NHRA 2025. Round 4. Las Vegas. Finals. Part 1

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Transcript

00:00:00There is nothing normal about the city of Las Vegas, Nevada.

00:00:04Known for its grand excess, its crazy architecture, the big risks, the big bets, and everything that goes along with it.

00:00:10It is a city unlike any other in the world.

00:00:12And that lack of normalcy extends 15 miles to the north of the city, to a place called the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,

00:00:18where even the drag racing is unique, as we're going to be racing four wide this year,

00:00:22as we do it every spring race here at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

00:00:26Coming into this race, Tony Stewart, nearly winning in Pomona, California, is looking for redemption.

00:00:31And the defending Funny Car World Champion, he's been off to a rocky start, certainly rockier than he expected,

00:00:36and he's trying to turn it around here in the desert.

00:00:38It's time to go four wide drag racing.

00:00:42Just when you thought you'd seen it all a little while back at the NHRA Winter Nationals.

00:00:48Alexander's going to get around and they're sideways at the finish line.

00:00:52Number 16 is just up in at number one.

00:00:54It is the first time since 2012 that has happened.

00:00:59I'm so proud to drive this Shuffler Dodge.

00:01:00It's cool to be in Los Angeles doing this, especially against the Kroc family.

00:01:03They're fun to race.

00:01:05Waves it up.

00:01:06Stewart smokes the tires.

00:01:07Milligan blows up an engine in a chaotic final round.

00:01:10Clay Milligan picks up a Winter Nationals victory.

00:01:13All I know is we won!

00:01:16Here comes the first of, for the first time, three four-wide races this season.

00:01:21The scene is the strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and everything you thought was impossible to top in two-wide racing just got doubled.

00:01:30Double the earth-shattering noise.

00:01:34Double the incredible 300-mile-per-hour speeds.

00:01:37And double the chance for the seemingly impossible to actually happen.

00:01:43A 28-light for Justin Ashley, and across the finish line they go, it will be Ashley and Terry Todd.

00:01:51In the city of sin, you have to remember, speed never lies, and neither does the Christmas tree.

00:01:57What a final round they charge to the finish line strike.

00:02:00And the win line is on for Bob Tasca.

00:02:03It's a triple hole shot for the first time in funny car history.

00:02:06I knew I had to step up.

00:02:07You're racing against the best in the world over here.

00:02:09We got the trophy, baby!

00:02:12Christian Quadra.

00:02:13Double-01 reaction diamond at the finish line.

00:02:16It is Quadra getting there first with a triple hole shot.

00:02:19No racing series on earth places 48,000 horsepower on the same racetrack at the same time.

00:02:27No racing series on earth races four-wide matchups.

00:02:31And no racing series can produce combined speeds of more than 1,000 miles an hour, like the NHRA can.

00:02:40The impossible speeds.

00:02:41The impossible sounds.

00:02:43The impossible finishes.

00:02:45All doubled.

00:02:46It's the NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals, here on FS1.

00:02:56Beyond the impossible speeds and all the other elements, this race is also one that is nearly impossible to predict a winner at

00:03:02because of the variables that come with competing in a four-wide fashion.

00:03:06Welcome, everybody, to the top end of the strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

00:03:10Brian Lones joined by a guy who won here a couple of times, both in championship fashion, 2003 and 2007.

00:03:15But I want to focus on today.

00:03:17It's going to be hot.

00:03:17The sun is out, of course.

00:03:19But the big question is, in this city where risk is often rewarded, will today's winners be the racers that push all their chips into the middle of the table for a big bet

00:03:26or the ones that pull them back and become more conservative?

00:03:29Well, you've got to be smart with the strategy.

00:03:30You might be able to push your chips in in the first round.

00:03:32Coolest part of the day.

00:03:33With a 90-degree forecast, that means it's going to get hot.

00:03:36The traction's going to go away.

00:03:37The tuner's going to have to tune.

00:03:38Going to have to set their cars up.

00:03:39But after four qualifying runs, they have a good range and a good idea of what they need to adjust.

00:03:44But what I love about the four-wide is it seems to put more on the shoulders of the driver.

00:03:48You go from one Christmas tree to two.

00:03:50Now the driver has to concern himself with who's staging, where are they staging, what lane, who's staging first, staging last.

00:03:56So there's a lot that plays into getting off the starting line.

00:03:59If you have a good car, you've just increased your odds.

00:04:01Clay Millican defied the odds at Pomona, California two weeks ago, picking up his eighth career victory at the Lucas Oil Winter Nationals.

00:04:08It was a dramatic final round against Tony Stewart, one that saw him finishing the race with flames trailing behind the car.

00:04:17Can't Clay Millican stave off an inevitable piece of NHRA drag racing history?

00:04:21Flames are up.

00:04:22Stewart smokes the tires.

00:04:23Millican blows up an engine in a chaotic final round.

00:04:26And Clay Millican, with flames trailing behind his dragster, picks up a Winter Nationals victory.

00:04:32Wild.

00:04:36For Clay Millican, it has been a career punctuated by big victories.

00:04:40The 2017 Bristol, his first career NHRA win was humongous.

00:04:44Went into U.S. Nationals last year, the Winter Nationals this year.

00:04:47It has been a very productive couple of seasons for the Parks Plus Top Fuel Dragster.

00:04:52We're going four-wide drag racing.

00:04:53We're going three-wide reporters-wise this weekend.

00:04:55We have Bruno Massel in the pit area.

00:04:57We have David Freiberger.

00:04:58We have Jordan Vandegrift.

00:04:59And fellas, nod and smile if you think Vandegrift needs to go up one shirt size.

00:05:03Let's go to Bruno Massel.

00:05:06Morning, Brian.

00:05:06Down here in the Top Fuel pits where the cruise ships are starting to get these cars assembled, warmed up, and ready for race day here in Las Vegas.

00:05:13Top Fuel seemed to struggle a little bit in qualifying.

00:05:15Now, taking into account we had 97-degree temperatures and bright sun that made it tough to get hold of the racetrack.

00:05:21But as conditions got better throughout the course of the weekend, so did those elapsed times.

00:05:25Now, there were some teams that really struggled to get a hold of the facility as a whole, one of them being Clay Milliken and his team.

00:05:30You know, Clay's our most recent winner on tour just two weeks ago.

00:05:33He had a quick, consistent car and even quicker reaction times bringing home the Wally as a result.

00:05:38Those reaction times might come into play today as he's going to need them.

00:05:41And qualifying is only able to muster a 391 to slide into that number nine spot.

00:05:46The good news for Clay and any team that's struggled in qualifying, the four-wide format really seems to shake things up and make for an interesting race day.

00:05:53It certainly does, Bruno.

00:05:54History has been a big guide on that one.

00:05:56We talk about qualifying and we talk about the effect that these qualifying runs have had this weekend.

00:06:01And you can see Brittany Forrest, the Graham Ray all-performance colors on the car, 377.8, 327 miles an hour.

00:06:08This was during the Mission Too Fast, Too Tasty Challenge, a nice run under cloudy skies.

00:06:12We then went to the final round where we would find Brittany Forrest on the racetrack with the likes of Doug Coletta, Clay Milliken, and Tony Stewart.

00:06:19And you can see Coletta having the most appearances in victories in a Mission Too Fast, Too Tasty Challenge format.

00:06:24And he added another one to the pile on the Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster.

00:06:28That's more money and those are more points to be applied after the countdown begins.

00:06:32But for Brittany Forrest, a solid 375 effort.

00:06:35Doug just had a better horse to ride.

00:06:37Let's talk to the runner-up of the Mission Too Fast, Too Tasty Challenge, Brittany Forrest.

00:06:43Qualified number two and a runner-up in the Tasties, Brittany Forrest's last win on tour was here in Las Vegas last year.

00:06:49Brittany, how close are you to your first win in 2025?

00:06:51I feel it's right around the corner.

00:06:52We're hoping it's this weekend here in Las Vegas.

00:06:54We've been successful here in the past and we're with GRP, Grand Ray Hill Performance.

00:06:58So we want to do well for everyone involved.

00:07:00John First Racing, all our cars are in a really good position going into Sunday today.

00:07:06So things that can only happen not only just in Las Vegas but in a four-wide drag racing format.

00:07:10It's a three-round race instead of four.

00:07:12You can finish second in the first and second round, still make that final quad.

00:07:15You can see the same racer three times on race day.

00:07:19And, of course, we have seen multiple hole shots and multiple red lights recorded during the same pass down the racetrack.

00:07:25Tony, let's look at our top fuel ladder.

00:07:27What is the quad that sticks out biggest to you?

00:07:29Well, no one's going to have an easy go with Brittany Forrest coming in as a number two qualifier.

00:07:33But on that bottom side, you have a couple of good drivers, Antron Brown, Jasmine Salinas, and Sean Langdon.

00:07:38If we look at the upper or lower left corner, you can see Steve Torrance and Tony Stewart have the likes of Chrisman and Passy.

00:07:43Two underdogs, but you can't let them sneak through.

00:07:46We're talking about the top fuel ladder.

00:07:47Let's talk about top fuel dragsters.

00:07:49Top fuel dragsters are designed and built for speed and acceleration.

00:07:53The quickest accelerating car in the world, not only because of the amount of power the engine will generate,

00:07:57but also due to the long 25-foot wheelbase that allows power to transfer to the rear tires

00:08:02and allow a launch of 60 feet in less than 9 tenths of a second, 330 miles per hour within 660 feet,

00:08:10and will cover the remaining 340 foot of the 1,000 foot racetrack in 7 tenths of a second.

00:08:16And it is time to fire up the first quad of top fuel dragsters on a breezy Sunday.

00:08:24You can see a headwind, a direct headwind, straight down the center line of this four-lane drag strip,

00:08:29and it's an interesting quad to kick us off.

00:08:32Steve Torrance, Steve Chrisman, Tony Stewart, and Rob Passy.

00:08:37You look on paper and you think, well, come on, this should be a waltz for a couple of guys who won a NASCAR Hall of Famer,

00:08:43they've got a four-time champion.

00:08:44But we see every year the likes of a Steve Chrisman, the likes of a Rob Passy that are able to upend the apple cart.

00:08:50Well, I spoke with a couple of track specialists and some of the tuners,

00:08:53and they're not 100% sure which track is the best.

00:08:56At times, number one and two lanes have looked the best,

00:09:00and then they yield a good run out of number three and four lanes.

00:09:03So there's some uncertainty, but they do recognize the fact that track temperature is only 117 degrees,

00:09:09and you look back at qualifying, and that is when we saw the quickest runs out of these top fuel cars.

00:09:13The Purple Heat Ice Melt Salt Depot top fueler of Utah's Rob Passy,

00:09:18a man who has made it to the second round here.

00:09:21He's made it to the second round in Arizona a few years ago.

00:09:24That is Steve Chrisman.

00:09:25Chrisman driving to D.C. Motorsports.

00:09:27Worship family top fueler.

00:09:29Brace for Dean Foundation colors here for Tony Stewart.

00:09:35And the oh-so-familiar Capco Contractors colors of Steve Torrance.

00:09:40You see him in lane one as Passy makes his way back.

00:09:42Let's go down to the starting line and get things kicked off of Bruno.

00:09:46Hello, Brian and Tony.

