BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 16, 2024) – Four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence powered to the provisional No. 1 position on speed at Brainerd International Raceway, taking the top spot over Tony Stewart on Friday at the 42nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.
Blake Alexander (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 13th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Torrence and Stewart both went a blistering 3.688-seconds during the second qualifying session at Brainerd, but Torrence had the faster run, going an impressive 335.32 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster. If that holds, it would be Torrence’s third top spot of the season and the 40th in his career. After winning in Seattle, things are continuing to come around for Torrence, who is currently third in Top Fuel points.
“We’ve been working on trying to make power,” Torrence said. “At the end of the day, power is speed, and the high mile an hour is just an exhibition of power and being able to get it down. These conditions here are different than a lot of places we go, so it’s rather difficult to make power here. I was a little surprised to see .68 being low.
“The track is good, everything is good, but people are struggling to make the power they want. We were wanting to run quicker than .68, and that’s just what it gave us. We were just a little closer to it than everybody else, only a little better than Smoke. Pretty cool to see him come out and do as well as he’s done right here. We got lucky and it’s been a good day.”
Stewart went a career-best 3.688 at 332.18 to sit in the second spot, while points leader and reigning world champ Doug Kalitta is third with a run of 3.703 at 335.40.
Funny Car’s Blake Alexander made a big move to close out qualifying on Friday in Brainerd, jumping to the No. 1 position in his 11,000-horsepower Head Racing Ford Mustang after a strong run of 3.874 at 331.61. It would be Alexander’s first career No. 1 qualifier should it hold. It was a standout performance by Alexander, who has enjoyed some strong moments during the 2024 campaign, including a pair of semifinal finishes over the last four events. Adding his first career No. 1 qualifier would certainly add that list if Alexander can hang on.
“Given the circumstances of the previous race, that was very sweet – but also, I think we’re capable of doing that, and it wasn’t exactly surprising,” Alexander said. “It’s repetitive – that’s the second time we’ve run 3.87, and that’s when you start becoming a problem for these guys out here who are, quite frankly, bigger outfits than us. It feels pretty good to be able to run with them.
“We’re having the best season we’ve ever had, to be honest. We just haven’t won a race yet. I think that gets lost in the nature of this business is you’re only as good as your last run. That will happen tomorrow, and that will happen on Sunday, but right now we’re happy with where we’re at.”
Alexis DeJoria took the second spot after going 3.882 at 332.84 and Bob Tasca III, who won the most recent race in Sonoma, is third thanks to a run 3.884 at 332.59.
In Pro Stock, Duluth native Greg Anderson put together a classic performance at the track where he grew up racing, taking the provisional No. 1 position with a run of 6.641 at 207.08 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. That puts Anderson in position to pick up his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the year and the third in the past four races. Anderson hasn’t won in Brainerd since 2011, something the five-time world champion would love to change as the Countdown to the Championship approaches. He closed out qualifying with a standout run and will look to continue that on Saturday when Pro Stock will make three qualifying runs.
“I was hoping we could have run a little bit quicker, but the bottom line is that we did all we could do today. We got all the points that they had to give, and we won Friday,” Anderson said. “So, we’ll move into tomorrow as a new day, and we’ll use that as tuning data. There’s definitely a lot of room left in it, we know we can run better which is great news.
“I love racing here at Brainerd. When it’s cloudy and cool like this, the racetrack is great. The bottom line is that the racetrack is better than we went up there prepared for. That’s a good problem. You go home and find some courage, come back tomorrow and be better. That’s what we’ll do. We’ll come back like a lion tomorrow and hopefully run better and take No. 1 home with us.”
Aaron Stanfield, who has won three of the past four races, is currently second with a 6.642 at 206.26 and Matt Hartford is right behind after going 6.643 at 204.66.
Qualifying continues at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
***
BRAINERD, Minn. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 42nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, 13th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Steve Torrence, 3.688 seconds, 335.32 mph; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.688, 332.18; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.703, 335.40; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.705, 330.07; 5. Jasmine Salinas, 3.714, 334.90; 6. Brittany Force, 3.720, 336.07; 7. Billy Torrence, 3.730, 333.08; 8. Justin Ashley, 3.736, 332.75; 9. Antron Brown, 3.768, 330.31; 10. Josh Hart, 3.796, 325.61; 11. Shawn Reed, 3.807, 320.13; 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.808, 323.04; 13. Ida
Zetterstrom, 3.809, 326.87; 14. Clay Millican, 4.341, 186.25.
Funny Car — 1. Blake Alexander, Ford Mustang, 3.874, 331.61; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 3.882, 332.84; 3. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.884, 332.59; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.894, 330.07; 5. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.912, 321.12; 6. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.916, 330.15; 7. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.920, 322.65; 8. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.938, 325.22; 9. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.942, 325.92; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.956, 326.00; 11. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.975, 298.54; 12. Jack Wyatt, Charger, 4.359, 226.54; 13. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 6.440, 113.20; 14. Matt Hagan, Charger, 6.509, 113.08; 15. Dave Richards, Toyota Camry, 7.500, 90.84; 16. Buddy Hull, Charger, 9.867, 72.68.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.641, 207.08; 2. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.642, 206.26; 3. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.643, 204.66; 4. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.644, 205.38; 5. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.647, 204.88; 6. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.648, 207.15; 7. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.649, 206.76; 8. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.650, 206.23; 9. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.660, 205.76; 10. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.663, 206.29; 11. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.666, 205.51; 12. David Cuadra, Mustang, 6.668, 206.32; 13. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.696, 206.20; 14. Derrick Reese,
Mustang, 6.697, 204.82; 15. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.705, 204.91; 16. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.715,
204.98.
Not Qualified: 17. Deric Kramer, 8.619, 108.98.