NHRA notes: Top qualifiers Matt Smith, Greg Anderson and Cruz Pedregon feel right at home in Norwalk

NORWALK — Historically, Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) have performed well in Norwalk, and after the first night of qualifying all three were at the top of their respective classes. Each has his own reasons for liking the venue. "I love racing here," Smith said. "It's a beautiful facility. This is one of the first places that me and my dad doubled up at. We both won the race here one year, the same year we won the championship together, so I really like coming here. I'm glad to be here." Anderson has won over 1,000 rounds and an NHRA-record 110 career event titles in the Pro Stock division. He has been to 188 career final rounds, and his success at Norwalk and the rest of the NHRA landscape has allowed him to win six Pro Stock World Championships (2003-05, 2010, 2021 and 2024). "It feels like it is home to me," Anderson said. "When I roll out there for the burnout and see that big billboard that says Summit Racing Equipment, and it's on the side of my car, it's a big thing for me. "It's a big thing to race in front of all the employees at Summit in Summit Motorsports Park. I thank the Lord that we get to race here. That's all I can ask for. I love that." On Friday, Pedregon ran eighth during the first round of qualifying with a 4.063-second pass at 293.86 miles per hour. He was 0.127 seconds off the pace set by Austin Prock, but that changed when the sun set and the track cooled significantly before the second round of Funny Car qualifying. Pedregon climbed to the No. 1 qualifying spot with a 3.890-second run at 318.39 miles per hour. He was the only Funny Car to make a pass under 3.9 seconds and it stood that way through the third and fourth rounds of qualifying Saturday afternoon. "We don't have to make our best run, and we get a little breathing room, and that's what we did," Pedregon said of his mindset going into the night qualifying session. "Let's just see where it winds up, but all I know is I'm going to enjoy the night and just enjoy the moments because it's been 65. It'd be my 65th No. 1, man." The Funny Car field had 21 drivers attempting to qualify for today's elimination rounds, and by running strong Friday night and having that second pass stand up as the No. 1 spot, it took a little pressure off of Pedregon's team. "It's awesome," said Pedregon, a two-time Funny Car world champion. "I was thinking about that. If there's a driver worth his salt as they say, they were thinking about, 'Hey, let's make it down the track and not be one of those cars Saturday afternoon trying to make it in the field.'" After a strong start to their qualifying runs this weekend, Smith, Anderson and Pedregon each finished in the No. 1 qualifier in their respective divisions. For Smith, it is his first No. 1 of the year, and for Pedregon, it is his first since the 2023 season. Smith spent an extra day at Virginia Motorsports Park following the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals last weekend to better learn how to handle the hotter tracks. "Sometimes, you're going to have a really greasy, oily track," Smith said. "On Monday at 2:30 at Richmond, it was a 151-degree track temp. It's the most I've ever seen, so all in all, you've got to learn because at some point, we might see that in a race, and we have to be prepared for that." Successful gamble When Pedregon went to the Christmas tree and was staging for his second qualifying pass, he did so after taking a gamble on the tech setup. Rather than just go for as much speed as possible, Pedregon challenged his race team to put together a formula that could help them take advantage of the cooler track conditions and earn the top spot after Friday's runs. "I was really nervous going up there," Pedregon said. "I knew we had kind of rolled the dice a little bit. We thought, 'You're either going to see a good run or a whole lot of tire smoke,' and it stuck when I was in the car." The Callout Anderson had first pick in the Pro Stock All-Star Callout and decided to challenge fellow six-time Pro Stock world champion, Erica Enders, in the first round of the eight-car event. Anderson (KB Titan) and Enders (Elite Motorsports) represent rival teams, and there was a heated exchange between the crews at a recent race. However, on Saturday, it came down to who had the faster car, and that honor went to Anderson, thanks to an .032 reaction time. Following the first-round win, Anderson went on to beat Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the second round. However, Anderson's success came to an end when he fell to his KB Titan teammate, Matt Hartford, in the championship round. Challenge accepted After defeating Shawn Langdon in the first round of the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, Tony Stewart advanced to the Top Fuel final, where he faced Doug Kalitta, who had defeated No. 1 qualifier Justin Ashley before beating Stewart to claim his fourth Challenge win of the season. ** Daniel Wilkerson won his second straight challenge of the season with a 4.151-second pass at 305.56 mph in Funny Car. ** Gaige Herrera won the Pro Stock Motorcycle title. Local flavor After qualifying in the top 10, Scott Wasko (Columbia Station), Keith Castle (Columbia Station) and Jerry Albert (Avon) competed in the Top Sportsman Division's elimination rounds Saturday. Albert had a lower ET in his first-round matchup with James Hinkle, but he left the line .006 too early and was disqualified. Wasko lost his first-round matchup against Gary Wojnowski. Castle made it through the first round when he ran a 6.648-second pass at 203.89 miles per hour against Jeff Gabel. Then, Castle lit the win light again when he ran out of the left lane and defeated Dennis Dowson. Castle received a bye in the third round and will face Hinkle in the Top Sportsman semifinals today. Contact Matt Florjancic at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.