00:09:47It's Jordan down here on the starting line talking about Tony Stewart.

00:09:50I asked Tony Stewart how he felt about the four-wide format, and he told me he absolutely loves it.

00:09:55I asked him why.

00:09:55He goes, it feels like I'm short track racing out here.

00:09:58This first round feels like a heat race.

00:10:00All I have to be is top two until I make the main event.

00:10:03Well, I love the fact that a driver like Tony Stewart, as well as some of the other drivers

00:10:07that are experienced and are very comfortable with this format, it seems like some of the

00:10:11drivers that are uncomfortable typically are some that are having a tough time adjusting

00:10:15to the additional staging beat.

00:10:17We can see now all four cars prepared to stage as this first quad gets ready to run down.

00:10:23The first of three rounds of eliminations here, the U.S. Air Force drone shows us all four

00:10:27of those long, prehensile, top fuel chassis getting ready to stage.

00:10:40And this one appears as though it's going to go the way the math says it should have,

00:10:43a whole shot victory, if you will, for Tony Stewart.

00:10:46That will go in the books as a round win, an advancement for Steve Torrance,

00:10:49but Stewart was where he needed to be.

00:10:51A nice .386, but that .71 light was very solid.

00:10:54Well, if you ever needed a how-to-watch, a four-wide, I'll tell you what I do.

00:10:58I watch the two cars that I think are the favorites in that number one, in that number three lane,

00:11:02and we talked about lane choice.

00:11:04Tony Stewart had the choice of lanes, the second pick, rather, from Steve Torrance.

00:11:08Steve opted for the number one lane.

00:11:10It was interesting to see Tony Stewart in that number three lane.

00:11:12However, right off the starting line, both the drivers were considerably quicker than their opponents.

00:11:16These are two full-time drivers that are professionals.

00:11:19You can see the problem in that number four lane, a misfiring cylinder,

00:11:22but it was going to be hard for them to compete with the Tony Stewart, with the Steve Torrance,

00:11:26if everything worked the way that they wanted to,

00:11:28and it appears that for both cars, for Torrance and Stewart, they were very good runs.

00:11:33We look now at the finish line stripe.

00:11:34The two cars running effectively neck and neck, but Stewart did get there first.

00:11:39As far as the staging process goes, we had Freiberger break it down for us earlier this weekend.

00:11:44Here's what's different about the staging process at a four-wide drag strip.

00:11:48Remember, this is just two drag strips side-by-side, four lanes, two Christmas trees.

00:11:53The Christmas tree is different than a regular race because it has four sets of pre-stage and stage lights.

00:11:59That way, the racer in lane number one knows what's going on staging with the racer in lane number four.

00:12:05It can get confusing just looking at the right bulb.

00:12:08Remember, if one racer is completely staged and three of them are pre-staged,

00:12:12the pro cars have a seven-second countdown to get fully staged.

00:12:17If they don't, they get a red light, they lose.

00:12:20That happened to Shawn Langdon a few years ago.

00:12:24Sometimes in an NHRA drag race, you might get paired up with a former champion in the first round,

00:12:28but in this case, in the four-wide, Jasmine Salinas is paired up with two former champions,

00:12:32Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon.

00:12:34Jasmine, what is your mindset going into this round?

00:12:36My mindset is stick to my own lane and not care what's happening in anybody else's lane.

00:12:41That's it. Thank you.

00:12:41Amen to that.

00:12:44That was succinct.

00:12:46When we come back, we're going to continue with Top Fuel.

00:12:48It'll be Brown, Langdon, Salinas, and Palmer.

00:12:50That's the quad waiting to fire.

00:12:56The NHRA four-wide nationals is sponsored by Mission Foods.

00:13:00Now that's too fast, too tasty.

00:13:02And by Lucas Oil, the world leader in high-performance lubricants and problem-solving evidence.

00:13:07And so we now take an updated look at our Lucas Oil top fuel ladder here at the four-wide nationals in Las Vegas.

00:13:15Torrance and Stewart have advanced.

00:13:16We obviously spoke to Jasmine Salinas.

00:13:18She has a very simple and succinct plan that she is going to try to execute, Tony.

00:13:22Well, part of that is accurate.

00:13:25You do want to race your own lane.

00:13:26You want to focus on yourself.

00:13:27However, as a driver, you do want to get a quick glimpse of what your opponent's doing.

00:13:33Because you want to know when they're pre-staged, when they're staged, more importantly.

00:13:37And you want to know if they are, if they're not, then you have to have the patience and the discipline to stay there.

00:13:44Because some of the tactics that we talked about, the potential tactics that some of the drivers could do,

00:13:49is they could actually take their time.

00:13:51If they want to throw a driver off, they can take their time staging.

00:13:55That could cause somebody to blink or look over at one of those pre-stager stage lights.

00:13:59Bruno Massel is at the top end of the racetrack, and he is with Tony Stewart.

00:14:02Down here with Tony Stewart as he kicks off the day in a good way.

00:14:08A whole shot victory, margin of victory, three 1,000th of a second.

00:14:11I know how important reaction times are to you.

00:14:12How justifying is it to look at that ET slip and see that's how you advanced?

00:14:16Yeah, that's great.

00:14:18I mean, obviously, that's something I want to work on personally as a driver.

00:14:21But proud of our guys.

00:14:22And we got a special partner this week with the Race Rudine Foundation.

00:14:25And the Rudine family lost their son race when he was 25 to a fentanyl overdose.

00:14:29So being able to bring awareness to what our nation and what our world is going through with fentanyl.

00:14:35And being able to support the families and everybody involved.

00:14:38And it's just really a special deal for us.

00:14:40Kevin and his wife and his whole family are great friends of ours.

00:14:43And we got a car that we feel like we can work with today.

00:14:46And we got a great partner to support and hopefully get them a lot of exposure to help this fentanyl overdose.

00:14:50A very worthy cause that he has worked very hard over the years to keep awareness on.

00:14:56As we see the four cars in the drag strip now.

00:14:59Antron Brown, the Matco Tools, Sirius XM, Toyota, Lucas Oil Top Fueler making his way back.

00:15:051,300th career round of racing.

00:15:07Pretty amazing statistic there when you consider he's sitting next to Sean Langdon,

00:15:11Jasmine Salinas, and Scott Palmer.

00:15:13Who could shock us here?

00:15:14Well, I think right now Sean Langdon could shock us.

00:15:16I mean, he's coming from the bottom half of the field, 11th.

00:15:19He just didn't get a good qualifying effort.

00:15:21Jasmine Salinas is the number six qualifier.

00:15:24And, you know, she has the lane of choice.

00:15:26You look over at that number one lane, you have to think that Antron Brown is one of the favorites.

00:15:30But he only made his one good run.

00:15:32However, it was in similar conditions, similar track temperature that we have right now.

00:15:44And his tire spoke for Langdon, a huge explosion for Palmer.

00:15:48And would you look at this, Salinas with a 40 light goes to the second round, 393.

00:15:54For Antron Brown, it was a 377.9, and he also left the starting line in a hurry.

00:15:59Well, you know, having conversations with some of these tuners,

00:16:02you can just tell that they just do not like to pull power out of these cars.

00:16:07They can slip the clutch.

00:16:08They know how to do it.

00:16:09Do they want to do it?

00:16:10They don't want to get outrun.

00:16:11It was Antron Brown that was the best on the racetrack.

00:16:15But it was Jasmine Salinas that was the quickest off the line.

00:16:18That made it very close in that number one, in that number three lane.

00:16:21You could see problems in the number two lane for Sean Langdon early,

00:16:24as well as for Scott Palmer and for Antron Brown picking up right where he left off during qualifying.

00:16:30And Palmer just grenaded the thing, blew the supercharger off it.

00:16:33But you can look at Antron Brown, the car locked down, that 377.

00:16:37That is very rare territory for what we've seen this weekend.

00:16:40It is, and you could see that Sean Langdon, when his car lost traction, he was trying to chase him.

00:16:44And this is one thing that's a little deceiving for the drivers in the number one or two lane.

00:16:49You might know what the driver to the left is doing, but he has no idea what driver in the number three lane,

00:16:56let alone that number four lane.

00:16:58For Langdon, he did a nice job getting that car to recover,

00:17:01probably not realizing because of that barrier in the center that Jasmine Salinas was well ahead of him.

00:17:05With two quads run here in the top field category, we're going to dive back to the staging lanes

00:17:09and talk to Bob Tasker III as Alan Johnson and Max Savage take a look at what he fell.

00:17:15Sean Langdon.

00:17:15Here with Bob Tasker III and Joe Amato, but Bob, tough DNQ in Pomona, coming here qualified ninth.

00:17:24Is ninth where you wanted to be?

00:17:26DNQ?

00:17:26Did I DNQ in Pomona?

00:17:28I forgot all about it, Joe.

00:17:29Well, hey, listen, I'm here with my idol, one of my legends.

00:17:32We forgot about Pomona.

00:17:33It's over.

00:17:34We came out here, just overpowered the track a little bit too much.

00:17:37We're going to pull it back, and this race car is going to go down the track first round.

00:17:41All right, Joe, does that sound good?

00:17:42That sounds good.

00:17:43I'm trying to get me a Ford Raptor R model truck.

00:17:46I'm selling a truck now, so this is important stuff here.

00:17:49Raptor R, right, Joe?

00:17:50There you go.

00:17:50Deal.

00:17:51Deal.

00:17:52Well, Tony, when you're from the Northeast and your last name ends in a vial, you're automatically friends.

00:17:56Well, you're talking to the right guy.

00:17:57I mean, you could go all over the country, but I'd say that Joe Amato is in the right place being here.

00:18:02So Antron Brown was happy when we saw that E.T. slip, his best run of the weekend.

00:18:07You saved that for round one.

00:18:08You paired that with a 50 reaction time, and you've got something to work with, Antron.

00:18:11Yeah, Bruno, we've got to keep working, man.

00:18:13But the true heroes of this, man, is the crew guys.

00:18:16Brian Karate, Brad, all these guys have been working hard, and we're just getting better and better as we go.

00:18:20And when you race a quad like that, man, marquee matchup, you've got to put those numbers out there.

00:18:23And we can't slow it down.

00:18:25We've got another round to go.

00:18:26It's going to get tougher and tougher.

00:18:28And I'll tell you what, man, my hat's off.

00:18:29I'm truly blessed.

00:18:31Let's go, baby.

00:18:31Let's go.

00:18:33And he is going on to round two of three.

00:18:38The next grouping comes up.

00:18:40Terry Todd, the ALFCO top fueler, the left-hand side of your screen.

00:18:43The Graham Rahal performance guard, Brittany Forrest.

00:18:45Josh Arden lane two, and Sean Reid is in lane number one.

00:18:53It was just a year ago that Terry Todd shocked us all by sneaking his way into the second round of elimination.

00:18:59He's going to try to do that against a very tough field.

00:19:01So let's go back now to Jordan Vannegrift on the starting line.

00:19:03Josh Hart impressed in Pomoda when that team found some power they were looking for running two 367s.

00:19:10I asked him this morning, do you feel like a player in this class now?

00:19:13And he looked at me constantly.

00:19:14He said, absolutely.

00:19:15And I asked, why?

00:19:16He stretched out his arms to the three guys sitting around him.

00:19:19It was Jason McCullough, Joe Barlam, and Ron Douglas.

