Brittany Force (Photo: NHRA)
READING, Pa. – Fuel points leader Brittany Force ended qualifying with a thrilling run Saturday at Maple Grove Raceway to claim the No. 1 qualifier at the 37th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals and the inaugural race in front of a sell-out crowd at the Countdown to Championship.
Robert Hight (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified #1 in the first of six races in the countdown to the championship during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. NHRA and Maple Grove Raceway officials also announced a sellout for Saturday’s races as the area’s passionate fan base packed the historic course.
After struggling in the first two qualifying sessions at Top Fuel, Force jumped to the lead with her 3.696-second run at 327.90 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy dragster. It’s the eighth No. 1 qualifier this season and 40th overall for Force, who clocked the weekend’s only run in 3.60s and will be aiming for her fifth win of the season on Sunday. She will open the eliminations against Cam Ferre and praised her team’s work in recovering and jumping all the way up to end the day.
“I’m not sure we were aiming for drama. Neither of us wanted to do it that way, but we had a solid, good run and that’s really what we needed,” said Force. “(But) we’ve picked up some points, another No1 qualifier and we’re just looking forward to a long day of racing tomorrow. It wasn’t just me as a driver who was under pressure, but our entire team. It’s tough getting into the first race of the countdown and not being able to match our performance. Everything is a team effort. We all have emotions together and we want to win just as badly as everyone else out here.”
Justin Ashley will take second place after Friday’s run of 3.703 at 330.55, while Mike Salinas is third with 3.705 at 330.96. Austin Prock and Steve Torrence go into race day fourth and fifth respectively.
Hight stayed on top in Funny Car, earning his 75th career No. 1 qualifier in his 11,000hp Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS based on his 3.867 at Friday’s 331.20. It also gives Hight his fourth top finish of the season and he finished Saturday with another excellent run in the 3.80s. In a nod to the consistency of the team and the car, the Championship leader racked up bonus points in every qualifying session and put him on course to claim a seventh win of the season.
“Our team scored points in every single qualifying run and it couldn’t get any better,” said Hight. “We have to do that every six races (in the countdown). I know it’s just qualifying but those are the races we’re going to have. There are a lot of great cars and we will have those battles every single weekend.”
Running side-by-side with Hight to finish the day, defending champion Ron Capps moved into second place with a run of 3.878 at 331.45. That put John Force in third place with his 3,890 at 329.99. Force will make his 800th career start on Sunday. Bob Tasca III and Matt Hagan round out the top five.
For the first time since 2019, Butner is the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock as his 6.523 to 210.088 run from Friday in his Johnson’s Horsepower Garage Camaro held up through the final qualifying session on Saturday. It’s the 12th career No. 1 for Butner, who will open the eliminations against Fernando Cuadra Sr. Things have been moving lately since the debut of a new car, and Butner also has a shot at a second straight win in Super Gas in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. That means plenty of momentum for the experienced driver who is enjoying another quality weekend at Reading.
“I’m happy, but being number 1 in this area is tough. You have to be running in the right place at the right time,” Butner said. “Everyone is close so it will be a good race tomorrow. Our JHG team, the elite team, puts in a lot of effort and it showed with our car. I have a feeling tomorrow might be a bit warmer so the first run with the earlier start will be the best run. If you can survive that first run, then all you have to do is make good runs.”
While Erica Enders didn’t finish first, the points leader caused quite a stir when she finished qualifying with a 6.530 run in a 209.85. It kept her second in qualifying and gave her the best pass of Saturday as she seeks her fifth win of the season. Kyle Koretsky stayed third with 6.534 on 209.72 while Dallas Glenn and defending champion Greg Anderson completed the top five with 6.537 and 6.544 respectively.
It was Saturday’s Smith show again in Pro Stock Motorcycle with Matt Smith leaping past his wife Angie to take the No. 1 position with a 6.741 run at 201.79 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. Angie finished second, giving the couple top two in class for the second time this season. For Matt, who currently tops the standings, it’s his third No. 1 finish of the season and 50th of his stellar career. He will open the eliminations against Ryan Oehler to build on his Indy win and points lead in the countdown to the championship and win for a fourth time of the 2022 season.
“Angie had a great run yesterday. I just didn’t know if the conditions this morning would be good enough to overtake them, but they were and we made it,” said Smith. “The MSR camp collected many bonus points. We just have to keep going, putting together one lap at a time and hopefully we can turn on four winner lamps and Angie can turn on three or four and we can meet in the final.
“There’s a lot of energy in it. Coming after winning the US Nationals, that’s huge. Come here and we are #1 qualifier, she was #1 day one and I was day two. It’s just a lot of momentum for our team and this DENSO team is making an effort at the right time.”
Angie finished second in qualifying thanks to her 6.757 at 201.22 as she will attempt to win for the first time this season. Steve Johnson, the event’s defending champion, took third place with Friday’s 6.774, and Angelle Sampey and Marc Knoblauchsen round out the top five in class.
Eliminations for the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Maple Grove Raceway.
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