Ashley, Hight, Enders and Krawiec Provisional Leaders at Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – September 3, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley delivered a strong performance under the lights at the prestigious 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, racing to the provisional No. 1 position on Friday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 16th of 22 races during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and the final event of the regular season.

In a preview of his semifinal matchup in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, Ashley went 3.716-seconds at 330.23 mph in a side-by-side pairing against Steve Torrence, putting him on track to earn his third career No. 1 qualifier in his 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect dragster. The young standout is also seeking his first victory at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

“You always want to come out hot and make a good run down the track,” Ashley said. “It’s a special weekend for us and we always want to put on a good show. People are going to go faster than that (this weekend), but this is a really good start for our team. We feel good about how we ran, and we’ll try to put our best foot forward tomorrow. This (callout) is going to be so exciting and we’re ready to go. I didn’t want to think about it too much until after we ran, but we can focus on trying to win it.”

Torrence went 3.725 at 327.51 to sit in the second spot, while Josh Hart is currently third after going 3.726 at 319.37. The semifinal field was also set for the completion of the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, which will be completed on Saturday. Brittany Force selected Mike Salinas for her opponent, while the other semifinal will feature Torrence and Ashley, with the final round set to take place at 6:25 p.m. ET.

In a thrilling Funny Car session under the lights at the Big Go, Hight powered to the No. 1 spot with a strong run of 3.870 at 331.94 in his 11,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS. It would give the points leader his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 75th in his career if it holds. Hight, who already has six wins this season, could enjoy a huge weekend at Indy as he’s on the verge of his 60th career win and is also participating in the Pep Boys NHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout on Sunday.

“This race is like a marathon, and you have to take it in stride and one run at a time,” Hight said. “Give an A-plus to the Auto Club team tonight. They did an awesome job. We’ve got a brand new Camaro body on the car and it went well. The forecast keeps changing and we could see runs like this all weekend long, which is going to make it exciting for the fans and a challenge for us as teams and racers.”

Bob Tasca III, who has won two straight races this season, also made a stellar run, going 3.878 at 331.53 to put him second. John Force’s 3.881 at 333.25 gave him the third spot after the first session.

Enders’ dominant 2022 season and run at Indy continued on Friday, as the Pro Stock points leader slipped past Dallas Glenn for the provisional No. 1 with a run of 6.598 at 208.49 in her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. Glenn ran an identical 6.598 but went a slightly slower 208.01. Enders is the back-to-back winner at Indy and is racing for her fourth career victory at the U.S. Nationals. She’s also had a dominant season thus far, racking up six victories.

“It’s definitely exciting to come out like that,” Enders said. “We’re coming here with two consecutive victories here at the U.S. Nationals, so we’ve had a lot of success here and I’m definitely looking forward to that trend continuing. Having said that, it’s tough competition out there. We’ve got a new motor in my car, and we saw some promising numbers, so we figured we would run it here. It’s a good start and there’s definitely something left in it, and we’ve got a great race car this weekend.”

Glenn is in the second spot with his quality run, while defending world champ Greg Anderson, who has six Indy wins, is third after going 6.599 at 207.78.

Looking for his 50th career win on drag racing’s grandest stage, Krawiec made a strong first impression in Pro Stock Motorcycle on Friday, delivering a 6.826 at 198.79 on his Vance & Hines Suzuki. It would be the second top spot of 2022 for Krawiec, who has advanced to back-to-back final rounds this year, and the 51st in his career. In addition to the milestone career victory, Krawiec, the defending event winner at Indy, is also seeking his first victory of the season.

“I just want to win,” Krawiec said. “I’m just going to come out here and stay focused on my program, keep my head looking forward. I feel very confident. I’ve got a good motorcycle and I’m coming into where I need to be at the right time. This is a points-and-a-half and it’s about being really consistent on raceday.”

Angie Smith is currently second after the opening qualifying session with a run of 6.859 at 199.85 and Jerry Savoie is a spot behind after going 6.882 at 192.91.

Qualifying continues at 1:15 p.m. ET on Saturday at the prestigious Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout will also finish on Saturday, with the semifinals taking place at 2:40 p.m.

