Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster and Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car sit in the provisional No. 1 qualifying positions in their respective categories after Friday evening qualifying at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro sit 11th.

Looking to take their seventh consecutive and ninth overall No. 1 qualifying position this season, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac team blasted to a 3.666-second run at a track record speed of 335.57 mph to earn three bonus points and narrow the gap to the top spot.

“That run felt fast. That finish line came up quick. But it feel good to be able to fun like that the first qualifying PASS OF the weekend and grab that No. 1 currently. It gives confidence and helps us feel strong going into tomorrow,” Force said. “This Countdown has begun right here in Reading, Pa. SO everything is on the line right now. We have to do that we have to repeat that the rest of the weekend.”

Coming into the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s seven race playoffs, siting in the No. 6 spot, Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy wasted no time collecting points earning three bonus qualifying points for being quickest Friday night. The three-time world champion’s 3.883-second run at 330.39 mph put the Auto Club team No. 1 heading into two more qualifying sessions on Saturday.

“We’ve actually been making a lot 3.80 runs. Testing Monday in Brainerd really got this Auto Club Chevy back to where we need to be. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham have a good handle on how to make this Camaro run,” Hight said. “The trick is going to be tomorrow, when it warms up a little bit, and Sunday is going to be even warmer. That’s what’s going to be the trick.”

Sitting No. 2 heading into the Countdown, John Force and the PEAK Camaro team drove into smoke on their first attempt down Maple Grove Raceway on Friday evening. Force and the PEAK Chevy recorded a time of 6.880-seconds and 92.36 mph.

“Not the run we wanted, obviously, but we’ll be okay. This PEAK Chevy with Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi, we’ll be okay. We’ve got two more tries tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes,” Force said. “Brittany over there with Flav-R-Pac and Robert too with Auto Club, their running good. So that’s good and we’ll just have to catch up.”

Racing at his home track, Pro Stock’s Kyle Koretsky impressed in front of friends and family, vaulting to the No. 1 position with a pass of 6.547 at 209.98 in his Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro. His KB Racing teammate, points leader Greg Anderson, ran an identical time, but Koretsky’s speed was faster than Anderson’s 209.33, putting him in the top spot as the young standout seeks his second straight No. 1 qualifier.

Koretsky has also raced to back-to-back final rounds, including last weekend’s U.S. Nationals, and continued that momentum on Friday. Following Anderson is Aaron Stanfield, who is currently in the third position after going 6.548 at 209.62.

Fresh off her final round at the U.S. Nationals, Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Angelle Sampey turned in a strong run right off the trailer on her Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki, going 6.761 at 198.85. If it holds, it would be Sampey’s second top qualifier this season and 53rd in her career.

Opening the Countdown to the Championship fifth in points, Sampey had a fantastic start at the site of her first career victory in the class. Her teammate and U.S. Nationals winner Eddie Krawiec followed in second with a run of 6.763 at 201.67, setting the track speed record and making the first 200-mph run in the class at Maple Grove Raceway. Defending world champ and points leader Matt Smith is currently third after going 6.766 at 201.34.

The Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway continues Saturday with qualifying sessions at 1:15 and 4:45 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. Television coverage begins Sunday at noon ET with qualifying and continues with eliminations at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

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TOP FUEL
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Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd

  1  745 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, JFR-JFR         3.666  335.57& 335.57
  2    1 Steve Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-AJPE            3.692  327.19  327.19
  3   25 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, DSR-AJPE           3.696  322.65  322.65
  4 7211 Mike Salinas, San Jose CA, MLR-TFX              3.699  332.18  332.18
  5    3 Billy Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-TFX             3.699  327.98  327.98
  6    7 Justin Ashley, Farmington NY, DSR-AJPE          3.729  327.74  327.74
  7  777 Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City AZ, DSR-DSM       3.733  323.89  323.89
  8   77 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-AJPE                   3.793  323.81  323.81
  9    2 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Kalitta-AJPE           3.833  319.67  319.67
 10 1301 Doug Foley, Mooresville NC, DSR-AJPE            3.856  297.55  297.55
 11    5 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, DSR-DSR             3.871  302.14  302.14
 12  171 Joe Morrison, Flemington NJ, Hadman-AJPE        4.167  223.84  223.84
 13  333 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, Kalitta-AJPE        4.870  147.70  147.70

