Photo Credit: Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
| INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (August 30, 2024) – Two-time World Champion Brittany Force drove her Chevrolet Accessories Top Fuel dragster to the top of the provisional qualifying order Friday on the first day of the 70th annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Although she was a tenth of a second off her own track record, Force’s 3.740 at 334.32 miles per hour was a good start toward locking the 16-time Mission Foods tour winner into the upcoming Countdown to the Championship. “You know, we never thought we’d be (in this position),” said NHRA national record holder. “We didn’t qualify at Chicago and we sat out at Norwalk (Ohio) to be with family (during dad John’s hospitalization following a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va.) so we came into this weekend tenth in points. “It’s a tough position to be in but we need to stay in there for Chevrolet, Monster and all of our other sponsors. That .74 put us No. 1 with four (qualifying) bonus points. It’s everything we could ask for on day one.“ Meanwhile, John Force Racing Funny Cars occupied the number three and four positions in the provisional order Friday. In just his second tour appearance in relief of Force, “Fast Jack” Beckman put the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro in the No. 3 spot with a solid 3.903 second, 322.81 mph performance. “We got some bonus points out of it,” Beckman said. “The numbers all look good. We have a backup supercharger on the car so we know it goes back into our inventory. If we need to go back to it during the Countdown, we know have good data on it. “(It) dropped a cylinder at 700 feet or it would have been a lot quicker,” said the 2016 World Champion, “but, again, we’re starting to figure out what the car wants with my driving style and the added weight in there and we’re picking away at it and looking great.” Funny Car point leader Austin Prock, who already has clinched the No. 1 starting spot in the Countdown, was just behind Beckman in the order after stopping the timers in 3.926 seconds at 320.36 mph in the Cornwell Tools Camaro in which he has qualified No. 1 nine times this season. “Not a bad start to the weekend,” Prock said. “Obviously, we wanted a little more than that but the car ran on seven cylinders for most of the run. But good start and good to be back in this Cornwell Tools Camaro. Happy to be at ‘The Big Go’ and looking forward to an awesome and consistent weekend.” Pro drivers will have four more opportunities to improve their performance and position before the start of eliminations on Monday. |
