|
|
  Maple Grove: Saturday Results Reading, PA (September 16, 2023)
Bob Tasca III ended Funny Car qualifying in style on Saturday at Maple Grove Raceway, powering to the No. 1 position in front of a sellout crowd at the 38th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, the first race in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 16th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and the first of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. It was the seventh sellout crowd of the 2023 season. Sunday’s eliminations were also moved up to 9:30 a.m. ET at Maple Grove Raceway. Tasca, who entered the weekend fourth in points, raced to his fifth No. 1 spot this season with a standout run of 3.866-seconds at 328.30 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Ford Mustang. It’s the 14th career top spot for the veteran, who is seeking his second career win at Maple Grove Raceway and third this season. He impressed in every qualifying session, making the quickest run in the last three sessions, including both on Saturday. That netted him 11 bonus points, giving him plenty of momentum going into raceday, where he’ll take on Cory Lee in the first round. “The car performed flawlessly,” Tasca said. “As a driver/team owner, that’s what you ask for from your team. They give you a car that can go out there and compete, and you put yourself in a position to win. We have a lot of unfinished business here this weekend, and tomorrow is a big day. “I think it’s going to be a very challenging day early in the rounds. We’re going to be here at 9:30 (a.m.), and the track is estimated to be somewhere around 75 degrees. You can shake really easy. You could see some big-time upsets, but we just want to go up there and do the best we can. We’ll manage the conditions as they go. As the day progresses, I think you’re going to fall into the conditions that we’ve run really well in. That gives you a lot of confidence going into Sunday,” added Tasca. Defending world champion and points leader Ron Capps jumped up to the second spot in the final session, going 3.879 at 333.99. That bumped Robert Hight, who went 3.879 at 329.34 on Friday, to third. Justin Ashley, a New York native, stayed on top in front of a capacity crowd at his home track, with his run of 3.687-seconds at 335.57 mph from Friday in his 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect Toyota dragster handing him the No. 1 spot for third time in what has been a banner 2023 season. It’s also the fifth career top qualifier for the Top Fuel points leader, who has already picked up six victories this season. He made another strong run to close out qualifying and Ashley will open eliminations against Scott Farley. He’s also had plenty of success at Maple Grove Raceway in his young Top Fuel career, advancing to the final round last year. Ashley would love to set the tone for the Countdown to the Championship with a victory on Sunday and he remains confident in the mentality of the team. “We feel great. You’re trying to put yourself in the best position to win the race on Sunday and I feel like we accomplished that,” Ashley said. “We went down the track three out of four times, and we had that .68 in the quickest session, but tomorrow is going to be different in a lot of ways. It’s going to be faster than what we’ve seen. Defending world champion Brittany Force stayed second with her 3.689 at 336.57 from Friday and Doug Kalitta took third with his 3.696 at 331.45. Defending Pro Stock world champ Erica Enders seems poised to defend her event victory from Maple Grove Raceway, qualifying No. 1 for the third time this season thanks to Friday’s 6.494 at 211.13 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro. It’s the 32nd career No. 1 spot for the six-time world champion who moved up to second in points standings on Saturday on the strength of her qualifying performances in Reading. After making the quickest run of 2023 in Pro Stock on Friday, Enders had two strong showing on Saturday, including the quickest run in the final qualifying session. She’ll open eliminations