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Top Fuel Round 1

It was already 85 degrees at the noon kickoff and headed to a high of 88 around semifinal time — pretty much the hottest we've seen all weekend — but teams worked on their raceday combinations on a similarly hot Saturday.

The right lane did not seem to be the lane of preference in qualifying, yet we still ended up with seven of eight wins from that lane in the opening round of Top Fuel.

Points leader Justin Ashley chose the right lane and smoked the tires early against Dan Mercier, who then ran into his own woes downtrack, allowing Ashley to squeak by for the win by .008-second.

Brittany Force also picked the right lane and advanced in her first head-to-head with fellow world champ Ida Zetterström. Force also smoked the tires early, but after the European champ ran into traction woes 100 feet further downtrack, Force deftly got back into the throttle and chased her down for the win.

After a DNQ in Indy and a first-round loss that weekend in Reading, world champ Doug Kalitta got a much-needed win, running his season record over Tony Stewart to 3-0. Indy winner Clay Millican holeshotted his way past Jasmine Salinas by .006-second on a 3.814 to 3.798 decision. It’s Millican’s second holeshot win of the season and Salinas’ third loss by reaction time.

Doug Foley upset Tony Schumacher on a 3.78 to 3.83 run. Foley was the No. 12 qualifier, and it’s the 10th time this season that No. 12 has upset No. 5 this season, the most from any bottom-half starting spot.

It’s a killer loss for Schumacher, who after a second-round loss in Reading, prophesized coming into this race, “You cannot go out second round at the first race of the Countdown and not win the next couple of races and expect to win a championship.”

Billy Torrence advanced when Shawn Reed, the No. 2 qualifier, smoked the tires early and Shawn Langdon did the same against Josh Hart with a 3.77 that will give him lane choice over his teammate Kalitta in round two.

In a battle of multi-time world champs, Antron Brown defeated Steve Torrence on a 3.82 to 3.81 holeshot, the only driver to win from the left lane.

If Brown can win today, it would be his 63rd Top Fuel win, passing Larry Dixon for second overall in class history. At the time that Dixon scored his final win, at the 2011 Phoenix event, Brown had just nine Top Fuel wins through his first three of what is now 18 full seasons in the class

Second-round Top Fuel matchups (lane choice first): Clay Millican vs. Brittany Force; Doug Foley vs. Justin Ashley; Antron Brown vs. Billy Torrence; Shawn Langdon vs. Doug Kalitta

Funny Car Round 1

After a checkered qualifying effort — just two full passes on four tries — Ron Capps dished out low e.t. of the first round with a 3.93 to beat Chad Green.

Low qualifier Matt Hagan and No. 2 qualifier Austin Prock both advanced with respective wins over Dave Richards and Alexis DeJoria with respective runs of 3.97 and 3.96. Prock is now 3-0 over DeJoria this season. Hagan has a bye in the next round due to the 14-car field while Prock will cede lane choice to Capps.

No. 3 qualifier Jack Beckman continues to do an amazing job subbing for John Force, beating Buddy Hull. In his 10 rounds, Beckman has left on his opponents seven times and has made it down the track on 23 of 27 runs between qualifying and eliminations. No signs of rust there,

Daniel Wilkerson, who was runner-up at the four-wide event here in the spring, beat J.R. Todd on a holeshot after a stout .017 light. It’s a stunning turnabout for Todd, who is the class leader in reaction time with an .058 average, having left first on 29 of his 37 opponents this year. Todd’s .066 light was not bad by any means (.083 is the class average) and it’s his first holeshot loss of the season versus four holeshot wins, including last weekend in round one over Matt Hagan. Todd's loss dropped him two spots to sixth in points after wins by Hagan and Capps, both of whom moved around him.

Bob Tasca III also got a needed win, besting Cruz Pedregon with a workmanlike 3.98 and will take on underdog John Smith in round two,

Smith, who made just one of four qualifying sessions, upset tire-smoking Blake Alexander to advance to round two. It’s Alexander’s second straight first-round loss in two playoff events.

Second-round Funny Car matchups (lane choice first): Matt Hagan vs. bye; Bob Tasca III vs. John Smith; Ron Capps vs. Austin Prock; Jack Beckman vs. Daniel Wilkerson

Pro Stock Round 1

Dallas Glenn took down Mason McGaha for the sixth straight time this season with a 6.596 to momentarily take the points lead back from Aaron Stanfield, a number matched by his KB/Titan teammate Greg Anderson in defeating Kenny Delco. We say “momentarily” because Stanfield took the lead right back a few pairs later with a solid 6.599 defeat of Chris McGaha, his fourth straight win this season over the Texas engine builder.

No. 1 qualifier Erica Enders was slower than that trio of winners with a 6.602 after Derrick Reese fouled against her.

