Austin Prock and Erica Enders Stay Hot to Lead Qualifying as the National Hot Rod Association Opens 2024 Season at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida
The 2024 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national event season is officially underway, and two drivers in the professional ranks are picking up right where they left off at last month’s PRO Superstar Shootout at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
The home of the Gatornationals, Gainesville Raceway, sits about three hours north of Bradenton, and despite the venue change from their last runs in competition, Shootout winners Austin Prock and Erica Enders concluded the first day of qualifying holding the provisional top qualifier spots in their respective classes.
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Austin Prock made the transition from the long-and-skinny Top Fuel dragster he wheeled last season, to a carbon-fiber covered Funny Car this season to fill in for John Force driver and ex-class champion Robert Hight. And as he did last month, once again Austin looked like a natural.
He opened qualifying with low e.t. of the first session at 3.869 at 329 mph during the first session, then improved to a 3.820 at 334 mph to set the new Gainesville Raceway elapsed time track record on Friday.
Just nine thousandths of-a-second behind Austin was Bob Tasca, who broke the 340 mph barrier at BMP, and continued to look powerful in Gainesville with a 336 mph and 337 mph blast during qualifying. On the latter run, Tasca clocked the 3.829 pass.
The Top Fuel dragsters feature a similar 11,000 horsepower engine to their Funny Car siblings, but put the engine behind the driver and cut through the air a little better, normally resulting in quicker elapsed times and faster speeds.
Four-time series champion Steve Torrence would take a page from Austin Prock’s book, qualifying on top in both sessions, and getting quicker and faster in the second stanza. Torrence opened with a 3.729 at 331 mph lap, then improved on it to a 3.690 at 333 mph during his late afternoon chance.
The naturally-aspirated rides of Pro Stock rely on a 500 cubic inch engine and a 5-speed manual transmission to click off mid 6-second time slips at over 210 mph.
Following a record sixth class championship in 2023, Erica continued her streak of solid runs from last month’s PRO Superstar Shootout yesterday in qualifying at Gainesville.
Her Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro qualified second with a 6.56 in the first qualifying session, then stepped up on the second shot to snag the top spot by just two thousandths of-a-second with a 6.55 at 207.88 mph
Action continues today, with the remaining rounds of professional class qualifying starting at 11 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) for Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, followed by the popular Pep Boys Top Fuel Callout 8-car race round one at noon EST, and then the remaining Top Fuel and Funny Car runs to round out the session.
The professional rounds continue with rounds two and three of the Top Fuel Callout race at 1:50 pm EST and 3 pm EST, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle final qualifying at 2 pm EST, and the remaining Top Fuel and Funny Car runs for the fourth and final session surrounding the final round of the Top Fuel Callout race at 3 pm EST.
Written by Derek Putnam. Media courtesy of NHRA and Thomas Gaines – Gaines Photography.
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