Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon closed out qualifying with the quickest run of the day on Saturday at Virginia Motorsports Park, taking the No. 1 spot at the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals.

Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the ninth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

On a day where the NHRA pro categories all made three qualifying runs on Saturday for the first time ever, Langdon went 3.872-seconds at 319.82 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster in the final round of qualifying, giving the former world champion his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 21st in his standout career. The veteran is also looking for his first career win at Virginia Motorsports Park, opening eliminations against Lex Joon.

“In the first couple of runs, we just were off a little bit. You’re dealing with 150-degree track temperature, so it's just getting everything right,” Langdon said. “This track is so good and so smooth that, unfortunately, these hot conditions don’t do this track much justice for how good it really is. So we're tiptoeing down the track. It’s crazy how much we’ve got these things backed up and it's just a matter of getting everything in sync.”

Reigning world champ and points leader Doug Kalitta is qualified second with a 3.883 at 318.69 and Tony Stewart, who is in his debut season in the Top Fuel ranks, qualified third with a 3.885 at 317.79.

In Funny Car, Bob Tasca III made the most of the final qualifying session to finish off an impressive day, as Tasca’s 4.024 at 320.74 in his 11,000-horsepower Ford Performance Mustang Dark Horse gave the veteran his 17th career No. 1 qualifier and first this season.

No Funny Car made a 3-second run in the heat, but Tasca put together three solid runs to give him confidence heading into raceday. He’ll face off with Dave Richards to open eliminations and is thrilled with the progress his team made this weekend.

“To bring home a win, you got to go down the racetrack, and if you don't get on the racetrack, you're going to lose. Anyone out here is going to beat you,” Tasca said. “You have to have good decision-making, but it makes it a whole lot easier to make those decisions when you have a day like you had today because we can fall back on a baseline. We look at tire temperature and wasn't on the edge. We can we push, but you have to pick your moments depending on who you're racing, You've got to go down the racetrack and Todd (Okuhara) and Aaron (Brooks) t know how to do that.

Chad Green qualified second with a 4.024 at 320.13 and points leader Austin Prock qualified third with a 4.027 at 318.84.

Looking for her 50th career national event victory, Pro Stock’s Erica Enders blistered the track on Saturday at Virginia Motorsports Park, taking the No. 1 spot with a standout run of 6.586 at 209.56 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car. That took place during the opening session and nobody could top that throughout Saturday’s three sessions as the defending and six-time world champion claimed her fourth No. 1 qualifier of 2024 and the 38th in her career.

On Sunday, Enders open eliminations against Kenny Delco with her 50th national event victory – and her first win at Virginia Motorsports Park – just four win lights away.

“We knew he first session was going to be the good session and put a lot of emphasis on that because it's just going to get progressively worse throughout the day, and we needed to make a good hit first round, and fortunately, my guys are good enough to be able to do that,” Enders said.

“It's tough out there. Everybody's going through the same stuff, but you have to mindful what you put in your body and then being adequately hydrated and keeping your core body temperature down when the cockpit temperatures are over 150 degrees.”

Eric Latino went a strong 6.590 at 208.97 to qualify second, while Deric Kramer’s 6.596 at 208.59 gave him the third position.

On the hunt for history this weekend, Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera threw down something spectacular to open qualifying on Saturday, going 6.703 at 200.83 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. That set the track E.T. record and handed the defending world champion his third No. 1 qualifier this year and the 17th in his career. More importantly, it puts Herrera in a great spot to potentially make more NHRA history.

He's currently tied with legendary Pro Stock driver Bob Glidden for the most consecutive wins (9) and round wins (35) in NHRA history and can set the new mark with a memorable Saturday at a track that has served him well throughout his career.

“To be honest, on that 6.70, we were expecting a .72. We just happened to catch it before it really got hot out there today,” Herrera said. “Obviously these are the kinds of conditions we will be racing tomorrow., so we're going in there with a lot of confidence.

“If I can (break the record), it's going to be awesome. I'm happy with just tying Bob Glidden and to have my name in the same sentence as Bob. If I do it, that it'd be awesome, but going into tomorrow, no, I'm not thinking about it.”

Herrera’s teammate, Richard Gadson, took second with a 6.763 at 198.96 and defending event winner Matt Smith qualified third after going 6.788 at 200.80.

