While the arrival of NHRA at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas for the Nevada Nationals signals the end of the 2022 NHRA Camping World season is coming, there is still some drama to anticipate.
Brittany Force in her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster positioned herself well to stay in the championship conversation. Force posted a 3.665 low-qualifying run to recapture the spot she relinquished earlier to points leader Justin Ashley who leads Force by just 77 points. Her 337.24 mph (547.74 kp/h) run was the tenth fastest in NHRA history. Watch her lightning run in the video below.
“They told me over the radio what we ran, but it's just pure static, and can't hear anything. But I could tell they were excited. I knew it was a good run. And I knew we definitely stepped it up,” Force said.
After the first two rounds of qualifying on Friday, it appears that the dream season Pro Stock star Erica Enders has crafted will continue. The 39-year-old, 4-time NHRA Pro Stock champion has put together a 9-win season with two events to go to equal her personal best.
Enders picked up where she left off from her victory in Dallas two weeks ago by posting a 6.6597 qualifying run just behind Aaron Stanfield. While Stanfield picked up six points for his low-qualifying time and is still mathematically alive in the championship pursuit, it will be tough to best the dominance of Enders without a complete meltdown on her part.
The Funny Car division is the one to watch as the weekend plays out. Points leader Robert Hight is his Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro, is just 15 points in front of Ron Capps who qualified third. Bob Tasca III who sits fifth in the standings after some mid-season success qualified second behind Hight.
Drag Racing legend and 155-time winner John Force, had a miserable day and is watching his hopes for a championship fade with stretches of inconsistency from the fourth spot in the standings.
Like Funny Car, the Pro Stock Motorcycle division championship will be decided by a slim margin. Leader and 6-time champ Matt Smith on his Denso Stockseth Racing Buell post the low-qualifying time on Friday. His lead over second-place Joey Gladstone was bolstered by Gladstone emerging from Friday's qualifying in the No. 8 spot.
The No.2 spot is occupied by Angelle Sampey who is looking to add to her three NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle crowns, but it appears to be a two rider race between Smith and Gladstone.
Google News