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Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Troy Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 22nd and final event in the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and the sixth race in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Capps went 3.837-seconds at a track-record speed of 337.33 mph in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra, handing the veteran his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 35th in his career. He enters raceday 57 points - or less than two rounds - behind leader Robert Hight, looking to become the first Funny Car driver to win back-to-back championships in 20 years. Capps will take on Jeff Arend in the opening round, with a possible must-see matchup looming in the semifinals against Hight, who qualified fourth with a 3.849 at 334.48. "This is what I talk about when you get into a race car like this and you wish you could make those big runs at the big moments," Capps said. "I know we can go out and throw down with the best. It's a great feeling, so what a way to end qualifying. I got on the radio, and I was screaming and yelling. It was like going down the road to Disneyland and getting on Space Mountain for the first time as a kid. "It's a different day tomorrow. (But) I'm going to wake up my motorhome here at trackside and I'm going to have a chance of possibly winning a world championship once again." Cruz Pedregon qualified second with a career-best run of 3.840 at 322.58. In fact, Pedregon made the four quickest runs in his career, all in the 3.84 range. Matt Hagan took third with a 3.844 at 323.58 and will head into raceday 62 points behind Hight.
"I feel very good. Going into race day tomorrow, we had four consistent runs," Force said. "Over the past couple of months, we struggled with those three runs, but we made four solid runs. We got that No. 1 spot, and we picked up some bonus points, so we're going in tomorrow feeling good. "When we won the championship in 2017, we came into the race in second place and now we have the lead, so it's a whole different mindset. I've been here before, that gives me a little bit of confidence. We handled it before, it's familiar territory, and we came out on top. So really, it's just pulling from past experience. This team is incredible what we've done all season long, what we've done this weekend, we just need to keep on hitting our numbers." Four-time defending world champ Steve Torrence made the best run during the final qualifying session, taking the second spot with a 3.647 at 332.10. He trails Force by 93 points going into eliminations. Mike Salinas, who enters raceday 75 points back, was third with a 3.666 at 331.46. Brown qualified seventh and is 92 points out of first.
"I made two clean runs today and that's what counts," Coughlin said. "It's special to be racing here in Pomona. There is nothing like pulling through the breezeway in front of the tower and looking down. My hat is off to the guys at Elite Performance. They work hard and with a lot of passion and it shows. This means a ton. I've been coming to the races since I could walk and being the low qualifier here is right near the top of the list for my professional career. (But) this class is stacked so you've got to execute on race day but I'm ready. I wish I could go out there and make a few more runs right now." Greg Anderson will start raceday from the second spot thanks to his run of 6.509 at 211.00 on Friday, while Dallas Glenn is third after going 6.514 at 210.77. Enders, who clinched the world championship in Vegas on the strength of her 10th win this season, will begin eliminations from ninth on Sunday.
"We're looking forward to tomorrow and we're feeling confident heading into raceday," Sampey said. "Everyone out here would like to win the final race of the season, so that's going to be our focus. Tomorrow, our mission is going out here to win the race and end the season on a great note." Points leader Matt Smith stayed second with his 6.719 at 202.70, putting him in a great position to clinch his sixth world championship. Smith can earn his second straight world title with a first-round win over Michael Phillips on Sunday. Joey Gladstone took the third spot after a 6.720. Multi-time world champ Eddie Krawiec failed to qualify for the first time in 15 years after struggling during the four sessions. Eliminations for the Auto Club NHRA Finals being at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
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