By Briar Starr, NHRA Staff Writer
Due to heavy and persistent rain showers across the Epping, New Hampshire area, the NHRA New England Nationals were postponed to Monday morning at 11 a.m./ET live on NHRA.TV.
Rainy conditions were the theme of the weekend since Saturday morning, despite having warm and humid conditions on Friday afternoon with temperatures near 90 degrees. On Friday, NHRA bumped up the first round of qualifying due to the potential for inclement weather on Friday night. After Q1, Chad Green (Funny Car) and Tony Stewart Racing’s Leah Pruett (Top Fuel) were the provisional No. 1 qualifiers entering Saturday’s action.
NHRA attempted to get all rounds of qualifying in on Saturday, but unfortunately, were only able to get the second out of three rounds in before heavy rains forced the cancellation for the rest of Saturday including the 2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
During Q2, many drivers went up in smoke down the track with rainy conditions in the area. Before the cancellation of Q3, Antron Brown was one of the lucky ones to make a full pass in Q2. In fact, the run Brown made propelled him to the eventual No. 1 spot past Pruett with a pass of 3.729 at 329.99 mph. The pass gave Brown his 50th No. 1 career qualifier.
As for Funny Car, Chad Green’s run from Friday afternoon stood still for the rest of the weekend, as multiple drivers in the class struggled to send their car down the New Hampshire dragway. Green ran a time of 4.100 at 310.98 mph, which earned him his first No. 1 qualifier.
Brown will earn a first-round bye in Top Fuel competition, while Chad Green will face off against No. 14 qualifier Jim Campbell.
Gates on Monday are scheduled to open at 8:00 a.m./ET with Top Fuel slated for 11 a.m./ET. Sunday’s tickets will be honored for Monday, while those still wishing to attend the event can purchase adult walk-up tickets for $25 with kids 12 and under free. The NHRA credit policy will be in effect for fans who purchased Sunday tickets and are unable to attend on Monday.