NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

We learn a lot at every NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series event, and during the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, we sometimes learn lessons that stick with us for the rest of the year. That was certainly the case in Charlotte, and here are five that stand out.

AUSTIN PROCK IS THE UNDISPUTED MASTER OF FOUR-WIDE RACING

Here’s the deal when it comes to four-wide racing; some racers like it and some don’t. Austin Prock doesn’t just like four-wide racing, he loves it. Why would he feel any differently after sweeping all three of the side-by-side-by-side-by-side races this season, including both events held at zMax Dragway.

Back in March, Prock defeated Paul Lee, Dave Richards, and Matt Hagan to win the first four-wide race of the season. He then quickly followed in Charlotte with a win over Ron Capps, Hagan, and Alexis DeJoria in Charlotte.

This weekend, Prock dominated, including the final quad that once again featured Hagan, along with Chad Green and Daniel Wilkerson. That’s nine important rounds that might well go a long way toward securing a second title.

Oh, and Prock also won Top Fuel at the 2023 Charlotte four-wide event, making him one of just two drivers, along with Shawn Langdon, to win four wide races in both nitro categories.

There is no real secret to Prock’s success. He simply maintains focus, particularly on the starting line, where it’s not uncommon for drivers to get distracted when four drivers attempt to stage simultaneously. Whatever he’s doing, it’s working.

DALLAS GLENN STILL HAS A SHOT A MAKING HISTORY

The odds of Dallas Glenn sweeping all six Countdown events and joining Steve Torrence in the history books is admittedly slim. Then again, Glenn is the only NHRA Pro who even has a shot after claiming back-to-back titles in Reading and Charlotte.

Glenn’s regular season was pretty special with four wins in nine finals, but he’s found another gear in the playoffs with a pair of solid performances to stretch his lead to 79 points over teammate Greg Anderson, tying Austin Prock for the biggest margin among the four categories. After Anderson, Aaron Stanfield is 172 points back, and while it’s not over, the title chase is essentially a two-horse race.

Glenn admittedly dug deep in the Charlotte final, where he had to outrun Anderson, Erica Enders, and Aaron Stanfield in what many would call the “Quad of Doom.” A tidy .016 light helped do the job for career win No. 19 in the Pro Stock category.

Glenn made his Pro debut in 2022, and he never once looked out of place in a Pro Stock car. His calm demeanor and ability to handle pressure draws favorable comparisons to Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the late Lee Shepherd. He also didn’t get the nickname “Double-0 Dallas” by accident, and while a six-race playoff sweep might be a stretch, a 2025 world title is not.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE IS STILL A FOUR-HORSE RACE

There was a time when it appeared that Gaige Herrera would run away with another NHRA Mission Foods Pro Stock Motorcycle title, but at this point, that almost certainly won’t be the case. John Hall won the first round of the playoffs in Reading, and Richard Gadson scored his third win of the season in Charlotte, and as a result, the chase for the bike title is the most competitive of any of the four Pro categories.

After two of four rounds, Gadson leads six-time champ Matt Smith by just eight points. John Hall is third, 66 points behind, while Herrera has slipped to fourth, with a 71-point deficit.

There is a chance that Gadson maintains the lead throughout the next four races and wins his first title. That’s possible, but it won’t be easy. With just eight points, he could also lose the lead before eliminations begin at the next event in St. Louis. Smith wants a record seventh title in the worst way, and he’s not going away anytime soon.

Hall is a bit of a dark horse, but he’s got two wins this season and doesn’t seem to be affected much by pressure. A long shot, yes, but he’s not out of it by any means.

And then there is Herrera, who figures to show up in St. Louis with a giant chip on his shoulder after a wild round-one loss in Charlotte. Herrera seems to be able to cut .00 lights at will, and he might need to do that a time or two in order to get back in the battle. He’s got three tough racers to get past, but it would be foolish to discount his chances.

PRO MODS ARE GONNA DO WHAT PRO MODS DO

How would one even begin to explain the turn of events in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series at zMax Dragway? There’s a lot to unpack, but let’s give it a go.

The madness began in qualifying, where incoming championship leader Mike Stavrinos, fresh off a victory at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, missed the 16-car field. There were 22 cars on the grounds, and the field stretched from Justin Bond’s 5.713 to a 5.770 by Ken Quartuccio. Stavrinos ran 5.774 to miss the show by fourth-thousandths.

The DNQ was a tough pill for Stavrinos but didn’t totally demolish his title hopes because most of his rivals were not able to fully capitalize.

Early in eliminations, there was the usual amount of upsets and aborted runs, but things didn’t really get crazy until the final round featuring Billy Banaka, Mike Castellana, Sidnei Frigo, and Mason Wright. The confusion began when Wright rolled the beams; that caused mass chaos, where Castellana and Frigo both left before that Tree was activated.

That gave Banaka his first win. Well, not so fast. Banaka came dangerously close to the centerline, and it took a few minutes for NHRA officials to determine that the run was good, and Banaka was able to celebrate not just his first Pro Mod win but a late-season lead in the standings.

TOP FUEL WILL GO TO THE WIRE AGAIN

In 2023, the battle for the Top Fuel championship went right down to the wire and was not decided until Doug Kalitta defeated Leah Pruett in the final round of the final event, and we could very well be being set up for a similar showdown between a half-dozen cars.

Justin Ashley’s win in Charlotte catapulted him past Shawn Langdon into second place, juts 38 points — less than two rounds of racing — with 16 more rounds to race. Langdon is just 21 behind Ashley and regular-season champ Tony Stewart is just eight markers back of Langdon.

The top six cars — extended to include Clay Millican and Brittany Force — are separated by just 108 points, and while that’s five rounds right now, by the time we get to Pomona and the points-and-a-half scoring, those numbers tighten up considerably.

Ashley and Langdon have three event wins compared to Kalitta’s two, which tells you that Kalitta has been consistently going to late rounds to earn his small advantage.

And while Force and Kalitta have been the performance stars, Ashley clearly has been able to mitigate that with his starting-line prowess — witness his triple-holeshot win in Charlotte and field-leading reaction time and left-first stats.

Langdon is just gritty and one of the other starting-line bandits, so even though he missed it a little in Charlotte, he’ll be there in Pomona. Stewart has shown that’s he’s also now a championship-caliber driver in a straight line and also has a pair of holeshot wins this season. Millican won the NHRA Winternationals last time we were in Pomona, and crew chief Jim Obefhofer is brewing the power, albeit losing some parts along the way.

Expect at least a four-car shootout at the season finale, maybe more.