spencer Hyde, Ford Mustang, 3.971, 271.08; 4. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.831, 332.59 vs. 13. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 3.963, 296.70; 5. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.885, 331.77 vs. 12. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.954, 320.97; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.886, 328.78 vs. 11. Steven Densham, Mustang, 3.942, 317.79; 7. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.896, 333.99 vs. 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.924, 324.28; 8. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.903, 328.78 vs. 9. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 3.921, 324.75.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Bob Tasca III, 4.057, 271.13; 18. Jason Rupert, 4.104, 253.80; 19. Buddy Hull, 4.340, 280.31.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.490, 211.26 vs. 16. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.554, 209.79; 2. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.490, 210.67 vs. 15. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.553, 210.57; 3. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.511, 210.80 vs. 14. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.546, 210.34; 4. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.515, 210.80 vs. 13. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.538, 209.82; 5. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.516, 210.93 vs. 12. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.537, 210.54; 6. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.517, 209.82 vs. 11. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.537, 210.41; 7. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.519, 211.10 vs. 10. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.532, 210.11; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.530, 210.97 vs. 9. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.531, 209.33.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris McGaha, 6.586, 208.91; 18. Kenny Delco, 6.594, 208.81; 19. Joey Grose, 6.652, 207.40.
