NHRA Topeka: Top qualifiers Millican, C. Force, Kramer are ones to beat Sunday - MotorSportsTalk

NHRA Media Release

TOPEKA, Kan. – Qualifying concluded Saturday as Clay Millican drove to the Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier at the 30th annual Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series race at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kan.

Courtney Force (Funny Car) and Deric Kramer (Pro Stock) are also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the eighth of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

In Top Fuel: Millican earned the top spot with a run of 3.739-seconds at 331.12 mph in his Strutmasters / Great Clips dragster during the third qualifying pass of the weekend and first of the day. He secured his fourth No. 1 qualifier this season, the 14th of his career, and he now sets his sights on his second career Top Fuel victory.

“When I drove by the scoreboard I couldn’t believe we had such a great run, but we are all excited to have jumped from the number 16 qualifier to the top of the board,” Millican said. “I’m giddy because our cars are running such high speeds but that was just a crazy run altogether.”

Millican will take on Terry Totten in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. Points leader Steve Torrence qualified second with a 3.747 at 328.30 and is set to meet Terry Haddock in competition.

In Funny Car: Force remained atop the Funny Car category with a run of 3.911-seconds at 321.73 mph in her Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro SS recorded during her second qualifying pass on Friday. The current Funny Car points leader locked down her fifth No. 1 qualifier of the 2018 campaign and third consecutive.

“My mindset didn’t change much despite that solid pass we had from yesterday, but we knew a lot of cars could improve their times and jump past us so we just kept pushing today,” Force said. “It’s great to kick off the weekend here at Heartland Motorsports Park in the top spot, but we are hoping for a great day tomorrow.”

Force is set to face off against Richard Townsend when eliminations get underway. Jonnie Lindberg sits at second with a 3.962 at 316.23 and will meet Jim Campbell in round one Sunday.

In Pro Stock: Kramer, behind the wheel of his American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro, took over the No. 1 qualifying position after driving to a 6.613 at 208.42 pass during the final pair of Pro Stock qualifying. He now has two top qualifying spots on the season, after also leading the pack in Phoenix.

“We didn’t expect to go to the top spot going into that final run,” Kramer said. “I want to thank all of our sponsors for helping us get here, and we are excited to see what we can do when we get underway tomorrow.”

Kramer matches up with Will Hatcher in the first round. Erica Enders slots into the second spot after a 6.616 at 207.69 run in the final round of qualifying as she prepares for Mark Hogan in the first round.

Eliminations begin at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday.

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SUNDAY’S FIRST-ROUND PAIRINGS:

TOP FUEL: 1. Clay Millican, 3.739 seconds, 331.12 mph vs. 16. Terry Totten, 4.227, 246.35; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.747, 328.30 vs. 15. Terry Haddock, 4.098, 256.94; 3. Billy Torrence, 3.762, 331.36 vs. 14. Kebin Kinsley, 4.019, 271.52; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.771, 331.12 vs. 13. Bill Litton, 3.915, 305.08; 5. Leah Pritchett, 3.776, 324.51 vs. 12. Antron Brown, 3.832, 322.96; 6. Terry McMillen, 3.792, 321.65 vs. 11. Mike Salinas, 3.813, 318.32; 7. Brittany Force, 3.792, 305.42 vs. 10. Richie Crampton, 3.811, 321.65; 8. Doug Kalitta, 3.798, 321.81 vs. 9. Scott Palmer, 3.806, 326.87. Did Not Qualify: 17. Audrey Worm, 4.983, 147.09.

FUNNY CAR: 1. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.911, 321.73 vs. 16. Richard Townsend, Toyota Camry, 4.247, 254.14; 2. Jonnie Lindberg, Ford Mustang, 3.962, 316.23 vs. 15. Jim Campbell, Dodge Charger, 4.185, 297.02; 3. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 3.980, 314.68 vs. 14. Robert Hight, Camaro, 4.163, 259.96; 4. J.R. Todd, Camry, 3.996, 320.89 vs. 13. Dale Creasy Jr., Dodge Stratus, 4.088, 309.70; 5. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.006, 315.93 vs. 12. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.086, 304.53; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.008, 313.00 vs. 11. John Force, Camaro, 4.053, 314.97; 7. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.021, 317.79 vs. 10. Shawn Langdon, Camry, 4.052, 314.31; 8. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.028, 315.78 vs. 9. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.048, 311.56. Did Not Qualify: 17. Todd Simpson, 4.617, 197.94; 18. Shane Westerfield, 5.357, 140.58.

