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  MidWest Nats: Saturday Results St. Louis, MO (September 30, 2023)
Looking to move into the points lead in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs for the first time in his career, Funny Car’s Bob Tasca III clinched the No. 1 qualifier in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at the 12th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all qualified No. 1 at the 18th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Saturday also marked the eighth sellout of the 2023 NHRA season. Tasca picked up his sixth No. 1 spot this year as Friday’s run of 3.852-seconds at 324.90 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang held up during Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions. Currently second in points, Tasca trails Robert Hight by less than a round as he looks for his second straight victory in the postseason. He’ll open eliminations against Jack Wyatt and heads into Sunday with plenty of positives after a strong pass of 3.877 at 331.85 to close out the evening as well. “Very exciting, but one round at a time, one run at a time,” Tasca said. “We really don't pay as much attention to what the cars around us are running. We have enough data now with this car and enough track information to go up there and try to go as quick as we can for the conditions that are presented. “You want to be in the (championship) conversation. No one can guarantee a championship. No one knows what's going to happen over the next four races, but you want to be in the conversation. That's why the sponsors invest in us, that's what the fans cheer about. We're going to do the best we can and if we come out victorious, it's that much sweeter. But this is what it's all about. I've been around a lot of successful teams. We've had some good runs, but this is clearly our best run at it.” Chad Green moved all the way to second with a solid run of 3.886 at 330.47 and Blake Alexander took second with a 3.888 at 326.79. Kalitta hung on to his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 53rd in his career thanks to Friday’s run of 3.709 at 331.85 in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools/Toyota dragster. The points leader will open eliminations against Lex Joon, looking to stay perfect in the Countdown to the Championship. The veteran, who is chasing his first world championship in Top Fuel, has won the first two playoff races, building a strong lead against the likes of Steve Torrence and Justin Ashley. He has marveled at the team’s consistency in the postseason and Kalitta hopes to continue their stellar run on Sunday in front of another huge crowd in St. Louis. Kalitta also went 3.72 to close out qualifying. “I was really happy with that .72 in that last session,” Kalitta said. “My car has been really consistent. I just can't say enough about how hard everybody is working on my car. Great crowd here today, a sellout. Connie Kalitta is our fearless leader out here and given me a great opportunity over the years. “It's just nice when it all can come together like it has the last couple of races for my car. We're just going to hold on and do our best and keep going rounds, as many as we can get. We're definitely looking forward to tomorrow, whatever it gives us, and hopefully we can have it dialed in real nice.” Mike Salinas took the second spot with a run of 3.710 at 329.75 and Antron Brown was right behind in third with a 3.714 at 331.69. After earning her third straight No. 1 qualifier to open the playoffs thanks to Friday’s run of 6.549 at 209.69 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro, Pro Stock’s Erica Enders has a chance at history on Sunday. With her next win, the defending world champion will become the winningest female driver in NHRA history. She’ll open eliminations against Eric Latino, hoping to secure her 47th victory this season and first in the Countdown to the Championship. Enders has also dominated over the years in St. Louis, winning four straight seasons heading into the weekend. Her six overall wins are the most for any driver at the track. “I'm definitely excited to head into raceday,” Enders said. “St. Louis has always been really good to us, and we hope that the trend will continue tomorrow – but there are a lot of really tough competitors out there. I'm hopeful to park that JHG/Melling Performance car in the winner's circle. We've got our work cut out for us, but I'm looking forward to it. “I haven't thought about [the record] on raceday, but no matter when it comes it will be a huge honor. Angelle [Sampey] was one of my heroes growing up, and we're great friends now. To be the all-time winner for females in any form of motorsports is pretty substantial and an honor I won't take lightly.” Points leader Matt Hartford moved up to second with a strong run of 6.549 at 207.75 and Troy Coughlin Jr. qualified third with a pass of 6.558 at 208.97. Gaige Herrera tied Matt Hines for the most No. 1 qualifiers in a single season in Pro Stock Motorcycle history, securing his 11th top spot in 12 PSM races with Friday’s run of 6.716 at 201.79 on his Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. Hines set the mark in 1998 and Herrera matched the mark more than 25 years later as he continued his dominant season. The points leader made two more quality runs on Saturday, taking plenty of momentum into Sunday as he aims to pick up his first win in St. Louis and his eighth victory of the season. “This is very cool. I just have to give it up to Andrew (Hines, crew chief) and all the guys at the shop and Matt, included,” Herrera said. “They're the ones that make that possible. To be able to tie Matt and get that many No. 1 qualifiers in one season, it's incredible. There have been a lot of remarkable, crazy, things I've accomplished so far this year but to add something like this to it is pretty cool. “We tried to do different things on the bike today, the track is kind of a little tricky for us, so I feel like we made good passes considering. We'll go back and go over all our data and be ready for tomorrow. All in all, I felt pretty good on the bike and it should be good tomorrow.” Defending world champion and defending event winner Matt Smith took second with a 6.766 at 201.76 and Eddie Krawiec bumped to third thanks to his 6.773 at 201.25. Eliminations for the NHRA Midwest Nationals begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis. St. Louis Saturday Results
