For the seventh consecutive time, ninth time this season and the 29th time in her career Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster team have secured the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS landed in the No. 2 spot while John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro are No. 11.

Brittany Force’s seventh straight No. 1 start is the most by any pro drivers since 2007 when Greg Anderson qualified No. 1 seven straight times in Pro Stock and makes her just the fourth driver ever to qualify No. 1 seven straight times in one season. It also equals her dad’s John Force Racing team record for consecutive No. 1 starts.

Already with a tight grip on the No. 1 qualifying position after going 3.666-seconds at a track record speed of 335.57 mph, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team continued to flex their muscle improving their performance to a 3.660-second pass at 334.07 mph during Saturday’s opening qualifying try. In the third and final qualifying session, Force had another solid pass at 3.689-seconds and 331.77 mph.

“This Flav-R-Pac Monster Energy team, we’re feeling good. Seven straight No. 1s, that’s pretty impressive," said Force. "Looking at today and yesterday, though, that Q2 run that we had today, to be able to step it up to a 3.66, that’s pretty outstanding."

"That was a big run for us, in the heat of the day, that’s what we’re going to be up against tomorrow on race day. So that’s the run I’m most excited about,” said Force who’s track record speed goes with her national record elapsed time of 3.623-seconds set at the facility in 2019. “We laid three solid passes down the race track so I’m proud of this team and ready to get this countdown going. We’re in a great place and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow” “

Points leader and three-time defending world champ Steve Torrence stayed second following his pass of 3.692 at 327.19 from Friday and Clay Millican is third thanks to his 3.696 at 322.65 from the first qualifier as well.

For the first time in more than six years, Cruz Pedregon is the No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car.

Pedregon last qualified No. 1 in 2015, but that changed during Saturday’s final qualifying session, as he powered to a run of 3.875-seconds at 326.00 mph in his Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. It is the 62nd career No. 1 qualifier for Pedregon, who is seeking his third career victory at Maple Grove Raceway.

“I didn’t even realize it was that long ago,” said the former two-time Funny Car champ. “We’ve been steady and knocking on the door. John Collins, my crew chief, definitely thought there’s great rewards and it would pay off to get that No. 1 spot and get on the right side of the ladder.

"Sometimes winning these races, you have to get on the right side of the ladder and avoid the big hitters, until the later rounds. That’s how it worked out," said Pedregon. "The car really responded, and it really has been responding the last six races. The car is just so consistent. I don’t know if I’ve ever driven a car as consistent as this one. It’s not easy to drive, but it’s going places, that’s for sure.”

Robert Hight qualified second with his 3.883 at 330.39 from Friday, while Indy winner Tim Wilkerson jumped to third with a 3.884 at 332.67. Points leader Ron Capps is fifth with a 3.896 at 328.66.

“I feel you’re going to have to win at least three races in the Countdown to win this championship. And this Auto Club team needs to start right here at Maple Grove tomorrow,” Hight said. “We have to be aggressive. There’s a lot of good cars both in front and behind us. There’s no time to play defense, we’ve got to play offensive."

Following her impressive victory last weekend at the U.S. Nationals, Enders stepped up on Saturday in her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, qualifying No. 1 with a run of 6.524 at 209.56. For the defending back-to-back world champ, it’s her first No. 1 qualifier this season and 23rd in her standout career. It also puts her on a good path heading into eliminations, where she’ll open raceday against veteran Larry Morgan.

“We’ll need all the points we can get (in the Countdown) and those qualifying points will definitely matter. They have in our past championship runs and we’ll take all we can get, but having a great race car going into Sunday definitely gives you confidence,” Enders said. “After the Friday night session, we felt like we left some on the table, so we felt like there was more. I definitely feel like we’re all clicking. We have our work cut out for us and the competition is stout, but I’m ready to get down to business.”

Points leader Greg Anderson qualified second with a run of 6.530 at 209.79 on Saturday, while Aaron Stanfield’s 6.534 at 209.88 puts him third.

Angelle Sampey stayed No. 1 in Pro Stock Motorcycle, but got better on Saturday on her Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki, taking the top spot with a run of 6.745 at 196.64. It hands her the No. 1 position for the second time this season and 53rd time in her career and she’ll open raceday against Jianna Salinas. Coming off a final round appearing in Indy, Sampey will try to finish the job this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway.

“It was a great start to the weekend and I’m excited about it because it’s the same motorcycle I’ve had all year long,” Sampey said. “That bike was capable of doing that from Gainesville to here, it was just me not driving it well. I’m starting to get the hang of it and I’m starting to get more comfortable on the bike, and it’s showing. My teammate, Eddie (Krawiec), did so well at Indy, qualifying No. 1 and winning the race, and I’d like to follow in his footsteps this weekend.”

Points leader and defending world champ Matt Smith jumped to second in the final qualifying session with a run of 6.750 at 201.91. He set the speed record earlier in the day at 202.09. Eddie Krawiec got bumped to third with his run of 6.763 at 201.67 from Friday.

The Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway eliminations are slated for Sunday at 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).

