NHRA: Las Vegas track record falls in Nevada Nationals

Kyle Koretsky,  Mike Salinas, Robert Hight, and Gaige Herrera led Round 1 Qualifying for the NHRA Nevada Nationals.

With two races left in the NHRA season, the importance of securing the No. 1 spot in qualifying has risen for teams entering this weekend’s Nevada Nationals.

In Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock, the top spot for Sunday’s elimination rounds went down to the final round on the second day of qualifying Saturday.

Funny Car

Funny Car’s Bob Tasca III took the top spot on the day’s last run — in record-setting fashion.

The top four in Funny Car points are the top four qualifiers heading into Sunday’s eliminations with Hight ahead of Bob Tasca III. Tasca’s strong Q4 run of 3.843 was disqualified after the pass, preventing him from overtaking Hight, who remained No. 1 based on his Friday pass of 3.851. Tasca is now second based on his Friday pass of 3.853.

Points leader Matt Hagan sits third, and fourth-place Ron Capps. With Tasca’s run DQ’d, Hight made the best run of each of the four sessions, including a 3.875 in Q4, and his Cornwell Tools Chevy gathered up all 12 possible session bonus points and eight low qualifier points to close the gap a bit on Hagan, who picked up only two points while Tasca earned five.

Tasca set the Funny Car speed record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 336.74 mph with an estimated time of 3.842 in the fourth qualifying session of the weekend. Jack Beckman set the previous speed record at LVMS in 2019 at 335.90 mph.

“The guys were disappointed,” Tasca said with a chuckle. “I got back into the pits, and they go, ‘Man, I thought it would go quicker.’ And I say, ‘Be happy, we’re the No. 1 qualifier.’ But that’s the mentality of our team. … I’m so proud of them.”

Top Fuel

Salinas ended Friday night atop the field with a 3.699 and it seemed like that number might survive Saturday until the two final pairs of Q4 where the lead changed hands from Salinas to Steve Torrence’s 3.683 before Salinas fired back in the final pair with a 3.680 for his fourth No. 1 of the season and second in the last four events though he’s only won two rounds in the last two races after reaching the final in Charlotte.

“We were trying to run a 3.67 but Rob [Flynn, crew chief] backed down it a little bit because he saw something that wasn’t right, so he did a great job,” said Salinas, who still has a shot at the championship with the right wins and losses Sunday.

“Don’t underestimate anybody in this class,” he cautioned. “Everybody is good. There are no gimmees. You have to be on your A game. When we get to Pomona [for the season finale], the weather’s gonna be cool, so .64 or 65 is going to be No. 1, and I would say the top seven to nine cars are going to be in that range, and hopefully I’m in the top.

“Basically, [the performance of] our car has been there recently but I’ve been distracted as a driver. This weekend, I fixed that. We have a lot on our plate, and we took care of it, just compartmentalizing everything and with the right people around us, we’ll be just fine. With all these cars running this good at the end of the year, can you imagine what next year is going to be like?”

Were you expecting to be able to go back up to number one after seeing Steve Torrence and Doug Kalitta beat your provisional time right before you made your pass?

“Yeah, basically we’re trying to run a 3.67. Rob (Flynn, crew chief) backed it down a little bit. We were trying to run a 3.67 with a five, that’s the number he picked. So I can say that was pretty close, you know, so but it wasn’t bad. But I did see him back it down. He just felt something that wasn’t right. So he did a great job.”

Mike Salinas Quotes

There is a lot of talk of other drivers and team for the championship, but your team and car are running well. Should you not be counted out yet?

“You know, one out at a time. I’ll tell you in Pomona if we’re sitting in the qualifying number one, but here’s the coolest thing. You got Brittany (Force) and she is amazing out there. Okay. Don’t underestimate anybody in this class. Steve Torrence is good. Everybody is good. There is no give me. You have to be on your A game, you have to do good. I’m expecting Alan Johnson. Look, the weather’s going to be cool over there. We’ve got a night run over there. So 64, 65 is going to be number one over there. And I would say the top seven to nine cars are going to be in that class right there. And then hopefully I’m at the top, hopefully,”

What can you say about the improvements with the team in recent months?

“Yeah, basically the car has been around. I’ve been distracted as a driver. This weekend I fixed that. Just we have a lot on her plate, took care of it and just, you know, departmentalizing everything and with the right people around us, and we’ll be just fine. And think about this case. Here’s the coolest part. If all these cars are running this good at the end of the year, can you imagine what next year is going to be like, oh my God, it’s going to be great. I mean, it’s going to be fun. I can’t wait to run with my daughter (Jasmine Salinas) and race.”

What are you going to do here at the track on Monday?

“Okay. My brother (Carl Salinas) and I got this bright idea. My brother and I got this bright idea. We do everything together. So, we’re going to go try Pro Stock bikes. We have bikes coming. We want to race bikes; we’ve been riding motorcycles our whole life. So where else can you do stuff together with your family? I mean, I want to beat him and my daughter (Jianna Evaristo). We’re going to go practice Monday morning, test session, burnouts, launches, and see where we go with it. And our goal is to go run Pro Stock bikes as a family, you know, and just have a great time with it, we just live our best life. Families around me, we have a great time it just honestly, we don’t care about much. Other than having a great time and enjoying all of this with great people.”

Pro Stock

Koretsky’s Lucas Oil-branded Chevrolet Camaro showed power and speed throughout qualifying, and he unseated Friday low-qualifier Erica Enders to claim the fourth No. 1 of his career and first of the season with a 6.589, 205.66 in the final session.

“We didn’t give up after making a good run Q1, the team kept digging and trying to get better and better every round, and that just shows the dedication of KB Titan,” said Koretsky, who was ousted in the first round in each of the most recent three events and dropped to No. 8 in the standings. “The last few races, we’ve been behind – but they keep pushing, keep pushing me, and keep trying to make me better. We just keep on going. My opinion, I have the best team out here. They give me 110% every single time we go down that racetrack. They believe in me, and that gives you a lot of confidence as a driver. That’s real important. The last few races I’ve been down and out, but we didn’t give up.”

Korestky, who won the fall race in Charlotte in 2021, has reached the final round twice this year and is in the hunt for his first victory of the season.

“A win tomorrow would do a lot for me personally,” said an emotional Koretsky. “Pro Stock is tough, to qualify is a win. To go No. 1 is a win. To win the race is a bigger win for us and for me personally. I think we have a shot, I really do. I never enter the property thinking we don’t have a shot. I feel like we have a fair shot and just like everybody else,  you can win from No. 16 or you can win from No. 1. I think I need this. I really do. I know everyone wants to win out here, but I think this weekend’s mine. Vegas has been somewhat good to me in the past. I owe Vegas something, so I’m going to try to get the win.”

The early Pro Stock qualifying round on Saturday distributed bonus points to the top quickest of the round: Koretsky claimed three as best overall in his Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro, Dallas Glenn received two, and Bo Butner earned a point as third-best. Koretsky scored three more in the Incoming points leader Enders claimed a pair of points for her 6.592 at a big speed of 208.07.