00:19:23They're trying to put something together.

00:19:30That is an absolute fact.

00:19:31Qualifying 10th this weekend.

00:19:32We know that virtually every car struggled at some level.

00:19:35And Sean Reid, you can see his crew chief here, Rob Wedlin with a hand up.

00:19:38Well, Brittany Forrest, one of the strongest cars in qualifying, Sean Reid.

00:19:42Not far behind three out of four times his car has gone down the track.

00:19:45But don't discount Josh Hart.

00:19:47This car made a big turnaround when he needed it the most.

00:19:50Didn't qualify very well a couple of weeks ago, but dropped the hammer in that first round.

00:19:53There's Terry Totten, Nebraska, throwing his machine ahead.

00:20:10Tire smoke for Brittany.

00:20:11Josh Hart's car expires.

00:20:13And at the finish line, it is going to be Hart and Sean Reid.

00:20:17Reid goes 385 at 321.

00:20:19He won the best run of the bunch, a 419 at a limping 237 miles an hour for Hart.

00:20:25And Brittany's car pitched the blower belt between here and somewhere between here and the city.

00:20:29And now some details on how to watch.

00:20:31If you're focusing on the two favorites in the number one, in the number three lane,

00:20:35as soon as I saw that white smoke from Brittany Forrest, my eyes shifted over to Josh Hart.

00:20:39You could see that misfiring cylinder.

00:20:41But this is the worst of the two evils.

00:20:43And a good run in that number one lane, as we expected.

00:20:46Sean Reid, just like he had done in qualifying.

00:20:48But Josh Hart, when you look at the other drivers in the number one three lane,

00:20:53there's Brittany Forrest right there.

00:20:55Those tires just get loose.

00:20:56And that only happens for one reason.

00:20:58The car is just trying to accelerate too hard.

00:21:00I'm sure the tuner's going to look back at the data and say,

00:21:04you know what, I needed to slip and slide that clutch a little bit more in that spot.

00:21:08It was Totten's car that pitched the blower belt.

00:21:10Brittany did a nice job pedaling but did not have enough to get there.

00:21:13Let's go back to Bruno Massel at the big end of the racetrack.

00:21:16He is with Jasmine Salinas.

00:21:18Jasmine Salinas just advanced to the next round.

00:21:21And it's great at this job because sometimes drivers don't even know what just happened,

00:21:24especially in a four-wide format.

00:21:26A lot of it was due to your reaction time.

00:21:27How tough is there out there racing as three other cars at the same time?

00:21:30It's tough.

00:21:31Like every single weekend, you know, just having champions that we're running against.

00:21:35We have the best of the best out here.

00:21:37There's no easy quads out here.

00:21:39I might have chunked in on that one.

00:21:41Honestly, I'm not even sure.

00:21:42But when you're racing against the best, you try to do everything you can.

00:21:44And my team's giving me the best car.

00:21:46They're working their butts off.

00:21:48And I'm just trying, you know, really hard not to disappoint them.

00:21:50Thank you.

00:21:52And so she is on to the next round.

00:21:54She has yet to lose in the first round in 2025.

00:21:57The car now coming back into the pit area of Tony Stewart,

00:22:00the Race for Dean Foundation fueler.

00:22:01Neil Straspa, the entire crew descend upon it as they do each and every round

00:22:05and go through that highly choreographed near chaotic-looking turnaround.

00:22:11We have more top fuel cars to run.

00:22:12And the money cars are in the staging lanes.

00:22:18The Seal Master track walk here at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

00:22:22was pretty adventurous this morning.

00:22:24It was one of the biggest we've seen all season long with thousands of fans.

00:22:27And there were more shoes destroyed and people scraped up off the tarmac

00:22:31that we've seen all year so far.

00:22:32You want to see the smarter ones?

00:22:33They're on the outside of where the good rubber is in the center of the track.

00:22:37Clay Milliken, the Summit Onboard Camry, heats the Goodyear's.

00:22:41Quick burnout there for the ever-warming racetrack surface we have

00:22:45with Doug Coletta sitting to Milliken's left in the MacTools' top fueler.

00:22:48To his immediate right will be Justin Ashley.

00:22:50This is a grouping of simply three cars,

00:22:53so there's going to be one odd man out.

00:22:55Which one's it going to be?

00:22:57Well, it's hard to say.

00:22:58You know, these...

00:22:59You know, Justin Ashley made a good run at the last qualifying session.

00:23:03You know, Clay Milliken, this weekend, they've had their issues,

00:23:06but how do you discount a car that just won two weeks ago?

00:23:09The conditions are much different.

00:23:10They're at elevation.

00:23:11But, you know, it's hard to count out Justin Ashley.

00:23:13He hasn't really shown as much as cars have been losing traction.

00:23:16However, you know, they're one of the cars or one of the teams

00:23:19that have been pulling the setup back enough.

00:23:21You know, Doug Coletta, heavy favorite coming into this,

00:23:23but it makes you wonder if his teammate has already lost traction.

00:23:26But they were having problems.

00:23:28Really, Doug Coletta has been the best car here on the property this weekend.

00:23:31Ashley Milliken, a bit deceptive in the fact they were the 8 and 9 qualifiers,

00:23:35but the spread was 4 one-hundredths of a second.

00:23:38Normally, those 8 and 9 cars are much more tightly grouped than that.

00:23:40And all three of them are going to be, oh, it's going to be Coletta in a runaway here,

00:23:50and it will be Justin Ashley, 4-0-2-2 at 2-80.

00:23:53The motor was eating itself up like the cookie monster by the time he got down there,

00:23:56but he still moves on around two.

00:23:58Well, that cookie monster was trailing,

00:24:00and it looked as though Doug Coletta and Clay Milliken were going to be one and two.

00:24:05It looked like they were going to be the drivers in advance,

00:24:07but look at the difference in the number two and three lane in the top end speed.

00:24:11The 230 mile an hour for Clay Milliken, that car had lost power.

00:24:16He was running 10 mile an hour faster at the eighth mile.

00:24:19Fortunately for Justin Ashley, in that number three lane, he was able to keep his foot in it.

00:24:25And because of that, you can see that misfiring cylinder, the car slipped sliding around,

00:24:29but because of his instincts and maybe that barrier in the center,

00:24:32he just didn't know what Clay Milliken was doing and was able to drive around him.

00:24:37So the funny car category is coming up next.

00:24:40We're about to check in now with Ron Capps in the staging lanes.

00:24:44Ron, you got a copy? It's Tony and Brian in the booth.

00:24:47Got you.

00:24:48Ron, what's at the front of your mind right now?

00:24:50Is it the staging with the additional opponents, or is it how the car is going to perform?

00:24:55This weekend, really bold.

00:24:58The track doesn't seem like it's, you look back in history,

00:25:02and the temperature of the track's been on the weekend doesn't seem like it's as good.

00:25:06Traction-wise, anyway, a lot more heat.

00:25:08But, yeah, we got some pretty tricky customers in the other lane,

00:25:12so you got to worry about staging a little bit,

00:25:14but it's mainly just trying to keep it in the groove, and you might have to pedal it.

00:25:17Thanks for your time. Go get them.

00:25:20After an exciting top fuel round one,

00:25:22we get a look at the quads that will make up the eight remaining cars.

00:25:25Coletta will take on Ashley, Torrance, and Stewart.

00:25:28Reid will take on Hart, Brown, and Salinas.

00:25:30We'll send two from each into the final round.

00:25:33When we come back, as good as the top fuel cars were in the first round,

00:25:36it will be the wild and woolly world of Funny Car,

00:25:39a world that Jack Beckman, so far in 2025, is the kickoff.

00:25:43This is the look from the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

00:25:54at 810 Warthog, making its way across your screen.

00:25:57As Nellis Air Force Base is directly across the street from the drag strip,

00:26:00we get the best air show that you could possibly see anywhere, anytime,

00:26:03with some of the most advanced equipment on the planet.

00:26:06The men and women that service and fly these machines are next level,

00:26:09and the U.S. Air Force is a big part of what we're doing here this weekend

00:26:12at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

00:26:14A lot of great opportunities, and the Air Force is a big part

00:26:17of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Race, and their interactive display

00:26:20is not to be missed when you hit the pits.

00:26:22And, yes, you can grab the control stick for yourself.

00:26:24Tony, you've grabbed a steering wheel and a Funny Car plenty of times.

00:26:27Tell us about it.

00:26:27Well, Nitro Funny Cars will burn through close to 18 gallons of Nitro Methane fuel

00:26:31over the course of a run.

00:26:33That includes a burnout for staging procedure.

00:26:35That fuel is forced into the engine through a pump

00:26:37that will flow 120 gallons per minute with 60 pounds of boost generated

00:26:42by a supercharger and ignition provided by two 44-amp generators

00:26:47is the reason this car will generate over 11,000 horsepower

00:26:51outfitted with aerodynamic carbon fiber bodies

00:26:53that are engineered and designed by car manufacturers.

00:26:56We talk about the success at Nitro Funny Car, and it centers around a John Forrest Racing.

00:27:02The 300th Funny Car victory in the storied history of this organization

00:27:05was garnered by the shortest tenured driver in the history of the organization.

00:27:10Of course, Jack Beckman won Pomona and did so in fine style.

00:27:13John Forrest Racing Funny Car win 300 is on the line right now.

00:27:21Dan Wilkerson smokes the tires.

00:27:22Beckman's on and off the throttle.

00:27:23And for the 300th time, John Forrest Racing will celebrate a Nitro Funny Car victory.

00:27:29Jack Beckman climbs out one of the most meaningful Wall-e's he'll ever put in his hands.

00:27:32This is about John Forrest.

00:27:34This is number 300.

00:27:35This is a big deal.

00:27:36That is a milestone in drag racing.

00:27:38A milestone indeed, and a milestone that has had a number of contributors

00:27:43over the course of years.

00:27:45Of course, the boss himself accounting for 157 of those 300 wins.

00:27:48But I see a guy sitting third that had his fair share.

00:27:51Well, I got passed like I was sitting on jacks by Robert Hyde.

00:27:54But look at the talent.

00:27:55Courtney Forrest, Mike Neff, who tunes a funny car.

00:27:57Gary Dedcham driving a car that was tuned by Jimmy Prock,

00:28:02who is the father, of course, of Austin Prock.

00:28:04But a lot of great talent, including Eric Medlin.

00:28:06This week's Peak Did You Know, a look at that historic record of drivers.

00:28:10David Freiberger is in the pits with Jack Beckman.

00:28:14Jack Beckman was our winner in Pomona and honestly considered the best car in the Funny Car class.

00:28:19You had your best qualifier Friday afternoon, but Saturday did not look that good from the grandstands.

00:28:24What have you done to turn that around for race day?

00:28:26We missed it on both sides Saturday.

00:28:28The first run, which was Q3, we were a little too aggressive.

00:28:31We were pushing to try to go up to the top with the cloud cover.

00:28:33Second run, we put in a reassembled engine.

00:28:36We'll never run them on race day without testing them in the car.

00:28:39Down a little bit in power.

00:28:40Nothing to worry about for the GRP Chevy.

00:28:43He is confident as he well should be.

00:28:46We talk about the Mission 2 Fast 2 Tasty Challenge and Nitro Funny Car.

