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  Bristol Friday Results Bristol, TN (June 9, 2023)
Leah Pruett raced to the Top Fuel qualifying lead on Friday at Bristol Dragway, taking the provisional No. 1 spot at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Robert Hight (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the eighth of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. The first round of eliminations in Top Fuel and Funny Car from the postponed NHRA New England Nationals also took place on Friday in Bristol. Pruett put together a run of 3.745-seconds at 322.42 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Rush Truck Centers dragster, as the standout for Tony Stewart Racing looks to pick up her first No. 1 qualifier this season and 14th in her career. Pruett’s run also gave her a first-round win in the postponed NHRA New England Nationals, which are being completed this weekend in Bristol. With a chance for a big weekend during the doubleheader event, Pruett was thrilled with her start on Friday. “We had a lot of chaos, but staying calm in those moments was huge,” Pruett said. “I love running at night and that was an incredible feeling. The fans are so loud here in Bristol and I just love it. This is absolutely going to be a race to remember this weekend. We got to enjoy that moment and now we’ll go back into raceday mode for tomorrow. I like how we’re racing right now and I want to just continue to build on that.” Other first round winners of the NHRA New England Nationals in Top Fuel included No. 1 qualifier Antron Brown, Steve Torrence, Brittany Force, Justin Ashley, Tony Schumacher and Mike Salinas. Force’s run of 3.747 at 334.48, which tied the track speed record, puts her in the No. 2 qualifying spot for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, with Torrence right behind after he went 3.753 at 329.10. Funny Car’s Robert Hight took care of business in qualifying, vaulting to the No. 1 spot with his run of 3.938 at 321.35 in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS. If the run holds, it would give Hight his second No. 1 qualifier this season and the 79th in his career, and it also sent the veteran to the second round of the NHRA New England Nationals. The rest of that race from Epping will be completed on Saturday in Thunder Valley and Hight knew it would be a different challenge coming into the weekend. Thus far, he’s handled it well with big plans for the next two days in Bristol. “This is all new for all of us. We've never really done anything like this, and it's a different mindset going up there than if you're just qualifying,” Hight said. “You have to cut a light, be ready, and put up the best E.T. you can. It's a little different but it's exciting for the fans. It's also exciting to race at night. I love it. There's not a better setting in all of motorsports than Thunder Valley here in the evening as the sun is going down. It's beautiful, and I think fans got their money's worth today. “It's exciting and getting this win tonight is a big deal. We'll get a good night's sleep, get up in the morning, and be ready and focused to go again. You have to be more focused this weekend than you've ever had to be before.” Other first round winners of the NHRA New England Nationals in Funny Car included No. 1 qualifier Chad Green, Bob Tasca III, Matt Hagan, J.R. Todd, Alex Laughlin and John Force. Ron Capps, who lost to Tasca on a holeshot, is qualified second in Bristol with a 3.962 at 318.92 and Green’s 3.969 at 322.50 has him third for Sunday’s race. After struggling for the bulk of the Pro Stock season, Enders bounced back in a big way on Friday and made a strong statement in the process, going to the No. 1 spot in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Chevrolet with a run of 6.627 at 205.88. It puts Enders, the reigning and five-time world champion, on track to earn her first No. 1 spot of the season and the 30th in her incredible career. Enders and her team have worked hard to get things back on track and the car showed signs in Chicago, and then made another huge jump with Friday’s strong run. “We feel like we figured out what our problem