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Force, Prock, Anderson, and Herrera will lead fields into Monday battle in Indy

Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all qualified No. 1 at the Toyota 麻豆精选 U.S. Nationals, the 14th of 20 races during the 2024 麻豆精选 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
01 Sep 2024
Posted by 麻豆精选.com staff
Race coverage
Greg Anderson

Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all qualified No. 1 at the Toyota 麻豆精选 U.S. Nationals, the 14th of 20 races during the 2024 麻豆精选 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Brittany Force

Force has enjoyed the weekend she has needed so far, securing the No. 1 qualifier when Saturday鈥檚 3.693 at 333.08 in her 11,000-horsepower Chevrolet Accessories dragster. It鈥檚 the 48th top qualifier for the two-time world champ and Force needed every bit of it this weekend, entering the U.S. Nationals 10th in points. She鈥檒l enter raceday with a 58-point advantage over 11th-place Josh Hart and Force will need to stay in the top 10 to earn a spot in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. That means plenty is on the line for Force on Monday as she opens eliminations against Shawn Langdon.

鈥淚t's been a whirlwind of a weekend,鈥 Force said. 鈥淲e've done really well and we're wearing a No. 1 qualifier hat. We ended up No. 1 and haven't done that since the very beginning of the season. That's a huge deal, but we are right now so focused on tomorrow and what it takes to stay in this thing. We're sitting 10th and we can get bumped out. This team, we want to be in a hunt for a championship. We've done great so far and done everything that we can..听

鈥淚f it wasn't Langdon, it'd be somebody else and there is no easy team or driver out here. We've seen crazier things happen on raceday. We're going to give it our all, we're in a really good position, we have to focus on that and just stay in our lane 鈥 focus on what our team can do, what our goals are, what we want to accomplish.鈥

Points leader and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta did not qualify, going 3.793 during the final qualifying session. His teammate, Langdon, bumped him out on the next pass, going 3.784 to go to 16th. He鈥檒l take on Force in the opening round, while Kalitta won鈥檛 qualify for the first time since 2010, an incredible span of 301 races.

Tony Stewart qualified in the second spot with his 3.707 at 331.04 and T.J. Zizzo is third with a 3.716 at 332.67.

Austin Prock

In Funny Car, Austin Prock easily held on to the No. 1 spot, as Saturday鈥檚 stellar pass of 3.855 at 328.38 in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS handed the points leader a remarkable 10th No. 1 qualifier this season. It鈥檚 been nothing short of a spectacular season for Prock in his rookie season in the category and this was another major moment for the young standout who earned his first career U.S. Nationals No. 1 qualifier. Prock will try to turn that into his first U.S. Nationals victory on Monday, where he will open eliminations against Chris King.

鈥淚t's pretty cool, I didn't even think about it until today and not very many people get to qualify No. 1 here at the U.S. Nationals. It's our biggest race of the year, and I'm definitely proud of this team,鈥 Prock said. 鈥淭hey all work really hard and deserve results like this. I was proud to be able to get the car down the track in a nice, neat fashion all five runs, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.听

鈥淓arlier this week I got a new attitude, and I've just been having fun. When you get punched in the face like I did (in Brainerd), that'll change a man. I got a new attitude and it's been working so far. I'm having fun and can't wait for tomorrow. It's going to be a great show for the fans, and that's how the U.S. Nationals should be.鈥

Tasca took the second spot with a 3.871 at 336.23 and Jack Beckman, racing for John Force, qualified third thanks to a run of 3.877 at 329.10.听

For a third straight day, Greg Anderson stayed atop the Pro Stock field and for the third straight day, the veteran improved on his performance, going 6.575 at 207.88 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. Weather conditions should allow for Anderson to improve again on Monday during eliminations, where the five-time world champion will have a chance to win The Big Go for the eighth time. He鈥檒l open raceday against Camrie Caruso, looking for his third win of 2024. It鈥檚 already been a rewarding weekend for the veteran, making the quickest run in all five qualifying sessions, but success on Monday is the biggest thing and Anderson feels confident his team is on track.

鈥淭he big day is Monday but it's been near perfection for three days straight and that鈥檚 a helluva confidence builder,鈥 Anderson said. 鈥淚t certainly makes me feel good, the car feels great, engine is running great, crew is right on point making decisions. Hopefully, we can make that go for four more runs tomorrow and make some magic here at Indy. I feel great, a lot of confidence in the group, the team, and that helps as a driver and makes you get up on the wheel as a driver.

鈥淚 need to get it done. That's not just me, it's the entire race team. We need to race error free, like we qualified and get the job done, win the race. I've got the horse, I need to ride that sucker to the finish line and ride it proud. That's what I plan on doing tomorrow. I love racing here at Indy. It would be tough to find a more special race than when I won my 100th race here. You never know when you're going to get another one. The very next one I get, if I can get another one, will be the best one I ever had.鈥

Defending world champion Erica Enders remained in second with a 6.592 at 207.11, while Jeg Coughlin Jr. took third with a 6.598 at 207.50.

After two days of strong performances from Matt Smith Racing, Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Gaige Herrera had his day on Sunday, picking up the No. 1 qualifier with a standout run of 6.809 at 197.71 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines. It was a strong weekend turnaround for the defending world champion, who picks up his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season with the impressive run. He鈥檒l open eliminations against Wesley Wells, trying to pick up his first victory at the world鈥檚 biggest drag race. It鈥檚 one of the few events Herrera didn鈥檛 win a year ago and he鈥檒l get a chance for redemption on Monday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good to get the No. 1 spot for Vance & Hines. This is big for us,鈥 Herrera said. 鈥淚 was happy to run 6.80 and I鈥檝e got to credit Mother Nature because the [cool weather] helped us. I just didn鈥檛 think it would be good enough to stick. I was surprised that it did. It should be even cooler tomorrow, so I think you鈥檒l see some 6.70s for sure.

鈥淲e tested here a couple of weeks ago and it helped quite a bit. The air was close to what we had this morning, so we got good data. We鈥檙e in a good spot for Monday. That goes for me and Richard [Gadson], Kelly [Clontz], and Geno [Scali]. I think we鈥檒l also do well tomorrow.鈥

Matt Smith took the second spot with a 6.816 at 196.90 and John Hall qualified third after going 6.830 at 198.76.

Eliminations for the 70th annual Toyota 麻豆精选 U.S. Nationals begin at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.