00:28:49Chad Green, Matt Hagen, Cruz Pedregon, and Spencer Hyde, the rookie, driving for Jim Head's team.

00:28:55The car looked very good during the qualifying runs.

00:28:57And Spencer Hyde collecting the first hardware of his short Nitro Funny Car career.

00:29:02Popped into the lights, but still went .396 for the win.

00:29:04Well, a little backfire here.

00:29:05You have to lean these cars out a little bit to really make the adjustment to the higher elevation for Spencer Hyde.

00:29:11He was good off the starting line.

00:29:12He really had a good car, but it looks like he laid up a little.

00:29:16Cruz Pedregon with his second quickest car, but laid off the line.

00:29:18We could see what was happening over the course of qualifying for Spencer Hyde at .396.

00:29:23The .410 in Q2 was a struggle, but then the quickest car in qualifying session three,

00:29:27the second quickest car in qualifying session four.

00:29:30Bruno Massel is with Spencer Hyde.

00:29:33When Spencer Hyde entered Gainesville to start the season,

00:29:36he had yet to take a funny car all the way down to the finish line.

00:29:39You fast forward a couple weeks, and you're coming off a semifinal finish.

00:29:41You just won the Mission Foods race last night.

00:29:43Did you expect for this to happen this fast?

00:29:46No, probably not.

00:29:48But I also didn't expect to get off to as slow a start as we did D&Q in the first two races.

00:29:53But you know what?

00:29:54This is all new for me.

00:29:55A couple new crew guys, new driver.

00:29:58It just took some time to get it to gel, and we're finally getting there.

00:30:01And you know what?

00:30:02This is a great team over here.

00:30:04Jim's been doing this for 45 years.

00:30:05He knows how to get this thing up and down the racetrack, so I got all the confidence in him.

00:30:10I'm slowly getting more and more comfortable in the car.

00:30:13And, yeah, we're just going to try and go some rounds today

00:30:15and see if we can put this thing back in the winner's circle.

00:30:19We get a look now at the Nitro Funny Car Ladder.

00:30:21Hyde will have Buddy Hall, Hunter Green, and Dave Richards to contend with.

00:30:25Austin Proc.

00:30:25It was Ron Capps getting in, qualifying in that last session.

00:30:29We'll take on Jason Rupert, Cruz Pendergott in that matchup there.

00:30:32And there's Hyde in that number three qualifier.

00:30:34A couple of tough opponents for him, Hunter Green and Dave Richards.

00:30:39Speaking of Spencer Hyde, he's on the drag strip right now along with this man,

00:30:42Buddy Hall, the KGC Construction Dodge of the Jim Dunn Racing Team.

00:30:47Dave Richards in lane three, the Bluebird Turf Mustang right there in the center of your screen.

00:30:50You can see in lane number two, it is Hunter Green.

00:30:54This is his rookie start.

00:30:55He has license in this car.

00:30:57Hunter had great success in the A fuel ranks,

00:30:59nearly winning a national championship from Midland, Texas.

00:31:02He is the son of Chad Green, a very well-known funny car racer

00:31:05and a man who took an early season victory in Gainesville, Florida.

00:31:09And of course, in lane one, Spencer Hyde,

00:31:11who won the Mission Too Fast, Too Tasty Challenge,

00:31:14the first real accolade he has earned in his funny car career.

00:31:17I think for Hunter Green, it's really going to be a test for him.

00:31:20He doesn't have a lot of experience in this four-wide format with this body on the car.

00:31:25Of course, he does with the drag strip, which is wide open.

00:31:27And, you know, for Spencer Hyde, just winning that Too Fast, Too Tasty,

00:31:31I'm sure that boosted his confidence.

00:31:32And if he can keep his composure and maintain what he did,

00:31:35then he stands a good chance of advancing onto this round.

00:31:38Matt Bynum, you saw him the crew chief for Hunter Green.

00:31:40This is the same car that Blake Alexander has been competing in.

00:31:43They're kind of splitting the seat this year to a degree.

00:31:49Dave Richards wasted no time.

00:31:51He was in first.

00:31:52Hunter Green loses traction.

00:31:54Dave Richards has got a motor down, and Spencer Hyde is the class of the field.

00:31:58399 for a 320.

00:32:00Keep your eye on that kid and that car today.

00:32:03416 for Dave Richards with a tire smoking.

00:32:06515 for Hull, and Hunter Green was behind him.

00:32:08Yeah, and things are really clicking for this car, for the driver, for the team.

00:32:12The team is doing a good job servicing, maintenancing,

00:32:15making sure that this car comes up to the starting line

00:32:17and is prepared to go down the racetrack, 275 miles an hour in that number 1 lane.

00:32:23That's just at the 8th mile.

00:32:24That is right there where you see those orange blocks.

00:32:28The next best car was in that number 3 lane.

00:32:30That's Dave Richards, you can see, in the number 2 lane.

00:32:32Hunter Green, he gets the tires loose.

00:32:34Buddy Hull just giving it the old college try in that number 4 lane.

00:32:38Looked like his car spun the tires, had cylinders out.

00:32:41There was a good race for a while, but it was Spencer Hyde off of the line first,

00:32:44and it was a little bit of a surprise for some of the drivers

00:32:47because you saw one driver stage, three drivers pretty much stage at the same time,

00:32:51but for the most part, they all got off the line good.

00:32:54And so for Spencer Hyde, he'll round the bend on to the semifinal round.

00:32:58Let's talk to Bruno Massel again, who was standing with Brittany Forrest.

00:33:03A tough early loss for Brittany Forrest, who was killer on the reaction times.

00:33:06She had an 050 light.

00:33:07The car looked like it was accelerating early, and then just too much power.

00:33:10Brittany looked like it went smoke, lost traction a couple hundred feet out.

00:33:12Yeah, I know. It's so frustrating.

00:33:14We did, we performed so well, went down the track both laps, qualified number two,

00:33:19and to get beat like that first round is just so frustrating.

00:33:22This team is better than that.

00:33:23I know we'll overcome this.

00:33:24It's just, it's really tough to get beat that way.

00:33:27I'm really bummed about this.

00:33:30You know, we have our teammates behind us.

00:33:32I'm hoping they'll turn on some wind lights,

00:33:34and we'll keep going for GRP and all our sponsors at Drone Force Racing.

00:33:37When we come back, the Nitro Funny Car Parade of Chaos and Fun continues,

00:33:44and Bob Tasker III, who won here on the sports first Nitro Funny Car Triple Hull Shot last year,

00:33:49as part of that show.

00:33:50A look at the spacious Mission Foods display.

00:34:03All kinds of fun, interactive things to do there,

00:34:05including the Mission Foods autograph session for the Too Fast Too Tasty Challenge,

00:34:08which lines up a load of drivers this weekend,

00:34:11and then many hundreds of fans.

00:34:13They came in, they got autographs,

00:34:14and of course, they got themselves some fine Mission Foods products and chips.

00:34:18Angele Sampe, who is the brand ambassador,

00:34:21she was slinging tortillas down there.

00:34:23If you needed it, she had it for you.

00:34:24My only question is, where are ours?

00:34:27That's what I want to know.

00:34:29We can see that Spencer Hyde,

00:34:30whose weekend has been nothing short of impressive so far,

00:34:33has moved on to round two.

00:34:34And how about underdog Dave Richards from Florida,

00:34:37the Bluebird Turf Ford,

00:34:38is also going to be in that second round of Funny Car Eliminator.

00:34:43The next grouping of hot rods on the racetrack will be Paul Lee.

00:34:46It'll be Chad Green, who's trying to get a round win

00:34:48after his son went down in front of him.

00:34:50And Dan Wilkerson, along with Bob Tasker III,

00:34:52that Ford Motorcraft Quick Lane Mustang,

00:34:54the Skag Power Equipment Ford of Dan Wilkerson.

00:34:57But, you know, Tony, we talk about the racers here,

00:35:00the mentality of the racers.

00:35:01Dan Wilkerson is a high-key guy.

00:35:03Made the final round in Pomona,

00:35:05came up short to Beckman.

00:35:06Does that high-key nature that he carries into the seat

00:35:09hurt him or help him in a situation like this?

00:35:11Well, it depends on the focus for the other drivers.

00:35:13And when I look at all of the matchups,

00:35:15I think this is the toughest.

00:35:16When you total up the caliber of the drivers,

00:35:19of the wins, of the experience,

00:35:21I think this is going to be one of the most entertaining.

00:35:24You know, you can't discount Tasker for several reasons,

00:35:27not just because he won this race last year,

00:35:30not just because he won it on a triple hole shot,

00:35:32but it's just a good car.

00:35:34And, you know, they really haven't made a good run

00:35:36that they're happy with.

00:35:38So, but, you know, the potential is there.

00:35:40You know, Paul Lee, the number one qualifier,

00:35:42he's in that number one lane.

00:35:44And how do you discount Dan Wilkerson?

00:35:45You know, he just jumped up two weeks ago in Pomona

00:35:48and got to the final.

00:35:49And, you know, Chad Green, he's won a race this year.

00:35:51Do not adjust your sets.

00:35:53That car may look very similar to the one you just saw run down.

00:35:55But this is Chad Green, the patriarch of the Green family.

00:35:58And Paul Lee, the McLeod clutches,

00:36:00FDI performance, Silver Sport transmissions,

00:36:02Dodge heats the tires.

00:36:04In my opinion, the most intimidating car on the property

00:36:06is that one in lane number one.

00:36:08It is.

00:36:08And I like the short burnout.

00:36:09It is such a good idea for drivers to make the adjustment.

00:36:14It's important to build temperature in the engines.

00:36:16You know, you go back 30 years ago.

00:36:18Yes, the burnout was intended,

00:36:19designed to lay some rubber down on the track.

00:36:22But, you know, this track this morning,

00:36:23it had a lot of rubber.

00:36:24Thanks to the NHRA prep, they spray it.

00:36:26There's a traction compound.

00:36:28Oh, boy.

00:36:28Task has already shut up.

00:36:29That's a shame.

00:36:31So, Task has had to abandon ship out there.

00:36:33The frustrations for Bob continue.

00:36:35The body language shows that

00:36:36he clearly had no ability to reverse the race car.

00:36:40And that is going to leave this now.

00:36:41The people's, your odds just increased by about 25%.

00:36:45Kicking one out of the lanes here.

00:36:46You want to see some action, get a camera in that pit

00:36:48when that car comes back.

00:36:52So now all three of the remaining cars,

00:36:54Lee, Green, and Wilkerson, move ahead.

00:36:58Hands up by the crew chief.

00:37:00That is Joe Serena pointing to his driver

00:37:01as Bob removes his fire retardant gear

00:37:04and strides slowly to the starting line.

00:37:15Dan Wilkerson, whoa, baby.

00:37:17Is Wilkerson going to get there?

00:37:18He is.

00:37:19424 for Wilkerson.

00:37:20He snuck by Chad Green in a 407

00:37:23at 277 miles an hour for Paul Lee.

00:37:26But Chad Green was really hanging in this race.

00:37:31He was first off the line.

00:37:32That was the reason why.

00:37:33He had a good reaction time.

00:37:36Let's get a listen to Jordan.

00:37:37He's on the starting line.

00:37:39I am standing right off the track lane four.

