NHRA News: Kalitta and Force leads Friday Qualifying in Charlotte

Top Fuel’s Doug Kalitta set the track E.T. record at zMAX Dragway on Friday, taking the provisional No. 1 qualifier, while Brittany Force made the fastest run in Top Fuel history at the 15th annual American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.

Paul Lee (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the fifth of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

NHRA Top Fuel

In the same quad under the lights in Charlotte — and at the 1,000th NHRA Top Fuel race in NHRA history — both Kalitta and Force put on a spectacular and record-breaking show. Kalitta went a zMAX-record 3.646 seconds at 333.74 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster, looking to qualify No. 1 for the third time this season and 61st time in his career.

Force, meanwhile, went an incredible 341.58 mph on a run of 3.667 in her HendrickCars.com dragster, posting the first 340-mph run in Top Fuel history and powering past her previous speed record of 338.94, which was set in Pomona during her championship season in 2022. Force went a blistering 301.00 to the eighth-mile and then rolled to more Top Fuel history at the finish line during an unforgettable quad on Friday night.

Brittany Force at the American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Raceway. Image supplied by NHRA

“Having the night session here, the track is in incredible shape, so definitely some good (runs),” Kalitta said. “It was the opportunity of the weekend, really, for all of us, but yeah, with the 1,000th race, it’s a cool and then there’s a cool trophy.

“Right now, my car is running incredibly well. Shawn Langdon ended up second, so both our cars are running really well. Alan [Johnson] and Brian [Husen, crew chiefs] and all our guys, and Connie [Kalitta, team owner] is definitely giving us everything we need, and we’ve got some momentum going on our side here right now.”

Added Force: “She was flying on that run, and we really needed that. To go 341, that’s awesome, and we’re all really excited about that.”

Langdon took the second spot on Friday with a 3.665 at 333.33 to give Kalitta Motorsports the top two spots, while Force qualified third.

NHRA Funny Car

Back in the Funny Car points lead, Paul Lee continues to showcase his team’s stellar potential, racing to the No. 1 position under the lights on Friday with a standout run of 3.829 at 328.54 in his 11,000-horsepower SRI Performance/Daido Metal Dodge Charger SRT.

Paul Lee at the American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Raceway. Image supplied by NHRA

Lee flirted with the track record of 3.820 and now is in line for his second No. 1 qualifier through the first five races of the season. Lee had only one No. 1 qualifier in his previous 156 races, but the team has made incredible improvements last year and through the first two months in 2025. He’s also been to two final rounds this year, winning in Phoenix and finishing as the runner-up at the four-wide race in Las Vegas.

“After we smoked the tires on our first run, just trying to go a little too fast for the track conditions, Jonnie [Lindberg, crew chief] said, ‘We’re going to try to run 3.82,’ and sure enough, we did,” Lee said. “It left the line hard, real hard. I knew it was on a good run and then it just trucked on down there all the way, pulled hard the away. For these conditions at this track, it was almost a perfect run.

“If the conditions stay the same tomorrow, a lot of cars could go faster. Austin Prock can easily run faster. Jack Beckman, of course, Bob Tasca, J.R. Todd, Spencer Hyde, so anybody could take that No. 1. You might see an .80 flat, or maybe even a .79 by one of those guys. Hopefully, by us.”

Vegas winner and reigning world champion Austin Prock is currently second after going 3.844 at 336.49 and Daniel Wilkerson’s career-best 3.855 at 330.07 has him third.

NHRA Pro Stock

In Pro Stock, the Dallas Glenn and Greg Anderson show continued, as both had identical 6.502 performances as their impressive seasons continued for KB Titan Racing. Glenn took the No. 1 spot on speed, as his 211.10 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro edged out Anderson’s 210.93 for the top position and the chance for the GESi Pro Stock No. 1 Qualifier Award.

It’s a remarkable run dating back to late last year for the standout drivers, with one or the other winning the last five races. That includes the first four events of 2024, with both winning twice. Glenn was the most recent thanks to his victory at the 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas and his momentum kept up on Friday as Glenn looks for his first No. 1 qualifier of the year.

“I think this shows how hard they work at KB Titan,” Glenn said. “This winter, they burned through several drums of fuel on dyno. It takes a lot of pulls to burn that much fuel. We also worked hard on the cars to get them as perfect as we can and it’s showing right now. We picked up and we’re making quality runs.

“My first run today was a little shaky, it went a bit to the right and that put us in in a tough spot for the second run, so we needed this. The air will be similar but maybe a touch worse (tomorrow). I hope Greg doesn’t throw kitchen sink at it and take the top spot from me.”

Anderson is second, while Matt Hartford took the third position on the strength of his 6.510 at 209.43.

Greg Anderson at the American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Raceway. Image supplied by NHRA

NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle

Racing for the first time since early March, the Pro Stock Motorcycle category returned on Friday and defending world champion Gaige Herrera was back to his usual dominant self, going a remarkable 6.680 at 201.64 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki to take the provisional No. 1 spot.

Herrera, who won in Gainesville to open 2025 after winning back-to-back world titles, was the quickest bike in each session, just missing the track record during the night session. It also puts Herrera, the defending event winner, on track for his milestone 25th career No. 1 qualifier, which has a chance to happen in just his 38th career race in the category.

Gaige Herrera at the American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Raceway. Image supplied by NHRA

“We’ve had six weeks off since Gainesville and our guys have been busy in the shop working. Andrew [Hines, crew chief] is still learning this new [VP Fuel] and it’s showing on the dyno and on the track,” Herrera said. “That run felt the same as last year when we set the record in Dallas. I had a 1.02-second 60-foot time, which is impressive at our current weight. It was amazing, a picture-perfect run. I didn’t have to correct it.

“For the four-wide, I don’t change my mindset. You just have to pay attention. With the bikes it might be a bit easier than a car because you can look around.”

Richard Gadson moved to second in the night session with a run of 6.759 at 200.77 and Matt Smith’s 6.773 at 201.34 has him third.

Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at the American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.