Josh Hart put himself in position for his first career No. 1 qualifier, powering to the provisional top spot in Top Fuel on Friday at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Alexis DeJoria (Funny Car), Cristian Cuadra (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the fifth of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Hart delivered a run of 3.689-seconds at 328.38 mph in his 11,000-horsepower R&L Carriers dragster, putting together two strong runs as he aims for the first No. 1 in his career and making the only run in the 3.60s on Friday. His second career win in Top Fuel also came at the Charlotte fall race during his rookie season in 2021, and Hart has done well in the four-wide setting, advancing to the final quad the last two years in Charlotte.

“The team deserves it. (Crew chief) Ron Douglas and the crew always give me a great car,” Hart said. “We've been learning a lot about each other and gelling properly, and it's nice to hit that milestone and show what we're capable of."

"It was never a car problem, it was a driver problem, I'll openly admit that. I can make a bunch of excuses, but I just didn't get the job done," said Hart. "I learned a lot the last race in Vegas. Overall, you watch these guys busting their butts every single weekend and you just have to focus and do your job. Every day is a new start, but we've got a great car and a great team. A lot of good morale over there, and it's just about surrounding yourself with good people.”

Austin Prock’s 3.707 at 328.70 during the second session gave him the second spot, while points leader Steve Torrence had two strong runs, including a 3.708 at 330.55 that puts him in the third spot.

DeJoria’s stellar start to the 2023 season in Funny Car continued, as she raced to the No. 1 spot to close out qualifying, going 3.876 at 333.08 in her 11,000-horsepower Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra. If it holds, it would give DeJoria her first No. 1 qualifier this season and seventh in her career.

DeJoria's qualified second the past three races, putting together a series of consistent results that currently has the standout third in points. The only thing missing thus far is her first victory of the season, something DeJoria looks to change this weekend.

“I have yet to win a four-wide so it's exciting to be number one right now,” DeJoria said. “Hopefully it stays. God willing we'll stay No. 1 and make it to the winner's circle on Sunday, but you can't think that far ahead.

“We've been working towards this, our current success, so we're really excited about how we're running. This is the best start to our season; it's been so consistent, and it's about getting down the track and quickly when a lot of cars haven't," said DeJoria. "Having a good consistent racecar is a huge confidence builder for the entire team. It does a lot for us, and I can tell."

Cruz Pedregon, who has qualified No. 1 the past two races, is currently second with a 3.879 at 327.11 and Robert Hight’s 3.894 at 330.23 has him third.

Cuadra jumped to the top during the final session in Pro Stock, looking to grab his second career No. 1 qualifier thanks to his run of 6.558 at 208.91 in his Corral Boots Chevrolet Camaro. Cuadra earned his first career No. 1 qualifier earlier this season in Phoenix and made a big jump in the second session on Friday in Charlotte.

Cuadra is also one of four members of the Cuadra family racing this season, as his brothers, Fernando Jr. and David, are competing, with his father, Fernando Sr., also racing. David Cuadra is making his first Pro Stock start this season, but everyone is chasing Cristian at the moment.

“I'm really happy about that run,” Cuadra said. “After the (first) run I was nervous; I was first pair out and nervous to shake (the tires), but the guys from Elite, they gave me a really good engine. I put it all together, and I'm number one for the moment. I'm happy. The four wide puts a little bit more pressure on the driver, but I love it. Sometimes it gets confusing for us, but if you're able to focus on your lane, you can do really, really good.”

Deric Kramer’s 6.566 at 208.46 puts him third, while points leader Dallas Glenn, who has won back-to-back races, is right behind in third after going 6.575 at 209.20.

It’s been nearly two months since Pro Stock Motorcycle opened its season in Gainesville, but Herrera kept rolling with a run of 6.758 at 201.10 on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Suzuki. Herrera qualified No. 1 and won in Gainesville to open the year, earning his first career victory in the category, and continued to impress on Friday in Charlotte. It has the young phenom on track for his second straight No. 1 qualifier as Herrera made a huge run under the lights at zMAX Dragway.

“This feels good. We had a little problem in Q1, but sometimes you’ll have that. I have all the confidence in the world in my Vance & Hines/Mission Foods team,” Herrera said. “We’ve got two more rounds tomorrow and anything can happen, but we’ll see if we can keep It going.”

“There is a lot more to pay attention to (in four-wide racing). I just wanted to make sure I didn’t get timed out, which seems like the biggest thing. I went up and watched Pro Mod before we ran to see how it all went so hopefully, I got a little rhythm going.”

His teammate, Eddie Krawiec, is currently second after going 6.765 at 197.77 and Hector Arana Jr. is third with a 6.825 at 200.80.

Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

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

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


  1    7 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-AJPE                   3.689  328.38  329.50
  2    3 Austin Prock, Pittsboro IN, Force-JFR           3.707  328.70  328.70
  3    6 Steve Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-TFX             3.708  330.55  332.92
  4   51 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, DSR-AJPE           3.725  330.63  330.63
  5    9 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, Kalitta-AJPE        3.727  332.18  332.18
  6 7211 Mike Salinas, San Jose CA, MLR-TFX              3.728  327.74  327.74
  7    1 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, Force-JFR       3.730  328.70  328.70
  8    4 Justin Ashley, Farmingdale NY, DSR-AJPE         3.733  284.09  331.28
  9  356 Tony Schumacher, Lakeway TX, DSR-DSM            3.741  323.12  326.79
 10  182 Dan Mercier, St-Michel PQ, McKinney-TFX         3.752  315.34  315.34
 11  777 Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City AZ, DSR-DSM       3.770  323.19  323.19
 12   10 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Kalitta-AJPE           3.770  320.97  320.97
 13  303 Pat Dakin, Dayton OH, Kalitta-TFX               3.791  323.66  323.66
 14 4632 Jacob McNeal, Gilmer TX, -AJ                    3.801  319.60  319.60
 15 1301 Doug Foley, Mooresville NC, MLR-TFX             3.832  275.56  310.98
 16    2 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, DSR-DSM             3.897  313.73  313.73

