NHRA Midwest Nationals Final Qualifying, Sunday Pairings

On the strength of the fastest Funny Car run since 2019, points leader Robert Hight held on to the No. 1 qualifiying position on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway during the 11th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Kyle Koretsky (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all qualified No. 1 at the third of six races in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.

Hight’s pass of 3.853-seconds at 336.32 mph from Friday in his 11,000-horsepower Chevrolet Camaro SS held up during the final two sessions on Saturday, giving the three-time world champ his fifth No. 1 spot this season and 76th in his career. It was also the fastest run in the class in three years as Hight aims for his eighth victory of the season on Sunday.

“That run last night, I’m glad it stuck and I’m really proud of the guys,” Hight said. “I love being here in St. Louis and there’s nothing like seeing the stands full. There’s not any better fans than here and we’re going to put on a great show for them tomorrow. That shows you NHRA drag racing is exciting and hopefully we’ll have a great crowd tomorrow. It’s been crunch time all year long and we’ve had big battles every weekend. You’ve got to be on our game on the starting line and your car has to be right.”

John Force qualified second with a 3.853 at 334.15 and defending world champ Ron Capps, who won last weekend in Charlotte, moved to third to close out the day with a 3.863 at 331.94.

Four-time Top Fuel defending world champ Torrence clinched his third No. 1 this season in his dragster, thanks to Friday’s run of 3.655 at 327.43 in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster. That was a season-best run for the defending event winner, who put together a pair of good runs on Saturday as well. That gave him plenty of bonus qualifying points heading into eliminations, where he'll open the day against Buddy Hull and will look to make up some major ground in the loaded category.

“I’m looking forward to going into race day tomorrow. We’ve got good momentum. The car is running well, and we will be excited to see what we can do,” Torrence said. “It’s an opportunity for us to capitalize. We need to be there to try to capitalize on things the best we can. We’ve been working pretty diligently to try to get this thing turned around and in the direction that we want it to go, and that is what we have been focused on.”

Josh Hart improved to the second spot on the final pass of the day, going 3.667 at 333.33 and Shawn Langdon took the third spot after a pass of 3.679 at 329.02. Points leader Justin Ashley qualified seventh with a 3.698.

Koretsky got pushed on Saturday in Pro Stock, but he was up for the challenge, improving to a 6.510 at 211.00 in his Lucas Oil Camaro to earn his second No. 1 qualifier during the 2022 campaign. His KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson, the defending world champion, ran an identical 6.510, but Koretsky was slightly faster to take the top spot into eliminations. Koretsky, who is currently fifth in points, will try to pick up his first win of the season and gain some ground on points leader Erica Enders.