was Chicago E1, we made the run and were low for the session, tested, and it translated here. It's super exciting,” Enders said. “I'm just super excited to be back on the pole. That's not something that really means a whole lot to me because I don't love it, but it's just, it's exciting. “I know it's only race seven, but it feels like seven years. It's been excruciating. Today we made big strides in the right direction for our whole organization, and what we found is going to translate to all of our cars. I think you can look for really great things from our Elite Motorsports camp.” Elite Motorsports dominated the top of qualifying on Friday, with Cristian Cuadra taking the second spot with a run of 6.632 at 206.04 and Aaron Stanfield right behind in third with a 6.636 at 206.89. In his first appearance at Bristol Dragway, Herrera continued to put on an impressive show, going 6.820 at 196.63 in the second session on his Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki to grab the provisional No. 1 position. It’s the fourth straight track where Herrera is making his NHRA debut this year and he’s won at the first three thus far. He’s also on track to earn his fourth straight No. 1 qualifier as Herrera bounced back with a stellar a subpar run to open the day. “It’s very cool to be racing here at Bristol,” Herrera said. “Based on what Andrew (Hines) and Eddie (Krawiec) and a few riders told me, it definitely played out how they said it would. This track is different and you have to be more aware. “After the first round, I was just mad at myself for what I did. It just made me more determined to ride better and do better. I went out there like it was raceday, I pushed the tree, and I rode as best I could. It lit a fire under me, and I went out there and rode the bike how I know I can.” Eddie Krawiec, who made the best run in the opening session, is currently qualified second with a 6.855 at 198.03, and Angie Smith is in the third spot after she went 6.856 at 197.36. Qualifying continues at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. The second round of eliminations from the NHRA New England Nationals in Top Fuel and Funny Car takes place at 2 p.m., followed by semifinals between rounds and the championship round during final qualifying in Bristol.
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TOP FUEL
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Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 777 Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City AZ, DSR-DSM 3.745 322.42 322.42
2 1 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, JFR Fam-JFR 3.747 334.48 334.48
3 6 Steve Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-TFX 3.753 329.10 329.10
4 4 Justin Ashley, Farmingdale NY, DSR-AJPE 3.755 327.74 327.74
5 7211 Mike Salinas, San Jose CA, MLR-TFX 3.762 327.35 327.35
6 10 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Kalitta-AJPE 3.764 319.22 319.22
7 182 Dan Mercier, St-Michel PQ, McKinney-TFX 3.768 317.72 317.72
8 3 Austin Prock, Pittsboro IN, JFR Fam-JFR 3.787 326.08 326.08
9 748 Cameron Ferre, Huntington Beach CA, DSR-APJE 3.795 322.11 322.11
10 356 Tony Schumacher, Lakeway TX, DSR-DSM 3.797 323.58 323.58
11 7 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-AJPE 3.819 321.12 321.12
12 1301 Doug Foley, Mooresville NC, MLR-AJPE 3.841 287.66 287.66
13 9 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, Kalitta-AJPE 3.846 316.82 316.82
14 51 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, DSR-AJPE 3.888 271.79 271.79
15 2 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, DSR-DSM 3.907 292.90 292.90
16 421 Spencer Massey, Fort Worth TX, Kalitta-TFX 4.602 169.17 169.17
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 222 Lex Joon, Indianapolis IN, McKinney-AJPE 8.101 123.15 123.15
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FUNNY CAR
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1 2 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '23 Camaro 3.938 321.35 321.35
2 1 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '22 Supra 3.962 318.92 318.92
3 473 Chad Green, Midland TX, '19 Mustang 3.969 322.50 322.50
