NHRA Midwest Nationals Friday Qualifying Results: Torrence, Hight Lead the Field

• Steve Torrence powered to a run of 3.655-seconds at 327.43 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster during the first Top Fuel qualifying session.

• Hight, the Funny Car points leader, delivered a massive run of 3.853 at 336.32 in his 11,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS.

• Hight’s teammate, 16-time world champ John Force, ran an identical 3.853 but was slightly slower with a 334.15 to put him second in Funny Car.

Four-time defending Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence made his best run of the season on Friday at World Wide Technology Raceway, taking the provisional No. 1 qualifier to open the race weekend at the 11th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at Madison, Ill., near St. Louis.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Kyle Koretsky (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Torrence powered to a run of 3.655-seconds at 327.43 in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster during the first qualifying session in St. Louis, looking to make up some ground in a hurry.

If it holds, Torrence, who is currently fifth in Top Fuel points, would pick up his third top qualifier of the season and 34th in his career. Torrence, though, is trying to rack up victories in the Countdown to the Championship after falling in the second round at the first two playoff races. He’s had recent success in St. Louis as the defending event winner and will hope to add to that this weekend.

“That’s a year’s work that goes into a run like that,” Torrence said. “These guys have worked really hard to get the car where it’s at. We’re behind the eight-ball right now, but we’re going to do everything we can. We didn’t get to be the four-time champs by doing dumb stuff, but we have backed ourselves into a corner.

"The class has really stepped up and everyone is so quick and so fast right now. We needed to run well and we're trying to get ourselves back in there. That was great for us to do that tonight."

Doug Kalitta is currently in the second spot with a stout 3.684 at 334.32, while Clay Millican rounds out the top three after going 3.703 at 334.24. Points leader Justin Ashley is currently 16th.

Hight quickly bounced back from his surprising second-round exit last weekend, as the Funny Car points leader delivered a massive run of 3.853 at 336.32 in his 11,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS.

The three-time world champion is after his fifth No. 1 spot this season and 76th in his career, as well as his eighth victory this season, and he also made the fastest Funny Car run of the 2022 season on Friday. Hight won the playoff opener in Reading and looked strong to start the weekend in St. Louis as one of only four cars to make a three-second run to open qualifying.