NHRA Reading Saturday Qualifying, Sunday Pairings: Tasca Makes Statement in Funny Car

Bob Tasca III ended Funny Car qualifying in style on Saturday at Maple Grove Raceway, powering to the No. 1 position in front of a sellout crowd at the 38th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, the first race in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 16th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and the first of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. It was the seventh sellout crowd of the 2023 season. Sunday’s eliminations were also moved up to 9:30 a.m. ET at Maple Grove Raceway.

Tasca, who entered the weekend fourth in points, raced to his fifth No. 1 spot this season with a standout run of 3.866-seconds at 328.30 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Ford Mustang. It’s the 14th career top spot for the veteran, who is seeking his second career win at Maple Grove Raceway and third this season.

He impressed in every qualifying session, making the quickest run in the last three sessions, including both on Saturday. That netted him 11 bonus points, giving him plenty of momentum going into raceday, where he’ll take on Cory Lee in the first round.

“The car performed flawlessly,” Tasca said. “As a driver/team owner, that’s what you ask for from your team. They give you a car that can go out there and compete, and you put yourself in a position to win. We have a lot of unfinished business here this weekend, and tomorrow is a big day.

“I think it’s going to be a very challenging day early in the rounds. We’re going to be here at 9:30 (a.m.), and the track is estimated to be somewhere around 75 degrees. You can shake really easy. You could see some big-time upsets, but we just want to go up there and do the best we can. We’ll manage the conditions as they go. As the day progresses, I think you’re going to fall into the conditions that we’ve run really well in. That gives you a lot of confidence going into Sunday.”

Justin Ashley, a New York native, stayed on top in front of a capacity crowd at his home track, with his run of 3.687-seconds at 335.57 mph from Friday in his 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect Toyota dragster handing him the No. 1 spot for third time in what has been a banner 2023 season. It’s also the fifth career top qualifier for the Top Fuel points leader, who has already picked up six victories this season. He made another strong run to close out qualifying and Ashley will open eliminations against Scott Farley.

He’s also had plenty of success at Maple Grove Raceway in his young Top Fuel career, advancing to the final round last year. Ashley would love to set the tone for the Countdown to the Championship with a victory on Sunday and he remains confident in the mentality of the team.

“We feel great. You’re trying to put yourself in the best position to win the race on Sunday and I feel like we accomplished that,” Ashley said. “We went down the track three out of four times, and we had that.68 in the quickest session, but tomorrow is going to be different in a lot of ways. It’s going to be faster than what we’ve seen.

“Inherently, there’s more pressure because the playoffs are on, but it doesn’t change our approach. Our mentality is to continue to do the same thing that we’ve been doing since the start of the year. There’s a reason we’re in the position that we’re in now. I think it’s easy to get wrapped up in it being the playoffs and changing what you’re doing or focusing more intently. But we take every race the same way, playoffs or regular season. There is more pressure, but as a group, we’ve stuck to our guns that we’re to have fun, we’re here to have a good time, we’re here to win. I feel confident in the group that we have and I feel confident that we’re not going to let the pressure get to us.”

Defending Pro Stock world champ Erica Enders seems poised to defend her event victory from Maple Grove Raceway, qualifying No. 1 for the third time this season thanks to Friday’s 6.494 at 211.13 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro. It’s the 32nd career No. 1 spot for the six-time world champion who moved up to second in points standings on Saturday on the strength of her qualifying performances in Reading. After making the quickest run of 2023 in Pro Stock on Friday, Enders had two strong showing on Saturday, including the quickest run in the final qualifying session.

She’ll open eliminations against Val Smeland, aiming for her third win of the season. A victory on Sunday would also make her the winningest female in NHRA history as she looks to open the Countdown to the Championship in style.

“It was definitely cool to follow up today with two really great runs,” Enders said. “Super proud of my team, we made some changes this morning to try to pick up a little bit and it went in the opposite direction, so we fixed it and were able to outrun the field. It was pretty substantial, but it’s a challenging raceday ahead of us tomorrow and we have to make sure everything goes right. I’m excited and proud of my guys. We’ve really turned this season around. I’m stoked and ready to go.