Saturday News and Notes from the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals

News, notes, quotes, photos, and video from the second day of qualifying at the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs at Firebird Motorsports Park. Updated throughout the day.

PRO STOCK Q3/MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1

Pro Stock takes to the track under what are pretty good conditions, so teams will look to make their best in the best conditions they'll see for the rest of the weekend, and about the same as yesterday.

The first Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge competition of the year, rematches of the Gatornationals semifinals, pitted the reigning world champ, Dallas Glenn, versus the points leader and Gainesville winner Matt Hartford, and Glenn won it at both ends of the track, cutting a .014 light and running 6.558 to Hartford's 6.590.

The other half was a classic Greg Anderson vs. Erica Enders matchup of two six-time world champions, but it ended quickly as Anderson red-lighted with a -.011 reaction. The consolation for Anderson is his e.t., a dazzling 6.532, low e.t. of the meet. Enders ran her best of the weekend, 6.560, in victory. Glenn and Enders both avenged their Gatornationalks losses.

Anderson, Glenn, and Enders picked up the 3-2-1 bonus points with the round's three best passes. Greg Stanfield continued to look good with a 6.563, but he slipped from No. 2 to No. 3 behind Anderson and Glenn.

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TOP FUEL Q3/MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1

It's still just 84 degrees with a very manageable track temp of 112 degrees, so expectations are high, and it doesn't take long for that to prove true as Tony Stewart stole low e.t. from Maddi Gordon's 3.844 with a 3.809, and it waas quickly replaced by Shawn Langdon and Leah Pruett running side-by-side 3.783 and 3.788/ The reward fo rbeing No. 1 is a first-round bye for the 15-car field, so the fangs are out.

Doug Kalitta beat Gordon for the second straight race in their Gatornationals rematch in the Mission Challenge in a great race, 3.804 to 3.806, though Kalitta did get a sizeable jump at the Tree. Gordon's first career No. 1 start will have to come another time, though her pass is the third best of the session behind Langdon and Pruett to earn her first qualifying bonus point. Pruett has earned points in all three sessions this weekend.

Top Fuel Callout winner Antron Brown avenged his Gainesville semifinal loss to Josh Hart on a 3.822 to 3.854 count to make up the other half of the Challenge final.

After just four combined three-second passes in both sessions on Friday,12 cars ran in the threes in Q3.

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FUNNY CAR Q3/MISSION CHALLENGE ROUND 1

Ron Capps, the No. 1 qualifier at the Gatornationals, entered Saturday not in the field, but he and crew chief Dean Antonelli fixed that in probably the only run they could with a 4.023 to remove any drama from his life.

After Daniel Wilkerson and Blake Alexander ran side-by-side 4-teens, suddenly reigning world champ Austin Prock was bumped from the field. To avoid suffering the same ignominious fate that he suffered at the season opener, the championship crew made their first full run of the season with a 4.041, and you could hear the sigh of relief from Phoenix to Dearborn. As we understand it, the Procks' woes had nothing to do with making horsepower but everything to do with matching it to the clutch system after the wholesale changes needed after losing access to the John Force Racing parts that tuner Jimmy Prock has used for years.

"It felt good to get to the stripe and pull the laundry under power," said Prock. "I would have loved to see my boss Bob Tasca's reaction. I'm sure his feet left the ground after that one. He's been a great supporter and has had our back this whole time, and that makes us feel good as a race team. So we're heading in the right direction. I said yesterday that we're getting closer., and after we smoked the tires at 600 feet, there was a little bit of a smirk on my dad's face, and he said, 'We can go A to B twice today.' We're gonna have a shot to win this race on Sunday, and that's got the chip on my shoulder. I got some confidence back."

Prock's run bumped part-time Scottsdale resident Todd Lesenko and the Jim Dunn Racing entry from the field with one session left. The bump spot is Blake Alexander's 4.181.

In the Mission Challenge competition, Chad Green red-lighted away a 3.99 with a -.126 reaction, allowing Jordan Vandergriff a 4.107 pass into the final.

He'll take on J.R. Todd, who powered past Alexis DeJoria with a 4.024 to earn lane choice for the final. For those keeping score, five of the six Mission Challenge races went the opposite of their Gainesville outcomes.

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PRO STOCK Q4/MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

The session started at 94.6 degrees of air temp and 128 degrees of track temp that quickly shot up to 135. As the track warmed, right-lane tire shake bit a number of drivers, including points leader Matt Hartford and Jeg Coughlin Jr., as the drivers already in the field maybe were doing a little experimenting for Sunday's later rounds.

Dallas Glenn captured the first Mission Challenge title of the season, beating Erica Enders on a 6.608 to 6.623 count so rack up some early bonus points that may pay off later this season.

Although he didn't better his earlier 6.532, Greg Anderson still had the best run of the session with a 6.584, with the xuspring Chris Vang second with a 6.607 and Glenn third with his 6.608.

Chris McGaha ended up on the bump spot with a 6.598; son Mason did not make the cut.

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TOP FUEL Q4/MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

Air temp is bordering on 100, and the track temp is an egg-frying 142 degrees as the final nitro sessions kick off, and there's not a lot of hope for anyone bettering Shawn Langdon's 3.783 from earlier today, meaning that he will get a bye in round one Sunday. For good measure, Langdon cooked his way to a 3.97, at the time the only three of the session.

Langdon remained the No. 1 qualifier (the 23rd of his career), but his teammate, Doug Kalitta, got max bonus points with the best run of the session, a 3.92, to defeat Antron Brown's 4.01 in the Mission Challenge final.

Langdon (3.783), Leah Pruett (3.788), Maddi Gordon (3.804), and Kalitta (3.806) finished as the top four qualifiers.

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FUNNY CAR Q4/MISSION CHALLENGE FINAL

J.R. Todd claimed the Mission Challenge title on a 4.19 to 4.23 decision over Jordan Vandergriff, who was angling for his first victory as a driver for John Force Racing. Todd's run was the third best of the round, behind Jack Beckman's 4.08 and low qualifier Spencer Hyde's 4.17.

Both Todd and Hyde earned bonus points in three of the four qualifying sessions, speaking to their teams' ability to navigate the conditions, including a track temp of 145 degrees in the final session. Hyde's No. 1 qualifying effort is the second of his still-young Funny car career.

Blake Alexander ended up on the bubble with a 4.181, with Todd Lesenko the only driver on the outside looking in.