against Val Smeland, aiming for her third win of the season. A victory on Sunday would also make her the winningest female in NHRA history as she looks to open the Countdown to the Championship in style. “It was definitely cool to follow up today with two really great runs,” Enders said. “Super proud of my team, we made some changes this morning to try to pick up a little bit and it went in the opposite direction, so we fixed it and were able to outrun the field. It was pretty substantial, but it’s a challenging raceday ahead of us tomorrow and we have to make sure everything goes right. I’m excited and proud of my guys. We’ve really turned this season around. I’m stoked and ready to go. Troy Coughlin stayed second but improved his performance with a 6.497 at 211.23. Aaron Stanfield also bettered his qualifying mark, going 6.500 at 211.13, to qualify third. Points leader Dallas Glenn qualified ninth. Gaige Herrera ended qualifying on another massive note in Pro Stock Motorcycle, tying his mark for the quickest run of the year with a strong 6.672 at 202.94 on his Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. That lowered the track E.T. record he set on Friday and the points leader also set the track speed record with a pass of 203.00 earlier in the day. Not only did Herrera, who is making his first appearance in the Countdown to the Championship, claim his ninth No. 1 qualifier in 10 races this year, he also picked up the most possible points in qualifying. Herrera made the quickest run in all four sessions, giving him plenty of confidence heading into the first of six playoff races on Sunday. “I’m very confident. I have to give all the credit to the whole Vance & Hines Mission Suzuki team and Andrew (Hines, crew chief) and all the guys back at the shop,” Herrera said. “We’re basically just showing off their hard work and to go out there and run that, I’m very happy with it, Andrew is very happy with it. We’re definitely happy with it and I’m going into tomorrow with all the confidence in the world. I’m glad to get as much points as I can so far going into the Countdown. My whole goal is to try to get as many as I can again. That was my goal, and Andrew is always shooting to be No. 1 so he was all for it.” Chip Ellis made a big jump to qualify second thanks to his run of 6.741 at 200.17 and Hector Arana Jr. took third with his 6.747 at 201.85. Final eliminations have been moved up and are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday at Maple Grove. TV coverage for Saturday's qualifying session is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Sunday on FS1 and then eliminations on FOX at 2 or 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday, depending on local listings. Maple Grove Saturday Results
************
TOP FUEL
************
Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 4 Justin Ashley, Farmingdale NY, DSR-AJPE 3.687 335.57 335.57
2 1 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, JFR Fam-JFR 3.689 336.57 336.57
3 10 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Kalitta-AJPE 3.696 331.45 333.49
4 6 Steve Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-TFX 3.698 332.43 333.99
5 2 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, DSR-DSM 3.716 329.50 330.96
6 9 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, Kalitta-AJPE 3.719 329.02 331.12
7 51 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, DSR-AJPE 3.720 334.24 334.24
8 3 Austin Prock, Pittsboro IN, JFR Fam-JFR 3.728 329.83 329.83
9 356 Tony Schumacher, Lakeway TX, DSR-DSM 3.737 328.54 331.04
10 777 Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City AZ, DSR-DSM 3.743 327.90 328.14
11 182 Dan Mercier, St-Michel PQ, McKinney-TFX 3.743 325.77 325.77
12 1301 Doug Foley, Mooresville NC, MLR-AJPE 3.755 322.11 322.11
13 7211 Mike Salinas, San Jose CA, MLR-TFX 3.795 319.60 319.60
14 7 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-AJPE 3.798 327.90 328.70
15 3113 Jacob Opatrny, McHenry IL, Hadman-HEMI 3.972 282.84 282.84
16 F301 Scott Farley, Ellington CT, McKinney-JFR 4.137 284.51 284.51
