NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Top Fuel round one

Points leader Doug Kalitta drove around Jasmine Salinas' holeshot to help steady his top spot, running 3.75 to easily advance. The 2023 world champ has been to the final round of all three Countdown to the Championship final rounds so far.

Justin Ashley kept his championship hopes very much alive with a crucial first-round win against Doug Foley. As usual, Ashley was sterling on the tree with an out-of-this-world .023 light. Ashley has only been left on twice this year in 45 green-light races (95.5% left-first score), has nine holeshot wins, and has had the quickest reaction time at 14 of this year’s 17 events.

Clay Millican remained perfect against Tony Stewart this season, beating the motorsports legend for the third straight time this year, his 3.70 victory putting a serious dent in the championship dreams of fourth-place Stewart, who now could end up as low as sixth with two races to go. The run did not come cheap for Millican and team, who had another supercharger backfire in the lights.

“That was huge,” said Millican. “Tony's fourth, we're fifth. We gotta turn them win lights on. I ain't even thinking about that championship. I'm thinking about that cowboy hat we're missing.”

Brittany Force logged her 13th 340-mph pass of the season and her second of the event in an easy 3.72, 340.14-mph victory over Tony Schumacher, who smoked the tires and remains stuck on 897 round wins.

Kyle Satenstein, who has impressed in his rookie season, wowed the fans with a wild, fuel-fed fire just off the starting line that sent his dragster into the other lane behind Shawn Reed, who ripped to a 3,717 win. “That was the first fire burnout in 35 years,” quipped announcer Jason Galvin.

“I don't know what the hell happened,” said Satenstein. “We thought the track would be pretty good for the first round, so we tried to turn it up a little bit. We had good faith in the track, but as soon as I stepped on it, it just didn't feel right. I tried to stay in it, and it just felt like it was smoking the tires. By the time I lifted, that bitch was up on two wheels, I don't know. I just tried not to hit the wall or hit anybody else. I'm just a little pissed. We didn't come to Texas to do that, so it's a little disheartening.”

Steve Torrence's season swan song got prolonged at least another round, expertly backpedaling a lightly-smoking machine to take the win over Josh Hart.

Ida Zetterström took down four-time world champ Antron Brown, who smoked the tires early, but she leveled the top half of the engine in her Dialight machine further downtrack. Zetterström  will take on Kalitta in round two in a rematch of their final round meeting in St. Louis two weeks ago,

Second-round matchups (lane choice first): Shawn Langdon vs. Clay Millican; Doug Kalitta vs. Ida Zetterström; Shawn Reed vs. Steve Torrence; Brittany Force vs. Justin Ashley

***

Funny Car round one

Points leader Austin Prock and team didn’t take it easy on No. 16 qualifier Blake Alexander, ripping to low e.t. of the meet with a 3.86 to take the win.

Other than Buddy Hull, who was inexplicably 2-1 over Prock before he was injured, Alexander is the only other driver in Funny Car with a square record against world champ, having beaten him in the opening round of Pomona and losing to him in the semifinals at Indy.

Prock’s bid for a second straight championship got a boost when Matt Hagan, second in points but the No. 12 qualifier, lost to Paul Lee's stout 3.90  by just .006-second. Hagen had won 14 of his 15 previous races with Lee and needed a 15th but didn’t get it, ending his eight-round winning streak at this race. Prock's lead over Hagan now sits at 52 points.

Chad Green won the battle of Texans over Terry Haddock with a 4.03 after Haddock’s machine smoked the tires early and got a little crossed up. Both drivers were plus-.100 on the tree, especially unusual for Green, who had good fortune at the Tree this year. Despite a seventh-best .079 reaction-time average, Green has a class-leading three holeshot wins but also three red-lights.

Jack Beckman, who fans may remember didn’t make it to the starting line for round one last year after waking up with vertigo, made it five straight wins this season over luckless Dave Richards with a nice 3.91.

“I woke up Sunday morning in the hotel room, and the world wouldn’t stop spinning,” Beckman recalled. “We were still very much in the thick of the points race, and I thought we had a great shot of winning, and I couldn’t even make it out to the racetrack. So, anything we do this year should be a better week than that.”

Alex Laughlin, in what is probably his last race subbing for Buddy Hull this season, left on Ron Capps by six-hundredths but couldn’t hold the lead after dropping a cylinder. Capps streaked to the win but paid the price with a blower backfire.

“The owner should fire the driver for that one,” said Capps, who wears both of those hats. “It's race day, so you're not expecting that. Normally, I  would have just caught it qualifying, but it's race day, you're trying to go rounds, get back in this championship hunt, so you’ve got that on your brain, every round is huge right now, and so I stayed in a little longer than I normally would, and it just backfired. All my fault, 100% this time.”

Reading winner Cruz Pedregon and his pretty pink entry moved on when J.R. Todd's DHL Toyota backfired the blower on the line, but Pedregon didn't escape unharmed either, leaving a trail of oil in the shutdown area. Daniel Wilkerson advanced to round two with a solid 3.92 victory over Alexis DeJoria, who made her professional debut at the 2011 event here while competing for Kalitta Motorsports, but Wilk will cede lane choice to Beckman.

