CONCORD, NC – September 24, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Looking to sweep both races at zMAX Dragway this season, legendary Funny Car driver John Force rolled to the provisional No. 1 position on Friday in Charlotte at the 14th annual Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.
Force, who has won the four-wide race at the track the past two years, just missed the track record at the second race in the playoffs, going 3.854-seconds at 330.47 mph in his 11,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS. If it holds it would be the 16-time world champion’s second No. 1 qualifier this year and 165th in his career. Force has forged an impressive rhythm at the state-of-the-art facility in recent years and is trying to make a move in the points standings as well. He’s currently fourth in points and is looking to make a big push this weekend.
“It’s a great track to run numbers like this, but there’s a stack of them right behind me that can do the same, and we’re going to have conditions like this tomorrow,” Force said. “We’ve got a good team and it’s coming around, (but) we’ve got a lot of work to do. They were all there tomorrow, but at least we got to shine for one night. Our team had a great weekend last weekend with Robert (Hight) and Austin (Prock) both winning, and we’re back in the fight in the Countdown.”
Three other standouts closely followed right behind Force, as points leader Hight, defending world champ Ron Capps and Matt Hagan all went 3.86. Hagan is currently second with his run of 3.861 at 329.99, with Hight and Capps going 3.864 and 3.866, respectively. Bob Tasca III rounded out the top five with a 3.876.
Looking to get into the Top Fuel championship hunt with a late-season run – and also pick up a milestone victory along the way – Kalitta was the only driver to dip into the 3.60s on Friday, rocketing to the top with his run of 3.694 at 326.56 in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster. Kalitta is seeking his second No. 1 qualifier this season, but also his 50th career win – and first victory since 2020 – as he looks to ramp up his 2022 performance. The veteran hasn’t been to a final round yet this year, but timing is everything in the Countdown to the Championship and Kalitta looked strong on…
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