(Photo Credit: Racing Refresh/Peyton Lohr)
By Logan Morris
Day one of the 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals had a somber undertone throughout the day Friday. The Drag Racing world is still reeling from the absence of sixteen-time Funny Car World Champion, John Force, while he recovers from injuries sustained at last week’s Virginia Nationals. Tributes and well wishes were a frequent sight at a track where part of the grandstands are named after Force.
(Photo Credit: Racing Refresh/Peyton Lohr)
Funny Car points leader Austin Prock served as the lone member of John Force Racing and got the weekend started on the right foot for his team. Prock set a new track record as he bolted to the No. 1 qualifying position Friday. Prock’s run proved to be the quickest of both sessions as he ran a 3.863 while going 327.51 mph. I got to ask the Funny Car phenom how tough it’s been getting prepared this week;
“Well, you know, we got a job to do, so we're just focused on that. You know, trying to make John Force Racing proud. We're out here. Our team is representing all of our brands this weekend. So we're trying our best to just keep doing what we've been doing, and not to get caught up in it. It definitely is hard. A lot of things going on right now and a lot of emotion. But you know those runs today, definitely the first one for sure, for me, I could breathe. Hopefully, as the weekend goes on, it’ll get easier.”
Elsewhere in Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta goes into Saturday as Provisional No.1 qualifier. The run continues an incredible stretch that dates back to last season.
Greg Anderson took the top spot in Pro Stock. His Q1 session clocked in at 6.592 while going 207.69 mph. He was unable to run during Q2 due to a part failure. He expects all will be fine tomorrow and Sunday,
“I'm not down at all. I'm not disappointed, just a five dollar part. It's going to happen. It's drag racing, things like that are going to happen and I'm gonna thank my lucky stars. Hopefully it doesn't have anything like that Sunday. We got it out of the way, when it honestly didn't matter. So, dodged the bullet there, I guess.”
Matt Smith set a new track record in Pro Stock Motorcycles of 6.748 at 201.31. However, he’s focused on Sunday.
“Qualifying doesn’t mean anything if you can't back it up on Sunday, and that's what I've learned so far this year. We've had a good bike in qualifying a couple races and we haven't closed the deal.”
Day two of the Summit Equipment Racing NHRA Nationals kicks off at 1:30 pm Saturday.