Beech Bend Raceway is the latest stop in Mendy Fry’s long and storied career in drag racing, and there’s nowhere the California driver would prefer to be this weekend than on the track.

Competing in the Nostalgia Top Fuel class in this weekend’s 15th annual Holley National Hot Rod Reunion, Fry is looking to build on a successful restart to her career that saw her win the last time out in March in Bakersfield, Calif.

Driving once more for the team that gave her a start in Nostalgia Top Fuel, High Speed Motorsports owned by Tom Shelar, Fry posted a blistering final-round time of 5.598 seconds at 252.66 mph to win in Bakersfield despite qualifying last for that event.

“I am exactly where I want to be,” Fry said before Thursday’s qualifying run. “I love this segment of drag racing. It has rising car counts across the board, attendance is up, it’s one of the areas of drag racing that’s expanding and not contracting.”

Fry, of Los Angeles, opened racing Thursday by qualifying fifth in 6.552 seconds at 145.88 mph.

Fry, who originally got into the sport as a child driving for her late father Ron Fry, has found plenty of success on the track over the years. A rising star as a teen driver in the late 1980s through early 1990s in both the Super Street and NHRA’s Top Alcohol classes, Fry stepped away from racing for nearly a decade after burning out on the sport and to attend college to begin a professional career.

Fry might never have gotten back into the sport, if not for a call from the late Gary Meadors in 2000. Asked by Meadors to serve as Grand Marshall at an event for his Goodguys/VRA racing series, Fry left the track determined to find a ride once again.

That didn’t take long, as Fry was back on track the following year racing in the Junior Fuel class. Three years later, she became the first female dragster to record a five-second run in the Nostalgia Top Fuel car after hitting 5.87 seconds in 251 mph over a quarter-mile.

At the time, Fry was making another push as a full-time driver. After switching to funny cars for a few seasons and taking a year or two off when a good opportunity to race didn’t materialize, Fry found a new home with her old team this season.

The pace of the season and the limited schedule – just five points races – better suits Fry’s life now.

“This isn’t what we do for a living,” Fry said. “So everybody has day jobs. We only run five races a year.”

There isn’t much seat time for drivers even in full-time racing, but Fry still finds time to practice her reaction time in the garage.

“I practice my starting line routine at the shop, in the car, with no one really around,” Fry said. “We have an actual practice tree where I can practice reaction times I can do while I’m actually sitting in the car, just kind of going through runs in my head. But other than kind of visualizing, there’s not much you can do. I mean, you can test. That usually involves renting a track, getting the whole crew together and going out there.”

Fry had one testing session for this car, and before Thursday’s opening round of qualifying had made a total of just three passes in the dragster.

Judging by her Bakersfield finish, Fry hasn’t had much trouble adjusting to the new car.

“I’m really a dragster girl at heart,” Fry said. “I really like front engine top fuel. I think these are a little bit harder to drive, and I just like them more.

“They’re a little bit different configuration. You would think since they’re longer they’d be easier, right? Because the short wheel base, everyone says is more difficult, but funny cars have two gears so they have gear reduction. When they leave the starting line, they’re not quite as violent as these are.

“They have more down force, they have a bigger tire, they have a body that pushes down on the car as it gets up on the top end, whereas these have a tendency to move around more on the top end and they just don’t respond as much to steering as the funny cars.”

Back in her favorite racing class, driving for longtime friends with a schedule that allows for life off the track, Fry is in a comfortable spot as she embarks on another chapter in her racing career.

“I had been missing that, and I didn’t even know I’d been missing it,” Fry said of her return to racing. “Once I got back in it, it’s something I look forward to doing now that’s something outside of my normal work. I really have no interest in being a professional drag racer. I mean, I did actually try and I made a good push.

“When I came back I also tried to make a good push to do that, but the industry had just so fundamentally changed since the last time I wanted to try and become a professional driver. There’s a lot of good drivers out there that don’t have rides, and it’s just a function of what have you done for me lately in terms of sponsors. Being a good driver, being a good team member, those things were secondary to how much money you could bring to the team or the operation.”

