After a day where rain played havoc with the schedule, the final day of qualifications yielded only one new face atop the NHRA Gatornationals qualifying leaderboard. Past NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon was all too happy to be the lone wolf. 

Langdon was joined by Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Langdon showcased the alliance in his reunion with Brian Husen, a tuner he’d won a championship with back in 2013 when the two raced together at Al-Anabi Racing. He earned his first No. 1 spot since 2020, the same year he won his last race, running a 3.682 at 334.15. 2020.

“That just shows the changes we’ve made, with Brian coming in, the changes have shown great rewards so far,” Langdon said. “Brian has a really good control of the car right now. It’s really cool to see and I’m really proud of him. I’m excited that he has this opportunity and I’m really lucky to be his driver. We know what this team is capable, so we’re looking forward to a great year.”

Steve Torrence, who led the first day of qualifying, finished second, while defending event winner Mike Salinas qualified third after going 3.705. Tony Stewart qualified ninth in his Top Fuel debut with a 3.725 310.34.

Antron Brown was the Pep Boys All-Star Callout by beating an engine-exploding Brittany Force in the final round. 

Prock maintained the Funny Car No. 1 spot on the strength of Friday’s track-record run of 3.820-seconds at 334.65 mph. He made three strong passes heading into eliminations, where he’ll face off with John Smith in the opening round.

“I’m very excited for tomorrow. We really couldn’t have done much better,” Prock said. “I’m happy with this No. 1 qualifier and we’re really going to have to see what it looks like in the morning. If the track is like what it was today or Friday, you’re going to be throwing Hail Mary’s. I’m really looking forward to getting out there in my first NHRA Funny Car start and get this car in the winner’s circle.

Bob Tasca III stayed second with his 3.829 at 337.75, also setting a new track speed record on Saturday after going 338.09. Ron Capps took the third position with a 3.871 at 333.00.

None of the Pro Stock field could beat out Enders’ 6.549 from Friday qualifying. She races rookie Kelley Murphy in the first round and has a great opportunity to win the Gatornationals for the first time.

“We’ve got a really great race car this weekend, so it seems to be translating very well,” Enders said. “But there’s a lot of really great cars out there and great drivers, so we just have to put our heads down and go to work, and hope for no parts failures or weird things happening. But I feel good, and I feel confident in the cockpit.”

Cristian Cuadra remained second after a run of 6.552 at 209.10 on Friday, and Dallas Glenn’s 6.556, 208.59 was third.

The Herrera train of domination rolled through Gainesville Raceway with the defending NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion extended his healthy lead even further running a 6.746 elapsed time at 200.50 miles per hour. 

Herrera won his first race in the class a year ago in Gainesville. He’s paired with Joey Gladstone in the first round.

“I’m very pleased, and we were happy to have improved a little bit,” Herrera said. “I’m feeling comfortable and confident going into tomorrow. It’s very cool to come back here and start off where we left off to end last year. I’ve got to give all the credit to my team. They haven’t missed a beat, so it feels good to come back here and basically start like we did last year.”

Matt Smith improved to a 6.768 at 202.45 to stay second, while LE Tonglet qualified third with a 6.771 at 197.88.

Eliminations for the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals begin at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday at Gainesville Raceway.