00:37:44I am standing right off the track in lane four.

00:37:46And I see Bob Tasker's funny car stopping the track down there.

00:37:47I got Bob Tasker right here.

00:37:48Bob, what happened?

00:37:49Yeah, it went into neutral.

00:37:50And the neutral safety switch obviously failed.

00:37:53Once it goes into neutral,

00:37:54you can't get it out unless you shut it off.

00:37:56I didn't want to screw up any of my opponents,

00:37:57so I shut off the car and got out.

00:38:01Well, it's quick thinking by a very experienced driver.

00:38:05And not only is he concerned with his car,

00:38:08but he also understands what it's going to do

00:38:10to the other cars.

00:38:11And I'm sure he was in a very helpless situation.

00:38:13The first thing they're going to do,

00:38:14get it back to the pits, figure out what happened.

00:38:16Josh Hart's at the top end with Bruno.

00:38:18Well, Josh Hart's not doing any high fisting

00:38:23or fist bumping or anything like that celebration down here,

00:38:26but you advanced.

00:38:26That's the key thing is here in Vegas,

00:38:28all you got to do is advance to the next round.

00:38:29You had a good reaction time.

00:38:30What can you use off of that run to build on for the next?

00:38:33You know, I don't know.

00:38:34We're learning every run, every venue.

00:38:36You know, Gainesville was kind of not fair, you know.

00:38:39Life's not fair.

00:38:40But, you know, then you go to Phoenix.

00:38:42It's good conditions.

00:38:43Pomona was excellent conditions.

00:38:45And here it's hot again.

00:38:46So, you know, everybody's learning.

00:38:47The guys are working harder than ever.

00:38:49And for me, I'm just trying to find my rhythm again.

00:38:52So, you know, the R&L Carriers team, we don't give up.

00:38:55You know, we're going to keep on keeping on.

00:38:57And Lady Luck here in Vegas was a little nice to us that time.

00:39:00So hopefully we can do it again.

00:39:04Jack, you got Tony and Brian in the booth.

00:39:06You got a copy?

00:39:08Afternoon, gentlemen.

00:39:10Jack, you got a little different scenario.

00:39:12You got four wide versus two wide.

00:39:13Is there any preference in your staging?

00:39:15You like to stage first or last?

00:39:17Or is that not a concern?

00:39:18You ad-libbing everything?

00:39:20Or are you watching what your opponents are doing?

00:39:23Well, I'm doing my thing.

00:39:24And I always feel like the minute you think you have to stage first or last or have a specific

00:39:30lane, it just can get in your head.

00:39:32And I try not to let stuff get in my head.

00:39:34All the best to you.

00:39:39This week's Cornwell Quality Tools, Crew Chief Confidential, as we see the black box being

00:39:44closed up in the front of Austin Prock's car, of course, is a conversation down in the John

00:39:49Forrest Racing pit area.

00:39:54Catching up here with Thomas Prock, co-crew chief for his brother Austin.

00:39:57You know, you guys have put up some big, big numbers this year.

00:39:59The performance is definitely there.

00:40:00But it seems like a little bit of a struggle when it comes to consistency.

00:40:02What's been your guys' Achilles heel so far?

00:40:04Yeah, so the beginning of the year, we had to change a majority of our pack, our clutch

00:40:09pack.

00:40:10You just kind of run out of inventory as time goes on.

00:40:13And it's just changed the way that this car works ever so slightly.

00:40:16And we have moments where we get it close to last year where the data looks a lot like

00:40:21last year.

00:40:22And then sometimes we tip it over and make it a little too fast.

00:40:25So we're just trying to figure out where all the timers and all the knobs need to be turned

00:40:30to get it just like it was last year.

00:40:31And I think that once we get all that stuff sorted out, we should be able to run just

00:40:36like we did last year.

00:40:37So thank you.

00:40:39So there's the word from Thomas Prock.

00:40:41Ron Capps here.

00:40:42You can see Dean Antonelli looking at the engine here.

00:40:45For Ron Capps, this week has been filled with major news, major positive news, with the

00:40:49addition and the confirmation that Matty Gordon, a standout driver in the top alcohol

00:40:53funny car ranks, will be joining his team full-time as a top fuel competitor in 2026.

00:40:58It's seriously just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

00:41:12You know, as a young kid, I always, I never dreamed this high because I didn't think it

00:41:16was ever anything that could happen because we don't have the millions it takes to run

00:41:20one of these cars.

00:41:20So I never even dreamed this high, but it's like past, like they say sky's limit.

00:41:26This is like past the sky.

00:41:28It felt like that was going to be the person.

00:41:30And the more that I watched and then Robert Height and I were signing our license off in

00:41:34Brainerd.

00:41:35And you close your eyes on our last run, you wouldn't have known it wasn't her.

00:41:39It was Doug in the car.

00:41:40I mean, she did so well.

00:41:41It's really exciting.

00:41:43I mean, we're excited for her.

00:41:44But the opportunity for her to drive this top fuel car with Ron Capps is just phenomenal.

00:41:49And, you know, we're already making plans.

00:41:52Okay, we're not going to be the funny car this race.

00:41:53So we're going to have to fly there to be there.

00:41:55And we're going to, you know, we're going to make an effort to be it.

00:41:58Hopefully all of them.

00:41:59But this is a huge, huge deal for her.

00:42:01We're so excited.

00:42:03Oh, my gosh.

00:42:03I am so excited.

00:42:04Like, we truly are just best friends.

00:42:07So it's so cool to see her just moving up so quickly and having this awesome opportunity

00:42:12with Ron and the crew and just so much going on in the future.

00:42:16And just so excited to see what happens.

00:42:19I hope that maybe seeing me and my sister work on the race cars can inspire young women

00:42:23and anybody really to just get involved in racing.

00:42:26Because racing has been such a huge blessing in my life.

00:42:29It's living my world.

00:42:30So I hope that maybe we can inspire some younger kids to start drag racing

00:42:36and maybe experience that same blessing that I have.

00:42:41Maddie is racing this weekend in the family alcohol funny car.

00:42:45This is her behind the wheel.

00:42:46It should be noted, Maddie and Macy build the engines, build the clutches,

00:42:50and do all the between-round service.

00:42:52And she wheels this thing like a bus.

00:42:53Well, for as many drivers that have made the transition to a nitro funny car,

00:42:57this is the best step.

00:42:58Having experience, winning races, but doing it in a short wheelbase,

00:43:02a car with a body, everything about it looks just like a nitro funny car.

00:43:05It's just a different fuel and a different animal.

00:43:08She has done so well here.

00:43:09She will adapt to that top fuel car in perfect condition.

00:43:12We are very sure of it.

00:43:13She warmed up Ron Capps' nitro car, nitro funny car, this weekend.

00:43:16After the announcement was made,

00:43:18the Gordon family has raced in the alcohol funny car category for three generations.

00:43:23It is a great thing and a rare, refreshing day in this sport

00:43:26to see somebody getting a shot at the pro ranks on raw talent.

00:43:32A great experience, and this journey will continue with announcements and more training

00:43:37and, of course, her licensing up into the top fuel dragster as this season goes on.

00:43:40But, you know, Tony, I made mention of something that we've talked about privately a bunch.

00:43:43It's like seeing somebody get a shot because of raw talent.

00:43:46It's rare and it's refreshing in the sport.

00:43:48It is. It's the road less traveled.

00:43:50There's no question about that.

00:43:51You look at the history.

00:43:52You look at a Ron Capps and several drivers that took a similar path.

00:43:55They needed an opportunity, but when they had that opportunity

00:43:58and the door opened for them, they were good.

00:44:00They were very well prepared for that moment.

00:44:02All four of these cars share one thing in common.

00:44:05Ron Tobler has crew chief for every single driver here.

00:44:08He is the current crew chief on the left side of your screen,

00:44:11the U.S. Air Force drone of Jason Rupert's car.

00:44:13He was the crew chief on Austin Proxtop Fuel Dragster.

00:44:16He won a world championship with Ron Capps and the Napa GR Supra.

00:44:20And he won another one with Cruz Petragon back in the day as well.

00:44:24Yeah, so right now you kind of want Ron Tobler in your lane is what you're saying.

00:44:28Here it comes, Capps.

00:44:29And, you know, just to follow up and put a point on the conversation about Maddie and Macy Gordon

00:44:38and their path and the path that Maddie's had, all four of these drivers are also people,

00:44:44men that worked on their race cars.

00:44:45Jason Rupert, a very hands-on guy.

00:44:46As you said, Ron Capps, a hands-on guy early in his career.

00:44:49Austin Proxtop is still a guy who re-strips blowers between rounds if they need him.

00:44:53And, of course, you and Cruz grew up with wrenches in your hands and your father's truck shop.

00:44:57Well, I think what a lot of people ask me is, do you think they can do it?

00:45:00The answer is yes.

00:45:01Almost anyone can do it.

00:45:02But can you do it well?

00:45:03I think for Maddie Gordon, the fact that she's had the experience, like some of these drivers

00:45:08that are on the racetrack right now, I think the sky's the limit.

00:45:10There's two paths you can take.

00:45:12You can do it with talent.

00:45:13You have enough money.

00:45:14You can ride on SpaceX.

00:45:15So I think it's such a great opportunity for him.

00:45:18For Austin Proxtop, he's not looking for SpaceX.

00:45:20He's just looking for an old-school Mercury rocket here.

00:45:22He just needs to get out of low-Earth orbit in this Cornwall quality tool Chevrolet Camaro.

00:45:27The standard was set so high last year, anything other than repeated victories early in the season

00:45:32has seemed like a struggle.

00:45:34As you can see, Jimmy Proxtop with his hand in the air.

00:45:36Four very, very good all-star crew chiefs here.

00:45:39Lee Beard's on the starting line down there looking behind.

00:45:42Jason Bunker and Cruz's team.

00:45:45And it will be Rupert spinning the tires.

00:45:56It will be Austin Proxtop advancing along with Cruz Pedregon.

00:45:594-10-7 for Proxtop.

00:46:00He's quickest of much.

00:46:024-27 and 2-24 for Pedregon and a discouragingly abrupt end to Ron Capps' day.

00:46:08Well, like you would expect from drivers of this caliber in lanes one through three,

00:46:12everybody good off the starting line.

00:46:14In fact, it was Jason Rupert in that number four lane.

00:46:16He was first off the starting line.

00:46:18Couldn't really hold the lead.

00:46:19It was the three cars in one, two, and three that had better 60-foot, were quicker to 330 feet.

00:46:25You could see it was Cruz Pedregon, the snap-on car, that just outlasted Ron Capps in that Napa car.

00:46:31Just lost traction.

00:46:33Encountered similar problems that he had all weekend.

00:46:35You could see the difference there.

00:46:37You could hear the engine.

00:46:38You could see the G-meter fall off.

00:46:40And there was that big S, that super S from snap-on to take full advantage of it.

00:46:44If there ever was a Dr. Jekyll hanging around this guy, he is long since gone.

00:46:48Spencer Hyde is with Bruno.

00:46:51Spencer Hyde is going to get sick of me real soon because he just keeps turning on wind lights.

00:46:55399, you have your best reaction time so far this weekend.

00:46:58Did that meet or exceed expectations?

00:47:00Hey, if I'm talking to you, that means we're doing something right.

