DSR Epping Final Qualifying Report by the Numbers
Epping, NH – NHRA New England Nationals
DSR Epping Saturday Highlights:
Antron Brown navigated the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster to the quickest run of Q3 and earned three bonus points
As the No. 3 Funny Car qualifier, Ron Capps leads DSR after three qualifying sessions
Tommy Johnson Jr. will start from the top half of the Funny Car field for the eighth consecutive event
Defending back-to-back Epping Funny Car champion Matt Hagan earned a starting position from the quick half of the field and will face teammate Jack Beckman in round one of eliminations
Note: Saturday’s second qualifying session (Q4) was cancelled due to persistent rain.
Driver Information:
Top Fuel:
ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 4 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 11 Cameron Ferre
The Results:
Q1: 6.210 E.T. at 111.60 MPH
Q2: 3.848 E.T. at 321.73 MPH
Q3: 3.899 E.T. at 308.35 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
Bonus Points: Three
Quotable:
“All in all, it’s been a good weekend so far, but tomorrow is where it really counts. We’ll have totally different conditions; it’s going to be cooler, the track is going to be tighter. We would’ve liked to get that Q4 run in, but I’m ready to go racing. I feel poised, my mind is right, the team is right, everything is right, and I feel really good going into tomorrow.”
Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 11
The Competition: No. 6 Matt Hagan
The Results:
Q1: 4.117 E.T. at 310.55 MPH
Q2: 4.844 E.T. at 164.83 MPH
Q3: 6.197 E.T. at 112.11 MPH
Quotable:
“J.R. Todd will get a bye run tomorrow, and they deserve it. That’s the only car that has a guaranteed round win tomorrow. Everyone else is going to have to go earn theirs. We did not qualify well. We face our teammate Matt Hagan with (crew chief) Dickie Venables. Not only did they qualify well, but they made it down the track all three runs. We’ve dug ourselves a hole. We’re going in as the underdogs, but right now I think we’ve got one of the best cars in the country. Conditions are going to be significantly different tomorrow, and this is where we’re going to prove our mettle; we’re going to go out and earn it.”
RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA Batteries Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 3 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 14 Mike Smith
The Results:
Q1: 4.039 E.T. at 313.07 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
Q2: 4.043 E.T. at 316.38 MPH (Two bonus points for second quickest run of the session)
Q3: 4.059 E.T. at 315.78 MPH
Bonus Points: Five
Quotable:
“Anytime you can get down the track all three runs during qualifying is great, but as we’ve seen in the past, conditions from qualifying to race day are so different, and they’re definitely going to be different tomorrow. This is a great track, it’s all-concrete, and with temps forecasted in the 70s, we’re going to see some great side-by-side racing tomorrow.
“We’ve had so much success this year with special paint schemes. We did so well with NAPA Brakes. When you hear back from the sponsors that those promotions did so well for the sales, and you were a part of the success of that promotion, it’s awesome. So now, we’re running this patriotic NAPA Batteries scheme. It’s Military Month, and a portion of sales goes toward the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. As a company, NAPA AUTO PARTS has donated so much to help the soldiers and the fact that we’re a part of it in some way, it would mean so much to put this car in the winner’s circle.”
MATT HAGAN
Driver of the MOPAR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 6 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 11 Jack Beckman
The Results:
Q1: 4.166 E.T. at 295.85 MPH
Q2: 4.051 E.T. at 318.47 MPH
Q3: 4.062 E.T. at 319.52 MPH
Quotable:
“We’ve got a really good racecar. Our Dodge Hellcat is going down the track, especially during the heat of the day. It’s very, very consistent. I really can’t wait to turn this thing around. We’ve had quite a few first-round losses, and we still have half the season left to go. I think this needs to be our turning point to where we get things back together and start rolling forward.”
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 8 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 9 Tim Wilkerson
The Results:
Q1: 4.069 E.T. at 311.34 MPH (Two bonus points for second quickest run of the session)
Q2: 4.846 E.T. at 163.89 MPH
Q3: 4.146 E.T. at 257.78 MPH
Bonus Points: Two
Quotable:
“We only made it down the track once this weekend, but I think we have a better car than that. We’ve been close on a couple of them. We either shut it off, or the car came loose, but we would’ve made one of the best runs of each session, so I think with a few adjustments and the different weather, we’ll have a good car tomorrow. If not for a dropped cylinder in Q3, I think we would’ve gone to the top of the field during one of the hottest sessions of the weekend, so I’m pretty confident with the car we’ve got.”
