NHRA
Friday Qualifying from the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil
LAS VEGAS – Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 19th annual Dodge NHRA 
Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 23rd of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.659 seconds, 338.17 mph; 2. Billy Torrence, 3.662, 332.34; 3. Leah Pritchett, 3.681, 328.38; 4. Mike Salinas, 3.682, 329.34; 5. Richie Crampton, 3.709, 327.03; 6. Terry McMillen, 3.714, 326.00; 7. Austin Prock, 3.726, 330.96; 8. Shawn Reed, 3.736, 321.04; 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.751, 329.67; 10. Steve Torrence, 3.765, 320.05; 11. Clay Millican, 3.811, 322.04; 12. Antron Brown, 3.888, 250.41; 13. Cameron Ferre, 3.942, 299.33; 14. Troy Buff, 3.945, 261.88; 15. Cory McClenathan, 4.110, 278.40; 16. Scott Palmer, 4.112, 226.32.
Not Qualified: 17. Justin Ashley, 4.136, 213.98; 18. Chris Karamesines, 4.323, 200.29; 19. Rob Passey, 9.116, 84.36; 20. Jim Maroney, 11.078, 66.14.
B. FORCE, TODD, ENDERS & M. SMITH PUT ON SHOW, PICK UP PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT DODGE NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL
LAS VEGAS – Brittany Force made the fastest run in NHRA Top Fuel history on Friday at The Strip at Las Vegas 
Motor Speedway, blazing to the provisional No. 1 spot during qualifying at the 19th Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil.
J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the fifth of six races in the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs. The race also serves as the penultimate event of the 24-race 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Force’s run of 3.659-seconds in her Advance Auto Parts dragster set the track E.T. record in Las Vegas, while the speed of 338.17 mph gave the former world champ the fastest run in Top Fuel history. It also gives Force both ends of the national record after she made the quickest run in history earlier this year. If it holds, Force would earn her ninth No. 1 qualifier of 2019 and 19th overall. She is also in line for her third top qualifier in the playoffs and fifth in the last seven races.
FOLLOWING RUNNER-UP, STEVEN WHITELEY AIMS TO END TRYING E3 SPARK PLUGS NHRA PRO MOD SEASON ON A GOOD NOTE IN VEGAS
LAS VEGAS – Steven Whitely didn’t expect his 2019 season in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing 
Series presented by J&A Service to go the way it has, but a strong showing in Charlotte has him excited he can end the year on a strong note.
But getting to this point wasn’t easy, as Whiteley was involved in a crash in Topeka, missed one race because of it and then failed to qualify at the two events after that as his team got accustomed to a new car. The team took a massive step forward in their blown J&A Service/Y-Not Racing Chevrolet Camaro in Charlotte, posting a runner-up, and Whitely will look to build on that as part of this weekend’s Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to close out the 2019 NHRA Pro Mod campaign.
“It has been such a tough year, so Charlotte was big,” Whiteley said. “We really wanted to run well and end the season on a high note, and everyone did well. It was cool we were able to pull everything together. This is another big race and, overall, we’re feeling really good. Charlotte was the race where we finally started to make the turn. It doesn’t mean we can say we’ve got this licked, but it just means we’re going in a favorable direction. Now, it’s trying to take that further.”
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE’S JERRY SAVOIE THRIVES ON CALMING FEELING VEGAS PROVIDES AT DODGE NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL
LAS VEGAS – There’s usually a variety of emotions racing at Las Vegas with a potential NHRA Mello Yello Drag 
Racing Series championship on the line. Relaxed is usually not one of them, but that’s precisely how Jerry Savoie feels heading to one of his favorite tracks for this weekend’s Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The former Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion feels perfectly at peace at the high-stakes race in the city of big lights, even if it does serve as the penultimate race in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. Savoie has always performed well in Las Vegas on his White Alligator Racing Suzuki and with a pair of playoff wins, the veteran, who is 94 points behind points leader Andrew Hines, plans to once again thrive at the facility.
“I don’t know what kind of feeling other people get when they get to Vegas, but the atmosphere there just relaxes me so much,” said Savoie, who has zero career Vegas wins. “I just get to the track and let it fly. Mentally for me, Vegas is just a great race and I’ve been very lucky there. The bottom line is, the atmosphere there just relaxes me. It’s one of the best places to go and there’s just certain tracks that seem to favor certain riders.”
JEGS NHRA SPORTSNATIONALS MOVES TO JULY AT NATIONAL TRAIL RACEWAY
GLENDORA, CA – One of the most widely known and prestigious weekends on the Sportsman racing calendar, the 
JEGS NHRA SPORTSnationals, will be back at National Trail Raceway on July 18-19, 2020.
After a three-year hiatus from National Trail Raceway, the race made a return to the track, located just outside of Columbus, Ohio, in 2019 following owner and management changes. The race was previously held at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky. during the hiatus.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have the JEGS SPORTSnationals return to National Trail Raceway,” said Jay Livingston, owner of National Trail Raceway.