00:47:02So, yeah, had a bunch better light there.

00:47:04We've got a great, consistent race car that's going up and down the racetrack, and that's what it's going to take here to win.

00:47:08It's hot.

00:47:08We'll probably have to pick it up for a bit in the next round and then again in the final, but I think we've got the tools to do it.

00:47:13So, here we go.

00:47:16Hey, Spencer, don't get too greedy.

00:47:18You're coming into that next round with lane choice by over a tenth of a second.

00:47:23When we come back, we'll continue the funny car blast, and you can see just how good it gets around here when the chips are down.

00:47:34When you look at racing, there is an impression that it looks so easy.

00:47:44The cars look kind of smooth.

00:47:45There's a part of it that's like, oh, I can do that.

00:47:48No, you can't.

00:47:52We're not rivals until we're on the racetrack.

00:47:55We're friends until then.

00:47:55Good luck.

00:47:56Good luck.

00:47:56My biggest fear of the race is that my friends are going to root for Keanu more than me.

00:48:01Yeah!

00:48:02And there goes the green.

00:48:03We are racing here in Indianapolis.

00:48:06Stomp on it.

00:48:07Bah!

00:48:08Bah!

00:48:09And then I disappeared.

00:48:13So, you want to be a race car driver?

00:48:14Tonight, driven by speed.

00:48:16Keanu Reeves versus Cody Jones.

00:48:18That is at 9.30 p.m. on FS1.

00:48:20and a great glimpse inside the hopeful world of trying to drive professionally

00:48:23as we now look down for the U.S. Air Force drone

00:48:26and we can see the final quad of round one in Funny Car.

00:48:29It will be J.R. Todd in lane one, Jack Beckman in lane two,

00:48:32Matt Hagen in lane three, and Bobby Bodie in lane four.

00:48:35You've got three champions and a guy who's really just trying to get a round win around here.

00:48:40Well, the one that's trying to just get a round win,

00:48:42I mean, he's in a pretty good car,

00:48:43and I think these conditions as the track temperature continues to increase,

00:48:47I mean, that's the disadvantage that these four are at.

00:48:49It was 117 when we started.

00:48:51It jumped up to 122.

00:48:53Now it's 125 degrees, so that's close to a 10-degree increase.

00:48:56Tuners will adjust.

00:48:57The drivers just need to concern themselves getting off the line,

00:49:00and in the event these cars lose traction,

00:49:02we've got pretty much every one of these drivers has some good experience,

00:49:04has a very good feel, and can maintenance the throttle.

00:49:07The DHL-GR Supra, it is also a Supra body for the CP Carrillo-sponsored machine,

00:49:12the Bobby Bodie, the Direct Connection Dodge,

00:49:14and the Grand Ray Hall Performance Chevrolet.

00:49:19Beckman smokes the tires, and it will be Matt Hagan getting across the finish line.

00:49:25First, a 414, and you can see J.R. Todd's 438 really coming out of this first round.

00:49:31Spencer Hyde's car is exceptional at a 399.

00:49:34Nobody else even close.

00:49:35Well, Spencer, of course, the advantage he had is that's when the temperature was 117.

00:49:39That was before it increased.

00:49:40Now, you can see Jack Beckman in that number two lane.

00:49:43I was watching him because, of course, he's one of the favorites,

00:49:46especially knowing that his teammate, Austin Prock, did advance,

00:49:49but he is every which away on this racetrack.

00:49:52The car loses traction right about the same time or shortly after it was J.R. Todd,

00:49:56but just smoother off and on the throttle.

00:49:59That's exactly what I'm talking about.

00:50:01The drivers that have a good feel for the car,

00:50:03that don't get caught up in the heat of battle,

00:50:05and take a look at the difference there.

00:50:07One car loses traction.

00:50:08The car gets sideways.

00:50:09He's just on the gas too early.

00:50:11The car gets sideways.

00:50:13Take a look at J.R. Todd and how he works the throttle.

00:50:17He's going to work this car into slipping the tire.

00:50:20You can see it leaving the black tracks right behind it.

00:50:23There it is losing traction.

00:50:24And take a look at the injector.

00:50:26It's going to open and close right there on top of the car.

00:50:28Now, he's already gotten off the throttle,

00:50:30already back in the throttle, but you notice no rear smoke.

00:50:33It does have a misfiring cylinder,

00:50:35but that's just how the trigger is set,

00:50:37how the fuel system is set.

00:50:38When this car is laboring, it's down on engine RPM.

00:50:41But most importantly, he did get that rear tire to regain traction.

00:50:45Down to the final eight.

00:50:47Dan Wilkerson also is in that final eight grouping,

00:50:49and Dan Wilkerson's with Bruno.

00:50:53Daniel Wilkerson is all smiles, and he should be.

00:50:55You know what, Daniel?

00:50:55Do you know funny cars are pretty cool?

00:50:57It turns out funny cars are badass.

00:50:59I kind of messed up early,

00:51:01but the thing started spinning in the middle.

00:51:02I've never pedaled one that far down the track.

00:51:05I lifted and I didn't hear nobody,

00:51:06so I thought, well, I better get back on it.

00:51:07I stood back on it, slid sideways.

00:51:09Holy crap, dude.

00:51:10I'm so proud of this whole team.

00:51:12This guy gives us the funds to buy some Summit parts.

00:51:14We put that Ford body on there.

00:51:15Hopefully, he can kick some more ass today.

00:51:17Sounds like a pretty good plan

00:51:19as he sprints off into the desert.

00:51:21It'll be Wilkerson, Lee, Todd, and Hagan on one side,

00:51:23and the always excitable.

00:51:25Austin Prock, Cruz Pedrigan, Spencer Hyde,

00:51:28and Dave Richards on the other.

00:51:30The 11 and 12 qualifiers have advanced,

00:51:32and we are getting our money's worth

00:51:33out of Bruno Massel today.

00:51:34Let's go back to him.

00:51:37Austin Prock, checking out that ET slip,

00:51:39showing him that he won his quad

00:51:41and advancing the next round.

00:51:42It seemed like he dropped a few holes.

00:51:43What's it going to take to keep those holes lit

00:51:45and keep advancing?

00:51:46Not smoking the tires at 500 feet.

00:51:48This thing was black track,

00:51:49and almost as soon as I passed the 330,

00:51:50and I just legged that SOB all the way to the finish line.

00:51:53It was pretty fun.

00:51:54You don't want to win that way,

00:51:55but definitely had to break out

00:51:57some of my dirt track experience.

00:51:58So really proud of the team.

00:51:59We're making progress.

00:52:00Like I said, the track conditions are really tricky today.

00:52:02They were going back and forth through that whole delay

00:52:04trying to sort this thing out,

00:52:05and we knew the track wasn't very good out there.

00:52:07So just got to reel this Prock rocket in a little bit more,

00:52:10but we're going to the next one,

00:52:11and proud of that for HendrickCars.com,

00:52:12Cornwall Tools, and Chevrolet.

00:52:15He's fired up.

00:52:16You can see that energy coming up as the wind lights come on.

00:52:18Now we see Tony Stewart's team

00:52:19working on servicing the Racer and Dean Foundation

00:52:22Dodge Top Fuel Dragster

00:52:23as they have been doing

00:52:24with a lot of rapidity this year

00:52:26and a lot of repetition.

00:52:27This car has been better

00:52:29than it has been in previous seasons

00:52:31as far as going rounds in the early races.

00:52:34Pro Stock Drag Racing

00:52:35will be on the starting line when we come back.

00:52:38Greg Anderson's been killing it so far in 2025.

00:52:42Pomona and all.

00:52:43Good job, Wes.

00:52:48Oh, my God.

00:52:51Hey, look here.

00:52:59The Getrex pit camera

00:53:00in Matt Hartford's pit area.

00:53:01You can see him checking the valves

00:53:03with a feeler gauge there.

00:53:04You're going to run through all those

00:53:05to get the car prepared

00:53:06for the first round of eliminations

00:53:07in Pro Stock.

00:53:08Tony, tell us more about them.

00:53:09Mostly Camaro with a few Mustang aerodynamics,

00:53:11no rear wing,

00:53:12minimal downforce,

00:53:13but smooth through the air.

00:53:15Chassis made up of a high-strength steel

00:53:17called Chromoly

00:53:18that is covered

00:53:18with a lightweight carbon fiber body

00:53:20that runs through a chamber

00:53:22to meet the rules

00:53:23and specifications for competition.

00:53:25A NASCAR Cup Series car

00:53:26will generate 700 horsepower

00:53:28depending on the course

00:53:29versus a 500 cubic inch

00:53:31Pro Stock engine

00:53:32that will produce 1,400 horsepower.

00:53:33They are using the atmosphere

00:53:35sometimes to their advantage,

00:53:37sometimes to their disadvantage.

00:53:38It is warm

00:53:38and the air is thin

00:53:39up here in Las Vegas.

00:53:42This season,

00:53:42the story has been Greg Anderson.

00:53:44It has been Dallas Glenn.

00:53:45It has been KB Titan Racing

00:53:47who have met in the final round,

00:53:48these two men alone,

00:53:49four straight races.

00:53:51You don't believe me?

00:53:52Watch this.

00:53:54It is the first time since 1980

00:53:56two drivers have met

00:53:57in four straight

00:53:58Pro Stock Eliminator finals.

00:54:00Dallas Glenn will open the season

00:54:06with a wind light

00:54:07on the strange side

00:54:07of the rag strip.

00:54:10Will Dallas Glenn avenge

00:54:12his loss there

00:54:13at the finish line stripe?

00:54:15It is Greg Anderson again.

00:54:20And that is the big question.

00:54:21Will the streak continue?

00:54:22A streak that was broken

00:54:24was broken by Jed Coughlin Jr.

00:54:26During the mission

00:54:27too fast, too tasty final,

00:54:28he was able to put his car

00:54:30into the qualified field.

00:54:32He pushed Eric Andrews out

00:54:33and for the first time

00:54:34since 2016 in Charlotte,

00:54:36she will not be competing

00:54:37on Sunday in Pro Stock.

00:54:39David Freiberger caught up

00:54:40with the team owner

00:54:41for Elite Motorsports,

00:54:42Richard Freeman.

00:54:44You know,

00:54:45when you think Pro Stock,

00:54:46you think Elite Motorsports.

00:54:48I'm here with Richard Freeman.

00:54:49He's the owner

00:54:49of the whole shebang.

00:54:50You've done so much

00:54:51to grow the class.

00:54:52You've got 10 cars out here,

00:54:54but at this point

00:54:55it looks like only two

00:54:56are competitive.

00:54:57What can you do

00:54:57to turn that around

00:54:58by Charlotte?

00:54:59I don't know

00:55:00if we can turn it around

00:55:00by Charlotte.

00:55:01I mean,

00:55:01it's not for lack of work,

00:55:03I can tell you that,

00:55:04but in my humble opinion,

00:55:06we really don't have any

00:55:07that are competitive right now.

00:55:09We're behind.

00:55:10You know,

00:55:11we had a fuel change

00:55:12over the winter

00:55:12and for whatever reason

00:55:13we feel like

00:55:14that we thought we had it,

00:55:16but we're absolutely behind.

00:55:20KB guys have done

00:55:21a great job

00:55:22of finding what it needed

00:55:25and, you know,

00:55:27I don't like excuses.

