Prock, Kalitta, Hartford and Oehler crush Michigan NHRA qualifying

Back-to-back defending Funny Car world champion Austin Prock powered to the No. 1 spot in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, earning his second top qualifier of the year for Tasca Racing at this weekend’s Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR.

Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Ryan Oehler (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 15th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. It is also the first of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Prock went 3.859s at 331.61 mph in his Ford Racing Mustang to take the No. 1 spot for the 27th time in his career, making four strong runs in qualifying, including the third-quickest run of the year to take the top qualifier.

He picked up bonus points every round and can enjoy a big Sunday as Prock looks to win a third straight title. Prock will open eliminations against standout Jordan Vandergriff, looking to win in NHRA’s debut at the facility and the first national event in Michigan in 66 years.

“This Ford Mustang has really been turning the corner in the latter half of the season. To roll into the Countdown, munch up quite a few qualifying points, and then be the No. 1 qualifier at the first Countdown race definitely feels good. It gives us some confidence,” Prock said.

“We’ve been working really hard this year — putting in the hours, thinking about it in the middle of the night, waking up and just going and getting your grind done. I’m really proud of accomplishing this, and hopefully we can turn it into a win tomorrow.

“To see how excited everybody has been, not only at the racetrack but outside the racetrack and around the hotel — ‘We’re so excited NHRA is finally here. We get to see the big show.’ That’s awesome.”

Jack Beckman qualified second with a 3.861 at 332.10, while points leader Matt Hagan jumped to third in the final session after going 3.886 at 330.88.

With a capacity crowd on hand, Kalitta impressed in his home state, surpassing Friday’s top run with a stellar 3.660 at 338.86 in his Applied Innovations dragster for Kalitta Motorsports.

The reigning world champion and points leader earned his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 71st in his career with the standout performance, taking plenty of momentum into raceday. He’ll open eliminations against Kyle Satenstein on Sunday, looking to win in front of a huge number of family and friends as part of NHRA’s national event debut at the standout facility.

“I knew our hospitality was going to have a ton of people, so I assumed the fans would be piling in here, and they were,” Kalitta said. “It was really nice that we were able to get something done in front of them. This is a new market for us, and we definitely want to put on a good show for everybody.

“Everybody’s working their tails off. I definitely didn’t want to have a Saturday rainout, so it was good that we were able to get something done. Another No. 1 qualifier is huge. We’ll drag it in tomorrow and see what we’ve got.”

Josh Hart vaulted to second during the final session with a 3.671 at 329.19 and Antron Brown moved to third with a 3.673 at 338.09.

In Pro Stock, Matt Hartford stayed in the top position, clinching his second No. 1 qualifier in 2026 thanks to Friday’s 6.516 at 209.79 in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro. It gives Hartford his second straight top spot as he looks to continue rolling to open the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

It gives Hartford his seventh career No. 1 spot and he’ll open eliminations against Shane Tucker, looking to pick up his fourth victory of the season, which would match Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn for most in the class this season. A first-round victory also nets Hartford a bye into the semifinals.

“We were thrilled to get two runs in today. Anytime you can go up and down the track, you learn something,” Hartford said.

“I think it’s more pressure because it’s a known fact that if you win first round, you go to the semifinals. It’s a two-for-one, so that’s just added pressure. I think any driver would tell you that first round is the hardest one every weekend. Once you’re through first round, you relax a little bit more. To me, first round is harder than a final round.”

Anderson took second with a 6.521 at 209.11 and points leader Dallas Glenn qualified third with a 6.529 at 209.99.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Ryan Oehler made it official on Saturday at a packed U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, picking up his first career No. 1 qualifier when Friday’s 6.7190 at 200.80 on his El Bandito Yankee Tequila EBR held up through Saturday’s two rounds.

“It’s very special,” Oehler said. “My dad is an engine developer and horsepower developer, and this is what he’s wanted. He’s always said, ‘I just want one of those yellow hats.’ I’ve always said, ‘I just want to be in the winner’s circle.’ We got him his yellow hat today.

“This really flexes his muscles and shows what we’re made of back home and what we’ve been doing in the offseason to make power. It’s going to be scary to see where we’re headed if we keep going in this direction.

“We have a brand-new engine we’re putting together right now. Whether it’ll be ready during the Countdown or not, it very well could be. That could be the secret sauce to a championship run.”

Angie Smith took second with a 6.7377 at 196.51 and Indy winner Matt Smith qualified third with a 6.7403 at 197.02.

Eliminations for the inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR begin at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.