Kalitta Takes Qualifying at Las Vegas; Brown Wins 2Fast2Tasty Challenge

Antron Brown holding his trophy after winning the 2Fast2Tasty Challenge at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Photo: NHRA Media)

LAS VEGAS — The Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway kicked off for the Top Fuel dragster competitors like Doug Kalitta taking to the drags strip for qualifying.

Qualifying Session 1

The first round of session one was an all-female match-up and only had two drivers: Jasmine Salinas and Krista Baldwin. Salinas won the round because Baldwin spun her tires. Even though Baldwin didn’t fare too well, she pulled off an elapsed time of 4.443 seconds and a final speed of 176.33. Salinas had a 3.848 second elapsed time and a 326.32 final speed.

In the next round of qualifying, Clay Millican, Shawn Reed, Josh Hart and Tony Stewart took to the strip. Millican had the best round which meant that he got the better qualifying position.

Then, the next match-up of drivers consisted of Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta, Tony Schumacher and Brittany Force. Kalitta had the best round, and the best round of all qualifying thus far, putting him in the number one spot.

Afterwards, the final round of session one was between two family members and two non family members. Shawn Langdon, Justin Ashley, Steve Torrence and his father, Bill, all went head-to-head on the strip. Ashley immediately had a cylinder out before he could do anything, and the other drivers really didn’t have anything either besides Langdon, who had the best round of the four.

Qualifying Session 2

The first round of the second session only saw three drivers go down the racing surface. Terry Totten, Hart and Brown faced each other in a round that resulted in Brown having the best elapsed time and final speed.

Next, the quartet of Billy Torrence, Schumacher, Ashley and Stewart took to the strip. While Ashley blew a cylinder yet again, he pulled off the best elapsed time as Stewart pulled off the best final speed.

Then, the third round of session two saw an evenly matched round with two men and two women. Force, Steve Torrence, Baldwin and Langdon faced each other for this matchup. Torrence had the better round with both the elapsed time and final speed.

Subsequently, the final round of session two had Millican, Reed, Kalitta and Salinas take to the strip. Reed had the better run of the four with a better elapsed time and final speed.

Doug Kalitta competing in the 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Photo: NHRA Media)

Final Qualifying Session

The first round of final qualifying was between the two cars piloted Ashely and Millican. It was the closest round the Top Fuel dragsters had seen so far in qualifying, but Millican had the better round with an elapsed time of 3.773 seconds and a final speed of 332.34. Ashley had an elapsed time of 3.800 seconds and a final speed of 331.53.

Likewise, the next round did not see all four lanes filled, but three of them were. Hart, Billy Torrence and Reed all took to the track to see who would have the better round as Torrence took home the bragging rights in terms of the elapsed time and final speed.

The final round of the final qualifying session was once again between two males and two females with Steve Torrence, Salinas, Force and Schumacher competing against each other. Force had the best round out of the four having the best elapsed time and final speed. Schumacher and Salinas lost a cylinder, completing their run on seven instead of eight.

At the end of qualifying, Kalitta remained in the number one position. 

“The track seems plenty good in all the lanes and it should be a good day tomorrow,” said Kalitta about getting the number one qualifying spot. “It’s going to be a little cooler, which should play into our hand performance-wise.”

2Fast2Tasty Challenge

Since this 2Fast2Tasty challenge was being held on a four lane strip, not a two lane, this challenge was set up was different. Instead of the four best finishers from the last race, it was the best eight finishers from the last race. There would still only be the semifinals and finals, but four more drivers were added to the mix.

The semifinals of the challenge was between Reed, Langdon, Brown and Steve Torrence. Brown was the winner of the race with having the better reaction time, elapsed time and final speed, but Langdon snuck through the ranks and placed second best, advancing to the final round.

In the second and final round of the semifinals, Billy Torrence, Ashley, Stewart and Kalitta took to the track. While Ashley had the better reaction time, Stewart had the better elapsed time earning him the advancement position to the final round on a holeshot. Kalitta won the race with the best elapsed time and final speed of the bunch.

Ultimately, the final round of the 2Fast2Tasty Challenge pitted Langdon, Brown, Stewart and Kalitta. Even though Kalitta had the better time off the line, Brown took the win with the elapsed time and final speed.

“My guys have been doing so good on this car,” said Brown about winning the challenge. “We just have to keep this going and get after it tomorrow.”