00:55:28Excuses are,

00:55:30as you know,

00:55:31everybody's got one, right?

00:55:32So we've been down some guys.

00:55:35My main crew chief's not here.

00:55:37I've asked some guys

00:55:38to step up

00:55:39and they've done a great job,

00:55:40but at the end of the day,

00:55:42we're down some really

00:55:43key individuals

00:55:44and we've got to go home

00:55:46and go to work.

00:55:47So we've got a lot of people

00:55:48working on it

00:55:48and hopefully we can see

00:55:51some light at the end

00:55:52of the tunnel

00:55:53by Charlotte,

00:55:54but at least we got May off.

00:55:56A very candid response

00:55:58here for Richard Freeman

00:55:59and that team

00:55:59is certainly battling.

00:56:00We now go to the Summit

00:56:01on board cameras this season,

00:56:03starting with Antron Brown

00:56:04as we take a look back

00:56:05at his win

00:56:06at the Keeter Nationals.

00:56:07Those white hot

00:56:08header flames up by the wing

00:56:09started his season

00:56:10the way he ended it

00:56:11by winning in this fine form.

00:56:14But on the Pro Stock side,

00:56:16these cars have recorded

00:56:17some very, very cool runs.

00:56:18This is the most bizarre

00:56:19Pro Stock win

00:56:20of Greg Anderson's life.

00:56:22We're in Dallas Glenn's car.

00:56:23Wait for it.

00:56:24There's Greg's car,

00:56:25which also shut off.

00:56:27His car rolled

00:56:27to about 50 feet

00:56:28and then he was able

00:56:29to just come to a stop

00:56:30to collect his trophy

00:56:31at the starting line

00:56:32and Dallas loved his car

00:56:34to the finish line.

00:56:35Now the Winter Nationals

00:56:36final round

00:56:37was a tick different.

00:56:38I thought that was

00:56:39a burnout series

00:56:40but this is an actual run.

00:56:41You can see him

00:56:42getting through the gears.

00:56:44Cooler conditions,

00:56:45quick track,

00:56:46and that's all

00:56:46Greg Anderson was

00:56:47on that day.

00:56:48For Anderson,

00:56:49it has been a start

00:56:50of a season

00:56:50that is reminiscent

00:56:51of some of his most

00:56:52dominating years ever.

00:56:54We get a look

00:56:54at the latter.

00:56:55Who has the honor

00:56:56of racing Greg Anderson?

00:56:57It'll be Eric Latino,

00:56:58Christian Quadra,

00:56:59and Jake Coughlin.

00:57:00Dallas Glenn coming in

00:57:01with that very strong

00:57:02qualifying effort

00:57:02but I think he's going

00:57:03to have his hands full

00:57:04with David Quadra,

00:57:05Mason McGahe,

00:57:05Aaron Stanfield,

00:57:07a lot of young talent.

00:57:09And so the first quad

00:57:10of pro stockers

00:57:11on the starting line

00:57:12as we have the Getrex

00:57:12onboard camera here

00:57:13and the Total Seal

00:57:14Piston Rings Camaro

00:57:15of Matt Hartford.

00:57:17Hartford in lane one,

00:57:18Fernando Quadra Jr.

00:57:19in lane two,

00:57:20Brandon Foster in lane three,

00:57:22and Grie Reed in lane four.

00:57:26You have what is

00:57:27effectively two

00:57:28KV Titan-powered cars

00:57:29in lanes one and four.

00:57:31Foster is an elite

00:57:32motorsports-powered car.

00:57:34Fernando Quadra's car

00:57:34gets power

00:57:35from Frank Iaconeo

00:57:36and some tuning

00:57:37on the chassis side

00:57:38from elite motorsports.

00:57:41Joey Gladstone,

00:57:42the national event-winning

00:57:43pro stock motorcycle rider

00:57:44that serves as the lead

00:57:45wrench on Reed's car,

00:57:46is walking away.

00:57:49Jim Yates,

00:57:50the crew chief of record

00:57:51for Brandon Foster.

00:58:01Everybody's taking their time.

00:58:02Fernando's in first.

00:58:06Foster has not got in yet,

00:58:08and Foster's going to be

00:58:09the first guy to time out.

00:58:10Brandon Foster lost his place

00:58:12on the racetrack,

00:58:13and it did not throw

00:58:14anybody else off

00:58:15as the two KV Titan cars

00:58:16will run in high

00:58:18to 663.

00:58:19at 205 for Hartford,

00:58:21a 669.

00:58:22Hartford actually

00:58:23was thrown off

00:58:24a 223 light.

00:58:25All three of them

00:58:25actually were

00:58:26not in the ballpark.

00:58:28Yeah, I mean,

00:58:29it really falls

00:58:29on Brandon Foster,

00:58:31and for the life of me,

00:58:32can't figure out

00:58:33how a driver

00:58:34doesn't better prepare for it.

00:58:36I don't understand

00:58:37how they get confused,

00:58:37but again,

00:58:38for the experienced drivers,

00:58:39they love it,

00:58:40and it did have

00:58:40a direct effect

00:58:41on Matt Hartford.

00:58:42Take a listen.

00:58:43Take a listen.

00:58:45Take a listen.

00:58:47Take a listen.

00:58:49Foster's car

00:58:55did shake the tires,

00:58:56but he never staged it.

00:58:58He recorded

00:58:58no reaction time,

00:59:00as you can see

00:59:00his frustration there,

00:59:02as he never actually

00:59:02fully staged the car.

00:59:04Bruno and Matt Hagen,

00:59:05they must have

00:59:06something to talk about,

00:59:07and I think I know

00:59:08what it might be.

00:59:10So Matt Hagen

00:59:11wins his quad,

00:59:11advancing the semifinals,

00:59:13but the real question is,

00:59:14what were you rocking

00:59:15this morning?

00:59:15Was that Versace?

00:59:16What are you thinking,

00:59:17my man?

00:59:18Oh, man,

00:59:18just letting it hang out there.

00:59:20My son said,

00:59:21you're looking awful

00:59:21drippy this morning,

00:59:22you know,

00:59:22so I don't know.

00:59:24I was going to say

00:59:24it's a young kid thing,

00:59:25I don't know,

00:59:26but at the end of the day,

00:59:27man,

00:59:27I felt like Tony Stewart

00:59:28in there this morning.

00:59:29That thing had a hole out

00:59:30and I was pushing it over.

00:59:31I was like,

00:59:31let it go,

00:59:32let it go,

00:59:32and I was like,

00:59:33don't hit a cone,

00:59:33so I got the win light

00:59:35at this direct connection dodge

00:59:36on to the next round.

00:59:37Tony got his first

00:59:38hole shot win,

00:59:39a good day so far in Vegas.

00:59:41Listen,

00:59:41the last guy to make Tigers

00:59:42look this good in Vegas,

00:59:43those are Siegfried and Roy.

00:59:45Okay,

00:59:45that's the level this guy's on.

00:59:47I thought of Frosted Flakes

00:59:48for some reason.

00:59:49The supercharger

00:59:50is going on Tony,

00:59:51the Tiger Stewart's

00:59:52top fuel dragster here,

00:59:53getting ready to get bolted down

00:59:55and that'll be heading back

00:59:55into the staging lane.

00:59:57Spencer Hyde's pit area,

00:59:58the gym head racing pit area.

01:00:00You can see Spencer doing

01:00:01his part of the maintenance

01:00:01as the rest of his talented team,

01:00:04the quickest car on the property

01:00:05going into round two.

01:00:06He's getting ready

01:00:06to pack his parachutes

01:00:07as the cylinder heads

01:00:09are already being wrenched down

01:00:10on top of that nitro-burning

01:00:12Chrysler-heavy style engine

01:00:13that will power him

01:00:14to what he hopes will be

01:00:15a final quad here this afternoon.

01:00:19Tony,

01:00:19get a look.

01:00:20This is nothing out of the order.

01:00:21No tightening the inner head studs,

01:00:23but when I look at this crew,

01:00:24you can always tell

01:00:24how his service is going

01:00:26by their body English.

01:00:27Everything seems very controlled.

01:00:29When I look at this team,

01:00:30I see a group

01:00:30that has been with Jim Head

01:00:32for a lot,

01:00:33a lot of years.

01:00:33That means you have chemistry.

01:00:34That means you're very efficient

01:00:36preparing this car

01:00:37for the next round.

01:00:38In the case of the gentleman

01:00:39torquing the heads right now,

01:00:40that is over 30 years

01:00:41he has worked with Jim Head

01:00:42over the course

01:00:43of his drag racing career.

01:00:44Cylinder heads

01:00:45are the name of the game,

01:00:46and you can see that

01:00:47being torqued down right now,

01:00:48those inner and outer studs.

01:00:49Unlike your hot rod at home

01:00:51that simply has the normal,

01:00:52what, 16, 18 head bolts?

01:00:53These babies got them

01:00:55up, down, and sideways.

01:00:56Laying about $1.30 foot-pounds

01:00:57on those outer head studs.

01:00:59Let's go back

01:01:00to the starting line,

01:01:01our next quad of Pro Stockers,

01:01:02Dallas Glenn, Aaron Stanfield,

01:01:04David Quadra, and Mason Begehe.

01:01:07The big question here to me

01:01:09is kind of relying

01:01:10or looking at Aaron Stanfield.

01:01:12Qualifying-wise,

01:01:13Stanfield comes into this,

01:01:14the number 11 car,

01:01:15but man, there was a big gap

01:01:17between where those elite cars were

01:01:18as we've talked about

01:01:19and cars like Dallas Glenn's.

01:01:20Yeah, and I think for the drivers,

01:01:22I mean, there's two things

01:01:22at play for Aaron Stanfield.

01:01:24The driver that's been so good,

01:01:25he was in contention

01:01:26for the championship a year ago.

01:01:28The driver takes and assumes

01:01:30some of the responsibilities.

01:01:31He knows he has to make some

01:01:32up on the starting line.

01:01:34Meanwhile, the tuners,

01:01:35they're going to continue

01:01:36to try different variations

01:01:37with the setup and the gear ratios

01:01:53and the setup of the chassis

01:01:54until they hit on something

01:01:56and they're hoping

01:01:56they find something here.

01:01:57David Quadra,

01:01:58the Corral Tequila machine.

01:02:00You can see Mason Begehe

01:02:01in lane for the Harlow Sammons

01:02:02of Odessa Southwest performance car.

01:02:04The Begehe car continues to impress.

01:02:06Another top half qualifying effort.

01:02:09Been consistent in that regard.

01:02:10Stanfield went in there first

01:02:11and everybody followed him.

01:02:13Mason Begehe was 12 green.

01:02:15Oh, this is going to be

01:02:16a classic pro stock finish here.

01:02:17Four wide abreast

01:02:18at the finish line.

01:02:19The advancing cars

01:02:20are Begehe and Glenn

01:02:21and the kid did it on a hole shot.

01:02:24Well, for Dallas Glenn,

01:02:25it was good enough.

01:02:26Fortunately, he does advance.

01:02:28He was last off the starting line.

01:02:30David Quadra,

01:02:31who we expect no last from him.

01:02:33He's just quick off the line.

01:02:35And for Dallas Glenn,

01:02:36he just had the power.