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TOP FUEL
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Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 10 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Kalitta-AJPE 3.709 331.85 331.85
2 7211 Mike Salinas, San Jose CA, MLR-TFX 3.710 329.75 329.75
3 2 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, DSR-DSM 3.714 331.69 331.69
4 4 Justin Ashley, Farmingdale NY, DSR-AJPE 3.730 331.69 331.69
5 6 Steve Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-TFX 3.733 330.72 330.72
6 356 Tony Schumacher, Lakeway TX, DSR-DSM 3.734 329.83 330.31
7 51 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, DSR-AJPE 3.740 334.07 334.07
8 777 Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City AZ, DSR-DSM 3.742 331.04 331.04
9 9 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, Kalitta-AJPE 3.748 328.86 328.86
10 3 Austin Prock, Pittsboro IN, JFR Fam-JFR 3.770 318.62 318.62
11 1 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, JFR Fam-JFR 3.791 330.72 330.72
12 7 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-AJPE 3.793 324.20 324.20
13 317 T.J. Zizzo, Lincolnshire IL, DSR-TFX 3.814 326.24 326.24
14 386 Kyle Wurtzel, Warsaw IN, MLR-AJPE 3.816 314.46 314.46
15 211X Cody Krohn, Englewood FL, Hadman-TFX 3.819 319.07 320.66
16 222 Lex Joon, Indianapolis IN, McKinney-AJPE 3.920 314.09 314.09
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 323 Buddy Hull, Frisco TX, McKinney-TFX 3.920 312.06 312.06
18 565 Terry Totten, Gretna NE, Hadman-JFR 20.894 158.39 158.39
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FUNNY CAR
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1 4 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '23 Mustang 3.852 324.90 331.85
2 473 Chad Green, Midland TX, '19 Mustang 3.886 330.47 330.47
3 256 Blake Alexander, Charlotte NC, '19 Mustang 3.888 326.79 326.79
4 5 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '22 Camaro 3.914 325.06 325.06
5 14 Matt Hagan, Christiansburg VA, '23 Charger 3.927 326.40 328.78
6 3095 Bobby Bode, Deer Park IL, '18 Mustang 3.937 293.47 310.70
7 1 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '22 GR Supra 3.952 324.90 324.90
8 2 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '23 Camaro 3.953 323.89 323.89
9 6 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '22 Charger 3.981 320.66 320.66
10 9 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '18 Mustang 3.982 321.04 321.04
11 373 J.R. Todd, Jupiter FL, '22 GR Supra 4.005 321.04 321.04
12 7 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '22 GR Supra 4.008 324.44 324.44
13 121 Terry Haddock, Temple TX, '18 Mustang 4.079 299.00 299.00
14 139 Dave Richards, Wellington FL, '18 Mustang 4.132 292.90 292.90
15 40 Alex Laughlin, Bluff Dale TX, '22 Charger 4.140 304.94 304.94
16 34 Jack Wyatt, Seymour IA, '21 Charger 4.173 264.49 264.49
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 302 Dale Creasy Jr., Beecher IL, '18 Charger 4.179 296.11 296.11
18 343 Chris King, Chicago IL, '16 Charger 4.771 187.50 187.50
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PRO STOCK
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1 1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '21 Camaro 6.549 209.69 210.05
2 6 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro 6.549 207.75 207.85
3 4 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '22 Camaro 6.558 208.97 209.33
4 2 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro 6.560 208.81 209.43
5 5 Kyle Koretsky, Fairless Hill PA, '22 Camaro 6.569 208.65 208.88
6 9 Bo Butner, Floyd Knobs IN, '22 Camaro 6.570 209.07 209.10
7 3 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '22 Camaro 6.570 208.01 208.20
8 406M Fernando Cuadra Jr., Leon MX, '21 Mustang 6.575 207.69 208.94
9 7 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro 6.581 207.62 207.62
10 14 Camrie Caruso, Denver NC, '13 Camaro 6.582 208.39 208.59
11 8 Cristian Cuadra, Leon MX, '23 Mustang 6.583 208.81 208.81
12 52 Deric Kramer, Parker CO, '20 Camaro 6.590 208.91 208.91
13 494 Jerry Tucker, Lindsay OK, '20 Camaro 6.595 208.81 209.04
14 400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro 6.602 208.36 208.36
15 4264 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro 6.605 208.62 208.62
16 193 Eric Latino, Cornelius NC, '22 Camaro 6.609 207.21 207.21
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 410M Fernando Cuadra, Leon MX, '21 Mustang 6.627 207.85 207.85
18 508R Robert River, Maquoketa IA, '10 Cobalt 7.050 195.99 196.07
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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
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--------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 79 Gaige Herrera, DeMotte IN, Suzuki Hayabusa 6.716 201.79 201.79
2 1 Matt Smith, King NC, Buell 1190RX 6.766 201.76 201.76
3 7 Eddie Krawiec, Brownsburg IN, Suzuki Hayabusa 6.773 201.25 201.40
4 554 Chase Van Sant, Pella IA, Suzuki TL 6.774 198.70 198.70
5 300 Hector Arana Jr, East Northport NY, EBR 6.796 199.14 199.14
6 15 Jianna Evaristo, San Jose CA, Suzuki 6.841 197.31 197.31
7 574 Cory Reed, Powhatan VA, Suzuki Hayabusa 6.870 195.48 195.48
8 1981 Kelly Clontz, Hughesville MD, Suzuki TL 6.874 197.88 197.88
9 8 Marc Ingwersen, Findlay OH, EBR 6.874 196.44 196.44
10 5 Steve Johnson, Birmingham AL, Suzuki TL1000 6.879 196.85 196.85
11 3 Angie Smith, King NC, Buell 1190RX 6.880 198.93 198.93
12 10 Ryan Oehler, Bloomington IL, EBR 6.953 193.82 195.22
13 17 Chris Bostick, Mount Juliet TN, EBR 7.026 187.63 189.31
14 2 Joey Gladstone, Maidens VA, Buell 1190RX 7.061 160.69 160.69
w/ NHRA Communications |
