The latest update as of November 16, 2024
10:00 AM UPDATE: After the NHRA.com Saturday preview indicated that Top Alcohol eliminations would begin at 10:15 this morning, effectively closing the dragster field after just one qualifying session, there was a schedule change made to give the non-qualifiers a reprieve. There will be a second session for the dragsters, starting at 10:00 am (but the racing is running a little behind schedule already). Following the dragster session, the Top Alcohol Funny Cars will go into their first round of eliminations.
The dragsters will be run their first round of eliminations at 12:30, both alcohol categories will run their second rounds after professional qualifying finishes. That should work out to an approximately 4:00 pm start for that second round. So far, there is no mention of when - or if - the Las Vegas final round for the TAFCs or the semifinal and final rounds for the TADS from the Winternationals will be completed. Stay tuned for updates on both those situations. But bear in mind that none of those matchups will have a material effect on the championship points standings.
Here's the clouds to the north of the track. They're not too foreboding at this point but they gradually intensified until the skies let loose as the Top Alcohol Dragsters were waiting to begin their second qualiyfing session.
FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #1
Our photographer BIG Bob Snyder, tried a few different locations for this session, quite often getting both cars in the frame, sometime fully, and sometimes partially. It was a different look to the usual presentation, and showed a different perspective of the cars.
(LEFT) After a three hour delay in on-track action, local racer Alex Miladinovich in his self-sponsored "Hot 4 Teacher" entry hit the track for the first time since the spring race at Las Vegas. He went into immediate tire shake and shut off to a 9-second clocking.
(RIGHT) Wearing a very different wrap from two weeks ago at Las Vegas, So-Cal veteran Jason Rupert fell to the same malady that afflicted Miladinovich: tire shake, and lots of it. The result: an 8-second timeslip.
(LEFT) A pair of relatively "low-buck" racers tried out the track next, with Terry Haddock, in the near lane, making a good opening pass of 4.041 - 305.84 to stake his claim for a spot in the field. In the far lane, Jeff Diehl ran strong to half track, but dropping cylinders forced him to shut off to a 4.934 - 160.58 clocking.
(RIGHT) With the familiar "MoonEyes" wrap on the car, Buddy Hull ran into immediate tire shake and was forced to give up the run early, finally stopping the timers with an 8.320 - 78.61 result.
(LEFT) Starting to pull away from Dave Richards in the far lane, Alexis DeJoria (near lane), ran strong to near the finish line before shutting off early to a 3.948 at only 292.65 mph. Richards lost traction on the launch and coasted to a 7-second pass.
(RIGHT) Running strong to the 900' mark before getting out of the groove, Chad Green was still able to dip into the 3's with a strong 3.953 - 279.85 to grab a temporary hold on the #4 spot in the field. Almost out of the frame in the far lane, Cruz Pedregon made a strong statement with a #2 qualifying 3.875 - 324.59 pass.
(LEFT) This was a close race for the first few hundred feet before Daniel Wilkerson (near lane) pulled away from J.R. Todd in the far lane after he lost traction. Wilkerson shut off a little early but still rang up a solid 3.903 - 308.92 to grab a spot in the top half of the field.
(RIGHT) Another one-sided pairing saw
(LEFT) Running side by side at this point, the gap between Ron Capps (near lane), and Matt Hagan, in the far lane, opened considerably when Capps ran into tire shake and lifted. Hagan ran strong to the finish line, with a very good 3.895 - 328.38 showing on the scoreboard.
(RIGHT) The session ended with the two John Force Racing cars meeting, with Austin Prock (near lane) clinching the 2024 Funny Car World Championship by making this qualifying attempt. Running alongside him in the far lane, Jack Beckman outran the young gun, stopping the clocks with a top qualifying 3.828 - 334.82. Only a hundredth behind, Prock slotted into the #2 spot on the ladder with a very strong 3.842 - 331.94 pass.
As the session ended, the dark clouds became even darker and more ominous.
TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #1
(LEFT) Making quite an impression in his NHRA Top Fuel debut, Gary Pritchett caught everyone's attention with a very strong .750 - 329.91 in his first competition pass. Running alongside him, and barely visible in the near lane, Scott Palmer ran a very respectable 3.818 - 294.88 to open his weekend. That was his quickest pass so far this season as he kept working towards a competitive tuneup.
(RIGHT) Back in her own car after Spencer Massey drove it at Las Vegas, Krista Baldwin was on a very good pass until she had to lift just past the 700' mark, slowing her to a 3.916 - 249.81. The incrementals showed she was on her way to a low 3.80 - or better - before she had to back out of the throttle.
(LEFT) Two young women paired up next, with Jasmine Salinas (near lane) facing Ida Zetterstrom in the far lane. Salinas ran into trouble early and shut off to a 6.311, while Zetterstrom cranked out a career best of 3.738 - 323.89 that put her in the top spot to that point in the session.
(RIGHT) Zetterstrom's grip on the top spot didn't last long as Billy Torrence (near lane) ran a very strong 3.724 - 329.34 to take over the #1 apor, while Josh Hart, in the far lane, laid down a decent 3.806 - 322.19 to stake a spot in the field.
The final pair down the track before the rains came again - and stopped the day's proceedings - featured Shawn Reed in the near lane, and Tony Stewart in the far lane. Reed continued his late season improvements, this time turning the quickest time of the day at 3.712 - 320.36. The tuneup that Rob Wendland has been working on all season is really showing some serious performance gains. While Reed was running strong, Stewart lost traction and shut down to a 6.832 - 95.21 result.