01:02:37You know, and maybe

01:02:38he laid up a little bit.

01:02:39Some of these drivers,

01:02:40they know they have a good car.

01:02:41They know everybody's

01:02:43shooting for him,

01:02:44gunning for him

01:02:44on the starting line.

01:02:45But he was composed enough

01:02:47to get off the starting line

01:02:48with the group

01:02:49and just mildly outrun

01:02:52his opponents in lanes

01:02:53two and three

01:02:54who were right alongside of him.

01:02:55A very tight margin

01:02:57of victory for Begehe.

01:02:58That is 17 thousandths

01:02:59of a second

01:03:00for the young man

01:03:01from Odessa, Texas.

01:03:01And you can see

01:03:02the early deployment

01:03:03of the parachutes

01:03:04that throws for a moment's time

01:03:06just a little weight

01:03:06off the back of the car.

01:03:08Corey Reed, advanced.

01:03:09He's with Bruno.

01:03:11Well, we just experienced

01:03:12the madness of four wide

01:03:13right there.

01:03:14And the only one

01:03:14who really kept

01:03:15their wits at bottom

01:03:15was you.

01:03:16You go up there

01:03:16and a whole shot win.

01:03:1791 in the tree,

01:03:18which normally

01:03:19you wouldn't be, you know,

01:03:20beating your chest about.

01:03:20But when the other guys

01:03:21were as late as they were,

01:03:22a lot could happen

01:03:23in four wide.

01:03:23What was going through your mind?

01:03:24I was on the count of six

01:03:26and I was like,

01:03:26I think I sprung deck

01:03:28here.

01:03:28And then they flashed quick

01:03:29because I was a little,

01:03:30I wasn't always prepared,

01:03:31right?

01:03:31I got lucky too.

01:03:33Went out there

01:03:33just before I end high gear,

01:03:35started shaking,

01:03:35going to the right.

01:03:36I plugged early a little,

01:03:37got through it,

01:03:38and shoot,

01:03:38we got the win, baby.

01:03:40A guy who looks like

01:03:41he should be driving

01:03:42a team of sled dogs,

01:03:43not a pro stock car

01:03:44in the desert.

01:03:45He advanced on it.

01:03:46You can see the service

01:03:47continues at Jim Dunn Racing,

01:03:48rather at Jim Head Racing,

01:03:50as he prepares

01:03:51Spencer Hyde's car

01:03:52for the next round.

01:03:52When we come back,

01:03:53the pro stock action

01:03:55continues four wide.

01:03:59The NHRA four wide nationals

01:04:02is sponsored by Lucas Oil,

01:04:04the world leader

01:04:04in high performance lubricants

01:04:06and problem solving

01:04:07additives.

01:04:08And by Toyota.

01:04:09Let's go places.

01:04:12Hey, let's take a look

01:04:13at our pro stock ladder

01:04:14from the west rim

01:04:15of the Grand Canyon.

01:04:17Absolutely beautiful.

01:04:18Matt Hartford,

01:04:19Sean Reed,

01:04:19or the Corey Reed advance.

01:04:21Sean Reed also advanced

01:04:22to top fuel

01:04:23in a different category.

01:04:24Dallas Glenn

01:04:25and Mason McGehee

01:04:25on the other side

01:04:26of the ladder.

01:04:27Cody Coughlin

01:04:28is on the starting line.

01:04:30Coughlin in lane one.

01:04:31Chris McGehee in lane two.

01:04:32We'll see if the father

01:04:33and son tandem

01:04:33can both move on

01:04:35to the next round.

01:04:36Matt Latino

01:04:36and Derek Kramer

01:04:37make up the three

01:04:38and four lane

01:04:39entrance here.

01:04:40There's Kramer

01:04:41in that Get Biofuel Bay

01:04:42sponsored Camaro.

01:04:43The Bear Grill

01:04:44AIR IQ sponsored machine

01:04:46of Matt Latino.

01:04:48The guy who took it out

01:04:49on his own father

01:04:50in Pomona

01:04:50two weeks ago

01:04:51in the first round.

01:04:52He whole shouted

01:04:52his own dad

01:04:53out of competition.

01:04:54I'm pretty sure dad's saying,

01:04:55hey,

01:04:55you better not just be me.

01:04:57You better take it

01:04:57to these guys too.

01:04:58Pretend they're your dad.

01:05:00And in lane one

01:05:00for Cody Coughlin,

01:05:01a very strong

01:05:02qualifying effort.

01:05:03Number two,

01:05:03this has been a bit

01:05:04of a rocky start

01:05:05for Coughlin

01:05:06in his pro stock career

01:05:07following his

01:05:07NASCAR truck driving

01:05:09exploits.

01:05:09They've had some

01:05:09mechanical issues

01:05:10and some DNQs,

01:05:11but this weekend

01:05:12that car has looked

01:05:13strong as an ox.

01:05:14Cody Coughlin

01:05:15construction Camaro.

01:05:17Say that five times fast.

01:05:19Matt Latino

01:05:25just played the game.

01:05:26Matt Latino

01:05:27double-balled

01:05:27the entirety of everybody.

01:05:28You heard somebody

01:05:29get up on the two-step early.

01:05:31How's it going to finish?

01:05:32Who's moving on?

01:05:33And it appears

01:05:33it's going to be

01:05:34Matt Latino

01:05:35and Kramer.

01:05:36And Latino

01:05:37did it to multiple

01:05:38different competitors.

01:05:39And it pays off.

01:05:40Now,

01:05:40whether he did it

01:05:41on accident

01:05:41or did it intentionally,

01:05:43it worked.

01:05:44but more importantly,

01:05:45he held his bearings.

01:05:46If he rolls in

01:05:47on accident,

01:05:48he still had

01:05:50the situational awareness

01:05:51to be patient,

01:05:53wait for everyone else

01:05:54to roll in

01:05:55in pre-stage.

01:05:55And sometimes

01:05:56it could have

01:05:57a negative effect

01:05:58on a driver.

01:05:59But for Matt Latino,

01:06:01whether it was

01:06:01intentional or not,

01:06:03it earned him a win.

01:06:05So if it's just

01:06:06based on performance,

01:06:07I mean,

01:06:07he has got

01:06:07the third quickest car,

01:06:09but he was quicker

01:06:09to the finish line

01:06:10than two of his opponents

01:06:11because he was able

01:06:12to get that important

01:06:13jump off the starting line.

01:06:15He didn't get got.

01:06:16He got his first.

01:06:18Everybody's going

01:06:18to get got.

01:06:19You just got to get yours

01:06:20more than you get got.

01:06:22There's what it looked

01:06:23like at the finish line.

01:06:24Let's talk to Mason McGahe.

01:06:25He hole-shotted

01:06:26his way in round two.

01:06:29Mason McGahe

01:06:29getting it done

01:06:30on a hole shot.

01:06:310-12 on the tree

01:06:32is always south,

01:06:33but in a four-wide format,

01:06:34it makes it even that much

01:06:35more difficult to pull off.

01:06:36How tough is that stage

01:06:37in that one of a pro-stock car?

01:06:38It hadn't been too difficult

01:06:39and I hadn't had

01:06:39too much trouble this week.

01:06:40I know the first pair

01:06:41I saw there was a little bit

01:06:42of some stuff going

01:06:43on and I was like,

01:06:44oh, I hope we don't

01:06:45have anything like that.

01:06:46It felt like we all

01:06:47kind of rolled in

01:06:47at the same time

01:06:48and it was a long tree

01:06:49and I didn't really feel

01:06:50like I hit it that good,

01:06:50but obviously the computer

01:06:52said I did it as well,

01:06:53so can't complain about that

01:06:54and just happy to move on.

01:06:57Mason McGahe will have

01:06:58the likes of Dallas Glenn,

01:07:00Derek Kramer,

01:07:00and Matt Latino

01:07:01in the next round.

01:07:03Here's Greg Anderson

01:07:03to summit on board

01:07:04as Greg Anderson

01:07:05sits in lane one,

01:07:06Eric Latino lane two,

01:07:08Jake Coughlin lane three,

01:07:09and Christian Quadra

01:07:10in lane four.

01:07:13Coughlin,

01:07:14the Skag Power Equipment,

01:07:15Cat's Eye Gold Camaro,

01:07:16the Jezzy Global Emission Systems

01:07:18machine for Latino.

01:07:1912 for Quadra.

01:07:27Anderson had the quickest

01:07:28car on the property,

01:07:29but is he quick enough

01:07:29to advance on to the next round?

01:07:31And it is Greg Anderson,

01:07:336'61-2.

01:07:34That is brutal in performance

01:07:35and it is a whole shot

01:07:37for Quadra at 6'66,

01:07:39so Coughlin has bounced,

01:07:40Latino's bounced,

01:07:41and Greg Anderson

01:07:42is just absolutely crushing it.

01:07:44Well, thank goodness

01:07:44for the old HP

01:07:45and you can see

01:07:46from that on-board camera

01:07:48that was on Eric Latino's car

01:07:50that you could just see

01:07:51the horsepower start

01:07:52to kick in for Greg Anderson,

01:07:53but it starts within

01:07:54the first 60 feet.

01:07:55It's so important

01:07:56for these pro stock cars,

01:07:57but make no mistake about it,

01:07:59it was Greg Anderson

01:07:59that was having to play catch-up.

01:08:02Hard for him to see

01:08:02what Jake and Quadra

01:08:04was doing in those number one,

01:08:05or the three and four lanes,

01:08:06however, they did get

01:08:07a considerable jump

01:08:09off of the starting line

01:08:10over Greg Anderson,

01:08:11but horsepower wins out.

01:08:13And so,

01:08:14for the second round

01:08:15of eliminations,

01:08:16there is not a single

01:08:17elite motorsports-powered car

01:08:19existent.

01:08:21Christian Quadra's car,

01:08:22that has a Frank Iaconio

01:08:23motor in it,

01:08:24and you can see

01:08:25for Jed Coughlin,

01:08:26he was almost there,

01:08:27but it was a 12-reaction time

01:08:29for Quadra

01:08:30to get the job done.

01:08:31We now look at

01:08:31the semi-final round

01:08:32of pro stock.

01:08:34It is going to be

01:08:34Anderson, Quadra,

01:08:35Hartford, and Reed.

01:08:37On the right side,

01:08:38Kramer, Latino,

01:08:39Glenn, and McGehee.

01:08:42Quadra with his

01:08:42Iaconio engine,

01:08:43and McGehee with

01:08:44the family-built engine

01:08:45for the only two

01:08:46non-KB Titan-powered cars.

01:08:48Let's talk to Matt Latino,

01:08:49a guy who

01:08:50double-hole-shotted

01:08:51his way on.

01:08:54Pro stock rookie

01:08:54Matt Latino

01:08:55hopped out of the car

01:08:56and said,

01:08:56how did we do?

01:08:57Well, you did really good.

01:08:58You double-hole-shot victory.

01:08:59You went in there

01:09:00and double-bubbed.

01:09:00Was that intentional

01:09:01or was that something

01:09:02that just happened?

01:09:03No, not really.

01:09:03I mean, I saw everyone

01:09:04was pre-staged.

01:09:05I felt good and comfortable.

01:09:06I said, I'm just going

01:09:06to go right in for it.

01:09:07I'm ready to go.

01:09:08Went in.

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