“The Natural,” Jeg Coughlin Jr., defeated Eric Latino for the third time this season with another A to B run, which is where Coughlin excels. So far this season, counting qualifying and eliminations, his Scag Camaro had made it to the finish line under power on 87 of 94 runs, just a tick over 92%, which is tops in the class.

Jerry Tucker advanced over Elite teammate Troy Coughlin Jr., who shook hard on the launch while Cristian Cuadra also advanced easily on Cory Reed’s red-light. Cuadra’s win moved him around Troy Coughlin in the standings and up into the No. 6 spot. Matt Hartford's win over Camrie Caruso moved him around Latino and into ninth place in points.

Second-round Pro Stock matchups (lane choice first): Erica Enders vs. Jerry Tucker; Dallas Glenn vs. Matt Hartford; Greg Anderson vs. Cristian Cuadra; Aaron Stanfield vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 1

Angie Smith moved into round two on Geno Scali’s painful -.001 foul, and Angie will race hubby Matt in round two. Matt had a bye for the 15-bike field and blasted to a 6.833, low e.t. of the round.

John Hall made it three MSR bikes in round two with a 6.97 to 6.96 holeshot win over Kelly Clontz and Jianna Evaristo made it four with a 6.96 victory over Steve Johnson, her third straight this season against the class’ elder statesman.

The RevZilla/Vance & Hines bikes had their shining moments too, with Reading runner-up Richard Gadson charting a 6.84 to beat “The Rat,” Ron Tornow, and points leader Gaige Herrera running 6.85 to beat Marcus Hylton.

Reading winner Hector Arana Jr. turned on his fifth straight win light with a stout 6.89 over Chris Bostick while rookie of the year Chase Van Sant upset Marc Ingersen by .009-second.

The eight riders to advance to round two also are the top eight in points.

Second-round Pro Stock Motorcycle matchups (lane choice first): Matt Smith vs. Angie Smith; Hector Arana Jr. vs. Jianna Evaristo; Gaige Herrera vs. John Hall; Richard Gadson vs. Chase Van Sant

Top Fuel Round 2

Local hero Doug Foley reached the semifinals in a wild pedalfest with points leader Justin Ashley. Ashley got his Scag dragster well past 45 degrees sideways in his attempt to stay ahead but finally had to relent.

"I gave it a quick pedal and should have eased back onto it, but we'll learn from it as a team and I'll learn from it as a driver," said Ashley. "These things are going to happen. I'm happy for Doug; he's been at this for a while. I�� hope he keeps it going."

That loss and Antron Brown’s win a pair before gives Brown the points lead. Brown, who scored his 10th win as a team owner last weekend in Reading, is looking for No. 11 after advancing past Billy Torrence with a 3.86. With six zMAX Dragway victories, Brown is tied with Steve Torrence for most Top Fuel wins at the track.

Clay Millican continued to have his way against Brittany Force, taking down the low qualifier for the third time in four races this season with a 3.79 that will earn him semifinal lane choice against Foley and also move him past Steve Torrence into fifth place in the standings. Likewise, Doug Kalitta upped his record against teammate Shawn Langdon to 3-1 this season with a 3.90.

Top Fuel semifinal pairings (lane choice first): ��Clay Millican vs. Doug Foley; Antron Brown vs. Doug Kalitta

Funny Car Round 2

Jack Beckman, runner-up last weekend in Reading, continues to rack up points for a possible 17th world championship for John Force as he powered his Danny Hood-tuned Peak Chevy to a dazzling 3.83 in the heat to beat Daniel Wilkerson.

Beckman will take on his John Force Racing teammate Austin Prock in a rematch of the Reading final and will have lane choice as Prock got loose on the top end but still turned on the win light with a 4.09 after Ron Capps smoked the tires.

Bob Tasca III did as expected, beating privateer John Smith but his 4.00 is probably not what the team hoped for. He will take on Matt Hagan, who clocked a 3.97 on his bye run to earn lane choice.

“The last 100 feet the car is getting real loose,” informed Tasca. “You just are doing everything you can to keep the car in the center of the lane.”

Funny Car semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hagan vs. Bob Tasca III; Jack Beckman vs. Austin Prock

Pro Stock Round 2

In a battle of two starting-line aces, points leader Aaron Stanfield and Jeg Coughlin Jr., Coughlin’s car pulled through the beams, red-lighting him. It’s Jeg’s third foul start of the year — and his second straight after fouling in round one in Reading — very uncharacteristic of him.

Interesting stat: Although Coughlin came into the event tied in reaction time average with Stanfield (.030), Coughlin had only left first 48.5% of the time (16 of 33 leaves) while Stanfield’s left-first margin was 78.5% (33 of 42 leaves), which would seem to indicate that drivers really put on their starting-line “A” game against Coughlin.

