Three-time Prime Gasoline world champion Antron Brown moved into the factors lead for the primary time since 2017, profitable his second straight playoff race on Sunday at zMAX Dragway after defeating Doug Foley within the remaining spherical of the sixteenth annual NHRA Carolina Nationals.
Austin Prock (Humorous Automobile), Dallas Glenn (Professional Inventory) and Matt Smith (Professional Inventory Bike) additionally gained the sixteenth of 20 races throughout the 2024 NHRA Mission Meals Drag Racing Sequence season and the second of six races within the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Within the remaining spherical, Brown went 3.848s at 319.90mph in his Matco Instruments/Toyota dragster to beat Foley’s 3.862s at 316.08mph, powering to his fifth victory this season and 79th in his profession. It was additionally his 63rd Prime Gasoline win, as Brown handed Larry Dixon for the second-most Prime Gasoline wins in NHRA historical past.
After qualifying tenth, Brown put collectively a workmanlike Sunday, defeating Steve Torrence, Billy Torrence and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta to achieve the ultimate spherical. He then led wire-to-wire towards Foley, taking on the factors lead for the primary time in additional than seven years. His factors lead stands at 53 and 62 factors over Justin Ashley and Shawn Langdon, respectively. Kalitta is 67 factors behind.
“If you race any person like Doug Foley, you don’t falter and say, ‘Effectively, I can’t mess up.’ That’s once you set your self up for failure,” Brown mentioned. “We go on the market and run what we will run, and provides all of it we received, and it fell our means. We simply preserve working exhausting and digging, it doesn’t matter what. You’ve received to indicate up on race day and now we have that mindset to remain humble and keep hungry.
“We nonetheless have 4 races left. Drag racing’s math. There’s 16 rounds left on desk to win and our objective is go on the market wins lots of these rounds as attainable. We gained the primary eight, so we’ve received a 3rd of them.”
Foley reached his second profession remaining spherical after beating Tony Schumacher, Ashley and Clay Millican.
Humorous Automobile’s Austin Prock continued his absolute dominant run within the loaded class, profitable his third straight race and seventh total in an unimaginable 2024 marketing campaign, racing previous defending world champion Matt Hagan within the remaining spherical with a run of three.924s at 326.48mph in his Cornwell Instruments Chevrolet Camaro SS. There seems to be no stopping Prock, who has opened up a commanding 129-point lead within the Humorous Automobile ranks by the primary two playoff races after delivering his eleventh profession win.
He reached the championship spherical on Sunday due to wins towards Alexis DeJoria, Ron Capps and John Power Racing teammate Jack Beckman. Hagan and Prock then delivered a thriller within the finals, with Hagan leaving first and going 3.958s at 324.98mph. However Prock was capable of monitor the reigning champ down, including one other monumental efficiency in a season full of spectacular runs and victories.
“We left the door open to get beat at this time a pair instances after which my workforce made wholesale adjustments going into the semifinals, stuff I might say 95 p.c of the crew chiefs wouldn’t change going right into a spherical, and it went up there and flew,” Prock mentioned. “It caught. It was on a mission, and I did the identical factor within the remaining spherical.
“I’m simply attempting to take it one second at a time, one spherical at a time. And if you happen to try this, you don’t get caught up in being the chief, being the chaser, simply go up there and do the very best that you are able to do, as a result of every particular person on the workforce has a particular job to do, and so they should do it good to have the success. We’ll have a good time tonight after which get my head again within the recreation and go and take a look at once more, one run at a time.”
Hagan, who certified No. 1, reached the finals for the ffith time this yr and 92nd time in his profession with spherical wins towards Dave Richards and Bob Tasca III. Hagan was searching for a sweep of each Charlotte races this yr. Tasca is second in factors, whereas Beckman trails his teammate by 136 factors.
Professional Inventory’s Dallas Glenn, who was the factors chief for a lot of the common season, jumped again to the highest spot on Sunday, slipping previous Aaron Stanfield within the finals after going 6.626s at 207.18mph in his RAD Torque Programs Camaro. It’s the fourth win of the season in eight journeys to the finals for Glenn, who now leads Stanfield by simply eight factors with 4 races remaining this season.
To achieve the finals, Glenn needed to get previous Mason McGaha, Matt Hartford and reigning world champion Erica Enders. That arrange a marquee duel with two of the class’s high younger standouts, with Glenn posting a 0.026s response time and holding off Stanfield on the end line.
“Aaron has a quick automobile and he’s an excellent driver and doesn’t make errors,” Glenn mentioned. “So, it’s a deal the place you may’t make a mistake towards him. The crew chiefs should do their job and provides me the very best automobile they’ll. I’m glad that Aaron and I placed on present for the followers within the remaining. I hate not having a detailed race towards him.
“Within the Countdown, each lap I’m going up there in eliminations, I’m on kill. I’m attempting to do the whole lot I can. I can’t make any errors. I’ve received to attempt to verify I get each final bit in case it does shake somewhat bit and I lose no matter efficiency benefit I’ve. I’m on kill 100% of the time.”
Stanfield, who had gained back-to-back races, knocked off Chris McGaha, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Greg Anderson to achieve the finals for the eighth time in 2024 and twenty third time total. Enders is 53 factors again in third, whereas Anderson trails his KB Titan Racing teammate Glenn by 74 factors.
In Professional Inventory Bike, Matt Smith took a giant step in direction of a attainable seventh world championship, choosing up his second win of the yr on his Denso Auto Components Buell when rookie Richard Gadson went crimson within the remaining spherical. Smith rolled to a run of 6.846s at 199.35mph, scooping up his fortieth profession win and transferring into the factors lead for the primary time this yr within the course of.
To get to the ultimate spherical, Smith defeated his spouse, Angie, and Matt Smith Racing teammate Jianna Evaristo, clinching the house monitor win when Gadson left the beginning line a contact too quickly. He now leads defending world champion Gaige Herrera by 25 factors, ending off a hugely-rewarding weekend that noticed Smith additionally qualify No. 1. He’s now laser-focused on attempting to grow to be the primary rider in NHRA historical past to win seven Professional Inventory Bike championships.
“I used to be simply attempting to remain good and difficult towards Richard and after I went by the lights, I didn’t see my win gentle and I didn’t know if I gained or not,” Smith mentioned. “It’s by no means feeling when you may’t see a win gentle since you thought you had deal, however you don’t ever know. However all in all, what a weekend, what a day.
“I like being beneath stress. It doesn’t matter what you do within the common season. You all the time should be good the final six races, and I’ve all the time been fairly good final six races, and that’s how I gained my championships, and that’s how we’re going to proceed to race.”
Gadson reached his second straight remaining spherical after defeating Ron Tornow, Chase Van Sant and Herrera. He stays third in factors, 27 again of Smith.
The NHRA Mission Meals Drag Racing Sequence returns to motion Sept. 27-29 with the thirteenth annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Extensive Know-how Raceway in St. Louis.
