59th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals

NOTE: Click on the thumbnails to display the full-size images

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT) After making his first appearance at a national event in nearly a decade at the Las Vegas event, Aaron Olivarez, driving a McPhillips Racing car, started qualifying with a very strong 5.240 - 264.86 here. Even though the speed was a little down, it was an impressive shot for the rest of the field to take notice of.

(RIGHT) This is a classic shot: flames shooting out of the headers, rear tires starting to smoke, and the front wheels in the air. You'd think it was a disaster in the making, but Trevor Larkin held it together and put up a decent 5.515 - 260.04 to start his weekend.

(LEFT) Launching hard, with the front wheels dangling in the air, Kim Parker ran strongly until the wheels kept going skywards, forcing her to lift to bring the front end down. That move certainly hurt her e.t. and the scoreboards reflected that as a 5.737 - 259.91 displaying.

(RIGHT) Things got back to normal with another Northwest racer, Garrett Bateman, being tuned by Rick Henkelman, posting a solid 5.330 - 271.68, despite losing the "mud flaps" (body panels placed in front of the rear tires) as he neared the finish line.

(LEFT) Next up was Texan Kirk Wolf, driving the Minnesota-based A/Fuel Dragster of Dean Dubbin. Despite a slightly sluggish launch, Wolf picked up the pace considerably going down track, stopping the timers with a 5.316 - 272.94, placing him #4 on the qualifying lis. However, with nearly a dozen racers waiting in the lanes, it was almost certain to drop at least a spot or three.

(RIGHT) Former world champion Joey Severance, with assistance from J&A Services started strongly with the quickest 60' time of the session, at .911, but started shaking the tires and headed towards the centerline, forcing him to shut off to a 7.898 - 104.83 timeslip.

(LEFT) Joining the 5.30 crowd next was Joe C. Maynard in the "Leatherwood Distilleries" backed A/FD. He made a solid opening lap at 5.339 - 271.30, but it paled in comparison to Madison Payne's (not shown) pass of 5.161 - 277.37 that shot her to the very top of the field with a career quickest elapsed time.

(RIGHT) Running on a single when scheduled opponent Mike Coughlin was unable to appear, Angelle Sampey nearly bogged down low, then ran hard to the 1000' mark before dropping a cylinder and stopping the clocks with a 5.317 - 257.19 to grab a very tentative hold on the #6 spot in the order.

(LEFT) Defending world champion Julie Nataas, in the Randy Meyer Racing entry wanted to finish her season on a strong note, and started well with a 5.290 - 272.72 to place herself in the #4 spot with only one pair of cars remaining to run the session.

(RIGHT) The points leader, Canada's Shawn Cowie, was certainly amped up with the possibility of becoming the 2024 Top Alcohol Dragster champion. To do so, all he needed to do was qualify and win his first round of eliminations. It didn't take long to accomplish the first step when numbers of 5.254 - 277.32 flashed up on the scoreboard.

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT) Paying homage to his father "Jam-Air" John Martin, second generation flopper pilot Will Martin, pedalled his way to a decent 5.701 - 263.00 to open his weekend. With only 11 cars entered, he was solidly qualified but needed to quicken-up the car in the next qualifying session.

(RIGHT) Making his seventh appearance of the season in the late Rick Jackson's car, former (2017) world champion Shane Westerfield didn't waste any time getting down the track. He stopped the timers with a good 5.500 - 266.21 to show the field that they were coming to race.

(LEFT) Making her first trip out to the west coast was Iowa's Christine Foster, who's spent most of the season in the TA/FC Top Ten standings. She didn't get off to a good start with her first pass going up in smoke instantly as she shut off to a 12-second clocking.

(RIGHT) All the way from Sweden, the long distance warriors, the Leanders brothers, with Ulf Leander driving, prepared to make what is planned to be their last appearance in Top Alcohol Funny Car. They got off to a decent start with a second best to this point 5.544 - 259.96 pass. In case you're wondering why their car is for sale, it's because they're planning to move up to Nitro Funny Car near the end of the 2025 season.

(LEFT) The second to last pair of the round provided the first side-by-side 5.40 passes of the event. Oregon's Brian Hough got the ball rolling with a strong 5.466 - 268.44 to jump into the top spot on the ladder, while in the other lane, Annie Whiteley (not shown) was almost as quick with a 5.473 - 266.58 effort.

