NHRA’s Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is bounding to the close of its 2024 season, a 20-race extravaganza that will crown champions in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle. The penultimate race takes place this coming weekend on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a venue known for providing awesome racing and seasonal fun – after all, it’s Halloween weekend. The 24th annual NHRA Ford Performance Nationals will offer four qualifying sessions and four rounds of eliminations, together with Lucas Oil Sportsman competition that begins on Halloween proper, together with Legends Nitro Series qualifying and eliminations throughout the weekend.
Additionally, this is the final race for the Congruity Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, which is a wide-open race between 16 drivers still mathematically alive in the title chase. It’s the last of 10 events and it’s likely this championship battle will go to the final round. With a maximum of 179 points on offer at this race and 30 points for each round win, eyes will be on former world champion Khalid Al Balooshi, who is the current points leader. Justin Bond is just 12 points back in second place, with Jordan Lazic 24 points in arrears. Lazic has Ken Quartuccio breathing down his neck and two points behind him, with Mason Wright rounding out the top five, just 35 points behind Al Balooshi. His four primary contenders are looking for their first title, so keeping one’s cool and putting up the points should be a trial demanding composure.
Same for the Mission Foods contenders. Composure while trying to earn a title is vital. Last year’s winners at this race were Mike Salinas in Top Fuel and Robert Hight for Funny Car. Neither one of them is racing this coming weekend; rookie Jasmine Salinas is racing her dad’s dragster with coaching and tuning by Rob Flynn, while Austin Prock is the points leader in Funny Car, driving Hight’s Chevrolet Camaro SS, with his dad Jimmy and brother Thomas turning the knobs. Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle’s 2023 race winners are in the mix for repeat championships and racing this weekend. They are Erica Enders, the six-time champ from Elite Motorsports and Vance & Hines’ Gaige Herrera, looking for a second consecutive title on his Suzuki Hayabusa3.
Taking a close look at Top Fuel, there’s only 255 points separating first from tenth place. That’s nothing, particularly with points-and-a-half on offer for the season finale in Pomona, CA. A good showing here in Sin City could change the direction of this title fight, with only 88 points currently separating first from fourth! Justin Ashley, who led 2023’s regular season but was unable to secure his first title, holds first place, for the moment. He’s hounded by three-time champ Antron Brown in second place, lagging by 44 points. Kalitta Motorsports is in the mix as well. Shawn Langdon holds third place (-76) in Connie Kalitta’s personal dragster. Langdon won the season opener, was strong in the regular season with two wins, but hasn’t been able to secure a win in the Countdown to the Championship – yet – and realizes, “We definitely need to have a good race to stay in contention.”
Four-time champ and five-time winner at this venue, Steve Torrence holds fourth place, 88 points back. “We just can’t make any more mistakes,” Torrence realizes. “It’s all about what we can do this weekend.” Eight-time champ Tony Schumacher is in fifth place, lagging by 105, while Clay Millican is only nine points behind him. Langdon’s teammate Doug Kalitta, who won his first championship last year is seventh. After failing to qualify for the 70th Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend, Kalitta’s been in a swoon he’d like to come out of! Same for two-time champ Brittany Face, 190 points back. Rookie Tony Stewart, on pins and needles as wife Leah Pruett – for whom he’s driving as she carries their child – preps for the duo’s next act, is 241 points behind Ashley, while Billy Torrence completes the Top 10 and is the driver 255 points behind Ashley.
This weekend’s official entry list shows 19 Top Fuel dragsters in the pits. In addition to our Top 10 drivers, look to Schumacher’s stablemate, 2023 European TF champ Ida Zetterstrom, Josh Hart, Will Smith, Lex Joon, Spencer Massey, Shawn Reed, Travis Shumake and Scott Palmer, the latter primed for both this event and Pomona with backing from former Pro Stock standout Rodger Brogdon’s Rooftec brand.
The internet is all abuzz with the idea that, perhaps, Austin Prock might bring home his first Funny Car championship at Las Vegas. True, he’s got 147 points in hand over the boss, John Force, whose John Force Racing PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS is being wheeled by 2012 Funny Car titleholder Jack Beckman over the final eight races of this season, since Force’s late June accident at Richmond, VA. Force will be at the track this weekend, soaking in that nitro scent he’s missed since suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in his crash. It’s the 16-time champ’s first trackside outing and it’s a given that both Brittany Force, Prock and Beckman will be putting their best feet forward in welcoming Force back to his trackside family.
While the primary thrust points to Prock and Force/Beckman, reigning and four-time champ Matt Hagan is 168 points back in his Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Winning two weeks ago at Dallas for his third victory of the 2024 season Hagan, a four-time winner in the fall Las Vegas race has two No. 1 qualifiers at this track, achieved earlier in his stellar career. Three-time champ Ron Capps remains in this championship mix, racing from fourth place in his Toyota GR Supra flopper. He’s 180 points behind Prock and is the final driver truly mathematically eligible. Owning four event titles, Capps believes, “It’s going to be a fast, fast weekend. Cool conditions, and it’s already a fast track. Conditions are telling us it’s going to be track-record speeds,” Capps pronounced.