PRO STOCK’S DERIC KRAMER REVELING IN CHAMPIONSHIP CONVERSATION GOING TO DODGE NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL
LAS VEGAS – This year marks the second straight season Deric Kramer has advanced to the NHRA Mello Yello 
Countdown to the Championship. It doesn’t take much more than a cursory glance at the numbers to know this year has been far more productive for the Pro Stock standout.
A year after winning just one round in six playoff races, Kramer is in the midst of an extremely tight and thrilling battle for a world championship. He picked up his first career playoff victory with his Charlotte triumph and that has him just 72 points out of first in his American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro heading to this weekend’s Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s a new feeling for Kramer, but he’s enjoying every part of it.
“We’re just going to do the absolute best we can,” Kramer said. “We’ve got to be one of the two cars in the final round the last two races, so that’s the goal. And then you just try to win every race and let the points fall where they may. You try not to feel any different and I think that’s the best way to approach it. It can be a stressful position to be in. You figure we’re already in the car for six decisions and we’ve got a 100 decisions to make, so you don’t need to add any more stress.”
FUNNY CAR’S MATT HAGAN PLANS TO KEEP WINNING, LET POINTS TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES HEADING TO DODGE NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL
LAS VEGAS – The way Matt Hagan figures it, if he’s fortunate enough to end his 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag 
Racing Series season with a few wins, he’ll head into the offseason with plenty of good feelings at the very least. If three straight victories in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship leads to a third title, that’s just the icing on the cake for the Funny Car standout.
It’s a tall task to traverse the loaded Funny Car field and win three straight playoff races, but Hagan is up for the challenge. He knocked out the first part of it by winning in Dallas and will try to replicate that in his 11,000-horsepower Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody at this weekend’s Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hagan enters the race 112 points out of first, but his sole focus is simply trying to win and letting everything else fall into place.
“The win in Dallas gave us a little hope and we know we’re a longshot,” Hagan said. “But anything is doable, and if some people have a bad race we can be right there. These last two races we want to be on point and we want to try to dictate the outcome. We’ve still got a shot at it. But sometimes when you’re trying to make something happen you can try too hard. We’ve just got to focus on what we can do. It’s easy to overthink it and start worrying about points. You just have to put that out of your mind, and focus on what you can control. I know we have the ability to win.”
TOP FUEL’S BILLY TORRENCE HAPPY TO THROW HIS NAME IN TITLE TALK APPROACHING DODGE NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL
LAS VEGAS – There is a Torrence who has the most wins thus far in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the 
Championship, but it’s not the same Torrence as the one who clinched the Top Fuel world title a year ago in Las Vegas. It’s the elder Torrence, Billy, who has already racked up two playoff wins heading to this weekend’s Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, which takes place Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
His son, Steve, remains as the points leader and the defending event and world champ, but B. Torrence is closing fast thanks to the pair of playoff victories in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster. That puts him in fourth place in points, 71 points back of his son, setting up a potential must-see father-son duel down the stretch. For now, though, B. Torrence is simply hoping to keep his hot streak going and pick up his first career win in Vegas, the location of the penultimate race during the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
“We’re just going to go out there and hopefully continue to do a good job,” Torrence said. “We’ll go out there and race and support each other. We’re going to try to do the very best we can and that’s what we’ll be doing. I’ve been able to beat Steve a couple times, but he’s difficult to deal with and I probably couldn’t beat Steve often.”
SEVEN ROOKIE CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE FOR 2019 AUTO CLUB ROAD TO THE FUTURE AWARD
GLENDORA, CA – A diverse field of seven rookie drivers representing the four NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing 
Series categories, Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, were announced by NHRA officials and the Automobile Club of Southern California as the eligible candidates for the 2019 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award.
The award, which is presented during the NHRA’s annual championship awards ceremony on Monday, Nov. 18 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, Calif., recognizes the top rookie competitor in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and offers a $20,000 prize and traditional trophy to the winner. The nation’s leading auto racing journalists select the winner through a voting system, which is currently in progress, based on the following criteria: number of events competed in, performance on and off the racetrack, participation in NHRA promotions and relationships with fans, sponsors and media.
The candidates for the prestigious award in 2019 are, in alphabetical order:
FUNNY CAR’S JACK BECKMAN FOCUSED ON STRONG FINISH HEADING TO DODGE NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL
LAS VEGAS – The plan for Jack Beckman is to have a chance to race for a NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series 
world championship at the final race of the season. But for that to happen, the former Funny Car world champion knows he must perform at the penultimate race of the 2019 season, the Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil, which takes place Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Beckman heads to the race second in points, 70 behind leader Robert Hight going into the final two events of the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. The veteran standout has had his share of big moments in this year’s playoffs, advancing to a pair of finals in his 11,000-horsepower Infinite Hero Founder Dodge SRT Hellcat, but rising to the occasion in Vegas will be imperative if Beckman has any hopes of chasing down Hight to end the year.
“Our goal is to win a championship,” Beckman said. “I think it will be a big mistake for any team to look past Vegas and look toward Pomona just because Pomona is going to offer points-and-a-half. If you stumble first round in Vegas, you’re not going to get those rounds. We can’t look past the next run right now. You can’t afford to give away any points.”
