| Force went to the top during the first session with a run of 3.646 at 334.82 in her 11,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster. On that pass, she made the fastest run to 1/8-mile in NHRA history, going 301.67. If it holds, it would be her 53rd career No. 1 qualifier. Kalitta is currently second and Josh Hart made a big jump to third after going 3.675 at 332.34.
“To come right out of the box and put a [3.]64 on the board, and then back that up with another .64 is very outstanding for this Monster Energy team,” Force said. “It’s tough when you come into an event and go right into a race without any chance to qualify or make some runs. We went right into it and we were looking to win the thing. Unfortunately, we got beat in the final. It felt like it had cylinders out.
“We’re off to a good start. We still have a long weekend ahead of us, but we put some good numbers on the board. Winning, that’s the ultimate goal. That’s why we’re here. This is my home track and I’d love to win here. We’ve been very successful in the past, and with (crew chief) David Grubnic, we come here and we want to win.”
Just days after a massive explosion and crash in Phoenix, Funny Car’s Ron Capps was back in Pomona, making the quickest run of both sessions, including a run of 3.830 at 328.94 in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra that puts him atop the field as part of a fascinating story. Should that hold, Capps would pick up his first No. 1 qualifier of 2025 and the 38th in his season, but this one would surely be special considering what went down on Sunday in Phoenix.
But Capps and his team showed impressive resilience on Friday, making a run in the 3.80s to open qualifying and then going even lower to close out the day. Capps praised the stellar work of his team to get to this point after what went down at Firebird Motorsports Park, hoping it results in an incredible story on Sunday.
“I’m pretty beat up and sore and bruised up and just wanted to get back in the car,” Capps said. “I just couldn’t wait for today. It could not get here soon enough. No hesitation at all. They pulled me up, and then we fired it and went and before I knew it, I made the run, and they came on the radio and said, ‘You’re the No. 1 qualifier.’
“I’ve done a lot of media this week, and not for the best reason, but we talked about all week in these interviews about how you respond as a driver. How do you respond? But more so our team, and I’ve never, never, ever had any doubt. I’ve bragged about ‘NAPA Know How’ but it’s these guys, man, they’ve hardly slept.”
Defending world champion Austin Prock is second after a run of 3.837 at 333.25 and his John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman is third with a run of 3.855 at 326.40.
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip continues to treat Pro Stock reigning world champion Greg Anderson very well, as the veteran was the only driver to dip into the 6.40s on Friday with a standout run of 6.495 at 210.01 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. It puts him as the quickest Pro Stock qualifier in Winternationals history, while the qualifying field is also the quickest in the race’s iconic history.
Anderson, who has qualified first and second at the first two races, respectively, is on track for his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 134th in his career.
The last time Anderson was in Pomona was the NHRA Finals in November, where he won a winner-take-all final round against KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn. Those two have met in the final round at each of the first two races – with each driver winning a race – and Anderson showed no signs of slowing down on Friday.
“There’s so many cars that can run fast, and I’m so damn proud of this KB Titan team,” Anderson said. “I’ve got eight cars out here this weekend, and quite honestly, any one of those eight cars, if they hit it on the target, any run can go to the pole. I’ve got a small part of that, and probably prouder of that than the fact that my car went to No. 1 because it’s hard to do that to make them all run good.
“I really feel that we can run 6.48, whether we can get below that 6.480 [track record] or into the .47s I don’t know. It’s going to take 100 percent nailing it on the starting line and getting that killer 60-foot [elapsed time].”
Matt Hartford is currently second with a 6.510 at 209.14 and Aaron Stanfield is third after going 6.515 at 210.28.
Qualifying continues at 12 p.m. PT on Saturday at the 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
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POMONA, Calif. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.646 seconds, 334.82 mph; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.657, 335.15; 3. Josh Hart, 3.675, 332.34; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.690, 336.91; 5. Antron Brown, 3.695, 336.65; 6. Tony Stewart, 3.695, 329.75; 7. Justin Ashley, 3.695, 333.66; 8. Shawn Reed, 3.698, 331.36; 9. Jasmine Salinas, 3.700, 322.65; 10. Clay Millican, 3.733, 327.59; 11. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.741, 334.24; 12. Scott Palmer, 3.836, 313.80; 13. Shawn Langdon, 4.839, 149.75.
Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.830, 330.47; 2. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.837, 333.25; 3. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.855, 326.48; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.888, 325.30; 5. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.889, 329.18; 6. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.930, 320.97; 7. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.932, 328.78; 8. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.950, 322.42; 9. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 3.963, 296.70; 10. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.971, 271.08; 11. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.010, 290.57; 12. Bobby Bode, GR Supra, 4.026, 310.34; 13. Jason Rupert, Mustang, 4.104, 253.80; 14. Steven Densham, Mustang, 4.125, 284.15; 15. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 4.277, 215.44; 16. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.685, 180.65.
Not Qualified: 17. Blake Alexander, 4.969, 162.39; 18. Bob Tasca III, 7.572, 82.79; 19. Daniel Wilkerson, 7.993, 85.04.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.495, 210.01; 2. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.510, 210.05; 3. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.515, 210.80; 4. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.516, 210.93; 5. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.517, 210.41; 6. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.517, 209.82; 7. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.519, 211.03; 8. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.541, 210.18; 9. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.546, 210.34; 10. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.553, 210.57; 11. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.555, 210.97; 12. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.555, 209.82; 13. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.556, 209.79; 14. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.558, 210.11; 15. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.563, 209.88; 16. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.586, 208.75.
Not Qualified: 17. Stephen Bell, 6.595, 208.94; 18. Kenny Delco, 6.605, 208.68; 19. Joey Grose, 6.652, 207.11. |