Top Fuel driver Brittany Force has been on a tear when it comes to qualifying at NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events.

Force qualified No. 1 for the fourth event in a row when she clocked a 3.716-second run at 329.02 mph in Q3 Saturday at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor in Topeka, Kan.

“We'll take the No. 1s,” said Force, who drives for John Force Racing. “That's points right now for us. We'll take as many points as we can get to inch us closer to that No. 1 spot. And again, the real excitement is race day. That's where we want to do well. That's where we want to succeed. That's where we want to go rounds. So again, like I said earlier, our focus is race day tomorrow, but we're off to a good start. We've had two solid passes out of the three. I will take that.”

Force just edged Billy Torrence, who was No. 2 on the ladder with his 3.717-second elapsed time at 322.27 mph from Q1 Friday.

Force and the Monster Energy dragster ended Friday qualifying with a 3.734-second pass at 329.42 mph under the lights at Heartland Motorsports Park. 

This was Force’s fourth consecutive No. 1 qualifying position as she also qualified No. 1 in Denver, Sonoma, Calif., and Pomona, Calif. This was Force’s third No. 1 qualifying position at Heartland Motorsports Park as she also claimed the top spot in 2014 and 2016.

This is the first time in Force’s career she has qualified No. 1 three times at one track.

“We've been No. 1 a handful of weekends in a row,” Force said. “But really our focus is tomorrow. We need to turn our luck around on race day.”
Co-crew chiefs David Grubnic and Mac Savage are the tuners behind Force’s success.

Force arrived in Topeka third in the points standings. She has two other No. 1 qualifying spots this season in Las Vegas and Charlotte and this was the 26th of her career.

Force, who has 10 career national event wins, has yet to reach the winner’s circle in 2021. She was runner-up twice in Charlotte, N.C., and Norwalk, Ohio.

“We struggle here and there,” said Force, who won the 2017 NHRA Top Fuel world championship. “Different track every single weekend. There are different conditions, just something different every single weekend we're battling. So, this weekend, two out of three is pretty good. We would have really liked that run in the heat earlier for race day tomorrow. But we'll have to figure it out Sunday.”

Force knows there’s no secret formula to going rounds Sunday. Five of the six races Force has qualified No. 1 she has lost in second round.
“Consistency,” she said. “Making sure we have this car on point to run in the heat, the conditions that it needs to be, and keeping it consistent all throughout the day.”