91°µÍø

After battling the elements for two long days, NHRA race teams can see the finish line ahead as they prepare for final eliminations at the Virginia NHRA Nationals.

Low qualifiers Brittany Force in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car are also the points leaders in their respective classes and even though both were the clear leaders in qualifying, they’ll face tough opposition on raceday from a number of challengers.

Force’s Flav-R-Pac dragster improved on every pass in qualifying (3.710, 3.669, 3.654) but there were a number of teams that also made it down the track on all three passes. With the weather expected to be warmer today than the two previous days, having a consistent hot rod might be as valuable as having a fast one. Force will have a bye run in round one to test crew chief David Grubnic’s Sunday setup.

Other drivers who successfully navigated and improved on the Virginia Motorsports Park dragstrip on a trio of passes were No. 4 qualifier Clay Millican (3.788, 3.730, 3.698), Mike Salinas (3.780, 3.701, 3.700), and Doug Kalitta (3.740, 3.720, 3.703).

Force’s teammate, Austin Prock, the No. 2 qualifier, missed only on his final passes did the world champ, No. 3 qualifier Steve Torrence.

Hagan, like Force, was the Friday qualifying leader who kept the heat on throughout Saturday, improving on every run in the Smithfield Charger with passes of 3.914, 3.890, and 3.853. His was the only Funny Car to make it down the track on all three passes and as his reward for being the polesitter, he’ll get a first-round bye run for the 15-car field.

World champ Ron Capps grabbed the No. 1 spot from Hagan on Saturday’s first pass but had to abort his final attempt under the lights after a long day of racing and waiting. The top five drivers – Hagan, Capps, Alexis DeJoria, Cruz Pedregon, and J.R. Todd – are all separated by just five hundredths of a second.

Angie Smith, the low qualifier in Pro Stock Motorcycle, made two 200-mph runs n qualifying aboard her Denso Buell and is the only rider to surpass the double-century mark in speed this weekend.

Due to late-night dew Saturday, the bike riders didn’t get a Q3 run, but Smith showed a three-hundredths gap on the field in the two runs they did make. She’ll also have a first-round bye.

Behind Smith on the qualifying sheets is three-time world champ Angelle Sampey, who challenged Smith for the No. 1 spot Saturday morning, and points leader Steve Johnson, winner of the last two events.

FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 12:30 p.m. ET and three hours of finals coverage at 6:30 p.m. ET
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