Justin Ashley made a big move on Saturday in the heat at Brainerd, powering to the No. 1 position during the final session with a stout run of 3.746 at 328.14 in his 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect/Toyota dragster.

Conditions will be significantly cooler on Sunday during raceday, but Ashley and his team made a big statement to close out qualifying as the Top Fuel points leader looks for his seventh win of the 2023 season.

Doug Kalitta’s 3.757 at 330.31 gave him second and Steve Torrence’s 3.758 at 328.54 puts him third.

“That's a stout run with the conditions what they were,” Ashley said. “Nothing surprises me with the team that we have, but nonetheless, it was going to be tough to go out there and run as well as we did. It really just speaks volumes of our team."

"It's kind of a unique situation, because I'm not sure how much you can actually take of that and apply it tomorrow. It's going to be cooler, much different out there tomorrow. But we positioned ourselves the best we can heading into raceday," added Ashley.

Ron Capps’ 3.894 at 330.23 in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra held up from Friday, giving the back-to-back Funny Car world champ his second No. 1 qualifier this season and 38th in his career.

Capps look for his seventh win at Brainerd on Sunday, opening eliminations against Jim Campbell. J.R. Todd took second with a 3.907 at 327.98 and Hagan’s 3.910 at 328.06 put him third.

“You never take anything for granted, the equalizer will be those cool conditions,” Capps said. “Tomorrow is going to be epic, some pretty incredible times and speeds. But the yellow hat is just such a tribute to how good our guys are. As a driver, you stage the car, keep it in the groove."

Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson continued his hold on the top spot in qualifying, claiming his first No. 1 of the season thanks to his run of 6.597 at 205.79 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro from Friday.

The five-time world champ and Duluth native made the quickest run during three of the four qualifying sessions, giving the veteran plenty of momentum as he seeks his first victory of the season. Matt Hartford qualified second with a 6.598 at 205.54, and Enders’ 6.603 at 207.27 puts her third.

“It's very gratifying to know that you can run in heat, you can run in cool, you can run in any conditions. I'm proud of the KB Titan Racing guys and the job they've done this weekend,” Anderson said. “I'm looking forward to tomorrow, it'll be a more fun day for racers. The cars will be fast and hooked up."

Eliminations for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway.

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



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

  1    4 Justin Ashley, Farmingdale NY, DSR-AJPE         3.746  328.14  328.14
  2   10 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Kalitta-AJPE           3.757  330.31  330.31
  3    6 Steve Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-TFX             3.758  328.54  328.54
  4    1 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, JFR Fam-JFR     3.762  331.45  331.45
  5  777 Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City AZ, DSR-DSM       3.777  327.35  327.35
  6    2 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, DSR-DSM             3.780  327.27  327.27
  7 7211 Mike Salinas, San Jose CA, MLR-TFX              3.784  330.07  330.07
  8    3 Austin Prock, Pittsboro IN, JFR Fam-JFR         3.795  321.12  321.12
  9    9 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, Kalitta-AJPE        3.796  327.43  327.43
 10  356 Tony Schumacher, Lakeway TX, DSR-DSM            3.804  327.90  327.90
 11    7 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-AJPE                   3.815  326.95  326.95
 12  386 Kyle Wurtzel, Warsaw IN, MLR-AJPE               3.817  303.16  310.84
 13   51 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, DSR-AJPE           3.832  276.75  285.65
 14  565 Terry Totten, Gretna NE, Hadman-JFR             4.128  302.35  302.35



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



  1    1 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '22 Supra               3.894  330.23  330.23
  2  373 J.R. Todd, Jupiter FL, '22 Supra                3.907  327.98  327.98
  3   14 Matt Hagan, Christiansburg VA, '23 Charger      3.910  328.06  328.06
  4    4 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '23 Mustang         3.915  327.59  327.59
  5    6 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '22 Charger       3.934  319.67  319.67
  6    2 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '23 Camaro        3.942  321.73  321.73
  7    5 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '22 Camaro          3.943  322.73  322.73
  8    7 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '22 Supra            3.960  324.90  324.90
  9    9 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '18 Mustang      3.968  320.97  322.27
 10  473 Chad Green, Midland TX, '19 Mustang             3.977  323.58  323.58
 11 3095 Bobby Bode, Deer Park IL, '18 Mustang           4.035  285.23  285.23
 12   40 Alex Laughlin, Bluff Dale TX, '22 Charger       4.060  300.00  300.00
 13  256 Blake Alexander, Charlotte NC, '19 Mustang      4.181  301.74  301.74
 14  139 Dave Richards, Wellington FL, '18 Mustang       4.244  300.06  300.06
 15  302 Dale Creasy Jr., Beecher IL, '18 Charger        4.396  213.16  213.16
 16  703 Jim Campbell, Long Beach CA, '05 Monte Carlo    4.596  284.33  284.33

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

 17  343 Chris King, Chicago IL, '16 Charger             4.701  248.34  248.34




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


  1    2 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro       6.597  205.79  207.88
  2    6 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro           6.598  205.54  206.67
  3    1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '21 Camaro            6.603  207.27  207.88
  4    8 Cristian Cuadra, Leon MX, '23 Mustang           6.606  206.70  206.73
  5   52 Deric Kramer, Parker CO, '20 Camaro             6.606  206.01  206.01
  6    7 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro        6.613  207.05  207.05
  7    3 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '22 Camaro    6.623  206.86  206.86
  8    5 Kyle Koretsky, Fairless Hill PA, '22 Camaro     6.623  205.07  206.76
  9   14 Camrie Caruso, Denver NC, '13 Camaro            6.631  206.13  206.70
 10    9 Bo Butner, Floyd Knobs IN, '22 Camaro           6.632  206.76  206.76
 11  494 Jerry Tucker, Lindsay OK, '20 Camaro            6.635  206.92  207.27
 12    4 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '22 Camaro      6.636  206.64  206.80
 13 4264 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro             6.668  206.67  206.67
 14  400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro             6.687  205.35  205.44
 15 406M Fernando Cuadra Jr., Leon MX, '21 Mustang       6.700  205.16  205.16
 16 411M David Cuadra, Leon MX, '20 Mustang              6.702  205.47  205.47

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

 17 410M Fernando Cuadra, Leon MX, '21 Mustang           6.716  204.94  204.94
 18 508R Robert River, Maquoketa IA, '10 Cobalt          7.227  191.81  191.81
 19  106 Alan Prusiensky, Rockaway NJ, '16 Dart          8.739  104.88  104.88

w/ NHRA Communications (photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery and Ron Capps Motorsports))