(RIGHT) Closing out the session was the 2024 world champion in the "Killer B's" car, Sean Bellemeur, and he showed why they've been the dominant players in the class on their "Retribution" tour. He nudged Hough back one notch with a top qualifying 5.455 - 266.06 to show that they intended to finish the year with a "perfect" season of seven national event wins and three regional victories.

Here's the clouds to the north of the track. They're not too foreboding at this point but they gradually intensified until the skies let loose as the Top Alcohol Dragsters were waiting to begin their second qualiyfing session.

FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #1

Our photographer BIG Bob Snyder, tried a few different locations for this session, quite often getting both cars in the frame, sometime fully, and sometimes partially. It was a different look to the usual presentation, and showed a different perspective of the cars.

(LEFT) After a three hour delay in on-track action, local racer Alex Miladinovich in his self-sponsored "Hot 4 Teacher" entry hit the track for the first time since the spring race at Las Vegas. He went into immediate tire shake and shut off to a 9-second clocking.

(RIGHT) Wearing a very different wrap from two weeks ago at Las Vegas, So-Cal veteran Jason Rupert fell to the same malady that afflicted Miladinovich: tire shake, and lots of it. The result: an 8-second timeslip.

(LEFT) A pair of relatively "low-buck" racers tried out the track next, with Terry Haddock, in the near lane, making a good opening pass of 4.041 - 305.84 to stake his claim for a spot in the field. In the far lane, Jeff Diehl ran strong to half track, but dropping cylinders forced him to shut off to a 4.934 - 160.58 clocking.

(RIGHT) With the familiar "MoonEyes" wrap on the car, Buddy Hull ran into immediate tire shake and was forced to give up the run early, finally stopping the timers with an 8.320 - 78.61 result.

(LEFT) Starting to pull away from Dave Richards in the far lane, Alexis DeJoria (near lane), ran strong to near the finish line before shutting off early to a 3.948 at only 292.65 mph. Richards lost traction on the launch and coasted to a 7-second pass.

(RIGHT) Running strong to the 900' mark before getting out of the groove, Chad Green was still able to dip into the 3's with a strong 3.953 - 279.85 to grab a temporary hold on the #4 spot in the field. Almost out of the frame in the far lane, Cruz Pedregon made a strong statement with a #2 qualifying 3.875 - 324.59 pass.

(LEFT) This was a close race for the first few hundred feet before Daniel Wilkerson (near lane) pulled away from J.R. Todd in the far lane after he lost traction. Wilkerson shut off a little early but still rang up a solid 3.903 - 308.92 to grab a spot in the top half of the field.

(RIGHT) Another one-sided pairing saw , in the near lane, shake the tires and shut off, while Blake Alexander kept it hooked up and pounded out a great 3.870 at a booming speed of 336.40 mph.

(LEFT) Running side by side at this point, the gap between Ron Capps (near lane), and Matt Hagan, in the far lane, opened considerably when Capps ran into tire shake and lifted. Hagan ran strong to the finish line, with a very good 3.895 - 328.38 showing on the scoreboard.

(RIGHT) The session ended with the two John Force Racing cars meeting, with Austin Prock (near lane) clinching the 2024 Funny Car World Championship by making this qualifying attempt. Running alongside him in the far lane, Jack Beckman outran the young gun, stopping the clocks with a top qualifying 3.828 - 334.82. Only a hundredth behind, Prock slotted into the #2 spot on the ladder with a very strong 3.842 - 331.94 pass.

As the session ended, the dark clouds became even darker and more ominous.

TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT) Making quite an impression in his NHRA Top Fuel debut, Gary Pritchett caught everyone's attention with a very strong .750 - 329.91 in his first competition pass. Running alongside him, and barely visible in the near lane, Scott Palmer ran a very respectable 3.818 - 294.88 to open his weekend. That was his quickest pass so far this season as he kept working towards a competitive tuneup.

(RIGHT) Back in her own car after Spencer Massey drove it at Las Vegas, Krista Baldwin was on a very good pass until she had to lift just past the 700' mark, slowing her to a 3.916 - 249.81. The incrementals showed she was on her way to a low 3.80 - or better - before she had to back out of the throttle.

(LEFT) Two young women paired up next, with Jasmine Salinas (near lane) facing Ida Zetterstrom in the far lane. Salinas ran into trouble early and shut off to a 6.311, while Zetterstrom cranked out a career best of 3.738 - 323.89 that put her in the top spot to that point in the session.

