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Hagan, Torrence lead early qualifying at NHRA Finals in Pomona

November 11, 2023

Top Fuel driver Steve Torrence does his burnout during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals on Friday at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car drag racing legend John Force signs the hat of race fan Rich Royall, from Covina, in the pits during the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver John Force, near lane, heads down the track against J.R. Todd during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan runs to the provisional top qualifying position during the second round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Top Fuel driver and Redlands native Leah Pruett does her burnout during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Drag racing fan Deron Wright, from Burbank, wears a gas mask as he watches a nitro burning funny car warm up in the pits during the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Top Fuel driver and series points leader Steve Torrence, near lane, heads down track against Doug Kalitta, far lane, during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Top Fuel driver and series points leader Steve Torrence warms up his dragster in the pits prior to the openingd round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. Torrence is the provisional top qualifier after the opening day qualifying. Qualifying continues Saturday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car legend John Force climbs out of his hot rod in the pits after warming it up prior to the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver Robet Hights prepares for the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan, right, runs to the provisional top qualifying position as races against Bob Tasca III, left, during the second round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III prepares for the opening round of pro qualifying in the staging lanes at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver John Force, near lane, heads down track against J.R. Todd during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Drag racing fans Daniel Davis, Ashlyn Sacchette, both from Whittier, and Josh Foulk, from Lake Havasu, hold their ears as nitro burning Funny Car heads down track during the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car Robert Hight walks towards his hot rod in the staging lanes during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan prepares for the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. Hagan in the top provisional qualifier with one more day of qualifying Saturday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Top Fuel driver Steve Torrence does his burnout during the second round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. Torrence is the provisional top qualifier following the first day of qualifying. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta sits in his dragster during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Drag racing fans gather around the pit of Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon as he warms up his nitro burning dragster during the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan does his burnout during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals on Friday at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip. Hagan is the provisional top qualifier with one more day of qualifying on Saturday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan does his burnout during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. Hagan is the provisional top qualifier with one more day of qualifying Saturday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Pro Stock opposing crew members Kyle Bates, left, and Al Lindsay, right, greet each other behind the water box during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car legend John Force walks out of his trailer prior to the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III heads down track during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car legend John Force, left, speaks with former Top Fuel driver Darrell Gwynn, right, during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver Robert Hight warms up his hot rod in the pits prior to the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver Robert Hight, right, heads through the shutdown area after qualifying against Tim Wilkerson, left, during the second round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Top Fuel driver and Redlands native Leah Pruett heads down track during the opening round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Top Fuel driver and Redlands native Leah Pruett heads down track during the second round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver Alex Laughlin, left, takes out the timing blocks as he qualifies against Cruz Pedregon, right, during the second round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Drag racing legend Shirley Muldowney speaks to race fans in the pits during the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car legend John Force warms up his hot rod in the pits prior to the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Funny Car driver Robert Hight, right, heads down track against Tim Wilkerson, left, during the second round of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

A drag racing fan displays patches on his vest of all the drag racing events he has attended over the years during the opening day of pro qualifying at the 58th In-n-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-n-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

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POMONA — Form held on the first of two days of qualifying in the Nitro-powered Funny Car and Top Fuel competition on Friday at the In-N-Out NHRA Finals, which conclude on Sunday when national champions will be determined at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip.

Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan had the fastest time in his division and Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence did the same.

In fact, the Top Fuel drivers in second and third place in the standings, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett, had the second- and third-fastest qualifying times on Friday. The fourth-fastest was by Steve Torrence’s father, Billy Torrence.

Paul Lee, a 66-year-old from Orange who is better known for skydiving than drag racing, threw a monkey wrench into the Funny Car qualifying. He had the second-fastest qualifying time, while Bob Tasca III and Robert Hight, who are 2-3 in the standings, ran 3-4 in Friday’s qualifying.

Lee covered the 1,000-foot course in 3.875 seconds with a top speed of 322.51 mph. But don’t think he was unnerved by those numbers. This is a man who has made more than 1,500 jumps from an airplane. So apparently jumping into the thick of things at the NHRA Finals is no big thing even though he has no career wins and no final-round appearances in Funny Car’s top division.

Another Southern Californian who stood out Friday was pro stock motorcycle racer Gaige Herrera, a 30-year-old who grew up in La Mirada and now lives in De Motte, Indiana. Herrera, a fourth-generation motorcycle racer, will clinch the national title Saturday on the strength of 10 wins during his record-setting season, only his second at this level. He had Friday’s top qualifying time with a run of 6.721 seconds and a top speed of 200.59 mph on his Suzuki.

Herrera’s father Augustine, who is also his crew chief, bought his son a kiddie motorcycle when he was only 3 years old. Asked how fast that one went, Herrera said, “I have no idea.”

Hagan, a 40-year-old veteran on the NHRA circuit and an avid weightlifter, looks more like an NFL linebacker than a drag racer. It is not uncommon for people who don’t know Hagan to ask him if he is a football player.

“I get that a lot,” he said. When asked about his weight on Friday, the 6-footer initially responded, with a smile, that he was 195 pounds. “Nah, around 250,” he quickly added.

“People wonder how it is that I am a drag racer, but weight doesn’t matter, not in the cars we drive,” he said, referring to the 11,000-horsepower dragsters.

Qualifying continues Saturday, beginning at noon for Pro Stock cars and motorcycles followed an hour or later by the Nitro Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers.

Orange County Register

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Hagan, Torrence lead early qualifying at NHRA Finals in Pomona

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