Action at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NHRA Nationals ran from Oct. 30 through Nov. 3 – which was actually extended by a day through Nov. 4 – and showcased many of the sport’s top drivers and teams.
In Top Fuel, Brittany Force (number one qualifier) took out Josh Hart, Shawn Reed and Clay Millican, registering 3.721, 3.701 and 3.666 second performances to advance to the final round. There, she would square off against Doug Kalitta, the reigning 2023 Top Fuel champion.
Kalitta qualified third, behind his teammate, Shawn Langdon. Kalitta advanced to the semifinal round, where he would face Langdon, getting past Ida Zetterstrom and Antron Brown, with strong 3.70 and 3.69 performances. In the match-up between Langdon and Kalitta, Langdon got away first (0.045 to 0.066) and looked like he would win. But Langdon’s car made a center line move, taking out the timing blocks and blowing out his right rear tire. He was not physically injured, but his pride was, as he lost the race on the center line violation. This gave the win to Kalitta, who had his hands full, as the rear end of his dragster let go. This covered the lane with synthetic gear oil, which is very hard to clean up. As the temperatures dropped to lower levels, that made racing unsafe, so the event was postponed until the next day, Monday, Nov. 4.
In the final round on Nov. 4, Doug Kalitta got away first (0.064 to 0.076) but lost traction almost immediately, as Force made a clean pass, right down the center, to a 3.703 at 332. 59 mph for the win. It was her 17th career win, but her first win in 39 races. Her last win was at this same track in 2022.
Due to the oil clean up delay the semifinal (except Top Fuel) and final rounds of all the categories were contested on Monday.
In Funny Car, it was once again the “Austin Prock and Jack Beckman show” as they qualified number one and number two. Prock has been driving the AAA Insurance/Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro, once driven by Robert Hight, who sat out the season due to medical issues. Beckman is substituting in the Peak Chevrolet Camaro for the 16-time champion, John Force, who is still recovering from a severe 302 mph top end accident at Virginia Motor Sports Park event, earlier this season.
Both Prock and Beckman advanced (on opposite sides of the eliminations ladder) to the semifinal round. Both had dominating cars, in performance, but Beckman’s was slightly quicker. Beckman’s car ran in the 3.83 zone a couple of times, while Prock consistently ran in the 3.85 zone. In the semifinals, Prock got around Blake Alexander with a 3.859 at 328.54 mph. Beckman was better, but not so lucky, as he lost on a baby hole shot, 0.064 to 0.054; 0.009 seconds, to Paul Lee, 3.827 at 323.04 mph to 3.843 at 330.23 mph, 0.002 seconds. In the final round, Prock, known for his exceptional reaction times, left first (0.065 to 0.089) and drove away to a 3.830 at 327.33 mph to 3.982 at 297.94 mph victory. This was Prock’s eighth win of the season and 12th of his career (four in Top Fuel). This gave the John Force Racing (JFR) Team a “double up” by winning in both nitro categories at the same event. This was very special for the JFR teams, as John Force was at the entire event to support his team and drivers. He looked good, but has a long mending process ahead, but he thoroughly enjoyed being with the fans and all the racers and will be in Pomona for the finals.
The Pro Stock category came into the event as basically a two-car championship battle between Dallas Glenn and Aaron Stanfield, with Greg Anderson lurking in range. But that was all to change in round one, as Glenn was taken out by Christian Cuadra, who left first (0.005 to 0.023) and ran quicker (6.622 at 205.30 mph to 6.635 at 204.51 mph). This opened the Pro Stock championship door wide open. And, Stanfield and Anderson both took full advantage, as both marched through eliminations to meet in the final round. In the final, Stanfield left first (0.023 to 0.043) and took a hole shot win with a 6.606 at 206.13 mph to (quicker) 6.591 at 206.39 mph performance. This gave Stanfield the season points lead over Glenn by 32 points and Anderson by 56 points, with one event to go.
Pro Stock Motorcycle was, once again, the Gage Herrera show. Herrera qualified number one and marched through eliminations into the final round, where he finished off Angie Smith by leaving first (0.034 to 0.061) and going 6.798 at 197.16 mph to 6.925 at 193.65 mph for the event win. This was Herrara’s 21st career win and 10th of this season. Herrera needs to only qualify and win one round in Pomona to be the 2024 champion in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
The final season race will be the In-N-Out NHRA Finals in Pomona, scheduled Nov. 14 through 17. Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle can both be determined at the end of round one, Top Fuel and Pro Stock could be a real battle, between three to four racers.
