POMONA – NHRA Top Fuel driver Justin Ashley said there is little room for error for his team at the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series Finals in Pomona. He said his team is focused on having a near-perfect weekend.
Ashley started the qualifying rounds Saturday for the 59th In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona Dragstrip with a 44-point lead over Antron Brown and was 45 points ahead of Shawn Langdon, the third-place driver in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Langdon moved ahead of Brown into second place after qualifying and is 43 points behind Ashley. Brown is in third place, three points behind Langdon, who qualified fourth.
Ashley is in a position to win his first NHRA championship but he understands there is a lot of work to do.
“We’re trying to stack round wins and hopefully come away with that championship,” Ashley said.
Brown has won three NHRA championships in his career and wants to add another.
“It will be huge for all of us,” Brown said. “For our whole team as a whole. We’re not talking about the end result. We just want to keep on making history.”
Tony Schumacher holds the record for most NHRA Top Fuel championships with eight. Steve Torrence was the last driver to win four NHRA Top Fuel championships. He won four in a row from 2018 to 2021.
Brown won NHRA Top Fuel championships in 2012, 2015 and 2016 and wants to join the four-time title club.
“We’re going to fight to the end and give it all we got,” Brown said.
Brittany Force was the No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel with a run of 3.643 seconds at 336.65 mph. Torrence was second at 3.644 seconds and 334.90 mph. Doug Kalitta, the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion, was third at 3.650 seconds and 334.98 mph.
“This field is strong. The competition is just fierce. I think we got a great race track, conditions are great and everyone’s running killer,” Force said.
It was the sixth time Force was the No. 1 qualifier this season and the fourth time in the past five races. She won the race in Las Vegas two weeks ago, her first victory in almost two years. Her qualifying time at Pomona was the best in Top Fuel this year.
“I believe everything happens for a reason. And it’s been tough for us for two seasons,” Force said. “I feel it holds this team together, it makes this team stronger, keeps us digging deeper and always pushing.”
Ashley and Brown will meet in the first round of eliminations today in a race that could determine the championship.
Ashley was the fifth-fastest qualifier and has a slight edge. Brown was the 12th-fastest qualifier, 0.055 seconds behind Ashley.
Austin Prock capped a championship season in NHRA Funny Car with a top-qualifying run, set the track record and recorded the fourth-fastest qualifying time in NHRA history.
“We’re rolling into this weekend like any other,” Prock said. “We want to leave here with some more gold. That’s the main focus. We want to get this red, white and blue Auto Club car in the winner’s circle. It’s been a long time since it’s been there. To double up here in Pomona would be real special.”
Prock was the No. 1 qualifier with a run of 3.804 seconds at 334.82 mph. It was the second time the track record was broken on Sunday.
Ron Capps broke the track record during the first round of qualifying with a 3.821-second run at 332.75 mph. It was good enough for the No. 2 spot.
Jack Beckman was third in qualifying at 3.828 seconds and 334.82 mph.
In NHRA Pro Stock, Aaron Stanfield had a 32-point lead over Dallas Glenn entering qualifying Saturday. Greg Anderson was in third place, 56 points behind Stanfield.
After qualifying, Stanfield’s lead was trimmed to 29 points over Glenn and 48 over Anderson.
Anderson was the No. 1 qualifier in NHRA Pro Stock after a run of 6.505 seconds at 211.20 mph. Glenn is second at 6.512 seconds and 207.82 mph. Stansfield was fourth in qualifying at 6.517 seconds and 209.98 mph.
“We had a great qualifying effort. We did everything team-wise that we needed to do in qualifying. We can control our own destiny, That’s all you can ask for. That’s a prayer answered and that’s the way you want it. You don’t want to have to sit back and hope and pray and depend on someone else to do your dirty work. You want to do it yourself. The way the ladder is set up it’s going to be a hell of a Sunday,” Anderson said.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gaige Herrera had a 123-point lead over Matt Smith and can wrap up the championship today. Herrera needs to win his first-round race to secure the title. If Herrera loses in the first round and Matt Smith wins all his races, Smith will win the championship.
“I’m going to finish second,” Smith said after qualifying. “Gaige is a phenomenal rider and he doesn’t make mistakes.”
Richard Gadson was in third place, eight points behind Smith.
Smith was the No. 1 qualifier with a run of 6.721 seconds at 202.64 mph. Angie Smith was second at 6.758 seconds and 201.43 mph. Herrera was third at 6.765 seconds and 201.22 mph.