BRISTOL, TN – June 18, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Looking for his first win of the season, four-time defending Top Fuel world champ Steve Torrence started his weekend at Bristol Dragway on the right note, taking the provisional No. 1 qualifier on Friday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
Robert Hight (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the ninth of 22 races during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.
Torrence put together a run of 3.791-seconds at 317.79 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster, which has him on track for his second straight No. 1 spot this year and 34th in his career. But the Texan is more focused on victories, especially after a stunning upset in the first round at the most recent race in Epping, where he also qualified No. 1.
“To come here and make a good run right off the trailer, that was a good run to get the ball rolling and give us some momentum heading into raceday,” Torrence said. “Tomorrow will be a totally different day, so we’ll see where we go from there, but that was a good, stout pass to go to the No. 1 spot.”
Josh Hart matched Torrence on time and was just slightly behind on speed, going 316.60 to put him second after Friday. Antron Brown, looking for his first victory of the season, is third with a run of 3.802 at 323.35.
Hight was the lone driver to make a three-second run in Funny Car on Friday, powering to the top with a run of 3.971 at 310.98 in his 11,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS. It continues an impressive stretch for Hight, who has three victories this season and is seeking his second No. 1 qualifier of the season. It would also be the 73rd top spot for Hight, who continues to battle it out with points leader Matt Hagan. Each driver has three wins this season and Hight starred out of the gates on Friday.
“(Crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) made a lot of adjustments right before we ran. We thought it was going to run a little better than that and I had to drive it a lot,” Hight said. “The 3.97 is not going to hold, no matter what tomorrow. By the time we run tomorrow, I think we could run low 3.90s. That’s what it’s going to take to be No. 1. It’s mission accomplished today and we’ll take No. 1 today.”
Jim Campbell is currently in the second spot with a run of 4.080 at 306.19, while Hagan went 4.172 at 235.23 during Friday’s lone…
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