The latest update as of September 4, 2023

The 69th annual DODGE Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals is in the books with some repeat winners, some new winners, and some great stories from Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Attendance was very good on the weekend, and the racers filled the pits. We've posted yesterday's photos below and will start filling in the details tomorrow, and have today's photos from final eliminations posted at the same time. Tuesday morning update: We're still waiting for the photos from final eliminations as our hard working photographer, Dale Fackler who stood in the hot Indiana sun for five days capturing all the action, is now travelling home to Colorado. Until we have those photos, we've got time to fill in the details on everything leading up to the last day.

Sunday was a mixed bag, with the final two qualifying sessions for the PRO cars and bikes, and the new Factory X class, plus the first two rounds of eliminations for the Top Alcohol and Pro Mod categories. The day opened with continuing Sportsman eliminations, and closed with more of those eliminations, whittling down the Sportsman categories to the finalists for all but the Factory Stock Showdown eliminator.

FACTORY X - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)

After a gestation period of more than a year, the first example of the new eliminator category, Factory X, made an exhibition appearance at Norwalk earlier in the year. Now, for the first time, a field of four cars will compete officially at a national event. The new class is scheduled to appear at three more events this season, and will hopefully see increased participation at those races, as more of these new cars are completed and readied for competition. Starting from its Factory Stock Showdown origins, the cars are the same dimensions as the stock models from Ford, Dodge, and Chevy, but with a full tube chassis, come in 1000 lbs lighter than the FSS cars, and have a wider (10.5-inch) tire to help with traction. With the chassis being certified to 25.1 specs, FX frees them from the constraints of the FSS cars that are only ceritified for 7.50 or slower e.t.'s.

It was recently announced that the first driver to break the 200-mph barrier will win a $10,000 from the Jesel valvetrain compnay, and the next seven drivers to exceed that speed will also receive a cash payout and membership in the Jesel 200-MPH Club. Additionally, for the top qualifier this weekend, a $1,000 bonus from Stanfield Racing Engines, has been offered.

(LEFT) With backing from Gil Kirk, founder of the "Rod Shop", long time sportsman, and former Pro Stock racer, Greg Stanfield, entered a Camaro that was fully tested and sorted. After failing to get very far on his first two qualifying attempts, it all came together in the third and final session, with a 7.236 - 190.83 to jump to the top of the field and show the potential for 6-second, 200+ mph performance in this class is almost a certainty in the near future.

(RIGHT) After leading the field through the first two sessions in his Mustang, long-time Ford racer Chris Holbrook nearly matched his earlier best e.t. with a very good 7.448 - 188.38 to stay in second place on the ladder behind Stanfield.

Trailing the top two qualifiers were former Pro Stock World Champion, Allen Johnson in Jeff Turk's "Blackbird" Challenger. Johnson's best effort in qualifying, a 7.689 - 180.50 placed him third on the ladder. Trailing the pack was the Camaro of James Cowan, as he could only muster an 8.196 - 168.11 timeslip.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - Qualifying Session #4

(LEFT) Following a devastating two-bike crash with teammate Joey Gladstone two years ago, Cory Reed made his return to NHRA competition, riding a Suzuki Hayabusa. Coming into the fourth qualifying session, Reed was uncomfortably sitting on the bump spot at 7.210, and knew he needed to step up to be sure of making the 16-bike field. He did improve, with a 7.190 - 185.23 on the timeslip, but still only good enough for the #16 spot.

(RIGHT) Already placed in the top of the field with a previous best of 6.881, veteran rider Steve Johnson came close, but didn't better that number, stopping the clocks at 6.900 - 192.85 to remain in the #6 spot.

(LEFT) Former (6-time!) world champion Matt Smith, wanted to move closer to the top from his #4 position, but like so many riders in this session, was unable to match his earlier 6.877 e.t., and clocked in at 6.892 - 197.10 to rack up low e.t. of the session.