Dallas Glenn powered to a 6.609 to keep pace with Stanfield and will have lane choice over low qualifier Enders, who ran 6.62 to defeat Jerry Tucker. Glenn’s teammate, Greg Anderson, was even quicker with a 6.603 to defeat Cristian Cuadra. Anderson, winner of the four-wide race here in the spring, is hoping to join HendrickCars.com NASCAR teammate Kyle Larson as a winner this weekend after Larson’s win yesterday in Bristol. Anderson is now 4-0 against Cuadra this season.

Pro Stock semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Dallas Glenn vs. Erica Enders; Greg Anderson vs. Aaron Stanfield

Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 2

World champ Gaige Herrera has only lost three rounds this season (against 34 wins) and one of them was to John Hall, his second-round opponent, who beat him in Sonoma. No such luck this time for Hall, who fouls against Herrera’s 6.87. Herrera will take on his teammate, Richard Gadson in the semifinals after Gadson drove around Chase Van Sant’s brilliant .002 light to win with a 6.88.

While it’s all Vance & Hines on that side of the ladder, it will be all Matt Smith Racing on the other as Matt Smith defeated wife Angie (remarkably, for the first time this year in three races) with a 6.86 and will take on Jianna Evaristo, who advanced easily after Reading winner Hector Arana Jr.’s Buell died when he dropped the clutch.

Pro Stock Motorcycle semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Smith vs. Jianna Evaristo; Gaige Herrera vs. Richard Gadson

Top Fuel Semifinals

Antron Brown added to his slim points lead over Justin Ashley in a narrow 3.87 to 3.876 race with Doug Kalitta. The race was close until the last hundred feet where Kalitta slowed to just 300 mph against AB’s 319-mph charge,

Brown will go for his second straight playoff win against underdog Doug Foley, the local hero who reached his second career Top Fuel final in wild fashion. Indy winner Clay Millican backfired the blower at the hit while Foley drove through tire smoke then kaboomed his own blower at halftrack. Foley’s only other Top Fuel final came at the 2022 Gatornationals, where he was runner-up to Tripp Tatum.

Foley, who also has four runner-ups in Top Alcohol Dragster, including one here in 2012, is looking for his first career win.

Funny Car Semifinals

The resurrection of Matt Hagan’s championship hopes continued as the four-time world champ beat Bob Tasca III in a race in which both ran subpar 4.00s, with Hagan getting the win and a berth into his 92nd career final by a fender

In a rematch of their Reading final a week ago, points leader Austin Prock took down teammate Jack Beckman on a 3.96 to 4.01 count that will earn the “Prock Rocket” lane choice for the final.

Coming into the event, Beckman had said, "If we want to win the championship, Austin is the target. We can’t spot him (points) every race and expect to win it .” Prophetic for sure.

If Hagan can beat Prock in the final, he'll move past Beckman and into third place in the standings and just four points behind Tasca for second.

Pro Stock Semifinals

Dallas Glenn beat Erica Enders for the third straight time this season after she rattled the tires early. Enders’ loss extends to 14 the number of events at which the No. 1 qualifier has failed to win. The last polesitter to reach the winner’s circle was Greg Anderson at the spring four-wide event here in Charlotte. There's a little heat at the top end and displeasure with Glenn putting on both staging bulbs first, but he swears he didn't intend to double-bulb her,

Anderson won’t get a chance to sweep Charlotte as points leader Aaron Stanfield beat him, 6.623 to 6.629. Stanfield will be going for his sixth win in the last eight events.

The winner of the final round will leave Charlotte as the points leader with four Countdown events to go.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Semifinals

Richard Gadson, runner-up last weekend in Reading, will get another shot at his first career NHRA win after upsetting his teammate, points leader Gaige Herrera. Herrera was .005 on the Tree but something went awry with his RevZilla Suzuki downtrack.

Matt Smith drove around Jianna Evaristo's holeshot to reach the final with a 6.90 and a chance to close the points gap on Herrera. if Smith wins the final, he'll be just 75 points behind Herrera.

FINAL-ROUND RESULTS

Brown, Prock win again; Glenn, Smith take points leads with Charlotte wins

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Lucas Oil Series final rounds

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
Joe Maynard def. Julie Nataas

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Sean Bellemeur def. Bob McCosh

COMP
Larry Pritchett def. Jared Kimbrough

SUPER STOCK
Logan Belanger def.Monty Bogan

STOCK
Tim Barrett def. Kenny Anderson

SUPER COMP
Ray Miller III def. Jack Sepanek

SUPER GAS
David Morris def. Tim Powell

TOP DRAGSTER
Chad Taylor def. Chuck Krepela

TOP SPORTSMAN
Tyler Caheely def. Sandy Wilkins

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