4 4 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '23 Mustang 3.972 329.26 329.26
5 7 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '22 Supra 3.999 322.88 322.88
6 9 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '18 Mustang 4.004 318.99 318.99
7 373 J.R. Todd, Jupiter FL, '22 Supra 4.025 325.53 325.53
8 324 Mike McIntire, Chesterland OH, '17 Camry 4.044 300.80 300.80
9 14 Matt Hagan, Christiansburg VA, '23 Charger 4.051 308.50 308.50
10 5 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '22 Camaro 4.063 324.36 324.36
11 302 Dale Creasy Jr., Beecher IL, '18 Charger 4.067 281.60 281.60
12 3095 Bobby Bode, Deer Park IL, '18 Mustang 4.094 268.28 268.28
13 121 Terry Haddock, Temple TX, '18 Mustang 4.125 297.55 297.55
14 40 Alex Laughlin, Bluff Dale TX, '22 Charger 4.182 302.08 302.08
15 116 Paul Lee, Anaheim CA, '20 Charger 4.295 212.59 212.59
16 6 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '22 Charger 5.182 146.24 146.24
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 139 Dave Richards, Wellington FL, '18 Mustang 6.836 94.60 94.60
18 241 John Smith, Anderson SC, '21 Charger 7.596 93.28 93.28
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PRO STOCK
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1 1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '21 Camaro 6.627 205.88 206.16
2 8 Cristian Cuadra, Leon MX, '23 Mustang 6.632 206.04 206.04
3 3 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier LA, '22 Camaro 6.636 206.89 206.89
4 7 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro 6.643 206.01 206.01
5 52 Deric Kramer, Parker CO, '20 Camaro 6.643 204.54 205.19
6 2 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro 6.645 206.64 206.64
7 4 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '22 Camaro 6.655 205.66 206.89
8 5 Kyle Koretsky, Fairless Hill PA, '22 Camaro 6.655 205.63 206.01
9 9 Bo Butner, Floyd Knobs IN, '22 Camaro 6.656 206.23 206.61
10 6 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro 6.661 204.98 206.42
11 14 Camrie Caruso, Denver NC, '13 Camaro 6.685 205.98 205.98
12 400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro 6.692 204.20 204.45
13 406M Fernando Cuadra Jr., Leon MX, '21 Mustang 6.693 204.88 204.88
14 410M Fernando Cuadra, Leon MX, '21 Mustang 6.709 204.63 204.63
15 12 Shane Tucker, Statesville NC, '22 Camaro 6.715 203.58 204.54
16 37 Larry Morgan, Newark OH, '19 Camaro 6.741 204.20 204.20
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 411M David Cuadra, Leon MX, '20 Mustang 6.749 196.99 196.99
18 4264 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro 7.158 153.49 153.49
19 494 Jerry Tucker, Lindsay OK, '20 Camaro 16.522 48.66 48.66
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PRO MOD
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1 211 Tony Wilson, Swanton OH, '18 Camaro 5.782 251.20 251.20
2 43 Rickie Smith, King NC, '22 Mustang 5.789 251.11 251.11
3 6280 Justin Bond, Misson BC, '69 Camaro 5.808 245.94 245.94
4 44 Mike Castellana, Muttontown NY, '69 Camaro 5.822 247.93 247.93
5 5 JR Gray, Ridgeville SC, '21 Camaro 5.836 247.16 247.16
6 269 Billy Banaka, Brandon MS, '68 Camaro 5.853 239.23 243.77
7 212 Stan Shelton, Albamarle NC, '19 Mustang 5.856 244.03 244.03
8 176T Todd Tutterow, Bridgewater MA, '18 Camaro 5.857 246.17 246.17
9 1 Kris Thorne, Mims FL, '21 Camaro 5.862 243.55 243.55
10 2890 Eric Dillard, Wallace NC, t'69 Camaro 5.866 244.60 244.60
11 203B Marcus Birt, Ball Ground GA, '69 Camaro 5.874 225.97 225.97
12 1590 Dwayne Wolfe, Moorefield WV, '18 Camaro 5.878 245.36 245.36
13 288 Sidnei Frigo, San Paulo BZ, '69 Camaro 5.884 242.36 242.36
14 6911 Mike Thielen, Olympia WA, '18 Camaro 5.908 241.24 241.24
15 9 Doug Winters, Pleasant Garden NC, '69 Chevelle 5.929 239.10 239.10
16 200 Tylor Miller, Odessa TX, '20 Camaro 5.952 241.24 241.24
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 260 Paul Daigrepont, Statesville NC, '18 Camaro 5.953 241.45 241.45
18 327 Khalid alBalooshi, Dubai AE, '21 Camaro 6.049 200.44 200.44
19 2051 Jerico Balduf, New Smyrna Beach FL, '69 Chevel 6.144 170.56 170.56
20 8333 Dmitry Samorukov, Moscow RU, '69 Camaro 8.263 116.08 116.08
t = Turbocharged Engine
w/ NHRA Communications |
