NHRA PHOTO
HAGAN, B. FORCE, GLENN & HERRERA STAY ON TOP AT NHRA 4-WIDE CAROLINA NATIONALS
CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 20, 2025) – Four-time Funny Car world champion
Matt Hagan clinched the top spot Saturday at zMAX Dragway, powering to
his second No. 1 qualifier this year for Tony Stewart Racing at the NHRA
4-Wide Carolina Nationals.
Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera
(Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 16th of 20 races
during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the
second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Hagan’s Friday run of 3.891-seconds at 329.67 mph in his
12,000-horsepower Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat easily held up as
the veteran raced to his 54th career No. 1 qualifier. Currently fifth in
points, Hagan is looking for his second win this season and opens Sunday
in a loaded quad that also features J.R. Todd, Jack Beckman and John
Smith.
“We’ve been down the racetrack all four times in every lane and I
think that’s a real positive,” Hagan said. “I’m really happy with
the way things are going. I truly feel like maybe we found that problem
that’s cost us a couple blow blow-ups with the ignition switch, so
everything’s looking good on the graphs and the crew chief seems to be
pretty confident about everything.
“There’s no gimmes out there. You qualify No. 1, and you look at
your quad [which includes Jack Beckman and J.R. Todd] and you’re going,
‘Did we qualify No. 1? Or what happened? Why do we have such a tough
quad?’ But it’s Funny Car racing. We all have ups and downs every
weekend, and you just have to make every one of these rounds count.”
Ron Capps made a huge move in the final qualifying session, jumping to
second with a 3.899 at 329.67. Points leader Austin Prock took third
with a run of 3.900 at 327.74 as he made four runs in the low 3.90s.
In Top Fuel, Force held on to the No. 1 spot, as the two-time world
champion clinched her fifth No. 1 qualifier this season and 57th in her
career thanks to Friday’s run of 3.698 at 338.85 in her
12,000-horsepower HendrickCars.com dragster.
As encouraging as that was, Force also made the quickest run of the
final session in Saturday’s warmer temperatures, giving her added
confidence heading into eliminations on Sunday. Force and her team made
a strong run in each session, giving her hope she could make a big move
in the points standings as well. Her opening-round matchup also includes
Tony Stewart and Shawn Reed.
“Qualifying was outstanding for us this weekend,” Force said. “We
had four solid, consistent runs down the dragstrip and we were in the
heat both days. The heat is always when we struggle. We’re all very
happy with that. It’s what we plan to come out and do every single
weekend. We just haven’t been getting there. So, this was just
outstanding for our team.
“We always want to qualify top three, top five, which would be
awesome, picking up bonus points and really going rounds on race day.
Consistency is key. We have a great car this weekend, so I’m feeling
confident going into race day.”
Points leader Doug Kalitta qualified second with a 3.700 at 332.18 and
Steve Torrence took third thanks to Friday’s 3.720 at 331.28. Reed,
who won last weekend in Reading, made two strong runs on Saturday,
including the quickest run of the day (3.767 at 329.42).
Dallas Glenn continued his hot run in the playoffs with two more strong
Pro Stock runs on Saturday, staying on top thanks to Friday’s 6.535 at
209.69 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro. It’s the points
leader’s second straight No. 1 qualifier and sixth this year, and he
was also thrilled with the way his car is running in the playoffs.
His opening quad includes Aaron and Greg Stanfield, and Troy Coughlin as
Glenn looks to really separate himself from a majority of contenders on
Sunday. Glenn is also after a third straight win at zMAX Dragway and a
season sweep at the state-of-the-art facility.
“It’s been such a fantastic season; this is my sixth No. 1 qualifier and
only the 12th of my career, so to get half of my No. 1’s in one season
shows how good this car is right now,” Glenn said. “I’ve said it
before, that I’ve felt I was in the best car I’ve ever been, but I feel
like it just keeps stepping up. As long as I don’t let the car or the
crew chiefs down and keep doing my job, I think it’s going to be a
pretty tough battle.”
Glenn’s teammate, reigning world champion Greg Anderson, took second
with a 6.535 at a slightly slower 209.20 and Eric Latino qualified third
after going 6.538 at 208.01 on Friday.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera picked up his sixth No. 1
qualifier of the season thanks to Friday’s 6.757 at 201.22 on his
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki, ending his day in strong fashion
with a run of 6.772.
His opening quad includes Marc Ingwersen, Chase Van Sant and Marcus
Hylton, with Herrera looking to move back into the points lead with
another win at zMAX Dragway. On Saturday, he clinched his sixth No. 1
this season and 29th in his career.
