As the first round of Top Fuel competitors pulled into the staging lanes at zMAX Dragway, the track temperature was marked as the coolest of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season at 86 degrees.
It signaled a green light for elimination rounds during 14th annual Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals.
The red-white-and-blue themed stands slowly disappeared behind the growing crowd as the engines blared on the straightaway.
Brittany Force was in the second pair to hit to the track, facing off to Spencer Massey in her Flav-R-Pac dragster and taking the win light with a 3.670-second elapsed time.
“Man, to turn that win light first round, I’m pumped. But we still have a long road ahead of us,” Force said in her post-elimination interview.
Points leader Justin Ashley had a smile on his face during driver introductions early in the morning, later using the positive energy of his No. 1 qualifying position to claim a first-round victory against Alex Laughlin.
Ashley’s 3.688-second ET was the quickest of the Top Fuel session.
The pressure was on for Mike Salinas as he watched his top two championship opponents race to their respective win lights. His Scrappers Racing dragster was matched against Leah Pruett’s Tony Stewart Racing machine, and fortunately for him, he recorded a 3.696-second ET and a victory.
Josh Hart, Clay Millican, Doug Kalitta, Antron Brown and Steve Torrence were the remaining winners in the first round of eliminations.
The Funny Cars were next to roll onto the strip.
The first matchup was between Alexis DeJoria and J.R. Todd, with DeJoria racing to her career-best speed of 334.7 mph and taking the win with a 3.878-second ET.
“It’s also my personal-best ET. Really excited about that all the way around,” DeJoria said. “We really needed that round win.”
The formidable points leader Robert Hight was up next, facing Jim Campbell. To no one’s surprise, Hight continued his hot streak and stole the win light from Campbell, recording a 3.869-second ET.
Iconic Funny Car driver John Force took his place in the left staging lane, taking the elimination run solo as the weekend’s No. 1 qualifier. Luckily, he had secured the win light before he even took off from the starting line, as his John Force Racing machine experienced an issue and recorded a 7.621-second ET.
Next, Ron Capps, third in the points chase, turned on a win light against Blake Alexander, turning in a 3.889-second ET in his NAPA Auto Parts-sponsored Funny Car.
Other first round winners included the man second in points, Matt Hagan, and Chad Green.
The Pro Stock competitors began to roll into their respective lanes as track personnel cleared the clutch dust off the drag strip.
Kyle Koretsky began a hot streak early at the Carolina Nationals, taking the win against Mason McGaha with a 6.563-second ET. The KB Racing driver is in the hunt for his second career win – his first came here in Charlotte last year.
Smoke billowed into the air as another steed from KB Racing burned it down on the track.
While facing Chris McGaha, Greg Anderson scored a 6.558-second ET as his chief title rival and the weekend’s No. 1 qualifier Erica Enders watched from the starting line.
After opting to go last in eliminations, Enders confidently rolled into her matchup against Larry Morgan. At a peak speed of 210 mph, Enders roared to a 6.550-second ET and took the win light, posting the lowest ET of the session.
Cristian Cuadra, Matt Hartford, Dallas Glenn, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Aaron Stanfield also picked up round wins.
Keyword: First Eliminations Complete For NHRA Carolina Nationals