Bob Tasca III leads qualifying in NHRA Northwest Nationals

Published Aug. 2, 2019 11:28 p.m. ET

KENT, Wash. (AP) — Bob Tasca III topped Funny Car qualifying Friday in the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

A two-time winner this year, Tasca had a career-best run of 3.871 seconds at 330.63 mph in a Ford Mustang to take the lead into final two rounds of qualifying Saturday.

"This is a setup we're really starting to dial in, and we kind of felt the 330-plus mph run and mid-3.80 run building," Tasca said. "I'm just excited and humbled to be the behind of the wheel of this thing. This is a brand new body we needed to learn, and you just saw it come together tonight and put us in position to win on Sunday."

Mike Salinas led in Top Fuel at 3.694 at 327.66, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. was the fastest in Pro Stock with a 6.539 at 210.57 in a Chevrolet Camaro.