“You realize you only have six races left and you’ve got to make
them count,” Herrera said. “It brings a different excitement to the
riders and the tuners, and it gets the guys all fired up. With the
four-wide setup, it’s the first time we’ve been four-wide in the
playoffs. It’s just a different challenge and you have to have a
different mindset going into it. You have to go up there and really pay
attention.”
Richard Gadson took the second spot thanks to Friday’s 6.768 at 201.01
and Matt Smith, a six-time world champion, qualified third with a 6.768
at 201.01.
Eliminations for the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals begin at 11:30 a.m.
ET on Sunday at zMAX Dragway.
***
CONCORD, N.C. — First-round pairings for professional eliminations
Sunday for the 17th annual NHRA
4-Wide Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway, the 16th of 20 events in the
NHRA Mission Foods Drag
Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended
Saturday. DNQs listed below
pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.698 seconds, 338.85 mph vs. Bye vs. vs.
8. Shawn Reed, 3.754,
330.72 vs. 9. Tony Stewart, 3.760, 329.67; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.700,
334.48 vs. Bye vs. vs. 7.
Antron Brown, 3.750, 329.75 vs. 10. Josh Hart, 3.763, 329.83; 3. Steve
Torrence, 3.720, 331.28 vs.
14. Cameron Ferre, 4.098, 296.50 vs. 6. Clay Millican, 3.730, 335.32 vs.
11. Dan Mercier, 3.770,
326.95; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.728, 338.00 vs. 13. Doug Foley, 3.841,
316.75 vs. 5. Justin Ashley,
3.728, 335.98 vs. 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.788, 330.47.
Funny Car — 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.891, 329.67 vs. 16. John
Smith, Charger, 4.844, 167.34
vs. 8. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.935, 334.24 vs. 9. Jack Beckman,
Chevy Camaro, 3.938, 326.08;
2. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.899, 329.67 vs. 15. Dave Richards, Ford
Mustang, 4.039, 314.39 vs. 7.
Paul Lee, Charger, 3.931, 310.63 vs. 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang,
3.962, 320.51; 3. Austin Prock,
Camaro, 3.900, 329.67 vs. 14. Alex Laughlin, Charger, 4.000, 319.67 vs.
6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang,
3.917, 330.31 vs. 11. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.967, 328.30; 4. Cruz
Pedregon, Charger, 3.910, 324.90
vs. 13. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.971, 325.22 vs. 5. Alexis DeJoria,
Charger, 3.911, 331.77 vs. 12.
Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.967, 324.12.
Pro Stock — 1. Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.535, 209.69 vs. 16. Troy
Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.604,
209.72 vs. 8. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.555, 209.62 vs. 9. Greg
Stanfield, Camaro, 6.557, 209.30;
2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.535, 209.23 vs. 15. David Cuadra, Camaro,
6.599, 208.38 vs. 7. Erica
Enders, Camaro, 6.554, 209.82 vs. 10. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.557,
208.59; 3. Eric Latino, Camaro,
6.538, 208.88 vs. 14. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.599, 209.49 vs. 6. Cory
Reed, Camaro, 6.552, 208.75
vs. 11. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.561, 208.10; 4. Cody Coughlin,
Camaro, 6.546, 208.52 vs. 13.
Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.577, 209.56 vs. 5. Deric Kramer,
Camaro, 6.551, 208.84 vs. 12.
Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.568, 208.71.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris Vang, 6.608, 207.91; 18. Kenny Delco, 6.619,
208.20; 19. Brandon Miller,
6.647, 206.86.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.757, 201.22 vs. 16.
Marcus Hylton, Buell, 7.060,
187.52 vs. 8. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.852, 196.70 vs. 9. Chase Van Sant,
Suzuki, 6.853, 198.32; 2.
Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.760, 200.26 vs. 15. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.991,
190.38 vs. 7. Chris Bostick,
Suzuki, 6.842, 196.67 vs. 10. John Hall, Beull, 6.853, 197.59; 3. Matt
Smith, Buell, 6.768, 201.01
vs. 14. Brandon Litten, Suzuki, 6.894, 196.07 vs. 6. Brayden Davis,
Suzuki, 6.837, 199.05 vs. 11.
Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.856, 198.76; 4. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.805,
199.97 vs. 13. Ron Tornow,
Victory, 6.882, 197.13 vs. 5. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.837, 197.80 vs.
12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki,
6.874, 194.83.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Geno Scali, 7.062, 192.82.
-NHRA-