By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Robert Hight protected the top qualifying position in Funny Car over Saturday's final two qualifying rounds at Heartland Motorsports Park, earning his 80th career No. 1 qualifier in the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
Joining Hight as top qualifiers were Steve Torrence in Top Fuel and Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock leading into Sunday's elimination rounds, which will get under way at 10 a.m. after a slight schedule change. .
Hight’s strong Friday run of 3.948 seconds at 321.19 miles per hour in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS held up Saturday, handing the three-time world champ his third No. 1 qualifier of the 2023 season and the 80th over his standout career.
hree-time Funny Car champ Robert Hight earned the No. 1 qualifier position for Sunday's Menards NHRA Nationals eliminations. [File photo/TSN]
Hight, who will be looking for his third win of the 2023 season, will open eliminations on Sunday against Jack Wyatt.
“That 80 is a big number, it shows I've been doing it a long time, but it also shows I've had great (John Force Racing) teams behind me,” Hight said. “You're not No. 1 qualifier without a really good race car.
"This is a tribute to all the good people I've worked with. This is big for us. I think we're turning a corner with this new combination. It's starting to respond. Jimmy (Prock, crew chief) was happy.''
Currently fourth in points, Hight will be looking to make a move in the standings over the next several races.
“It's not too late to get back in this points deal and leave Indy with the No. 1 spot,'' Hight said. "It can happen. Points and a half at Indy, we do good here, do good at Brainerd, we're right back in the thick of things. That's our mindset.”
Defending and back-to-back world champ Ron Capps took second in qualifying with a 3.950 run at 314.17 m.p.h. and Matt Hagan’s 3.960 at 318.24 ranked third.
Four-time Top Fuel champ Steve Torrence was the No. 1 qualifier for Sunday's eliminations in the Menards NHRA Nationals. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN].
Torrence claimed his first No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier of the season thanks to Friday’s 3.764-second pass at 326.24 m.p.h. in his Capco Contractors/Toyota dragster. He nearly topped his Friday pass in Saturday's final run of the day when Torrence went 3.767.
Leah Pruett made a huge jump with her run of 3.768 at 325.77, but the Torrence hung on for his 35th career top spot.
He’ll open eliminations against Terry Totten, trying to pick up his second win in three races, which could catapult him into the points lead.
“This morning I felt safe,'' Torrence said. "The conditions have changed and evolved to cloudy and cool. The big thing is picking up bonus points throughout the rounds, that's key, that's crucial. We need to pick up those points.
"I've won a championship by less than two or three points. It'll be a big deal at the end. Consistency wins races and championships, and that, along with being quick, is what we pride ourselves in. We're going to do the best we can to keep this up.”
Pruett finished No. 2 in qualifying, while Doug Kalitta was third with a 3.799 at 316.45.
Dallas Glenn earned the No. 1 qualifier position in the Pro Stock class for the Menards NHRA Nationals. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN].
Pro Stock points leader Dallas Glenn enjoyed an outstanding Saturday performance with two strong runs, including a 6.642 pass at 205.26 m.p.h. in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro to close out the day and give Glenn his second No. 1 qualifier this season.
Glenn tied KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson earlier in the day with a run of 6.653 and 205.66 and Anderson made an impressive pass of 6.645 at 205.79 in the final session, but Glenn responded with his clutch run to take over the No. 1 spot for the fourth time in his career.
Glenn will open eliminations against Fernando Cuadra Sr., looking for his fourth win in 2023.
“As a driver, you cannot make any mistakes,” Glenn said. “If you miss one shift, you can fall back four or five spots, just that easy. I don't know exactly what it is, but it's probably two-hundredths between No. 1 through No. 9.
"It's going to be a really tight field and a really tough Sunday, and we've got a lot different weather rolling in for tomorrow so that's going to throw an extra variable into the mix, but I think we have a really good car for them.”
Anderson took the second spot after making three stellar runs during qualifying, while Matt Hartford claimed the No. 3 spot with a 6.657/206.23.
Hagan, Torrence, Glenn win Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge titles
Funny Car’s Matt Hagan posted his second win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for Tony Stewart Racing on Saturday, defeating Chad Green in the final round of the bonus race as part of the Menards NHRA Nationals.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won Mission #2Fast2Tasty titles.
Hagan made the best Funny Car run on Saturday, going 3.960-seconds at 318.24 m.p.h. in his American Rebel Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, racing past Green’s 4.039 at 313.73 in the championship round of the bonus race.
Hagan, who is second in points, won the bonus race in Denver and capped off that weekend with an event win.
“That bonus money goes a long way with my guys, and you want to dig deep on the starting line for them,” Hagan said. “But Chad had a .010 light against me, he was digging a little bit deeper than I was, I think. Chad's a great driver, he's come a long way with his program and what he's doing. They're a tough car, and there's just no easy draws out here. You have to bring everything you've got, and then you have to bring a little bit more. That's just what it takes to turn win lights on in a Funny Car.''
