Two-time Prime Gasoline world champion Brittany Drive made the quickest runs in each qualifying classes on Friday at zMAX Dragway, powering to the provisional No. 1 place on the sixteenth annual NHRA Carolina Nationals.
Matt Hagan (Humorous Automobile), Erica Enders (Professional Inventory) and Matt Smith (Professional Inventory Motorbike) are additionally the provisional No. 1 qualifiers on the sixteenth of 20 races in the course of the 2024 NHRA Mission Meals Drag Racing Sequence season and the second of six races within the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Drive went 3.690s at 334.24mph in her HendrickCars.com Chevrolet dragster to shut out the evening session, placing Drive on monitor for her third No. 1 qualifier of the yr and the forty ninth in her profession. At the moment ninth in factors after the opening race within the Countdown to the Championship playoffs – and 133 factors out of first getting into the weekend – Drive is after a giant weekend as she seeks her first victory since her record-breaking 2022 championship season.
“To finish qualifying with two strong runs, we picked up factors, and we’re leaving at present No. 1, our Monster Power/HendrickCars.com crew are all very excited and really pleased with that,” Drive stated.
“Our mindset for tomorrow is what it was coming into right now. We wish to do precisely what we achieved right now. We wish to choose up factors the place we are able to tomorrow within the circumstances we’re operating in the place the monitor temp goes to be fairly a bit totally different, and we’ve received to determine that monitor out for Sunday. That’s the place it actually issues.”
Shawn Reed impressed and is at present second with a 3.700s at 324.12mph, and defending world champion Doug Kalitta sits third after going 3.710s at 332.59mph.
Needing his personal large weekend to get again in championship hunt, defending Humorous Automobile world champ Matt Hagan loved a really perfect Friday, making the quickest move of each classes as effectively, together with a blistering 3.832s at 333.25mph beneath the lights in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Storage Dodge//SRT Hellcat. Two runs after factors chief Austin Prock went 3.833s, Hagan eclipsed him by 0.001s in a stellar Friday-night move.
If it holds, it could be Hagan’s first No. 1 qualifier because the second race of the season because the Tony Stewart Racing crew, which received the 4-Broad race this spring, seems to get rolling within the Countdown to the Championship.
“That’s positively a very good shot within the arm. Our qualifying positions all yr lengthy have been a battle and we’ve been working arduous behind the scenes to determine it out,” Hagan stated. “It’s at all times powerful if you see a man like [crew chief] Dickie Venables scratch his head. That’s if you’re going, ‘This have to be fairly dangerous if the man’s not received it discovered,’ however these guys by no means surrender.
“It’s simply good to return again and see our guys smiling within the pit and all people high-fiving and to be on high. There’s loads of instances that these race vehicles will kick you, and it’s simply an terrible feeling as a result of it’s simply so humbling since you work so arduous at it, and then you definitely from time to time you get just a little shot in arm.”
Factors chief Prock made a giant transfer within the second session, along with his 3.833s at 332.84mph adequate for second, and John Drive Racing teammate Jack Beckman is third because of his 3.850s at 327.27mph.
In Professional Inventory, Erica Enders, who was the runner-up finally week’s playoff opener, went to No. 1 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Storage/Melling Efficiency/Scag Energy Tools automobile after going 6.557s at 208.20mph. It might be her sixth high qualifier of the season and issues seem like not off course for the defending and six-time world champion. She superior to the ultimate spherical in Studying towards her teammate, Aaron Stanfield, and was simply 35 factors out first heading into the weekend at zMAX Dragway.
“These [qualifying bonus points] may be big and make or break a championship run,” Enders stated. “I feel in 2015 after we received the championship, we gathered essentially the most ‘child’ factors within the Countdown, and it was positively useful for us to lock it up. We received six right now and if we do the identical tomorrow, that shall be 12, and that’s greater than a half a spherical of racing, so it’s a reasonably vital chunk.
“I’m positive it’ll be sunny and sizzling and sticky tomorrow, so I simply wish to go on the market and make good runs. I wish to make two actually clear cracks on the Christmas Tree, making an attempt to redeem myself on final week’s holeshot loss within the finals. I’ve received just a little bit of labor to do within the cockpit.”
Factors chief and Studying winner Stanfield took the second spot after going 6.580s at 207.85mph and Dallas Glenn, who’s at present second in factors, went 6.590s at 208.20mph to sit down third.
Racing near dwelling, Professional Inventory Motorbike’s Matt Smith loved a powerful Friday on his Denso Auto Components Buell, grabbing the No. 1 spot on Friday because of a run of 6.803s at 198.47mph. The six-time world champion is after his fifth high spot of 2024 and is true within the thick of the factors chase, sitting lower than 20 factors out of first. Smith bumped into bike troubles within the semifinals on the playoff opener however returned in spectacular trend on Friday in Charlotte.
“We’ve simply received to do our job and accumulate factors,” Smith stated. “We gained some factors on Gaige (Herrera) right now and people bonus factors are big and we’re gaining floor, however we’re in a dogfight. They’ve had the dominant bike all yr lengthy, and I nonetheless assume they’ve the higher bike than what now we have proper now, so now we have to activate win lights. That’s our objective proper now.
“If we win this race. we’ll most likely go away right here as the purpose leaders. We’ve simply received to maintain going, preserve digging and activate some win lights on Sunday.”
Defending world champion and factors chief Herrera is true behind after going 6.812s at 198.47mph and his teammate, Richard Gadson, is third after a 6.836s at 197.80mph.
Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
