LAS VEGAS — Making her final look at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, two-time High Gas world champion Brittany Drive made the quickest run in observe historical past on Friday, taking the provisional No. 1 spot on the twenty fifth annual Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals powered by Direct Connection.
Austin Prock (Humorous Automobile), Cory Reed (Professional Inventory) and Gaige Herrera (Professional Inventory Bike) are additionally the provisional No. 1 qualifiers on the nineteenth of 20 races throughout the 2025 NHRA Mission Meals Drag Racing Sequence season and the fifth of six races within the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Drive, who will retire from full-time racing on the finish of the season, went to the highest together with her run of three.697 seconds at 338.85 mph in her 12,000-horsepower Chevrolet Equipment dragster, setting the observe pace report and successful the $3,500 “Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award” within the course of.
If it holds, it might be the sixth No. 1 of the season for Drive, who can also be the defending occasion winner. As her full-time profession is all the way down to the ultimate two races, the High Gas star is after another shining second in Las Vegas.
“That was the killer run,” Drive stated. “However all day, it’s been nice for our staff. We’ve been hitting our numbers precisely what we needed to do, and that .69 was what we had been aiming to do. So, to go No. 1, we’re very happy with it and it took each single considered one of our guys to do it.
“Las Vegas is considered one of my favourite race tracks. We’ve been actually profitable right here previously. We received right here final 12 months, however we wish to finish sturdy. It’s bizarre to consider [pending retirement] and truthfully, I’m making an attempt simply to deal with Vegas this weekend, actually being within the second, being within the second with my staff, having fun with all of it.”
Factors chief Doug Kalitta is second with a 3.711 at 337.24 and Shawn Langdon is third 3.715 at 336.57.
In Humorous Automobile, factors chief Austin Prock continued to rule The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, making the quickest run in each classes and successful the $3,500 “Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award” with a powerful run of three.895 at 334.48 in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Instruments Chevrolet SS.
It places the reigning champ on observe to qualify No. 1 for the seventh time this season as he goals to inch nearer to a second straight world championship as properly. Las Vegas has been a really perfect place for Prock in recent times, as he’s searching for his third straight win on the facility and a Las Vegas sweep this 12 months. He slipped previous Matt Hagan, who’s second in factors, to take the highest spot on Friday and has no plans on letting up this weekend.
“We couldn’t ask for a greater begin. We got here in right here searching for extra factors, so No. 1 qualifier, low E.T. of each rounds, you may’t ask for any greater than that out of this staff,” Prock stated.
“We’ve had a variety of success right here, and if you come into a spot the place you’re comfy and you recognize your bundle works properly, it’s thrilling, particularly within the Countdown. Now we have one other alternative to [almost] lock this championship up once more this weekend, like we did final 12 months, and we wish to try this. The Countdown is so irritating, and it’s a hell of quite a bit much less irritating if you happen to can go into Pomona and breathe.”
Hagan is second after a run of three.897 at 329.75 and rookie Spencer Hyde is third due to a 3.917 at 324.75.
Professional Inventory’s Cory Reed made a standout run to shut out Friday’s qualifying and is now on observe to clinch his first profession No. 1 spot after going 6.597 at 206.32 in his J&A Service Chevrolet Camaro. It additionally handed Reed the $2,000 bonus for the “Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award, including one other accomplishment throughout what’s been a banner season.
He picked up his first profession Professional Inventory win earlier this 12 months in Norwalk and has been a constant performer all through, at present sitting fifth in factors. He certified third in St. Louis after which second in Dallas, and now has a chance to do one spot higher and decide up his first profession high qualifier.
“It’d be good to knock [the first low qualifier] out and get it accomplished with. It’ll be robust, although,” Reed stated. “I imply, Erica [Enders] is going quick once more, and he or she at all times does properly right here. Then, clearly me and Greg [Anderson] are actually equal and tight, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully the climate will get actually [crappy].
“I would like some momentum. I wish to transfer ahead within the championship, not backwards, in order that half’s been form of a bummer the final couple of weeks, however I’ve been hanging out with Dallas [Glenn] quite a bit and he’s been rubbing off on me, so I feel it’s good.”
Anderson is second with a 6.598 at 206.23 and Enders, who has an NHRA-record 10 wins in Las Vegas, is third after going 6.606 at 208.14. Factors chief Glenn is fifth with a 6.611 at 206.13.
Needing an enormous weekend to shut the hole on his Professional Inventory Bike teammate, Gaige Herrera bought off to a stellar begin on Friday in Las Vegas, making the quickest run in each classes, together with a 6.800 at 199.17 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki. That handed Herrera the $1,000 “Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award” and places the back-to-back world champ on observe for his eighth No. 1 in 2025.
Herrera entered the weekend 72 factors behind teammate Richard Gadson, who has had an excellent run within the Countdown to the Championship. Gadson is in search of his first world title, however Herrera closed the hole by taking nearly all of bonus factors on Friday, establishing what could possibly be a marquee duel between teammates the remainder of the way in which.
“Yeah, I’m positively very pleased with the beginning of the weekend,” Herrera stated. “To have the ability to get these further little bonus factors, after which the $1,000 [Ted Wiens Complete Auto Service] examine simply provides to it.
“I’m simply going on the market, making an attempt to do my finest consistency-wise. As a rider, I’m making an attempt to hit my shift factors and I had two good lights, so I really feel like I’m form of again to the place I was. Hopefully, I can carry it by the remainder of the weekend.”
Angie Smith is within the second spot with a run of 6.824 at 198.82 and Gadson is third after going 6.834 at 198.06.