While Bob Tasca III is 211 points behind Prock in his Ford Mustang, he’ll be gunning for honors at his manufacturer’s event, with Ford Performance the race’s sponsor. Tasca III is outside the 200-point line, but gaining qualifying points and going rounds, he might just upset the class’ leaders. Rookie Daniel Wilkerson is sixth and Blake Alexander seventh, both driving Ford Mustangs and wanting to perform for the brand, while 2018 champ J.R. Todd is eighth in his Toyota GR Supra from Kalitta Motorsports. Chad Green holds ninth place in his Mustang and Alexis DeJoria’s DC Motorsports Toyota GR Supra is in tenth place, a massive 360 points in arrears.
How about 21 Funny Cars this weekend? That’s the number NHRA has stated will be at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Adding to our ten top players are Buddy Hull in Jim Dunn’s Dodge Charger, two-time champ Cruz Pedregon (who will forget his full-track wheelie several years ago here?) in his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, Paul Lee’s Charger, Terry Haddock’s Mustang, Dave Richards in his Toyota Camry, Blake Alexander driving Jim Head’s Mustang, John Hale’s Charger, Steven Densham’s Mustang, Jeff Diehl’s Toyota Camry, Tim Gibbons and Jason Rupert driving Ford Mustangs and, finally, Christopher Morel in a Charger. That’s going to make for lots of action in the Flopper class!
Pro Stock, too, is oversubscribed this weekend with 20 cars in the pits. If 2023 race winner Erica Enders is able to put together a second straight win in this two-across race on The Strip, she could move her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro from her current fourth place, where she’s 111 points behind KB Titan Racing’s 2021 NHRA Rookie of the Year Dallas Glenn and his Camaro, teammate Aaron Stanfield’s Camaro (-53) and KB Titan’s Greg Anderson, who is 90 points behind his teammate. Enders, who has an amazing 10 wins at this track – the most in NHRA history – has experienced a roller-coaster year.
Elite Motorsports owns all but sixth and tenth places in the back half of this top 10 list, with Jeg Coughlin Jr. fifth and 196 points behind Glenn, KB Titan’s Matt Hartford (-302), Christian Cuadra, Jerry Tucker and Troy Coughlin Jr. from Elite and, finally, Eric Latino of KB Titan, who is 359 points behind Glenn. Drivers looking to help mix up the standings in Las Vegas include KB Titan’s Camrie Caruso and Deric Kramer, Kenny Delco, Mason and Chis McGaha, KB Titan’s Cory Reed, Joey Grose, Derrick Reese, Fernando Cuadra Jr. and his brother David Cuadra. Only the Cuadra brothers are racing Ford Mustang bodies in this race.
There are 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle racers on the current entry list, led by reigning titleholder Gaige Herrera and his Vance & Hines Suzuki Hayabusa3. He leads six-time champ Matt Smith’s Buell by 62 points, rookie teammate Richard Gadson by 161 and the Buell of Hector Arana Jr by 185. Fifth place goes to 2023 Rookie of the Year Chase Van Sant (-230) on his WAR Suzuki, followed by the Buells of Angie Smith, Jianna Evaristo and John Hall, all riding for Matt Smith Racing. Veteran and Suzuki stalwart Steve Johnson, who made his 500th start earlier this year is ninth and Chris Bostick lags Herrera by 404 points on his WAR Suzuki, the sole motorcycle using a parachute to aid it in stopping at the top end.
Marc Ingwersen, who is still using an older spec Buell engine (as does Hector Arana Jr) returns to the fray, as does 2003 champ Geno Scali on a Vance & Hines Suzuki. They are joined by Malcolm Phillips Jr.’s Suzuki GSXR, local Kahea Woods Jr.’s Suzuki, Ryan Oehler’s Buell and Clayton Howey, riding a Suzuki. It’s a tough haul to Las Vegas and it’s apparent that some of the motorcycle entries aren’t going to come out just for this race, or for the SEMA show immediately following.
As Ron Capps alluded, the weather is probably going to induce low ETs and high speeds over this four-day event. The Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series starts the festivities on Thursday, while the Mission Foods grouping starts on Friday. In addition to the five classes already noted, look for Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Mountain Motor Pro Stock and Factory X on the grounds. FS1 will show qualifying, race finals and a postface show on Sunday, with re-airs on FS2. Check local listings. Planning to be on-site? Bring jackets, hats and gloves! We’re expecting highs in the 70s Thursday and Friday, with Saturday and Sunday’s temps in the mid60s. There is a chance of showers for both Saturday night and Sunday, forecasters have said.
By Anne Proffit
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