Brittany Force made the quickest Top Fuel run of the 2024 season on Saturday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, qualifying No. 1 for the fourth time in the past five races at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals.
Austin Prock (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the last of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the sixth race in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Force, who won the most recent race in Las Vegas, went an impressive 3.643s at 336.65mph in her Monster Energy/Chevrolet dragster, collecting her sixth No. 1 of the season. After enduring her share of struggles this season, Force and her team have come on strong to close out the season as she looks to end the year with a second straight win. She’s 108 points out of first, giving her an outside shot at a championship as well, but Force is thrilled with how her team has persevered to get back on track.
Steve Torrence went 3.644s just moments earlier on Saturday, but Force and her team laid down an incredible run to close out qualifying.
“We ran a 3.64s and that’s huge. I’m very proud of [crew chief] David Grubnic and John Collins, and the whole Monster Energy team. I wanted as many bonus points as we could get,” Force said. “[The number of cars in the 3.6s] says the competition is fierce. It’s killer out there. I didn’t know how quick I ran but when I pulled off the track there were cameras in my face so I thought it might be better than it felt.
“I’m not disappointed [in being a championship longshot]. Everything happens for a reason and it all helps pull our team together. We win as a team and we lose as a team.”
Torrence’s 3.644s at 334.90mph puts him second, while defending world champion Doug Kalitta is third after a 3.650s at 334.98mph. Shawn Langdon took fourth with a 3.653s at 331.45mph, jumping into second in points.
He’s currently 43 behind points leader Justin Ashley, who is looking for his first world championship. Ashley will open eliminations in an epic first-round matchup against Antron Brown, who is only 46 points behind the young standout. Kalitta and Torrence are 78 and 79 points behind, respectively, while Clay Millican also remains in contention at 95 points out of first heading into the opening round of eliminations.
In Funny Car, Austin Prock closed out qualifying with an incredible track-record run of 3.804s at 334.57mph in his AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS. Prock clinched his first career world championship in qualifying, making the quickest Funny Car run in seven years and the fourth-quickest in Funny Car history. It is his 15th No. 1 qualifier in 2024, the most in Funny Car history.
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