CONCORD, N.C. – One of the pleasant surprises of Friday’s opening two rounds of qualifying for the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway was the strong performance of Dom Lagana.
Lagana took his Nitro Ninja/CatSpot dragster to an impressive pass of 3.762 seconds during the second session of the afternoon, a run that was third-quick at the time Lagana went down the track.
Though he ultimately fell to sixth overall in the provisional ladder at the end of the first day of action, the 33-year-old native of Scarsdale, N.Y. still set a career-best speed of 324.59 mph at the top end.
That was more than enough to leave Lagana grinning from ear-to-ear when he climbed out of his car.
“Man, that was absolutely awesome,” said Lagana of his run. “I’ve really gotta thank these Nitro Ninja guys, because they’ve come down for one last hurrah, worked hard and we’re having a damn good time so far this weekend. It’s been a lot of fun, both on my end and rooting for those Capco guys as well.”
Lagana’s brother, Bobby Lagana Jr., is the assistant crew chief for Top Fuel championship leader Steve Torrence, who raced to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position on Friday.
– On the flip side of the coin in Top Fuel, three-time class champion Antron Brown struggled mightily in his Matco Tools/US Army dragster for Don Schumacher Racing, barely in the field at the end of day one.
Brown posted a lackluster 4.022-second pass at 239.14 mph after losing traction late in the opening session on Friday, and then had the car shut off on him around the 330-foot mark in the second session, leaving him 15th in the 16-car field and at risk of being bumped out of the field.
“It was a tough day for us here in Charlotte,” said Brown, who won back-to-back Carolina Nationals in 2015 and 2016. “We’re just struggling and don’t know what’s going on. We’ve got some gremlins that we have to figure out. We’ll come back tomorrow and do what we do. The only thing we can do is fight the good fight and keep on going.”
Eighteen dragsters were on the initial Carolina Nationals entry list and 17 made at least one run on Friday. Audrey Worm is currently on the outside looking in with a 9.535 at 77.65 in her ’08 Hadman.
– Fans of the Funny Car class may have thought they were seeing double on Friday, with two Infinite Hero Dodges lining up alongside one another during the second round of qualifying.
They weren’t wrong, either.
Class veteran Dale Creasy Jr. is using a body borrowed from Don Schumacher Racing this weekend in Charlotte, one that coincidentally carries Jack Beckman’s familiar purple and silver scheme on it.
That made it interesting when Beckman and Creasy landed in the same pair for the late session of qualifying, but it was no contest on the track. Creasy hazed the tires quickly on his run, while Beckman jumped to 10th overall with a 3.953 at 324.98 after breaking a connecting rod off the line in session one.
– With a short field of only 14 cars in Pro Stock this weekend, no one in attendance will fail to qualify, but that didn’t mean there weren’t a few surprises in the provisional ladder on Friday.
Reigning champion Bo Butner landed in the bottom half of the field, qualifying ninth on the opening day with a 6.556 at 211.56 in the Jim Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro, while points leader Tanner Gray was only fourth-best in the Valvoline/Gray Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.
Both drivers will be looking to improve on Saturday as they continue their championship pushes.
– Pro Stock Motorcycle journeyman Matt Smith has tasted the glory of winning a championship before, but he noted that it would be particularly special to do so this season, given the deep competition in the class.
Smith was the point leader until a red-light foul cost him valuable rounds two weeks ago at Texas Motorplex. L.E. Tonglet went on to win the race and take over the top spot, dropping Smith to third.
“It would be huge for us to win this championship this year,” said Smith. “We started the year 17th in points and didn’t even qualify for the first race at Gainesville. For not having a sponsor … if we could pull it off, that would show the strength of this team.
“We’ve stuck together through the highs and lows and gone toe to toe with some of the best in the business. It would truly be David taking down Goliath; we just have to fight as hard as we can and work to get back in this.”
– Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer, along with their families, were in attendance on Friday at zMAX Dragway.
Both Larson and Bowyer were at the track and in the media center with their wives and children, soaking in the adrenaline of NHRA drag racing before they head to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for practice and qualifying on Saturday.
– An unofficial total of six orange timing blocks were hit or shredded during professional qualifications on Friday, leading to disallowed runs for three different drivers.
Creasy struck the most, taking out three blocks on his run in Funny Car Q2, while Steve Johnson hit two and Tonglet clipped one during their respective Q2 passes in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