Eliminations for the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals begin at 12 p.m. on Sunday at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Top Fuel -- 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.872 seconds, 319.82 mph vs. 16. Lex Joon, broke; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.883, 318.69 vs. 15. Cameron Ferre, 5.381, 138.44; 3. Tony Stewart, 3.885, 317.79 vs. 14. Clay Millican, 4.326, 203.43; 4. Shawn Reed, 3.890, 319.67 vs. 13. Tony Schumacher, 4.261, 206.83; 5. Antron Brown, 3.903, 318.62 vs. 12. Billy Torrence, 4.034, 247.43; 6. Jasmine Salinas, 3.912, 313.51 vs. 11. Brittany Force, 3.966, 316.97; 7. Josh Hart, 3.923, 319.90 vs. 10. Dan Mercier, 3.955, 296.50; 8. Steve Torrence, 3.938, 317.87 vs. 9. Justin Ashley, 3.950, 311.70.

Funny Car -- 1. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 4.024, 320.74 vs. 16. Dave Richards, Toyota Camry, 4.476, 268.28; 2. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.024, 320.13 vs. 15. Mike Smith, Mustang, 4.292, 285.77; 3. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 4.027, 318.84 vs. 14. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 4.192, 239.44; 4. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 4.047, 311.99 vs. 13. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.185, 307.79; 5. John Force, Camaro, 4.048, 314.83 vs. 12. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.148, 269.24; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 4.058, 313.00 vs. 11. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 4.130, 305.08; 7. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 4.069, 312.13 vs. 10. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.129, 306.88; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.071, 307.30 vs. 9. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.103, 307.02. Did Not Qualify: 17. Jim Campbell, 8.902, 98.26.

Pro Stock -- 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.586, 209.62 vs. 16. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 7.308, 152.76; 2. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.590, 208.97 vs. 15. Brandon Miller, Dodge Dart, 6.883, 198.38; 3. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.596, 208.59 vs. 14. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.691, 207.94; 4. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.608, 206.92 vs. 13. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.676, 206.83; 5. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.611, 208.52 vs. 12. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.666, 207.02; 6. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.612, 208.26 vs. 11. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.654, 208.07; 7. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.621, 208.26 vs. 10. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.642, 208.10; 8. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.626, 208.84 vs. 9. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.630, 208.17.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.703, 200.83 vs. 14. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 11.380, 70.27; 2. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.763, 198.96 vs. 13. Eiji Kawakami, EBR, 7.183, 186.18; 3. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.767, 200.86 vs. 12. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.044, 165.19; 4. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.794, 198.17 vs. 11. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.959, 194.66; 5. John Hall, Beull, 6.795, 198.58 vs. 10. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.933, 195.48; 6. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.796, 199.91 vs. 9. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.885, 195.53; 7. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.842, 200.02 vs. 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.859, 195.70.

VMP Qualifying Full Results

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



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


  1  333 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, PBRC-AJPE           3.872  319.82  319.82
  2    1 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Bounty Hunter-AJPE     3.883  318.69  318.69
  3   14 Tony Stewart, Columbus IN, PBRC-DSM             3.885  317.79  317.79
  4  716 Shawn Reed, Defiance MO, MLR-AJPE               3.890  319.67  319.67
  5    6 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, PBRC-DSM            3.903  318.62  318.62
  6  616 Jasmine Salinas, Brownsburg IN, MLR-AJPE        3.912  313.51  313.51
  7   77 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-DSM                    3.923  319.90  319.90
  8    2 Steve Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-TFX             3.938  317.05  317.87
  9    4 Justin Ashley, Farmingdale NY, DSR-JFR          3.950  311.70  311.70
 10  182 Dan Mercier, St-Michel PQ, DSR-AJPE             3.955  296.50  296.50
 11    7 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, JFR-JFR         3.966  316.97  316.97
 12  474 Billy Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-AJPE            4.034  247.43  247.43
 13    9 Tony Schumacher, Lakeway TX, DSM-DSM            4.261  206.83  206.83
 14   51 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, DSR-DSR            4.326  203.43  203.43
 15  748 Cameron Ferre, Huntington Beach CA, DSR-APJE    5.381  138.44  138.44
 16  222 Lex Joon, Indianapolis IN, McKinney-AJPE         NT   