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

 17  355 Keith Murt, Paducha KY, DSR                     4.088  309.84  309.84


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

  1    7 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '22 Supra            3.876  333.08  333.08
  2    6 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '22 Charger       3.879  327.11  327.11
  3    2 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '23 Camaro        3.894  330.23  330.31
  4    9 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '18 Mustang      3.912  322.42  325.53
  5   14 Matt Hagan, Christiansburg VA, '23 Charger      3.941  326.71  326.71
  6  373 J.R. Todd, Jupiter FL, '22 Supra                3.971  327.66  327.66
  7  324 Mike McIntire, Chesterland OH, '17 Camry        4.134  295.01  295.01
  8  473 Chad Green, Midland TX, '19 Mustang             4.460  213.47  213.47
  9    4 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '23 Mustang         4.660  173.78  173.78
 10    5 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '22 Camaro          4.966  156.48  772.00
 11    1 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '22 Supra               5.355  139.07  139.07
 12   40 Alex Laughlin, Bluff Dale TX, '22 Charger       5.594  127.52  127.52
 13  302 Dale Creasy Jr., Beecher IL, '18 Charger        5.749  122.44  122.44
 14  241 John Smith, Anderson SC, '21 Charger            6.695  104.71  104.71
 15  256 Blake Alexander, Charlotte NC, '19 Mustang      7.369   96.99   96.99


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

  1    8 Cristian Cuadra, McAllen TX, '23 Mustang        6.558  208.91  208.91
  2   52 Deric Kramer, Sterling CO, '21 Camaro           6.566  208.46  209.59
  3    7 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro        6.575  209.20  209.20
  4    9 Bo Butner, Floyd Knobs IN, '22 Camaro           6.576  207.85  208.88
  5    5 Kyle Koretsky, Fairless Hill PA, '22 Camaro     6.578  207.98  208.30
  6   14 Camrie Caruso, Denver NC, '13 Camaro            6.581  209.79  209.79
  7    2 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro       6.581  208.36  209.23
  8    3 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier LA, '22 Camaro         6.584  209.01  209.01
  9    4 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '22 Camaro      6.589  209.10  209.10
 10  494 Jerry Tucker, Lindsay OK, '20 Camaro            6.589  207.72  208.01
 11    6 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro           6.591  207.98  207.98
 12 406M Fernando Cuadra Jr., Leon MX, '21 Mustang       6.596  208.23  208.91
 13 411M David Cuadra, McAllen TX, '20 Mustang           6.596  208.10  208.10
 14 4264 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro             6.598  209.62  209.62
 15  400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro             6.609  208.62  208.62
 16    1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '21 Camaro            6.622  208.91  208.91

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

 17 410M Fernando Cuadra, McAllen TX, '21 Mustang        6.633  207.02  207.02
 18  150 Kenny Delco, E. Setauket NY, '20 Camaro         6.661  208.01  208.01
 19  127 Val Smeland, Shirley NY, '16 Camaro             6.674  207.21  207.21
 20  106 Alan Prusiensky, Rockaway NJ, '16 Dart          6.674  204.54  204.54
 21   12 Shane Tucker, Statesville NC, '22 Camaro        6.684  207.88  207.88
 22   37 Larry Morgan, Newark OH, '19 Camaro             8.764  106.90  106.90
 23  168 Brandon Miller, Canterbury CT, '17 Dart        31.702   25.73   25.73



**********************
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
**********************


  1   79 Gaige Herrera, Brownsburg IN, Suzuki Hayabusa   6.758  201.10  201.10
  2    7 Eddie Krawiec, Brownsburg IN, Suzuki Hayabusa   6.765  197.77  197.77
  3  300 Hector Arana Jr, East Northport NY, EBR         6.825  200.80  200.80
  4  554 Chase Van Sant, Pella IA, Suzuki TL             6.836  199.29  199.29
  5    2 Joey Gladstone, Maidens VA, Suzuki Hayabusa     6.854  195.90  197.94
  6    5 Steve Johnson, Birmingham AL, Suzuki TL         6.860  195.08  195.08
  7 1981 Kelly Clontz, Hughesville MD, Suzuki TL         6.900  195.59  195.59
  8    1 Matt Smith, King NC, Suzuki                     6.901  191.35  191.35
  9   10 Ryan Oehler, Bloomington IL, EBR                6.902  193.85  193.85
 10 1628 John Hall, Hamden CT, Buell                     6.951  194.41  194.41
 11    4 Jerry Savoie, Cut Off LA, Suzuki                6.961  190.11  190.11
 12  276 Marcus Hylton, Esen NC,  Buell                  7.109  187.63  187.63
 13 1138 Ron Tornow, Pittsburgh PA, Victory              7.314  180.55  180.55
 14   17 Chris Bostick, Mount Juliet TN, Suzuki Hayabus  7.458  179.04  179.04
 15   15 Jianna Evaristo, San Jose CA, Suzuki            8.685  104.01  104.01
 16    3 Angie Smith, King NC, EBR                      13.025   63.27   63.27

w/ NHRA Communications