******************
TOP FUEL
******************

  1  745 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, JFR-JFR         3.660  334.07& 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  329.91
  6    7 Justin Ashley, Farmington NY, DSR-AJPE          3.721  328.78  328.78
  7    5 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, DSR-DSR             3.731  329.34  329.34
  8  777 Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City AZ, DSR-DSM       3.733  323.89  323.89
  9    2 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Kalitta-AJPE           3.743  325.69  325.69
 10   77 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-AJPE                   3.756  322.65  323.81
 11  333 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, Kalitta-AJPE        3.813  321.27  321.27
 12 1301 Doug Foley, Mooresville NC, DSR-AJPE            3.856  297.55  297.55
 13  171 Joe Morrison, Flemington NJ, Hadman-AJPE        4.027  249.90  249.90

 & = Track Speed Record

******************
FUNNY CAR
******************

  1   71 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '21 Charger       3.875  326.00  327.03
  2 7000 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '21 Camaro        3.883  330.39  330.39
  3    7 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '19 Mustang      3.884  332.67  332.67
  4   33 Tommy Johnson Jr., Avon IN, '20 Charger         3.895  333.82  333.82
  5   28 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '21 Charger             3.896  328.86  328.86
  6    5 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '19 Mustang         3.913  328.22  329.50
  7  373 J.R. Todd, Indianapolis IN, '21 Camry           3.916  330.31  330.31
  8  771 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '21 Camry            3.940  327.98  327.98
  9  116 Paul Lee, Orange CA, '18 Charger                3.941  330.47  330.47
 10  256 Blake Alexander, Charlotte NC, '19 Mustang      4.036  308.50  308.50
 11  703 Jim Campbell, Long Beach CA, '21 Charger        4.093  310.20  310.20
 12  723 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '21 Camaro          4.096  256.84  256.84
 13   13 Cory Lee, Vail AZ, '19 Mustang                  4.229  298.93  298.93


******************
PRO STOCK
******************

  1    1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '21 Camaro            6.524  209.56  209.85
  2    4 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '21 Camaro       6.530  209.79  209.79
  3    7 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '20 Camaro    6.534  209.88  209.88
  4  660 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '21 Camaro        6.537  208.39  209.04
  5  107 Kyle Koretsky, Fairless Hill PA, '21 Camaro     6.547  209.98  210.21
  6  300 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '21 Camaro      6.552  208.42  208.84
  7    5 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro           6.556  209.69  209.69
  8    8 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro             6.563  209.56  210.01
  9   52 Deric Kramer, Sterling CO, '21 Camaro           6.565  206.92  208.94
 10  400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro             6.573  210.21  210.21
 11  154 Vincent Nobile, Dix Hills NY, '14 Camaro        6.575  207.02  207.88
 12  150 Kenny Delco, E. Setauket NY, '21 Camaro         6.603  208.65  208.65
 13  136 Bob Benza, Briarcliff Manor NY, '18 Camaro      6.614  208.62  208.62
 14  106 Alan Prusiensky, Rockaway NJ, '12 Dart          6.629  206.45  207.85
 15  128 John Gaydosh Jr, Baltimore MD, '19 Camaro       6.640  208.10  208.10
 16  357 Larry Morgan, Newark OH, '15 Camaro             6.665  207.72  207.72


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

  1    6 Angelle Sampey, Mathews LA, Suzuki Hayabusa     6.745  196.64  198.85
  2    1 Matt Smith, King NC, EBR                        6.750  201.91& 202.09
  3    2 Eddie Krawiec, Brownsburg IN, Buell             6.763  201.67  201.67
  4    3 Scotty Pollacheck, Central Point OR, EBR        6.803  198.96  198.96
  5    8 Steve Johnson, Birmingham AL, Suzuki            6.812  198.15  198.15
  6    5 Angie Smith, King NC, EBR                       6.817  199.23  199.94
  7  574 Cory Reed, Powhatan VA, Suzuki Hayabusa         6.840  195.79  195.79
  8 1550 Joey Gladstone, Milton DE, Suzuki Hayabusa      6.854  196.70  196.90
  9  777 Karen Stoffer, Gardnerville NV, Suzuki          6.875  192.80  192.80
 10    7 Ryan Oehler, Bloomington IL, EBR                6.907  195.87  195.87
 11    4 Andrew Hines, Brownsburg IN, Buell              6.920  196.67  198.41
 12  533 Jim Underdahl, Lino Lakes MN, Suzuki            6.928  193.85  193.85
 13   17 Chris Bostick, Mount Juliet TN,  Hayabusa       6.942  191.57  191.57
 14 1981 Kelly Clontz, Hughesville MD, Suzuki            6.969  192.99  192.99
 15 1138 Ron Tornow, Pittsburgh PA, Victory              6.981  188.33  189.26
 16 7253 Jianna Salinas, San Martin CA, Suzuki           7.005  191.43  191.51

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

 17  370 Marc Ingwersen, Findlay OH, Buell               7.212  186.98  186.98
 18   11 David Barron, Midlothian TX, EBR                7.379  150.72  150.72

 & = Track Speed Record

NHRA Communications & John Force Racing