B. Force, Tasca, Hartford and Herrera all Qualify No.1 at Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

CONCORD, NC – April 30, 2023 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Brittany Force made the quickest run in zMAX Dragway history on Saturday, as the defending Top Fuel world champion rocketed to the No. 1 spot at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the fifth of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Force went 3.651-seconds at 336.32 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Flav-R-Pac dragster, breaking her own track record at Charlotte in the process. It gives the reigning champ her third No. 1 spot this year and the 45th in her career as she looks to pick up her first victory of the 2023 season. After struggling in the opening qualifying session, Force and her team responded with three strong runs, giving her plenty of momentum going into Sunday, where she’ll opening eliminations in a quad also featuring Doug Foley, Las Vegas four-wide winner Antron Brown and Clay Millican.

“That was an incredible run, it was more than our team expected,” Force said. “Three of the four runs were solid, and hopefully, that will carry over and we’ll go some rounds tomorrow. We’ve had success here in the past, and I’ve always loved this track – but four-wide is tricky. That’s what makes it rewarding.

“We were doing some testing and finished that up yesterday, and that was part of our game plan coming in. We kind of expected that it might not go down there that first run, but it got down there on the second run and today was a whole new set-up. Like Grubnic said, it flew. (Crew chief) David Grubnic always wants more. He expects the best and he pushes hard, and he wants to win them all. I think that motivates all of us, and we all want to win together.”

Justin Ashley qualified second with a 3.662 at 332.84 and Leah Pruett jumped to third with a 3.678 at 334.65 during the final qualifying session. In all, six drivers dipped into the 3.60s during qualifying.

In Funny Car, Tasca showcased a strong performance on Saturday, vaulting to No. 1 in his 11,000-horsepower BG Products Ford Mustang with a run of 3.852 at 324.59. It’s the second No. 1 spot for Tasca already this season and the 11th in his career. After a tough loss in the opening quad in Las Vegas, Tasca is looking for redemption and his first victory of the 2023 campaign. His car has performed at a high level for most of the season, as Tasca…