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



  1    3 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '23 Mustang         4.024  320.74  320.74
  2    5 Chad Green, Midland TX, '24 Mustang             4.024  320.13  320.13
  3  374 Austin Prock, Brownsburg IN, '23 Camaro         4.027  318.84  318.84
  4  256 Blake Alexander, Charlotte NC, '22 Mustang      4.047  311.99  311.99
  5    7 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '23 Camaro          4.048  314.83  314.83
  6  771 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '24 GR Supra         4.058  313.00  313.00
  7    8 J.R. Todd, Jupiter FL, '22 GR Supra             4.069  312.13  312.13
  8  348 Daniel Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '24 Mustang   4.071  307.30  307.30
  9  116 Paul Lee, Anaheim CA, '20 Charger               4.103  307.02  307.02
 10   14 Matt Hagan, Christiansburg VA, '24 Charger      4.129  261.27  306.88
 11    4 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '23 GR Supra            4.130  305.08  305.08
 12  121 Terry Haddock, Temple TX, '19 Mustang           4.148  269.24  269.24
 13   10 Buddy Hull, Dallas TX, '24 Charger              4.185  307.79  307.79
 14   71 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '22 Charger       4.192  239.44  239.44
 15  223 Mike Smith, Lake Worth FL, '18 Mustang          4.292  285.77  285.77
 16  139 Dave Richards, Wellington FL, '18 Camry         4.476  268.28  268.28

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

 17  703 Jim Campbell, Long Beach CA, '17 Monte Carlo    8.902   98.26   98.26



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



  1    1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '24 Camaro            6.586  209.56  209.62
  2  193 Eric Latino, Cornelius NC, '22 Camaro           6.590  208.97  208.97
  3   52 Deric Kramer, Parker CO, '20 Camaro             6.596  208.59  208.59
  4    3 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro           6.608  205.44  206.92
  5    4 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '23 Camaro    6.611  208.52  208.52
  6    6 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro        6.612  208.26  208.26
  7  494 Jerry Tucker, Lindsay OK, '22 Camaro            6.621  208.04  208.26
  8    2 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '22 Camaro       6.626  206.80  208.84
  9   25 Jeg Coughlin, Delaware OH, '23 Camaro           6.630  208.17  208.17
 10    9 Bo Butner, Floyd Knobs IN, '22 Camaro           6.642  208.10  208.10
 11  400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro             6.654  208.07  208.07
 12  127 Val Smeland, Shirley NY, '16 Camaro             6.666  207.02  207.02
 13    5 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '22 Camaro      6.676  206.83  206.83
 14 4264 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '22 Camaro             6.691  207.94  207.94
 15   11 Brandon Miller, Canterbury CT, '17 Dart         6.883  198.38  198.38
 16  150 Kenny Delco, E. Setauket NY, '20 Camaro         7.308  152.76  152.76




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


  1    1 Gaige Herrera, DeMotte IN, Suzuki Hayabusa      6.703  200.83  200.83
  2   23 Richard Gadson, Avon IN, Suzuki Hayabusa        6.763  198.96  198.96
  3    4 Matt Smith, King NC, Buell 1190RX               6.767  200.86  200.86
  4    9 Chase Van Sant, Pella IA, Suzuki TL             6.794  197.80  198.17
  5 1628 John Hall, Hamden CT, Beull 1190RX              6.795  197.42  198.58
  6    3 Hector Arana Jr, East Northport NY, EBR         6.796  199.91  199.91
  7    5 Jianna Evaristo, San Jose CA, Buell 1190RX      6.842  200.02  200.02
  8    6 Steve Johnson, Birmingham AL, Suzuki Hayabusa   6.859  195.70  195.70
  9    7 Marc Ingwersen, Findlay OH, EBR                 6.885  195.53  195.53
 10   10 Kelly Clontz, Hughesville MD, Suzuki TL         6.933  195.48  195.48
 11 1138 Ron Tornow, Pittsburgh PA, Victory              6.959  194.66  194.66
 12    8 Angie Smith, King NC, Buell 1190RX              7.044  165.19  165.19
 13  859 Eiji Kawakami, Toyama City JP, EBR              7.183  185.26  186.18
 14   17 Chris Bostick, Mount Juliet TN, Suzuki Hayabusa11.380   70.27   70.27

w/ NHRA Communications