PRO STOCK: 1. Deric Kramer, Chevy Camaro, 6.613, 208.42 vs. 16. Will Hatcher, Dodge Dart, 7.649, 140.99; 2. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.616, 207.69 vs. 15. Mark Hogan, Pontiac GXP, 6.887, 201.10; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.620, 208.94 vs. 14. Alan Prusiensky, Dart, 6.717, 205.16; 4. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.626, 208.10 vs. 13. Richard Freeman, Camaro, 6.682, 206.07; 5. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.627, 208.04 vs. 12. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.655, 207.18; 6. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.629, 208.01 vs. 11. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.649, 208.26; 7. Tanner Gray, Camaro, 6.632, 208.17 vs. 10. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.645, 207.85; 8. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.633, 207.37 vs. 9. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.635, 207.30.

It took four attempts for Kyle Larson to win his first High Limit Sprint Car Series race in the series he co-owns with brother-in-law Brad Sweet, but once he found victory lane, he has been undefeated with his win at Eagle (Nebraska) Raceway. For the second week, Abreu led early only to fall prey to Larson.

The win was Larson’s third straight victory and the fifth consecutive top-five, giving him a perfect sweep of the season after finishing 10th in last year’s inaugural race at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Indiana.

Larson started third behind Abreu and Brent Marks but was embroiled in a fierce battle with Anthony Macri for third during the first dozen laps. Larson slipped by Macri in traffic until a red flag waved for a flip by Lachlan McHugh.

Meanwhile at the front of the pack, Marks retook the lead from Abreu on Lap 18. Larson followed one lap later and then caution waved again. Tyler Courtney lost power and fell to 24th after starting eighth.

Marks scooted away on the restart but tragedy struck in Lap 26. Leading the race, Marks hit a pothole in Turn 1, bicycled and then flipped, handing the lead to Larson.

Abreu caught Larson again during the final laps and in a reprise of their battle at Tri-City Speedway, the two threw sliders at one another for several laps until Larson built some separation and ran away to the checkers.

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧. 𝗪𝗔𝗦. 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗖.@EagleRaceway went above and beyond in their return to the main stage with the High Limit Sprint Car Series tonight!

pic.twitter.com/H3XKQEOpg6

— High Limit Racing (@HighLimitRacing) June 7, 2023

“I didn’t feel like my pace in [Turns] 1 & 2 slowed down a ton,” Larson said from victory lane. “I missed it once there and then I saw his nose in 3 & 4. I didn’t know if he nailed the bottom that well behind me and I think he might have slid me in the next corner, so he was definitely on the top.

“I was nervous to move up there because my car was really pogoing up in the entry of 1. I got up just in time, made a few mistakes and he threw a couple more sliders at me but he was just a little too far back and I was able to squirt around him. Then I really had to commit to hitting my marks – back my effort down a bit to avoid mistakes.”

After leading early, Abreu fell back as far as sixth, but faith in his car kept hope alive.

“I just needed to do a few things a few laps before I did and fix some angles, then my car got a whole lot better,” Abreu said. “I’m thankful for this team; they do an amazing job. They don’t give up on me. I know my car is going to be there right at the end of these races, so it’s just the discipline of being patient.”

For Abreu, it was his third near-miss this season. He was leading at Lakeside in the 2023 opener until a tire went flat in the closing laps and he lost the lead to Larson late in the Tri-City Speedway race. Abreu has finished sixth or better in his last three High Limit races with each result being progressively better until his pair of runner-up results.

Third-place finisher Scelzi was the hard charger, advancing from 17th.

“I had a very specific plan; don’t go near [the hole in Turn 1],” Scelzi said. “It worked out. No one wanted to start on the top. I think I gained a couple of rows there on the choose cone and ran the middle, which seemed to be better than right around the bottom.”

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid in fourth and Macri rounded out the top five.

World of Outlaws star and former NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne was one of 41 entrants, but he was not among the 26 starters. He failed to advance to the Main after finishing eighth in the B Main and seventh in his heat.

Feature Results

A Feature (40 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[4]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu[1]; 3. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[17]; 4. 71-Michael Kofoid[5]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri[3]; 6. 9-Chase Randall[9]; 7. 26-Zeb Wise[14]; 8. 1X-Jake Bubak[15]; 9. 8-Aaron Reutzel[10]; 10. 14D-Corey Day[18]; 11. 11-Cory Eliason[12]; 12. 5T-Ryan Timms[11]; 13. 88-Austin McCarl[13]; 14. 21H-Brady Bacon[22]; 15. 48-Danny Dietrich[16]; 16. 7S-Robbie Price[19]; 17. 21-Brian Brown[23]; 18. 22-Riley Goodno[26]; 19. 52-Blake Hahn[25]; 20. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[21]; 21. 3J-Dusty Zomer[6]; 22. 14-Cole Macedo[7]; 23. 19-Brent Marks[2]; 24. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[8]; 25. 25-Lachlan McHugh[20]; 26. 53-Jack Dover[24]

2023 High Limit Sprint Car Series

Race 1: Giovanni Scelzi wins at Lakeside Speedway
Race2: Anthony Macri wins at 34 Raceway
Race 3: Kyle Larson wins at Wayne County Speedway
Race 4: Kyle Larson wins at Tri-City Speedway

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