(RIGHT) Since debuting in Pro Stock Bike at this event last year, Gaige Herrera has been dominating the class this year, and had the #1 spot in the field firmly in his back pocket with a best of 6.746 - 198.46, but slowed two tenths from that number, with a 6.956 - 192.99 showing on the timers.

PRO STOCK - Qualifying Session #4

(LEFT) It's been a long season for family patriarch Fernando Caudra Sr., as he's only qualified four times in 11 events. With 17 cars in the pits, someone's going to be sitting out eliminations on Monday, and Fernando doesn't want it to be him. However, he's sitting on the bubble at 6.790, and is in danger of not qualifying. He picked up a little on this run, with a 6.770 - 203.58 but remained in the #16 spot, nearly a tenth behind the #15 car.

(RIGHT) A Pro Stock rookie in 2022, but not a newcomer to fast cars, Jerry Tucker, in an Elite Motorsports car, has won six rounds of racing, and made the semifinals at Chicago, but he came into this session in the #15 position. He improved four hundredths of a second, to a 6.664 - 206.80, but it wasn't enough to move up on the ladder.

(LEFT) One of the young Corral Boots drivers, Cristian Caudra, was sitting in the #8 spot at 6.604, but went backwards on this run, clocking in at 6.657 - 205.01.

(RIGHT) The third member of the team, with the youngest Caudra (David) staying home, Fernanado Jr. broke from the Mustang mold, and is fielding a Camaro this year. Holding the #7 position, just one thousandth of a second quicker than Cristian at 6.603, Fernando slowly slightly to a still very good 6.622 - 205.51, and still in the top half of the field at the end of the session.

(LEFT) Young Kyle Koretsky, dubbed "Kid Kaos", tied for the quickest pass of the session with his 6.617 - 206.26 on this pass, but it was a few ticks slower than his #6 qualifying 6.599 e.t. on Saturday.

(RIGHT) Second year Pro Stock racer, Camrie Caruso ran well, but not better, not being able to improve on her earlier 6.605 - 208.97 effort. Her speed on that run was just shy of Matt Hartford's top speed of the meet (to this point) 209.23 mph.

(LEFT) Hoping to cut just a tick off his previous 6.570 - 208.30 timeslip, Troy Coughlin Jr. fell to the conditions as did nearly everyone else in this session, slowing half a tenth, with a 6.625 - 207.88 pass.

(RIGHT) Coming into the session at the top of the list with a 6.569 - 209.23 best, Matt Hartford slowed six hundredths, with a 6.628 - 206.13 showing on the qualifying sheet. He was still #1 with Coughlin sitting just behind him.

Running in the final pair of the session, Greg Anderson needed to break into the 6.50's to bump his way into the top half of the field. His previous best was 6.622 - 206.57, and he went backwards with this run, slowing fractionally with a 6.641 - 205.69 to remain in the #1 position.

FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #4

With a bump spot of 4.089, held by Paul Lee as the session began, and just two more chances to improve on their e.t.s's, the two racers sitting outside the field knew they had to make it happen or face the prospect of not racing on Monday. First up in this session was the Funny Car All-Star Shootout, run as part of the 4th and 5th qualifying sessions.

(LEFT) Running against Tim Wilkerson (not shown), Matt Hagan advanced to the semifinal of the Callout with a solid 3.967 - 320.05 that easily covered Wilkerson's tire-smoking run. Hagan's run wasn't enough to move him up on the ladder, but it was consistent.

(RIGHT) In the final pair of the first round of the Callout, John Force faced Bob Tasca III (not shown). Both cars ran strong until near half track, when Force got way out of shape and shut off, and Tasca shut off, after hazin the tires, at almost the same time. Both cars coasted to the 1000' mark, with Force turning on the winlight by two car lengths with a less than scintillating 6.770 - 94.75 timeslip.

(LEFT) The first non-qualified car came out of the lanes next, with Floridian Dave Richards leading the way. His best to this point was a 4.121, less than half a tenth short of the bump spot. He gave it a good try, but the engine gave up just before the finish line, limiting him to a 4.154 - 300..06, that left him one final chance to grab a spot in the field.

