Doug Kalitta is the defending NHRA Top Fuel champion, and for him, through no fault of his own his been the third fiddle of publicity within his own team. 

Kalitta is not having a bad season by any means. It's just his teamates Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and J.R. Todd (Funny Car) have been on a tear. 

Kalitta set the pace for the first day of competition at the 24th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in the Top Fuel division. He was joined at the top of the leaderboard by Bob Tasca (Funny Car) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock).

Kalitta's best run of the day came out of the box with a 3.779-second elapsed time at 332.02 mph in his Mac Tools dragster. If the run holds, it will be the first No. 1 qualifier he's earned thus far in 2024. 

“That was a really nice run for us,” Kalitta said. “We just switched to that car (last week) in Phoenix, so we're just kind of trying to figure out a new car, which is much different than what we've been running. The conditions are probably going to be a little warm tomorrow, so we'll have the same opportunity tomorrow to see if we can run those numbers again, and we’re looking forward to it.

“We've been qualifying well, and for whatever reason, we got beat early in the rounds on Sunday, so we’re definitely looking for a good long day here (on Sunday).”

Steve Torrence  was second quickest with a 3.800, 332.75 while defending race winner Antron Brown was third with his 3.803 at 329.99.

Tasca, who has become the 2024 speed merchant by eclipsing 340 miles per hour in February, established his Mustang as the Funny Car to beat with a 3.931 elapsed time at 332.02 mph to close out the day. If the run stands through Saturday's two sessions, Tasca would earn his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and 17th in his career.

“This morning, I told my crew chiefs [Aaron Brooks and Todd Okuhara] that I didn't want to be going quicker than 3.95 and do not want to break 330 mph,” Tasca said. “I wanted them to prove to me that they can go slow when the weather's hot. In the first round, and they were everything was good, they listened to me, we ran 3.96. Everything's beautiful. 

“I told them the exact same thing, not to change anything for the second run, then Austin [Prock] goes 3.94 right in front of us. Aaron goes in the [tuning] box, he looks at me and says, 'I'm really sorry, but we're going to break out,' and it left and felt good and ran a huge speed. The number that impressed me the most was the 332. It was exactly what we needed to do after two very tough races for us."

Phoenix winner Austin Prock was second with a 3.947, 321.42, while John Force is third on the strength of his 3.962 at 313.73. 

Jeg Coughlin Jr., who made his return last fall in Las Vegas, went to the provisional No. 1 spot with a run of 6.641 at 206.89 in his Scag Power Equipment Camaro. It puts the veteran in line for his second straight top spot as he looks to build on his Phoenix success. 

The five-time champion said he's been impressed with how well his team has come together in such a short time. Coughlin has five career wins at Las Vegas but is looking for his first here in a four-wide format.

“This shows that our team is beginning to jell, from the crew chiefs to myself behind the wheel,” Coughlin said. “We’ve managed to make solid qualifying runs all season long. In Pomona, I had an unfortunate early exit and that stung a bit but we made a nice rebound in Phoenix.

“Now, here we are in Las Vegas, and I made a nice 6.64 run in Q1 and that held through Q2 after the heat set in. Tomorrow, the track should be a little better, and the weather might be better so that 6.64 might be in jeopardy. Hopefully, if that happens, it’s the SCAG-mobile that does it.”

Greg Anderson is second quickest with a 6.657 at 205.38, while Jerry Tucker is third with a pass of 6.670 at 206.16.

Qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 24th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fourth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.779 seconds, 332.02 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.800, 332.75; 3. Antron Brown, 3.803, 329.99; 4. Clay Millican, 3.820, 330.80; 5. Brittany Force, 3.820, 326.56; 6. Justin Ashley, 3.839, 320.66; 7. Jasmine Salinas, 3.848, 326.32; 8. Tony Stewart, 3.852, 323.50; 9. Shawn Reed, 3.863, 320.43; 10. Shawn Langdon, 3.954, 247.34; 11. Terry Totten, 4.092, 287.78; 12. Krista Baldwin, 4.329, 195.68; 13. Billy Torrence, 4.538, 178.24; 14. Josh Hart, 4.543, 180.19; 15. Tony Schumacher, 5.525, 121.44. 

Funny Car -- 1. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.931, 332.02; 2. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.947, 321.42; 3. John Force, Camaro, 3.962, 313.73; 4. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.993, 323.27; 5. Paul Lee, Dodge Charger, 4.006, 313.37; 6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.010, 323.12; 7. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 4.010, 318.09; 8. Steven Densham, Mustang, 4.020, 308.78; 9. Alexis DeJoria, GR Supra, 4.035, 319.98; 10. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 4.049, 315.05; 11. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.052, 311.05; 12. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 4.058, 307.79; 13. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.064, 312.57; 14. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.065, 314.31; 15. Jason Rupert, Mustang, 4.086, 312.64; 16. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 4.117, 275.73. Not Qualified: 17. Terry Haddock, 4.150, 299.60; 18. Jim Campbell, 4.215, 284.27; 19. Alex Miladinovich, 4.285, 281.07; 20. Buddy Hull, 4.310, 289.32. 

Pro Stock -- 1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Camaro, 6.641, 206.89; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.657, 205.38; 3. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.660, 206.16; 4. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.672, 206.13; 5. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.672, 204.70; 6. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.676, 206.16; 7. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.679, 204.63; 8. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.682, 204.82; 9. David Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.683, 205.91; 10. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.689, 205.16; 11. Cristian Cuadra, Mustang, 6.690, 205.72; 12. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.694, 205.26; 13. Sienna Wildgust, Camaro, 6.698, 204.88; 14. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.704, 203.71; 15. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.715, 205.60; 16. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.719, 204.98. Not Qualified: 17. Kenny Delco, 6.725, 203.55; 18. Steve Graham, 6.759, 203.80; 19. Aaron Stanfield, 6.783, 205.54; 20. Joey Grose, 13.051, 94.44.