Hartford called out KB Titan Racing teammate Eric Latino for the opening-round matchup and defeated him with a run of 6.615 at 206.89. After Anderson went 6.587 at 205.98 to defeat six-time world champion Erica Enders, Anderson called out Jeg Coughlin Jr., leaving a standout matchup between Hartford and Glenn.
Anderson took down Coughlin with 6.611 at 206.80, while Hartford went a better 6.603 at 207.82 to defeat Glenn and set up the final round. He put together another strong run against Anderson and will now try to sweep the weekend on Sunday.
“These conditions are very difficult. It’s just when you have that big ball of fire in the sky shining down like it is, it makes it very tricky for everybody,” Hartford said. “We made some really good calls today. We ran consistent and I think that’s what it’s going to take for tomorrow. We won this race two years ago and we were consistent in qualifying. If we can go out and be consistent on a tree and make good laps, you know, we’re looking for a long day tomorrow.”
Anderson ended up with the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock thanks to Friday’s 6.594 at 206.78. It is his fourth No. 1 spot of the season, giving him a chance to add to a season that has already included four wins.
“Obviously, a great thing to have a number one qualifier going into Sunday,” Anderson said. “The final round of the Callout didn’t go the way we wanted. I had a good run going today, until I didn’t.
“It just didn’t get a hold of anything in low gear and it went left real hard, got on the center line, and I was all over the racetrack trying to get it straight. I’m telling you, anybody in the class can beat anybody and Matt slapped me around like he slapped me around pretty much every Saturday this year.”
Glenn qualified second with a 6.596 at 207.15 and Hartford took third with a 6.604.
Eliminations for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals begin at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park. |