Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), and Kyle Koretsky (Pro Stock) proved to be the best in their class at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.
Doug Kalitta:
"It was nice getting to No. 1 here for sure. That last session, the conditions were perfect and I knew everybody was going for it, including us, so we were definitely not going to be bashful, but we're definitely looking forward to tomorrow. The guys are working their tails off on my car and we're seeing some major strides in the performance and looking forward to tomorrow."
Matt Hagan:
“I've been kind of like poking a bear with my assistant crew chief like, ‘Man, this can take more primary, put some primary on it; why are you so scared?’ you know, just giving him a hard time," said Hagan, "and we went .844 to 60 foot and that's probably my fastest 60-foot ever. Those guys had it loaded for bear. It hiked the tires up and washing out at the top end.
“It was just super fun to drive, but you know, those cars are a handful to drive and sometimes when you're on those record runs like less is more and, you kind of gotta let them go as far as you can until you start making those corrections. But that's learned over time.”
Kyle Koretsky:
"I knew the Lucas Oil Camaro had it in it. Greg gave us a tune-up and the rest of the guys said, 'Hold on,' so when I was holding on and left with the wheels up and I hit every shift point perfectly," he said. "When you get out of the car and the officials give me a No. 1 it's like, whew, man, that's pretty cool."
"The KB guys in the shop here, they worked their butt off all winter. I think we showed a good outing last weekend but had a little malfunction but you know we're gonna give Enders' Elite performance team a run. That's just a little taste of it."
The Finals will air on FS1 from 7-10 PM EST on Sunday.
See the full recap by Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor:
NHRA Arizona Nationals Saturday photo gallery: