| PHOENIX (April 4, 2024) – In short, six NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series drivers have a chance for an epic weekend at Firebird Motorsports Park. Along with the 39th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, the final round of the postponed Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals happens during final qualifying on Saturday, while the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge takes place on Friday and Saturday. Top Fuel’s Tony Schumacher and Justin Ashley, Funny Car’s Matt Hagan and John Force, and Pro Stock’s Erica Enders and Dallas Glenn all have a chance for something special this weekend in Phoenix. The six Winternationals finalists spoke about the chance for a spectacular, “triple-up” weekend. TOP FUEL : TONY SCHUMACHER VS. JUSTIN ASHLEY This is a rematch of a final round last year in Bristol, where Ashley swept the weekend, winning the New England Nationals against Schumacher, the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and then the Thunder Valley Nationals the next day.Schumacher is currently 5-3 against Ashley in eliminations.Schumacher, an eight-time world champ, is after his first win since 2022. Ashley will attempt to win the Winternationals for the third straight year. Schumacher: “I’m the most jacked I’ve been in a long, long time. The car is running right, the team is in a great mood. We earned our way into the finals. I’ve done this before, finishing a race during a race weekend. I’ve finished the Charlotte race in Dallas, and last year I raced the Epping finals in Bristol. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s so exciting when it does. Phoenix is a track that has been good to me in the past so hopefully we’ll have some more of that Firebird success this weekend. There is so much potential at this race and we’re pumped up and ready to go.” Ashley: “It really is a great opportunity, a unique opportunity and we’ve got a lot on the line. I don’t know that we’ve ever gone into a national event and had every run, starting with Q1, be so meaningful. It’s exciting and all we have to do is turn on seven win lights this weekend. It’s such a difficult thing to do with the depth of this class and you’ve already seen that this year. It’s going to take a lot of toughness from this team to capitalize on this and we’re really looking forward to it and we’re grateful for it.” FUNNY CARJOHN FORCE VS. MATT HAGANThis is a titanic matchup between two of the greats in the class. Force is the most successful driver in NHRA history with 155 wins and 16 championships, while Hagan is a four-time and reigning world champ.If Hagan wins on Saturday, he will pick up his 50th career win.Force is 28-22 in 50 prior meetings, though Hagan holds a 6-3 advantage over Force in final rounds, including most recently in Dallas last year. Force: “Like anybody, I want to win it all. So, I’m going after it with everything I’ve got. We’re excited to race Hagan. He’s a great champion and he wants to win, just like I do. There’s basically three races to be won and I’m ready for it. We’re just going to do the best we can. I’m fired up.” Hagan: “The Phoenix weekend is going to be very busy during qualifying. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. At the end of the day, we really just want to put on a good show for the fans. You couldn’t ask for more than to have the opportunity to win two Wallys in one weekend. I think it’ll be a challenging weekend for crew chiefs and drivers, but we’re ready for the challenge. If anyone can do it, TSR can. We’ll have to have the mentality that when you show up for each run, it’s game time.” PRO STOCK: ERICA ENDERS VS. DALLAS GLENN Enders is the defending and six-time champion in the category and is seeking her 50th career national event win. Glenn was the No. 1 qualifier in Pomona and the defending winner at the Winternationals. He also won 4 races a year ago and advanced to nine finals. Enders holds the lead in prior matchups, posting an 11-4 overall record against Glenn and 3-1 in the finals, winning against him last year in the Dallas finals. Glenn: “There’s a lot of opportunities to win this weekend in Phoenix between the Mission (Challenge), running the finals of Pomona and the actual Phoenix race, and we’re participating in all three of them! We were ready for that Pomona final a few weeks ago but it will be something new to run it on Saturday in Phoenix. I don’t care what day or what track we run it at – I just want that win.” Enders: I’m really looking forward to this weekend in Phoenix. When we roll off the trailer, every pass is an elimination round! I’m really excited about having an opportunity to win two Wallys in one weekend. To have a chance to score our 50th and 51st win, in the same weekend, is pretty substantial! We have a really fast racecar right now and I have the best guys in the business. I’m the final piece to that trifecta and I love what we are able to do together. |
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