Not Wasting Daylight – NHRA defending champions Brittany Force and Erica Enders Highlight Qualifying as Season-Opening Gatornationals Event Gets Underway
March is highlighted by daylight savings time, spring break for students, and warming temperatures as spring approaches.
For the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), it now marks the beginning of their 21-event season, starting almost a full month later than usual.
The 2023 NHRA national event season also starts in Gainesville, Florida instead of the traditional California kick-off. And although weather came into play on Friday’s qualifying efforts, a packed house got to witness some quick times and fast speeds.
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In the Top Fuel category, where cars make an estimated 11,000 horsepower and can cover an eighth-mile distance in under 3-seconds at nearly 300 mph, defending series champion Brittany Force set the early qualifying pace.
Wheeling her Monster Energy-backed dragster, Brittany covered the 1,000-foot distance from a standing start in 3.699-seconds at a whopping 336.99 mph!
The Funny Car class uses a similar driveline set-up to Top Fuel, but with the engine in front of the driver and a carbon-fiber body that represents a swoopy version of a modern car.
Bob Tasca III, whose family has a storied history with Ford, rode his PPG-branded Ford Mustang-bodied car to a 3.88 at 330.72 to qualify atop the field.
The NHRA’s Pro Stock class is the pinnacle of a naturally-aspirated hot rod, utilizing 500 cubic inch engines with a 5-speed manual transmission in a full-bodied car.
Despite the lack of power compared to the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes, Pro Stock still covers the first 60 feet of a run from a standing start in less than a second.
Erica Enders, the current class champion, rose to the top of the qualifying order in her Johnson’s Garage-backed Chevrolet Camaro, cracking off a 6.538 at 208.84 mph for the top spot.
The Pro Stock Motorcycle class was lead by Steve Johnson’s 6.746 at 198.90 mph blast, while Pro Mod has Justin Bond atop the qualifying order with a 5.75 at 249.90 mph.
Two more rounds of qualifying await the professional classes today, while a total of fifteen different racing classes will crown winners by Sunday afternoon.
You can watch all the action this weekend, with qualifying results from 11 am – 12:30 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) today on the FS1 network.
Sunday starts with qualifying highlights at 9 am EST on FS1, then the Pep Boys Top Fuel Callout 8-car race on FS1 at 10:30 am.
Finally, the overall event, including final rounds, will be highlighted in a three-hour show from noon until 3 pm Sunday on the Fox network.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of NHRA and Valmaria Strobel.