YOUNG TALLIES TOP QUALIFYING TIME IN NOSTALGIA TOP FUEL

James Young tallied the fastest qualifying time Thursday in the Nostalgia Top Fuel class at the 15th annual NHRA Holley National Hot Rod Reunion at Beech Bend Raceway.

Young, of Salem, Wis., covered the quarter-mile distance in 5.683 seconds at 243.94 mph when qualifying began following a rain delay.

The action at the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance continues on Friday and Saturday with gates opening at 8 a.m. each day. Tickets are $25 per day and can be purchased at the track.

The following are Thursday’s qualifying results from the NHRA Motorsports Museum 15th annual Holley National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance:

NOSTALGIA TOP FUEL

1. James Young, Salem, Wis., ‘07 FED, 5.683 seconds, 243.94 mph

2. Jim Murphy, Santa Rosa, Calif., ‘13 Neil & Parks, 6.013, 192.58

3. David Miller, Cedar Hill, Mo., ‘05 Neil & Parks, 6.040, 192.63

4. Jason Greenwood, Racine, Wis., ‘10 Stirling, 6.462, 232.91

5. Mendy Frey, Los Angeles, Calif., ‘16 Hadman, 6.552, 145.88

6. Julius Hughes, Gainesville, Ga., ‘11 Horton, 7.018, 158.02

7. Tyler Hilton, Sharonville, Ohio, ‘12 Horton, 7.057, 211.10

8. Paul Schultz, Tulsa, Okla., ‘92 Stirling, 12.045, 74.29

9. Adam Sorokin, Glendale, Calif., ‘04 Sterling, 12.961, 65.75

7.0 PRO

1. Michael Sexton, Bloomington, Ind., ‘07 Neil & Parks, 7.0, 7.016 seconds, 0.016 (over index)

2. Gordon Horn, Rockport, Ind., ‘63 Chevy, 7.0, 7.070, 0.070

3. Larry Harlen, Rockport, Ind., ‘48 Anglia, 7.0, 7.073, 0.073

4. Robbie Freels, Island, Ky., ‘94 Canode, 7.0, 7.160, 0.160

5. Ron Huegli, Wilsonville, Ore., ‘76 Monza, 7.0, 7.163, 0.163

6. Ernie Lipinski, Willmar, Minn., ‘10 Neil & Parks, 7.0, 7.467, 0.467

7. Jacob Breerman, Rockport, Ind., ‘32 Bantam, 7.0, 7.774, 0.774

8. Don Nave, South Whitley, Ind., ‘12 Lake City Chs, 7.0, 10.706, 3.706

9. Steve Walczak, Rochester, N.Y., ‘32 Bantam, 7.0, 6.965, -0.035

7.5 PRO

1. Steve Matthews, Marietta, Okla., ‘70 Woody Gilmore, 7.5, 7.565 seconds, 0.065 (over index)

2. Jeffrey Ferguson Jr., Byhalia, Miss., ‘02 Spitzer, 7.5, 7.576, 0.076

3. Bo Boles, Slaughters, Ky., ‘23 Model T, 7.5, 7.579, 0.079

4. Don Moore, Hamilton, Ohio, ‘72 FED, 7.5, 7.677, 0.177

5. Todd Campbell, Hamilton, Ohio, ‘03 Schafer, 7.5, 9.130, 1.630

6. Darrell Eakle, Fairdale, Ky., ‘14 FED, 7.5, 19.292, 11.792

7. Bruce Hacker, Seagrove, N.C., ‘15 S & W, 7.5, 26.645, 19.145

8. Darrell Wathen, Utica, Ky., ‘41 Willys, 7.5, 7.499, -0.001

9. Tyler Allen, Manchester, Ky., ‘63 Corvette, 7.5, 7.438, -0.062

10. Randall Boles, Slaughters, Ky., ‘57 Chevy, 7.5, 7.432, -0.068

The action at the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance continues at Beech Bend Raceway Park on Friday and Saturday with gates opening at 8 a.m. each day. Tickets are $25 per day and can be purchased at the track.