Brittany Force’s weekend at the 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals keeps getting better, as she broke the Top Fuel track record on Saturday at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis to stay in the provisional No. 1 spot.
Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the final regular-season race of the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. It is the 18th of 24 events in 2019.
Force put down an impressive blast of 3.645-seconds at 332.26 mph to set the track record in her Advance Auto Parts dragster and remain in the top spot in what is already the quickest qualifying field in Top Fuel history. The 2017 world champion is chasing her first Indy win and stays in line to claim her sixth No. 1 qualifier of 2019 and 16th overall. The Torrence family is close behind, as Billy Torrence moved to second after his pass of 3.655 at a track speed record of 333.33, while his son, Steve, the defending world champ and points leader, is third after going 3.656 at 331.12.
“They’ve all felt fast this weekend and consistency is really what we’ve been looking for,” said Force, who has one win in 2019. “That’s the main thing we’ve been struggling with and to put a number like that on the board, that was pretty awesome. I was pumped when they told me what we ran. I knew we were going to push again, but I didn’t know conditions were going to be better. We stepped it up and got around everybody. It’s the biggest race of the season and it’s Indy, and everything is kind of falling together at the right time.”
Funny Car’s Beckman stayed in the No. 1 position, improving on his performance from Friday with a run of 3.861 at 330.07 in his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Beckman, who is after his first win of 2019, is closing in on first No. 1 qualifier this year and 25th in his career. Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan made a huge leap in the final qualifying session, jumping from 13th to second with his run of 3.874 at 327.66. John Force is currently qualified third after going 3.876 at 332.67 on Saturday.
In Pro Stock, points leader Butner moved into the top spot in his Jim Butner Auto Group Camaro after going 6.559 at 210.28. He is trying for his third No. 1 qualifier this year and 11th in his career. Butner is also after his first Pro Stock win at Indy, looking to become the sixth straight first-time winner in the class at the prestigious race. Butner’s KB Racing teammate, Jason Line, improved on his top time from Friday but now sits in second after running 6.561 at 210.64. Erica Enders is a spot back thanks to her 6.575 at 208.94.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Sampey jumped into the No. 1 position with a 6.816 at 195.53 on her Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson FXDR. If it holds, it would be Sampey’s first No. 1 qualifier since 2016 and 50th in her career. The run also helped Sampey’s playoff chances, as the three-time world champion and two-time Indy winner came into the weekend ninth in points. Defending world champion Matt Smith also made a big move on Saturday into second with a 6.820 at 197.25. Points leader Andrew Hines follows in third with his 6.823 at 195.87.
Qualifying continues at 1:15 p.m. ET on Sunday with the final two sessions at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. Television coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), and continues with live qualifying action on FS1 at 4 p.m. ET.
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BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Saturday’s results after the first three of five rounds of qualifying for the 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, 18th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Sunday for Monday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.645 seconds, 332.26 mph; 2. Billy Torrence, 3.655, 333.33; 3. Steve Torrence, 3.656, 331.12; 4. Mike Salinas, 3.681, 331.20; 5. Richie Crampton, 3.696, 326.32; 6. Antron Brown, 3.698, 329.02; 7. Leah Pritchett, 3.701, 322.42; 8. Doug Kalitta, 3.706, 332.75; 9. Clay Millican, 3.706, 324.36; 10. Shawn Reed, 3.714, 326.00; 11. Jordan Vandergriff, 3.717, 324.36; 12. Scott Palmer, 3.740, 321.27; 13. Austin Prock, 3.742, 328.06; 14. Terry McMillen, 3.764, 325.14; 15. Wayne Newby, 3.771, 323.19; 16. T.J. Zizzo, 3.782, 326.08. Not Qualified: 17. Pat Dakin, 3.813, 308.00; 18. Luigi Novelli, 3.986, 295.92; 19. Cameron Ferre, 3.987, 297.29; 20. Lex Joon, 6.064, 110.21.
Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 3.861, 330.07; 2. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.874, 327.66; 3. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.876, 332.67; 4. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.882, 327.66; 5. J.R. Todd, Toyota Camry, 3.883, 331.20; 6. Shawn Langdon, Camry, 3.887, 330.63; 7. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.896, 331.94; 8. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.900, 325.30; 9. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.920, 325.85; 10. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.923, 326.08; 11. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.949, 291.13; 12. Ray Martin, Camry, 3.962, 325.22; 13. Bob Bode, Mustang, 3.982, 320.20; 14. Jonnie Lindberg, Mustang,
3.989, 282.01; 15. Justin Schriefer, Charger, 4.005, 317.94; 16. Phil Burkart, Charger, 4.061, 285.53. Not Qualified: 17. Jim Campbell, 4.164, 300.06; 18. Tommy Johnson Jr., 4.368, 200.71; 19. Terry Haddock, 7.774, 83.46.
Pro Stock — 1. Bo Butner, Chevy Camaro, 6.559, 210.28; 2. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.561, 210.64; 3. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.575, 208.94; 4. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.575, 207.78; 5. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.576, 207.94; 6. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.580, 209.01; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.586, 207.59; 8. Fernando Cuadra, Camaro, 6.587, 209.20; 9. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.592, 208.68; 10. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.596, 208.52; 11. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.605, 208.20; 12. Steve Graham, Camaro, 6.624, 207.30; 13. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.627, 208.26; 14. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.635, 208.07; 15. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.640, 206.83; 16. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Dart, 6.656, 207.56. Not Qualified: 17. Cristian Cuadra, 6.693, 205.72; 18. Wally Stroupe, 6.694, 206.13; 19. Robert River, 6.814, 200.80; 20. Jeremy Martorella, 6.848, 202.45; 21. Richard Freeman, 7.776, 130.73.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Angelle Sampey, Harley-Davidson, 6.816, 195.53; 2. Matt Smith, EBR, 6.820, 197.25; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.823, 195.87; 4. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.846, 195.70; 5. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.878, 194.72; 6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.880, 195.11; 7. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.885, 193.63; 8. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.891, 195.73; 9. Scotty Pollacheck, EBR, 6.924, 193.96; 10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.924, 192.55; 11. Hector Arana, EBR, 6.926, 194.97; 12. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.928, 195.11; 13. Cory Reed, EBR, 6.970, 191.29; 14. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.974, 191.40; 15. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.026, 187.26; 16. Joey Gladstone, EBR, 7.032, 189.34. Not Qualified: 17. Jianna Salinas, 7.214, 183.89; 18. Michael Ray, 7.378, 185.26; 19. Andie Rawlings, 9.491, 95.34.
This story was originally published on August 31, 2019. 
