While the ladies swept Top Fuel and Funny Car, it was the boys taking Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle as Kyle Koretsky and Steve Johnson posted the best passes on Friday.
It was a perfect weather day at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil and that looks to be a trend that carries through the weekend. With temps steady around 80 degrees, it may be a perfect opportunity to chase a new track records.
Force, who has 11 No. 1 qualifying efforts this year, including nine of the last 11 events sits atop the Top Fuel field with her Monster Energy dragster after a quick 3.693 ET at 333.41 MPH. That adds three valuable bonus points as she tries to chase down points leader Steve Torrence.
"That's a great start," said Force. "We've had success here at Vegas back in 2019. We won the event and you know, we just, we're in the hunt for this thing. And that's exciting for all of us. We're going to throw down, we're going to go for it. It's not going to be easy. It's gonna be tough.
DeJoria keeps the momentum rolling from her win at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals two weeks ago by grabbing the provisional pole in Funny Car. DeJoria, who has won in Las Vegas twice ran a 3.896 ET at 327.03 MPH to lead the field.
"It's great to come off a win and come to a track where we've had success before, winning here twice," DeJoria said. "I think we're just we're hot right now. It's a little late in the season, but it'll be nice to go with a bang.
Kyle Koretsky is the leader with a 6.667 ET at 205.10 MPH in Pro Stock. Koretsky, who fell just short at last year’s Fall Las Vegas race, entered the weekend in fourth place in the standings.
“We just gave it everything it has,” said Koretsky. “My confidence is great. Just staging this car in Las Vegas is great, the view is awesome. We’re going to just try and gain some ground in the points this weekend and get back in it. The last time I was here in Las Vegas we had a good outing. Since then, my confidence has improved. Now, we just want to turn on four win lights on Sunday."
After Steve Johnson gave up the points lead in Bristol after a weekend of struggles that he said were self inflicted, he showed that he wasn't quite ready to give up on the championship during Friday’s opening session. With a pass of 6.848 at 196.24 MPH, Johnson made sure to make the field know that he still intends to fight to the finish.
“I bumped by head in Bristol, but we’ll be okay,” Johnson said. “I made a mistake, but I’ve owned up to it. It’s hard to own stuff, but you remember from it.”
Will ladies night continue into the rest of the weekend?
Check out the full recap on NHRA.com:
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