 & = Track Speed Record

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FUNNY CAR
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  1 7000 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '21 Camaro        3.883  330.39  330.39
  2   33 Tommy Johnson Jr., Avon IN, '20 Charger         3.895  333.82  333.82
  3    5 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '19 Mustang         3.913  328.22  328.22
  4   71 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '21 Charger       3.914  321.42  321.42
  5   28 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '21 Charger             3.932  325.06  325.06
  6    7 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '19 Mustang      3.932  290.82  290.82
  7  771 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '21 Camry            3.940  327.98  327.98
  8  373 J.R. Todd, Indianapolis IN, '21 Camry           3.956  328.38  328.38
  9  256 Blake Alexander, Charlotte NC, '19 Mustang      4.036  308.50  308.50
 10  703 Jim Campbell, Long Beach CA, '21 Charger        4.113  292.27  292.27
 11  723 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '21 Camaro          6.880   92.36   92.36
 12  116 Paul Lee, Orange CA, '18 Charger                9.838   75.83   75.83

       ------------ Not Qualified ------------

 13   13 Cory Lee, Vail AZ, '19 Mustang                   DQ   

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PRO STOCK
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  1  107 Kyle Koretsky, Fairless Hill PA, '21 Camaro     6.547  209.98  209.98
  2    4 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '21 Camaro       6.547  209.33  209.33
  3    7 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '20 Camaro    6.548  209.62  209.62
  4  660 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '21 Camaro        6.550  209.04  209.04
  5  300 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '21 Camaro      6.552  208.42  208.42
  6    1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '21 Camaro            6.553  209.85  209.85
  7    5 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro           6.565  209.30  209.30
  8    8 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro             6.570  209.65  209.65
  9  400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro             6.573  210.21  210.21
 10  154 Vincent Nobile, Dix Hills NY, '14 Camaro        6.579  207.88  207.88
 11   52 Deric Kramer, Sterling CO, '21 Camaro           6.593  208.94  208.94
 12  136 Bob Benza, Briarcliff Manor NY, '18 Camaro      6.614  208.62  208.62
 13  128 John Gaydosh Jr, Baltimore MD, '19 Camaro       6.640  208.10  208.10
 14  106 Alan Prusiensky, Rockaway NJ, '12 Dart          6.643  207.85  207.85
 15  357 Larry Morgan, Newark OH, '15 Camaro             6.704  189.84  189.84
 16  150 Kenny Delco, E. Setauket NY, '21 Camaro         8.103  161.19  161.19


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PRO STOCK MOTO
******************

  1    6 Angelle Sampey, Mathews LA, Suzuki Hayabusa     6.761  198.85  198.85
  2    2 Eddie Krawiec, Brownsburg IN, Buell             6.763  201.67& 201.67
  3    1 Matt Smith, King NC, EBR                        6.766  201.34  201.34
  4    3 Scotty Pollacheck, Central Point OR, EBR        6.829  198.52  198.52
  5  574 Cory Reed, Powhatan VA, Suzuki Hayabusa         6.867  194.24  194.24
  6    5 Angie Smith, King NC, EBR                       6.872  199.94  199.94
  7    8 Steve Johnson, Birmingham AL, Suzuki            6.879  195.90  195.90
  8 1550 Joey Gladstone, Milton DE, Suzuki Hayabusa      6.882  196.02  196.02
  9    7 Ryan Oehler, Bloomington IL, EBR                6.924  194.49  194.49
 10   17 Chris Bostick, Mount Juliet TN,  Hayabusa       6.942  191.57  191.57
 11  533 Jim Underdahl, Lino Lakes MN, Suzuki            7.004  192.28  192.28
 12 7253 Jianna Salinas, San Martin CA, Suzuki           7.005  191.43  191.43
 13    4 Andrew Hines, Brownsburg IN, Buell              7.099  198.41  198.41
 14 1138 Ron Tornow, Pittsburgh PA, Victory              7.120  189.26  189.26
 15   11 David Barron, Midlothian TX, EBR                7.379  150.72  150.72
 16 1981 Kelly Clontz, Hughesville MD, Suzuki            7.476  160.84  160.84

       ------------ Not Qualified ------------

 17  777 Karen Stoffer, Gardnerville NV, Suzuki         10.454   79.47   79.47
 18  370 Marc Ingwersen, Findlay OH, Buell                NT   

 & = Track Speed Record

John Force Racing/NHRA Communications