ASHLEY, HIGHT, ENDERS AND KRAWIEC PROVISIONAL LEADERS AT DODGE POWER BROKERS NHRA U.S. NATIONALS
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 2, 2022) – 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.
***
INDIANAPOLIS — 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.
Phil Mass from Gurnee, Illinois USA (Comp Number: 302) 2003 - Category: ALKYDRAG, Type: DN, Class: TA/D, Div: 3 "Mass & Quinn/A-1 Amoco" Owned by Phil Mass from Gurnee, Illinois USA 2001 Dragster by Dave Uyehara | Powered by a 464 cubic inch TFX Hemi with 3 speed manual transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at […]
Mark McHugh from Newark, Delaware USA (Comp Number: 1434) 2002 - Category: PM-NITROUS, Type: NN, Class: Pro Modified, Div: 1 "McHugh Motorsports" Owned by Mark McHugh from Newark, Delaware USA 1968 Chevrolet Camaro by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 706 cubic inch Chevrolet with 4 speed manual transmission 1/4 Mile ET: 6.728 […]
Steve Salvadore from Barre, Massachusetts USA (Comp Number: 1973) 2002 - Category: PM-BLOWN, Type: BN, Class: Pro Modified, Div: 1 "Renegade Chevrolet" Owned by Steve Salvadore from Barre, Massachusetts USA 1953 Chevrolet Corvette by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 526 cubic inch Pontiac with 3 speed manual transmission 1/4 Mile ET: 6.302 […]
Michael Faucher from Paxton, Massachusetts USA (Comp Number: 134) 2002 - Category: PM-BLOWN, Type: BN, Class: Pro Modified, Div: 1 "Quest Racing Engines" Owned by John Russo from Danvers, Massachusetts USA 1992 Pontiac Trans Am by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 526 cubic inch Oldsmobile by Quest Racing Engines with 3 speed […]
Fred Hahn from West Seneca, New York USA 2002 - Category: PM-BLOWN, Type: BN, Class: Pro Modified, Div: 1 "Summit Racing" Owned by Jim Oddy from Elma, New York USA 2001 Chevrolet Corvette by Murray Anderson | Powered by a 526 cubic inch Oddy Hemi by Oddys Automotive with 3 speed manual transmission 1/4 Mile […]
Bob Rieger from Tampa, Florida USA (Comp Number: 1627) 2002 - Category: PM-BLOWN, Type: BN, Class: Pro Modified, Div: 2 "Rieger Motorsports" Owned by Bob Rieger from Tampa, Florida USA 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 526 cubic inch BAE Keith Black Hemi with 4 speed manual transmission […]
Randy Smith from N Kansas City, Kansas USA (Comp Number: 503R) 2026 - Category: TOPDRAG, Type: PN, Class: Top Dragster, Div: 5 "R.J. Smith Racing" Owned by R.J. Smith from N Kansas City, Kansas USA 2011 Dragster by M&M | Powered by a 540 cubic inch Chevrolet with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at […]
Tim White from Harrisonville, Missouri USA (Comp Number: 524W) 2026 - Category: TOPDRAG, Type: PN, Class: Top Dragster, Div: 5 "Tim White" Owned by Tim White from Harrisonville, Missouri USA Dragster by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a Unknown cubic inch Chevrolet with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at Unknown | 1/4 […]
Tim Cunningham from Tulsa, Oklahoma USA (Comp Number: 4572) 2026 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 4 "Honey Brothers Racing" Owned by Tim Cunningham from Tulsa, Oklahoma USA 1993 Chevrolet Lumina by Tim McAmis | Powered by a Unknown cubic inch Chevrolet by Reher-Morrison with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at […]
J.J. Heber from Aurora, Colorado USA (Comp Number: 5464) 2012 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 5 "J.J. Heber" Owned by J.J. Heber from Aurora, Colorado USA 2006 Ford Mustang by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 622 cubic inch Ford with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at Unknown […]