Rookie of the Year frontrunner Spencer Hyde won a pedalfest with Bob Tasca III, but his 4.29 cedes lane choice to Prock. Hagan ends up being the only one of the top nine drivers to not advance to the next round, A big loss for the 4x champ.

Second-round matchups (lane choice first): Austin Prock vs. Spencer Hyde; Paul Lee vs. Chad Green; Cruz Pedregon vs. Ron Capps; Jack Beckman vs. Daniel Wilkerson

***

Pro Stock round one

Points leader Dallas Glenn breathed a sigh of relief as he was able to drive past Cody Coughlin’s holeshot to win by just .008-second to keep his lead intact. Glenn’s RAD Torque Systems Camaro has been almost unerring in getting down the track, making full pulls on 107 of 115 runs this season.

Low qualifier Greg Anderson got an easy pass to follow Glenn up the points ladder when David Cuadra –- the only one of the three Cuadra brothers to qualify this weekend –- red-lighted away a 6.584.

Cory Reed, the third member of the KB Titan power trio and the only driver to earn bonus points in all four qualifying sessions, was .009 on the tree against Troy Coughlin Jr. and powered to a strong 6.534.

Matt Hartford joined his teammates above when he ripped to a 6.554 to beat Stephen Bell.

On the Elite side of the ledger, Aaron Stanfield won a huge matchup with team leader Erica Enders on a holeshot by just .003-second, parlaying an .013 light and a 6.567 to beat Enders’ 6.555. It’s the six-time world champ’s fourth holeshot loss of the season.

In the round’s Marquee Matchup, Deric Kramer drove around a solid holeshot by his brother-in-law, Chris Vang, to win by just .006-second.

Two-time Dallas winner Coughlin Jr., who is the runaway leader in reaction-time average with a sterling .020 average, was just .058 on the Tree against Matt Latino, but turned on the win light regardless with a 6.57. Matt’s father, Eric, got past Sonoma winner Greg Stanfield despite a tardy Tree when Stanfield shook hard just off the line.

Four of the eight first-round races were decided by less than a hundredth of a second. That's Pro Stock 2025 for you!

Second-round matchups (lane choice first): Greg Anderson vs. Deric Kramer; Matt Hartford vs. Aaron Stanfield; Cory Reed vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.; Dallas Glenn vs. Eric Latino

***

Pro Stock Motorcycle round one

Points leader Richard Gadson took an easy win over Lance Bonham with a 6.75 at 202.20 while his teammate, second-place Gaige Herrera, raced his way to a solid 6.74 against red-lighting Charles Poskey. That’s Herera’s best run of the meet and his 202.52-mph run is top speed of the meet.

Clayton Howey, who grew up racing two-time world champ Herrera on the West Coast, was trip-zip perfect at the Tree against past rookie of the year Chase Van Sant and took the win.

“When I let the lever go. I thought, ‘Man, this one's gonna be good,’ “ said Howey. “I just owe it all to everyone that's been standing behind me, my wife, my little girl, all my friends and family. I can't name enough people. This is just awesome.”

Anglie Smith and teammate John Hall moved on with respective 6.80 and 6.81 wins over Chris Bostick and Kelly Clontz. Their leader, Matt Smith, also advanced, beating fellow MSR rider Jianna Evaristo for the sixth straight time this season, then rode out some scary top-end wobbles as did Ryan Oehler.after losing to Brayden Davis.

Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran Steve Johnson drove around Marc Ingwersen’s better light to take the win with a 6.804, but the excitement didn’t end there as, for the second time this weekend, he ended up in the sand trap and this time ended up off the bike, but walked away uninjured.

Second-round matchups (lane choice first): Richard Gadson vs. Clayton Howey; Matt Smith vs. Angie Smith; Gaige Herrera vs. Steve Johnson; Brayden Davis vs. John Hall

***

Top Fuel round two

Brittany Force took down second-place Justin Ashley and boosted her hopes for a third world championship with a 3.82 against Ashley's fireballing 3.94. Although she didn't leave on Ashley (few do), Force was right there with Ashley's .045 with an .050 reaction time.

Force credits here improved reaction times to something out of the ordinary.

“With a week off between races, I take advantage of that time to focus on my workouts and training," she said. "I’ve bumped up training with my martial arts instructor while being at home. We focus on eye-hand coordination and quick-feet exercises. I also stay consistent in my workouts where I focus on lower-body explosive movements to help with power and speed when stepping on the throttle pedal. Lastly, I’ve made the effort daily with seat time in my cockpit simulator."

In a rematch of their final round race at the recent Midwest Nationals, points leader Doug Kalitta advanced to the semifinals with a 3.75 over Ida Zetterström, Kalitta’s 11th round win of the Countdown so far, as he chases a second world championship. No matter happens the rest of the day, Kalitta will head into the season’s final two races with the points lead.

