The second race of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship takes the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series to zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
A week following the Countdown opener at Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway, the points have been shaken up considerably in multiple categories.
Here’s some of the storylines to watch for this weekend:
Who Gains An Advantage In Top Fuel?
After his fourth win of the season at Maple Grove, Antron Brown has vaulted to second in the standings, a mere one point behind leader Justin Ashley.
Shawn Langdon, who was runner-up at Maple Grove, is six points out of the lead.
With multiple drivers entering the zMAX Dragway round with momentum, something has to give.
Ashley won the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals when the series visited the track in the spring and finished runner-up in the Carolina Nationals two years ago.
“Coming into the Carolina Nationals with the points lead is a testament to our team,” Ashley said. “It’s taken a huge organizational effort from everyone both on and off the race track at SCAG Racing to be in this position. I am proud of that.
“But the championship battle has just begun. The points are very tight and the competition in Top Fuel may be the deepest in NHRA history. Nothing will be handed to us. We’ll have to earn each and every win light. That’s the plan, one day and one race at a time.”
Brown is a four-time Carolina Nationals winner with his latest conquest coming at Ashley’s expense in 2022.
“The momentum going into Charlotte is high,” Brown said. “That’s a track where we’ve run well at. We’ve won there before, and the weather can be really good when we visit this time of year.
“Looks like it should be a fast race track this weekend so looking forward to getting out there and picking back up where we left off in Reading. We’ve got a good combination, and the game plan is to just keep improving on that.
“We’re going to keep racing with what we’ve got and see where we end up. We’re pumped up.”
Can Anyone Stop Prock?
It’s been extremely difficult to knock Austin Prock and John Force Racing off their game this season. Prock backed up his U.S. Nationals victory with a second consecutive triumph last week at Maple Grove.
While Prock’s 300-plus point lead was erased when the Countdown began, his series-best sixth victory of the season stretched his lead over Bob Tasca III back to 86 points.
“We want to go out there and run low ET every round and we want to win every race,” Prock said. “If you’re competitive and a racer, that’s what you expect.”
Tasca fell to Prock in the semifinals at Maple Grove. However, Tasca enters the Carolina Nationals as the defending race winner.
Behind them, Prock’s teammate, Jack Beckman, sits 99 points behind the lead. John Force’s fill-in driver for the remainder of the season ran runner-up to Prock at Maple Grove and has optimism that his success can continue.
“The more runs we can make with me driving, the better, but it’s such a wonderful feeling to have so much confidence in a car every time we tow to the starting line,” Beckman said.
J.R. Todd (fourth, -127) and Matt Hagan (fifth, -137) complete the top five in Funny Car.
Time For No. 50 For Enders?
Will Erica Enders’ long-awaited 50th Pro Stock victory come this weekend?
The Elite Motorsports driver earned her 49th victory during the March season opener at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway and she hasn’t won since.
However, zMAX Dragway may be the site of her breakthrough win as she’s a previous winner in the fall race (2015), and is fresh off a final round appearance at Maple Grove.
Enders is third in the Countdown standings, 35 points behind her teammate Aaron Stanfield, who defeated her last weekend.
Is Herrera’s Lead In Jeopardy?
Defending NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Gaige Herrera remains on top of the standings by 17 points over six-time title winner Matt Smith.
However, could his lead be in jeopardy entering Charlotte? Herrera missed the finals last week at Maple Grove, while Hector Arana Jr. claimed victory.
While his lead is slim, there’s a lot going in favor of Herrera. Aside from his category-leading seven wins in nine starts, Herrera hoisted a Wally at last year’s Carolina Nationals.
Herrera’s Vance & Hines teammate Richard Gadson is third in the standings, 19 points out of first, following a final round appearance at Maple Grove.