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It’s race day at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals and every driver in the Camping World NHRA Drag Racing series has their eyes set on winning the first stop on the annual Western Swing.

Those who would appear best poised for success at Bandimere Speedway include the low qualifiers in each of the four professional classes, Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Force, in search of her first win in any Western Swing event, recovered from a tough Friday to make two of the best runs on Saturday including a 3.758 to secure the top spot. Force, with the Flav-R-Pak colors on her dragster this weekend, will begin her quest for a win with a round one race against Terry Totten.

There are plenty of intriguing match-ups in Top Fuel but none are likely to draw more interest than the battle between No. 7 qualifier Austin Prock and No. 10 seed Steve Torrence. Both drivers are ranked near the top of the points standings and are overdue for their first win of the season.

Leah Pruett will also take on Antron Brown in a race between two drivers looking to secure their spot in the Top 10.

Hagan made a rare driving error in Q4 when he botched the burnout in his Dodge Power Brokers Charger but that didn’t prevent him from holding on to the top spot with his previous 3.908-second best. Hagan, the defending event winner, will square off against veteran Jack Wyatt in round one. With 14 cars in the field, the winner of that battle will get a bye run in the quarterfinals.

Norwalk winner Robert Hight qualified solidly in his Auto Club Chevy and will race Terry Haddock in round one while reigning champ Ron Capps is paired with Paul Lee.  

Stanfield had the quickest Pro Stock car in all four sessions and his best of 6.934 landed the top spot and a round one bye run. Stanfield’s teammate, Erica Enders, also struggled early but recovered in Q4 to run a second-best 6.938. The four-time champ has a round one meeting against Mason McGaha.

Bo Butner will race Greg Anderson in a battle of former world champs. Anderson is the only driver in the Pro Stock field who has been to a final round in Denver but he does not have lane choice against Butner’s Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro.

Matt Hartford will also face off against Colorado’s Deric Kramer, a race that seems to happen frequently.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle title is essentially Matt Smith’s to lose at the reigning world champ has been dominant on his Denso Buell including a track record 7.090 last night. Smith will also have a bye run in the opening round.

Norwalk winner Angelle Sampey will begin her quest for a Denver win with a race against Jimmy Underdahl while Steve Johnson will take on Jerry Savoie, a race that features two riders who have already won this season.

You can catch the action all weekend on FOX Sports 1 and NHRA.tv.
You can follow NHRA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to get a closer look at the action.

2021 EVENT WINNERS

Steve Torrence, Top Fuel; Matt Hagan, Funny Car; Matt Smith, Pro Stock Motorcycle. (Pro Stock not contested).

TRACK RECORDS:

TOP FUEL
3.717 seconds by Brittany Force, July 2021; 330.31 mph by Steve Torrence, July 2019
FUNNY CAR
3.889 seconds by Courtney Force, July 2017; 328.30 mph by Courtney Force, July 2017.
PRO STOCK
6.877 seconds by Allen Johnson, July 2015; 201.01 mph by Shane Gray, July 2015
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
7.090 seconds by Matt Smith, July 2022; 189.79 by Matt Smith, July 2022.

SCHEDULE:

Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 17.

TV SCHEDULE
SUNDAY,  July 17, FS1 will televise 90 minutes of qualifying at 11 a.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, June 19, FOX network television will televise 3 hours of finals