BAYTOWN, Texas (AP) â Funny Car points leader Bob Tasca III powered to the top spot right before the rain came, taking the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday in the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park.
Tasca had a 3.908-second run at 331.53 mph in a Ford Mustang, making one of the final runs during the second qualifying session before rain wiped out the rest of qualifying.
âWe knew we were going to have an advantage going into that last session because we saw the radar,â Tasca said. âTo get an opportunity to put this car on the pole, itâs always better starting No. 1 than No. 16. We lost our mojo a little bit in Charlotte, but itâs great to come out here, run 331 (mph) and qualify No. 1, and weâll see what we can do Sunday.â
Funny Car points leader Bob Tasca III had a 3.908-second run at 331.53 mph in a Ford Mustang to take the No. 1 qualifying position in the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals.
NHRA Upstart Josh Hart Brings Top Fuel Magic Act to Houston
Earlier this season, Hart became the first NHRA driver in 20 years to win his first pro race.
By Susan Wade
Josh Hart is just the fourth driver win his NHRA pro debut since 1990.
Since his win, Hart qualified fourth in the 16-car Top Fuel fields, advanced to the quarterfinal at Atlanta, and reached the final round at Charlotte.
In Funny Car this week, Matt Hagan (carrying the race-sponsor livery this weekend) and Ron Capps will try to put Don Schumacher Racing in the winners circle for the first time since sweeping all 11 races last year.
For NHRA’s Shawn Langdon, zMAX Dragway Is Site of Some Life-Changing History
Kalitta Motorsports racer returns to site of first Funny Car victory.
By Susan Wade Icon SportswireGetty Images
Kalitta Motorsports racer Shawn Langdon earned his first NHRA pro trophy, in the Top Fuel class, at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., in the fall of 2012, The Funny Car breakthrough came just two weeks after Langdon promised a Wally trophy to his father, Chad Langdon, who was overcoming cancer and recuperating from a liver transplant.
Langdon and Del Worsham are the only drivers to win in both NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car at zMAX Dragway.