(RIGHT) Zetterstrom's grip on the top spot didn't last long as Billy Torrence (near lane) ran a very strong 3.724 - 329.34 to take over the #1 apor, while Josh Hart, in the far lane, laid down a decent 3.806 - 322.19 to stake a spot in the field.

The final pair down the track before the rains came again - and stopped the day's proceedings - featured Shawn Reed in the near lane, and Tony Stewart in the far lane. Reed continued his late season improvements, this time turning the quickest time of the day at 3.712 - 320.36. The tuneup that Rob Wendland has been working on all season is really showing some serious performance gains. While Reed was running strong, Stewart lost traction and shut down to a 6.832 - 95.21 result.

10:00 AM UPDATE: After the NHRA.com Saturday preview indicated that Top Alcohol eliminations would begin at 10:15 this morning, effectively closing the dragster field after just one qualifying session, there was a schedule change made to give the non-qualifiers a reprieve. There will be a second session for the dragsters, starting at 10:00 am (but the racing is running a little behind schedule already). Following the dragster session, the Top Alcohol Funny Cars will go into their first round of eliminations.

The dragsters will be running their first round of eliminations at 12:30, and both alcohol categories will run their second rounds after professional qualifying finishes. That should work out to an approximately 4:00 pm start for that second round. So far, there is no mention of when - or if - the Las Vegas final round for the TA/FCs or the semifinal and final rounds for the T/ADS from the Winternationals will be completed. Stay tuned for updates on both those situations. But bear in mind that none of those matchups will have a material effect on the championship points standings.

TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)

After losing one and a half sessions to rain on Friday, the majority of the dragster teams had just two chances to make what was shaping up to be a tough field. After the early session on Saturday, the bump spot was a rather weak 4.121, but the top 15 cars were in at 3.818 or better. Sitting on the outside, and facing their last chance to make the field were championship contenders Shawn Langdon and Clay Millican.

(LEFT) The session opened with #18 on the qualifying list, Clay Millican, facing a do or die scenario. Millican came through with a great 3.700 - 331.36 to jump all the way up to #6 on the ladder. Running alongside him was Shawn Langdon (not shown) who really turned up the wick with a new low e.t. of the event at 3.653 - 331.45 to vault all the way to the #1 spot. In the process, they bumped out Ron August and Scott Palmer, and put Krista Baldwin on the bubble with her 3.818 best.

(RIGHT) Facing a tough task to get back into the field, Scott Palmer put down a good effort, but came up short with a 3.858 - 301.47 coming up on the scoreboard. His earlier best of 3.818 was equalled Baldwin's e.t. but was 20 mph slower, leaving him one spot out of the field. The other non-qualifier, Ron August, didn't show for the final qualifying session and finished in the #18 spot.

(LEFT) With the no-show by Ron August and Scott Palmer's failure to better her e.t., Krista Baldwin wasn't feeling any pressure to improve, but she put down a solid, and slightly better 3.801 - 302.28 to close out the ladder. She was on pace to run in the 3.70's but started to move out of the groove and was forced to shut off early.

(RIGHT) Making quite a splash in his Top Fuel debut, Gary Pritchett, in a Scrappers Racing team car, was already solidly qualified with a 3.750, and nearly matched that number with a 3.769 - 319.67 pass. Running a tribute wrap to his late Godmother, Carol 'Bunny' Burkett, Pritchett was having a dream weekend.

(LEFT) Continuing her rookie season in North America, Finland's Ida Zetterstrom put down another consistent pass, this time ringing up a 3.755 - 325.37, just a few ticks slower than her #14 qualifying 3.738 in the first session on Friday.

(RIGHT) Looking to finish up his "rookie" season in style, Tony Stewart made a big move up the ladder, from #13 to the top half of the field and the #6 spot. He blasted out a 3.694 - 333.91 to move up and show the potential of the "Direct Connection" dragster.

(LEFT) Needing a good qualifying spot to give himself a chance to catch the points leader (Justin Ashley), Antron Brown desperately wanted to move up from the #12 position on the ladder. He launched hard, but ran into trouble right away and shut off to an 8-second clocking, putting his goal of winning the championship further out of reach.

(RIGHT) Already well qualified in the #6 spot with a strong 3.690, Brittany Force pushed everyone back a notch with a new low e.t. and top speed of the event, at 3.643 - 336.65 to show that the David Grubnic-tuned "Monster" car was ready to rock.