Torrence stayed red hot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, winning the bonus race for the third straight event, knocking off points leader Justin Ashley in the final round with a run of 3.767 at 319.90 in his Capco Contractors/Toyota dragster.
Torrence has won in Seattle, Sonoma and now Topeka on Saturday while handing Ashley his first defeat in the bonus race.
“Justin Ashley has shown himself to be a fierce competitor, and he's got a good team over there,” Torrence said. “Admittedly, we've not been the CAPCO boys of the past. We're doing the best we can to get back to that. I think that at some point, we might have given these guys a false sense of hope that we aren't the team we used to be.
"Maybe we're not there yet, but we're coming back. It gives me a lot of confidence and makes me feel excited about the rest of the year. We're building the steam, building the momentum at the right time, and that CAPCO train is coming.
Dallas Glenn had appeared in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge before, but was able to put together a winning performance for the first time on Saturday, knocking off Erica Enders in the finals.
Enders went red on the starting line, but Glenn still made the quickest run of the weekend in the category, going 6.642 at 205.26 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro against the defending world champ.
Glenn knocked Camrie Caruso earlier in the day with another stellar run, putting on another strong performance to close out the day.
“This definitely takes some pressure off,” Glenn said. “I've been in four or five of these already and just haven't been able to seal the deal so to finally be able to do it when I've got such a good car, it means a lot. To try to get three championship points, that's a big deal. We've got the points lead right now going into Sunday, we've got No. 1 qualifier. This car is running awesome right now and I just want to keep the momentum going.”
Eliminations for the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor begin at 10 a.m. CT on Sunday at Heartland Motorsports Park.
his second win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for Tony Stewart Racing on Saturday at Heartland Motorsports Park, defeating Chad Green in the final round of the bonus race as part of this weekend’s Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in Topeka.
Hagan made the best Funny Car run on Saturday, going 3.960-seconds at 318.24 mph in his 11,000-horsepower American Rebel Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, racing past Green’s 4.039 at 313.73 in the championship round of the bonus race. Hagan, who is second in points, won the bonus race in Denver and capped off that weekend with an event win, and will look to do the same this weekend in Topeka. He defeated J.R. Todd earlier in the way, chasing down Green to finish off his day in style.
“That bonus money goes a long way with my guys, and you want to dig deep on the starting line for them,” Hagan said. “But Chad had a .010 light against me, he was digging a little bit deeper than I was, I think. Chad's a great driver, he's come a long way with his program and what he's doing. They're a tough car, and there's just no easy draws out here. You have to bring everything you've got, and then you have to bring a little bit more. That's just what it takes to turn win lights on in a Funny Car.
“I've been very, very blessed to have (Dickie Venables) tuning the car and letting me drive the wheels off of it. I'm excited we were able to pull down our second #2Fast2Tasty win, and I can't wait to see what happens on raceday tomorrow.”
Top Fuel’s Steve Torrence stayed red-hot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, winning the bonus race for the third straight event, knocking off points leader Justin Ashley in the final round with a run of 3.767 at 319.90 in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors/Toyota dragster. Torrence has impressed over the last three races, winning in Seattle, Sonoma and now Topeka on Saturday, also handing Ashley his first defeat in the bonus race. Torrence knocked off Antron Brown earlier in the day and then made the best run in the class on Saturday to pick up yet another win.
“Justin Ashley has shown himself to be a fierce competitor, and he's got a good team over there,” Torrence said. “Admittedly, we've not been the CAPCO boys of the past. We're doing the best we can to get back to that. I think that at some point, we might have given these guys a false sense of hope that we aren't the team we used to be. Maybe we're not there yet, but we're coming back. It gives me a lot of confidence and makes me feel excited about the rest of the year. We're building the steam, building the momentum at the right time, and that CAPCO train is coming.
“We need to get those challenge points. Justin had built a little bit of a lead, and we're cutting that down. [The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points] are going to be crucial.”
Dallas Glenn had appeared in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge before, but was able to put together a winning performance for the first time on Saturday in Topeka, knocking off Erica Enders in the finals.
Enders went red on the starting line, but Glenn still made the quickest run of the weekend in the category, going 6.642 at 205.26.
“This definitely takes some pressure off,” Glenn said. “I've been in four or five of these already and just haven't been able to seal the deal so to finally be able to do it when I've got such a good car, it means a lot.
"To try to get three championship points, that's a big deal. We've got the points lead right now going into Sunday, we've got No. 1 qualifier. This car is running awesome right now and I just want to keep the momentum going.”
MENARDS NHRA NATIONALS
At Heartland Motorsports Park
SUNDAY'S ELIMINATION PAIRINGS
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