NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals kicked off the stretch run to the end of the regular season, and there was tons of drama at Pacific Raceways. Here’s a look at our five big takeaways from the race.

THE OLD GIRL STILL HAS TEETH

Pacific Raceways has been around for 65 years and may not have luxury suites or a racetrack-spanning tower like many of its peers, but the track’s reputation for dishing out big numbers lives on, especially on a mid-70s weekend like this one.

For the first time in NHRA history, two different drivers — Brittany Force and Doug Kalitta — made 340-mph passes that were the first-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-fastest in history, and Force’s blast of 341.85 is the fastest in the sport’s history, surpassing her Funny Car teammate Austin Prock’s 341.68 at last year’s season finale.

Hometown hero Dallas Glenn made the seventh-quickest pass in Pro Stock history — and the fourth-quickest in the post-2015 EFI (electronic fuel injection) era — with a 6.462 to lead qualifying, then Cody Coughlin broke that on Sunday with a 6.459, the sixth-quickest pass in class history, only to watch Glenn take the mark back with a 6.446, the second-quickest in Pro Stock history, behind only teammate Greg Anderson's 6.443 at this year's NHRA Gatornationals.

YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN

In Thomas Wolfe’s seminal novel You Can’t Go Home Again, protagonist George Webber leaves home, becomes successful, and tries to return home only to find out he’s alienated his hometown crowd. That certainly doesn’t apply to Dallas Glenn, who grew up one freeway exit down Highway 18 from Pacific Raceways, enjoyed some amazing success, and even moved to North Carolina, but is still loved by the locals.

“I raced here a lot, so to be able to have some success here in Pro Stock has always been something I've wanted to do,” he said. “Even when I was out here at 18 years old, running in the Pinks All-Out show, I definitely already knew that I wanted to race Pro Stock.

“It's really cool going back and forth to the scales, coming back from runs, going up to the lanes,” he said. “There's just so many people that come up and say that they've been cheering me on every weekend. I've got people clapping and cheering the whole time, both ways. Every time I'm on my way back from a run, they're all cheering. And it's almost like a little mini wave as I pass by the stands.”

Glenn’s huge win in front of family, friends, and his sponsor, RAD Torque Systems, is one that probably will never be topped on his list.

REVENGE IS SWEET

Pro Stock winner Dallas Glenn and Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Gaige Herrera both got some redemption from last year’s race.

Glenn lost a chance to win in his hometown when Jeg Coughlin Jr. whipped him in the final and Herrera lost an NHRA-record winning streak when Chase Van Sant took it to him in the final. Glenn beat Coughlin in the final this year, and Herrera took out Van Sant in round one to square the accounts of both.

“We definitely wanted some redemption,” Glenn admitted. “He schooled me on that last year, I think I was .020 something on the Tree, and he was .010, and just drove away from me last year. So I kind of really wanted to do that to him this year.

“I had the 11 consecutive race wins, and then Chase ended that, so that was a goal coming here, but then seeing him right away, having him first round, that was probably the most nerve-wracking round all day, but once I got that off my shoulders, I was good,” he said.

NHRA RACERS ARE RESILIENT

This is probably not a surprise to anyone who’s been around the sport for any length of time, having watched racers climb out of burning and exploding Funny Cars or tumbling to run the next round in backup cars, but the Seattle race will be remembered for two incidents.

Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Chris Bostick’s helmet came loose on his second-round race, blocking his vision after John Hall red-lighted to him in the other lane. Bostick’s bike careened out of control and crossed the centerline line, side-swiping the guardwall. Bostick was amazingly unhurt and brought out a backup bike for the semifinals. It didn’t work out for him — the raw bike was not really race-ready — but we applaud his pluck.

Even world champ and race winner Gaige Herrera was impressed.

“I actually did the same thing on my personal bike probably four years ago. And for him to bounce off the wall and stay on the bike, it takes a lot, takes a lot of muscle, so on and so forth. Pretty sure his helmet flipped up a little bit so he lost his vision. We've all had that happen; it's just one of those things, you're trying to correct the bike. You move outside the windscreen, and the wind does crazy things with our helmets. And I'm glad he stayed up, and it's awesome that he came out on the other bike and tried to run the next round. My hat’s off to him; it takes a lot as a rider to bounce off the wall and then come right back out and swing your leg over a bike you've never ridden and throw the lever.”

The Jim Dunn Racing crew rebounded from Buddy Hull and the car ending up in the sand trap after a blower explosion in Q2 and returned later that day to make Q4, which was important to the team to keep its “perfect attendance” string going as a backdoor to make the Countdown to the Champion playoffs should they not finish in the Top 10.

Local Top Fuel favorite Shawn Reed was not able to return after his terrible crash in qualifying, but you know he would have if he could have, because the former drag boat racer is one of the toughest on the scene. The good news is that from his hospital bed, where he’s recovering from a hand injury, he has vowed to return to action. He’s still currently in the Top 10 of points so could even still make the Countdown oto the Championship playoffs.

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

Drag racing has seen a lot of ageless stars, from Don Garlits to Chris Karamesines, but Northwest racing legend Cal Method, who won Stock eliminator at age 81, became the oldest driver to win an NHRA national event. And he beat the reigning world champ, Joe Sorenson, in the final.

The late Irvin Johns previously held the record at age 80 when he won Super Stock at the 2024 SPORTSnationals. Johns passed away last November.

Although Method and his wife, Mary Ann, have been forces in Stock for decades, this was just his second career win, coming nearly 42 years after his first and only other win, at the 1983 NHRA World Finals at Orange County International Raceway. Mary Ann was a three-time winner in Stock, most recently at the 2001 NHRA Finals.

Cal Method also has 25 career divisional wins, all in Stock, beginning with his first in Edmonton in 1967 to his most recent, at this track in 2017.