Closing out qualifying with a bang was outgoing world champion Doug Kalitta, as he pounded out a great 3.650 - 334.98 to move up three spots to #3 on the ladder. With the entire top half of the field in the 3.60's, eliminations were certain to be very competitive, and aside from Baldwin's 3.801 bump spot, the rest of the field was closely bunched together with barely a tenth of a second separating them.

FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)

With 19 cars in the pits, and a bump spot of just 5.413, held down by Jason Rupert, the final session promised some bumping and more than a few tense moments. Even though there were 13 cars already in the 3-second zone, there was a good chance for an all 3-second field at the end of the session. On the other end of the spectrum, the top three qualifiers were all holding 3.82 timeslips, lead by three time world champion Ron Capps.

(LEFT) First out of the staging lanes, and needing a good run to get into Sunday's eliminations, pushed the Jim Dunn-owned and tuned "MoonEyes" Dodge to a solid 4.076 - 305.29 to grab the #15 rung on the ladder.

(RIGHT) While Dave Richards (near lane) was out in front at this point, he was already shut off and coasting to a 13-second e.t., while Alex Miladinovich, in the far lane, who was also off the throttle, stopped the timers with a 7-second timeslip. Needless to say, neither driver qualified, with Richards ending up in the #19 spot, while the "Hot 4 Teacher" entry claimed the 18th spot on the list.

(LEFT) When he staged for his final qualifying pass, Jeff Diehl was on the bump spot with a previous best of 4.544, but he upped that considerably, with a great 3.980 - 286.32 flashing up on the scoreboard. If he hadn't shut off early, the e.t. could have been a few hundredths quicker.

(RIGHT) Running on a solo as scheduled running mate Steven Densham remained in the pits, Terry Haddock wanted to join the 3-second "club" but just missed the mark. His earlier 4.041 had him in the #15 spot, and while he didn't better that number, he laid down a consistent 4.058 - 310.13 to show that he was ready for eliminations.

(LEFT) Last year's world champion, Matt Hagan wanted to finish the season on a high note, and moved in that direction, jumping up the ladder from #9 to #4 with his best pass of the weekend (so far) 3.838 - 331.94 to grab lane choice for the first round tomorrow.

(RIGHT) Hoping to turn things around after four consecutive first round exits, Alexis DeJoria hadn't made it to the finish line under power in the first two sessions, but got closer in the final go-round, stopping the clocks with an improved 3.890 - 308.43 that moved her up one notch from #12 to #11 in the final qualifying order.

(LEFT) With a new look to the car, and new sponsorship, Paul Lee wanted to followup his runnerup finish at the previous race (Las Vegas) with another strong showing to close out the season. He was in the #7 spot in the field with a best of 3.875, but slipped just a little here with a still very good 3.907 - 327.19 pass.

(RIGHT) After dominating the season with eight wins in 11 final round appearances, Austin Prock wanted to regain the #1 qualifying session from Ron Capps, and he did it with the quickest e.t. of his short Funny Car career. The result was a 3.804 - 334.57 to take the top spot for the 15th time (in 20 races)this season, a record for the class.

(LEFT) Already in the top half of the field with a best of 3.870 - 336.40, the Jim Head-owned and tuned car, driven by left strong with clearly visible header flames, but the tuneup was just a little too stout, leading to smoking tires, and Blake had to give up early and coast to an 8-second clocking.

(RIGHT) Running in the final pairing of qualifying, Jack Beckman wanted to overtake his John Force Racing teammate and grab the top spot in the field. It wasn't to be though as he started smoking the tires shortly after this photo was taken, and he remained in the #3 spot with a very good 3.828 to his credit from the first session.

POSTSCRIPT - A random technical inspection of Buddy Hull's car following the qualifying session revealed an infraction concerning the angle of the exhaust headers. That led to a disqualifaction of the run, and reinstated Jason Rupert as the #16 qualifier.

CompetitionPlus.com wrote a short article about the situation, with quotes from Mr. Hull about the NHRA's tech department procedures and equipment. You can read it at the bottom of the About the Buddy Hull Q4 Disqualification article.

PS: It was actually the Q3 session as there wasn't a fourth session due to Friday's rain.

Unfortunately, Bob Snyder was unable to stay for eliminations as he had a family emergency (that turned out to not be as major as feared) and had to make a hasty trip back to his homebase in Arizona. His next "assignment" will be the NHRA Arizona Nationals in March 2025.