SATURDAY - B. FORCE AND TASCA III RACE TO NO. 1 QUALIFIERS AT LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS

A week after winning her first race of the 2021 season, Top Fuel star Brittany Force continued to roll, qualifying No. 1 for the fifth straight event on Saturday at the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. 

Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) also qualified No. 1 at the 12th race of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. 

Force stayed red-hot and rocketed to the No. 1 spot for the seventh time in 12 races this year and the 27th time in her career, going 3.675-seconds at 334.98 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster during Saturday’s final qualifying session. The run sent her past Steve Torrence for the top spot and set the track speed record in the process. Force will aim for her second straight victory on Sunday and second career win in Brainerd, feeling all kinds of momentum following her victory last weekend in Topeka and standout run on Saturday at BIR. 

“Coming off of that win in Topeka with my dad (John Force) was pretty incredible for all of John Force Racing,” said Force, who is currently second in points. “We had been chasing that first win all season long and we got it done last weekend. Our plan is to repeat that this weekend in Brainerd. There’s a different energy in the pits after getting a win. There’s no better feeling than winning and that’s why we’re out here. It’s just trying to find that again on raceday. We want to win again and I think we’re in a good place. We have to continue to step it up.” 

Torrence, the points leader and three-time defending world champ, finished in the No. 2 spot after a stellar run of 3.684 at 329.91. The standout Texan will try to win for the first time in Brainerd on Sunday, as it’s currently the only track on the NHRA tour where Torrence hasn’t won. Mike Salinas, who was the provisional No. 1 qualifier on Friday, finished third with a 3.711 at 322.58, improving on his run from Friday. 

In Funny Car, Tasca stepped up during the final qualifying session, powering to No. 1 with a run of 3.870 at 334.15 in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang. Tasca, who has two wins this season, was the provisional No. 1 qualifier on Friday and then had to grab it back from Cruz Pedregon during the final session on Saturday. It is his second top spot this year and seventh in his career and Tasca, who was the points leader for the bulk of the regular season, will try to get back on track on Sunday with the Countdown to the Championship playoffs fast approaching. 

“It’s great to be back out here in Brainerd with all these Ford fans,” said Tasca, who is looking for his first career win at BIR. “(Crew chiefs) Mike (Neff) and Jon (Schaffer) have been a little frustrated these past couple races, there’s no question, and we haven’t caught our stride like we did at the beginning of the season.  

“They’ve been working hard on a little different set-up and we found it last night. We were disappointed this morning and that last run, at half-track I was celebrating because I knew it was on a run. It was straight as an arrow and a lot of fun, and we just have to do it four more times (on Sunday).” 

Pedregon finished in the second position with an impressive run of 3.874 at 324.67. Tim Wilkerson bounced back from a rough outing in Topeka by qualifying third thanks to his run of 3.883 at 334.40. Points leader John Force, who is an 11-time Brainerd winner and won last weekend in Topeka, qualified 10th with a 3.968 at 322.42. 

In the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service, Justin Bond jumped to the top spot in the final session, going 5.757 at 248.20 in his ProCharger-powered Bahrain 1 Racing Camaro. It is his fourth No. 1 qualifier of 2021. Points leader Jose Gonzalez, who has won the last two races, is second with a 5.758 at 247.34, and two-time defending world champ Stevie “Fast” Jackson is third after going 5.777at 247.84. The Pro Mod race is presented by Stinar in Brainerd. 

Eliminations for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway.

Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 12th of 20 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Brittany Force, 3.675 seconds, 334.98 mph vs. Bye; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.684, 329.91 vs. 11. Terry Totten, 4.263, 204.60; 3. Mike Salinas, 3.711, 322.58 vs. 10. T.J. Zizzo, 3.861, 317.87; 4. Clay Millican, 3.721, 325.22 vs. 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.821, 308.99; 5. Justin Ashley, 3.752, 328.30 vs. 8. Leah Pruett, 3.789, 319.90; 6. Antron Brown, 3.752, 328.22 vs. 7. Shawn Langdon, 3.774, 281.30.  

Funny Car -- 1. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.870, 334.15 vs. Bye; 2. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.874, 324.67 vs. 15. Gary Densham, Mustang, 4.796, 189.63; 3. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.883, 334.40 vs. 14. Jim Campbell, Charger, 4.230, 238.38; 4. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.891, 328.06 vs. 13. Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.155, 298.54; 5. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.900, 331.61 vs. 12. Bob Bode, Mustang, 4.027, 309.49; 6. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.909, 327.51 vs. 11. J.R. Todd, Toyota Camry, 3.970, 321.73; 7. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.922, 325.22 vs. 10. John Force, Camaro, 3.968, 322.42; 8. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.961, 318.17 vs. 9. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 3.963, 297.22.

FRIDAY - TASCA III AND SALINAS TAKE PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS

Looking to possibly jump back in the points lead on the strength of a big weekend at Brainerd International Raceway, standout Bob Tasca III started off strong on Friday, taking the provisional No. 1 spot in Funny Car at the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.

Mike Salinas (Top Fuel) is also a provisional No. 1 qualifier at the 12th race of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Tasca, who was the points leader for an eight-race stretch earlier this year, powered to the No. 1 spot in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang with a run of 3.941-seconds at 326.63 mph. Tasca would claim the No. 1 spot for the second time this year and the seventh time in his career if it holds up. Sitting just 50 points behind current points leader John Force, Tasca, who is currently fourth in points but just 21 out of second, has his sights on a major move this weekend. He's picked up two victories this year and a third would be big heading into the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

"We came in here trying to run low 3.90s and the speed is good, and we knew we had to really step on it to make the power you need to go out here and run these numbers," Tasca said. "Tomorrow is a whole different ballgame. The temperatures are going to drop and this Motorcraft car is going to have to go out there and run even harder tomorrow. But this is a good way to start the weekend."

Alexis DeJoria, who won the race in 2017, is currently second in Funny Car with a strong run of 3.963 at 297.22. Remarkably, it would be the seventh race DeJoria has qualified No. 2 this year if it sticks and the fourth time in the past five races as she looks to continue her consistent season. Points leader Force, who won last weekend in Topeka to move to the top of the standings for the first time since 2014 and is an 11-time Brainerd winner, is currently third after going 3.968 at 322.42. J.R. Todd, who was the runner-up last weekend, is fourth with a run of 3.970 at 321.73.

In Top Fuel, Salinas went 3.752 at 326.08 in his 11,000-horsepower Scrappers Racing dragster to currently sit in the No. 1 spot. If it holds, it would be the first top spot of the year for Salinas and the seventh in his career. He has qualified second once in 2021 and third on four separate occasions, including three of the past four races, and Salinas is also chasing his first win of the season. Salinas, who entered the weekend sixth in points but just 40 points out of fourth, advanced to the final round in Epping and will try to finish the job and earn his first win in Brainerd.

"It was windy but our guys know what they're doing," said Salinas, who has two career victories. "It was a nice, smooth, clean (run) and a good start to the weekend. I think we'll be just fine. I think it has a lot more left in it, too. I think there's a 3.72, 3.73 out there."

Leah Pruett, who recently won in Pomona and has two Brainerd wins, is in second after the first round of qualifying thanks to her run of 3.789 at 319.90. She was the only other driver in the class to make a run in the 3.70s. Justin Ashley was close and currently is in third after going 3.807 at 323.74. Last week's Topeka winner, Brittany Force, is right behind after going 3.813 at 286.98. She won at Brainerd in 2016.

Qualifying continues at 2:00 p.m. CT on Saturday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.