(RIGHT) A racer that was fairly confident, sitting in the #13 spot with a 4.048 - 308.28 to his credit, Alex Laughlin pushed the Jim Dunn-tuned entry to a slightly better 4.037 - 307.02 pass but remained in the same position on the ladder.

Not part of the Callout "party" J.R. Todd ran last in this session and was on a march before the pipes went wet at the 660' mark and he coasted across the stripe at 4.228 - 226.96. With the car in other lane, Chad Green (not shown), stepping up, they swapped positions on the ladder, with Todd dropping to the #10 spot, based on his earlier 3.955 - 328.78 pass.

TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #4

(LEFT) Starting the session in an unacustomed position, at the front of the lanes, Leah Pruett set the tone with a solid A to B pass at 3.790 - 325.37 that didn't move her up but was consistent with her earlier 3.730 that landed her in the #6 spot on the sheet.

(RIGHT) Running with an action movie inspired theme, Buddy "The Hull'k" clawed his way into the field with a very good 3.823 - 322.65 that elevated him from #17 to the bump spot at #16. And it was his second 3.8-run in a row, a good omen for this team that has struggled at times this season. They've qualified at four out of the five events they've attended, but 30 penalty points, from three oildowns, have dragged them down.

(LEFT) Sitting at the bottom of the list, in 19th place, was Canada's Dan Mercier with a fairly stout 3.878 - 310.,41 clocking to his credit. The Rob Wendland-tuned ex-Terry McMillen car has qualified at the three races they've run this year, but none of them were Indy. On this pass he lost a cylinder almost immediately and shut off before the half track with a 4.990 - 145.94 showing up on the scoreboard.

(RIGHT) A racer who was safely in the show, but wanting to get into the fast half of the field was Austin Prock. His best so far was a 3.781 - 326.08 that was only good enough for #11 on the ladder. He made a decent run this time, but it was half a tenth slower and didn't change his status.

The Commercial Metals machine of Pat Dakin, being driven most of the time by Spencer Massey was a little further down in the pecking order, with a 13th bes 3.795 - 323.04 but like all the other racers, they wanted more. It didn't happen as Spencer puffed the tires at the 330' mark and shut off to a 5.040 e.t.

(LEFT) Sporting a different look after bannering R+L Carriers for most of the past two years, Josh Hart switched it up to the "Technet" scheme for this race. He came into the session occupying the #8 spot on the ladder, and finished in the same spot. His run started well but a dropped cylinder cut the power output considerably, resulting in a 3.925 - 312.78 showing up on the clocks.

(RIGHT) The top qualifier remained in that lofty position, as Steve Torrence's earlier 3.708 - 329.42 remained the highwater mark for the Top Fuelers. This run lasted about 500 feet before the tires started smoking, causing him to coast to a 4.588 e.t.

FUNNY CAR - All-Star Callout (FINAL)

While the first two rounds of the 8-car Shootout counted towards qualifying, this final round didn't, but no ladder shattering e.t.'s resulted when Robert Hight and Matt Hagan (not shown) matched up. Hight took a slight .011 lead on the reaction timers, then extended it to a full car length by the finish line. The timers read 3.955 - 321.58 for Hight, while Hagan was close behind at 3.979 - 322.58 in the losing cause.

FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #5 (FINAL)

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TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #5 (FINAL)

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After starting the event with some crushing performances, Steve Torrence went "oh! for two" today, with back to back tire smokers, this time starting before the 330' timers. Despite those twin setbacks, he still sat atop the field at the conclusion of qualifying, with his best 3.708 - 329.42 setting the pace in a tightly packed field that saw the #16 qualifier, Will Smith, barely a tenth of a second slower at 3.822 and the first alternate, Buddy Hull, just one thousandth slower than him. Even the slowest of the 19 cars entered ran a 3.878 to show the performance levels in Top Fuel.

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Eliminations Round #2

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