***************
FUNNY CAR
***************
1 4 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '23 Mustang 3.866 328.30 334.90
2 1 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '22 GR Supra 3.879 333.99 335.65
3 2 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '23 Camaro 3.879 329.34 332.02
4 9 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '18 Mustang 3.881 329.91 329.91
5 473 Chad Green, Midland TX, '19 Mustang 3.887 330.07 330.07
6 14 Matt Hagan, Christiansburg VA, '23 Charger 3.891 333.49 335.23
7 5 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '22 Camaro 3.898 334.32 334.32
8 7 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '22 GR Supra 3.915 331.04 331.04
9 256 Blake Alexander, Charlotte NC, '19 Mustang 3.915 327.03 328.62
10 6 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '22 Charger 3.921 328.86 328.86
11 373 J.R. Todd, Jupiter FL, '22 GR Supra 3.923 327.90 328.14
12 121 Terry Haddock, Temple TX, '18 Mustang 4.004 309.20 309.20
13 40 Alex Laughlin, Bluff Dale TX, '22 Charger 4.058 295.59 297.81
14 703 Jim Campbell, Long Beach CA, '05 Monte Carlo 4.087 299.66 299.66
15 139 Dave Richards, Wellington FL, '18 Mustang 4.140 278.17 278.17
16 13 Cory Lee, Vail AZ, '19 Mustang 5.022 191.62 191.62
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 223 Mike Smith, Lake Worth FL, '18 Mustang 13.747 53.46 53.46
**********************
PRO STOCK
**********************
1 1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '21 Camaro 6.494 211.13 212.19
2 4 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '22 Camaro 6.497 211.23 211.36
3 3 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '22 Camaro 6.500 211.13 211.46
4 2 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro 6.510 209.65 210.37
5 52 Deric Kramer, Parker CO, '20 Camaro 6.515 209.49 210.08
6 5 Kyle Koretsky, Fairless Hill PA, '22 Camaro 6.518 210.28 210.28
7 9 Bo Butner, Floyd Knobs IN, '22 Camaro 6.518 210.14 210.21
8 8 Cristian Cuadra, Leon MX, '23 Mustang 6.521 210.47 210.60
9 7 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro 6.523 210.24 210.37
10 406M Fernando Cuadra Jr., Leon MX, '21 Mustang 6.526 211.66 211.66
11 494 Jerry Tucker, Lindsay OK, '20 Camaro 6.535 210.14 210.28
12 14 Camrie Caruso, Denver NC, '13 Camaro 6.538 209.88 210.57
13 6 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro 6.548 209.69 209.69
14 4264 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro 6.558 210.93 210.93
15 193 Eric Latino, Cornelius NC, '22 Camaro 6.572 210.34 210.34
16 127 Val Smeland, Shirley NY, '16 Camaro 6.576 210.37 211.06
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 410M Fernando Cuadra, Leon MX, '21 Mustang 6.581 209.43 209.82
18 150 Kenny Delco, E. Setauket NY, '20 Camaro 6.620 210.50 210.50
19 106 Alan Prusiensky, Rockaway NJ, '16 Dart 6.620 199.76 207.46
20 168 Brandon Miller, Canterbury CT, '17 Dart 6.655 205.47 207.50
21 37 Larry Morgan, Newark OH, '19 Camaro 6.662 207.66 207.66
22 400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro 6.671 207.15 207.15
**********************
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
**********************
1 79 Gaige Herrera, DeMotte IN, Suzuki Hayabusa 6.672 202.94 203.00
2 200 Chip Ellis, Mocksville NC, EBR 6.741 200.17 200.59
3 300 Hector Arana Jr, East Northport NY, EBR 6.747 201.85 201.85
4 1 Matt Smith, King NC, Suzuki TL1000 6.751 201.28 201.28
5 554 Chase Van Sant, Pella IA, Suzuki TL 6.754 200.02 200.23
6 3 Angie Smith, King NC, EBR 1190RX 6.773 201.70 201.70
7 7 Eddie Krawiec, Brownsburg IN, Suzuki Hayabusa 6.777 200.32 201.52
8 5 Steve Johnson, Birmingham AL, Suzuki TL1000 6.786 196.96 197.45
9 15 Jianna Evaristo, San Jose CA, Suzuki 6.795 200.02 200.02
10 1981 Kelly Clontz, Hughesville MD, Suzuki TL 6.824 196.44 196.44
11 1628 John Hall, Hamden CT, EBR 6.834 198.09 198.09
12 8 Marc Ingwersen, Findlay OH, EBR 6.873 196.42 196.53
13 17 Chris Bostick, Mount Juliet TN, EBR 6.885 193.82 193.82
14 1138 Ron Tornow, Pittsburgh PA, Victory 6.896 195.11 196.30
15 574 Cory Reed, Powhatan VA, Suzuki Hayabusa 7.044 192.69 192.69
w/ NHRA Communications |