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Friday’s results after the first one of five rounds of qualifying for the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, 16th of 22 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Monday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Justin Ashley, 3.716 seconds, 330.23 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.725, 327.51; 3. Josh Hart, 3.726, 319.37; 4. Mike Salinas, 3.727, 325.85; 5. Billy Torrence, 3.734, 328.38; 6. Doug Kalitta, 3.753, 322.19; 7. Shawn Langdon, 3.754, 322.73; 8. Clay Millican, 3.761, 322.96; 9. Antron Brown, 3.764, 325.61; 10. Leah Pruett, 3.765, 325.22; 11. Tripp Tatum, 3.781, 318.54; 12. Doug Foley, 3.792, 317.72; 13. Dan Mercier, 3.793, 312.71; 14. Alex Laughlin, 3.813, 303.16; 15. Will Smith, 3.844, 318.02; 16. Krista Baldwin, 3.866, 305.01. Not Qualified: 17. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.904, 305.77; 18. Scott Palmer, 3.972, 264.39; 19. Brittany Force, 4.739, 152.06; 20. Spencer Massey, 4.809, 144.33; 21. Austin Prock, 5.363, 125.20; 22. Tony Schumacher, 7.117, 84.44; 23. Lex Joon, DQ; 24. Scott Farley, DQ.

Funny Car — 1. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.870, 331.94; 2. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.878, 331.53; 3. John Force, Camaro, 3.881, 333.25; 4. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.905, 323.19; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.906, 324.83; 6. J.R. Todd, Toyota Supra, 3.927, 331.04; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.935, 321.73; 8. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.938, 309.49; 9. Alexis DeJoria, Supra, 3.953, 296.24; 10. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.963, 322.73; 11. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.974, 279.73; 12. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.047, 300.06; 13. Justin Schriefer, Charger, 4.132, 283.19; 14. Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.375, 208.07; 15. John Smith, Charger, 4.440, 196.73; 16. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 5.063, 155.85. Not Qualified: 17. Jim Campbell, DQ; 18. Ron Capps, DQ.

Pro Stock — 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.598, 208.49; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.598, 208.01; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.599, 207.78; 4. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.600, 207.88; 5. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.606, 208.10; 6. Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 6.612, 207.75; 7. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.613, 208.46; 8. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.615, 208.33; 9. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.618, 208.52; 10. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.624, 206.73; 11. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Mustang, 6.629, 207.15; 12. Camrie Caruso, Camaro, 6.633, 207.59; 13. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.640, 207.02; 14. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.644, 207.43; 15. Fernando Cuadra, Mustang, 6.678, 206.01; 16. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.736, 204.63. Not Qualified: 17. Kenny Delco, 7.594, 190.27; 18. Alan Prusiensky, 10.307, 88.96.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.826, 198.79; 2. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.859, 199.85; 3. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.882, 192.91; 4. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.884, 198.76; 5. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.886, 197.59; 6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.890, 196.27; 7. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.898, 195.00; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.929, 196.10; 9. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.937, 192.28; 10. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.946, 194.41; 11. Scotty Pollacheck, EBR, 6.958, 196.53; 12. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.981, 194.04; 13. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 7.017, 193.49; 14. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.079, 190.00; 15. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.079, 168.77; 16. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 7.172, 184.55. Not Qualified: 17. Ryan Oehler, 7.396, 156.08; 18. Chip Ellis, 7.891, 168.49; 19. Ron Tornow, 10.209, 84.16.

To purchase tickets to the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. All children 12 and under will be admitted free in the general-admission area with a paid adult. For more information about NHRA, visit www.nhra.com.

About Camping World Holdings, Inc.

Camping World Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL, (together with its subsidiaries) is America’s largest retailer of RVs and related products and services. Our vision is to build a long-term legacy business that makes RVing fun and easy, and our Camping World and Good Sam brands have been serving RV consumers since 1966. We strive to build long-term value for our customers, employees, and shareholders by combining a unique and comprehensive assortment of RV products and services with a national network of RV dealerships, service centers and customer support centers along with the industry’s most extensive online presence and a highly trained and knowledgeable team of associates serving our customers, the RV lifestyle, and the communities in which we operate. We also believe that our Good Sam organization and family of programs and services uniquely enables us to connect with our customers as stewards of the RV enthusiast community and the RV lifestyle. With over 185 locations in 40 states, Camping World, and sister company Gander RV, have grown to become prime destinations for everything RV. For more information, visit www.CampingWorld.com.

About NHRA

Headquartered in San Dimas, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 22 national events featuring the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown and Top Fuel Harley Series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. With over 120 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

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