Texas favorite son Steve Torrence extended his season with a 3.83 victory over Reading winner Shawn Reed, whose car had a rare stumble and smoked the tires at midtrack.

The round ended with Shawn Langdon defeating Clay Millican to set up a semifinal matchup with teammate Kalitta and a round that could help boost Langdon's own championship hopes. Millican dropped to sixth place behind Force while Langdon moved to within 18 points of Ashley and could mov einto second palce if he can beat Kalitta in the semifinals.

Semifinal matchups (lane choice first): Doug Kalitta vs. Shawn Langdon; Brittany Force vs. Steve Torrence

***

Funny Car round two

Daniel Wilkerson, everyone's top bet to become NHRA's next first-time winner, made a huge impact on the points race when he defeated third-place Jack Beckman, 3.94 to 3.99. 

"Tim Wilkerson's box in the heat is phenomenal. I don't know what it is he's doing, but it works," said Wilkerson of his tuning father. "I'll take it every time. I'll take it up against just about anybody. This is so awesome. The men who put this thing together, I'd drive that thing through hell and back for them. They're doing a great job. They're keeping me safe, and it's getting down here with no oil. I'm just so happy, so proud."

With second-place Matt Hagan out in round one, Prock's lead only continued to grow as Spencer Hyde smoked the tires alongside him in the next race. His current lead is 91 points, and he's assured of heading to Las Vegas still in the top spot.

Texas fans got another driver to root for as Midland's Chad Green advanced over tire-smoking Paul Lee with a 4.08. Ron Capps, who slipped his green Carlyle Tools Toyota onto the framerails after wounding his NAPA body in round one, won a Tools Wars battle over Cruz Pedrgon's Snap-on Tools machine with a cylinder-dropping 4.04. There's some anxious moments as Capps crossed the centerline, but NHRA officials determined that it happened after the finish line.

"It's a lot of fear, it's a lot of embarrassment," said Capps of his second scary moment of Sunday. "I mean, everything goes through your head, like, 'Why can't I get this thing straight?' But that's what makes a Funny Car, a Funny Car. We barely made it up there. It tore a lot of stuff up. But my God, Guido [crew chief Dean Antonelli] and those guys, I lost faith in myself after blowing it up first round. It was my fault, and they put that car back together and Carlyle body on it, and it went right down the racetrack. I'm emotional right now because I've got to get my crap together right now."

Should Capps win the event, he would pass Beckman for third place in points.

Semifinal matchups (lane choice first): Austin Prock vs. Chad Green; Daniel Wilkerson vs. Ron Capps

***

Pro Stock round two

Jeg Coughlin Jr., the Pro Stock class leader in reaction-time average, beat Cory Reed on a holeshot, 6.60 to 6.56, as he tries to get another win for Scag Power Equipment in his final three races with the "cat's-eye gold" Camaro.

Points leaders Dallas Glenn and GregAnderson both advanced, with Glenn beating  Eric Latino with a 6,574 and Anderson taking down Deric Kramer with a 6.547.

Aaron Stanfield is the fourth semifinalist, taking an easy ride after Matt Hartford red-lighted.

Semifinal matchups (lane choice first): Greg Anderson vs. Aaron Stanfield; Dallas Glenn vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.

***

Pro Stock Motorcycle round two

Matt Smith, who was 21-7 lifetime racing his wife Angie, got the win light on her again in a tight 6.88 to 6.88 battle as he tries to keep pace with Richard Gadson and Gaige Herrera. Smith will take on Gadson in the semifinals after the points leader beat Clayton Howey with a 6.81.

Brayden Davis rode around John Hall's clutch .003 light to reach the semifinals and will face Herrera, who got a bye run after Steve Johnson was unable to make the call after ending up in the sandtrap last round.

Semifinal matchups (lane choice first): Richard Gadson vs. Matt Smith; Gaige Herrera vs. Brayden Davis

***

Top Fuel semifinals

Steve Torrence will go to the final round of his last race this season after Brittany Force's car goes silent after the burnout, the apparent victim of an ignition issue. The four-time world champ would have been a tough out anyway with a 3.83 blast. It's going to be the 98th final of Torrence's career. Ironically, the win moves Torrence past Force and into fourth place in points.

"That's just pure luck, and the Good Lord looking after us," said Torrence. "We don't want to win on somebody's ill fortune and we got fortunate; that's a tough round, her and David Grubnic and that whole Monster team. I'm proud to be going to the final round at my home track for the Meyer-Johnson family. They've put on a great facility, and we're going to try to finish this year with a bang. We've got a tough customer in Doug, but we may have to just dig a little bit deeper."

Points leader Doug Kalitta stopped his teammate, Shawn Langdon, from moving into second place in the points. Langdon's car smoked the tires and then tossed the blower belt. Kalitta, running in his 126th final, will have lane choice with a 3.80 pass. Kalitta's lead over Justin Ashley is 121 points and could grow to 141 witha final-round win.

***

Funny Car semifinals

Ron Capps will go to his 157th career final after barely making it to the starting line after another big pit thrash. Capps, mad at his own driving job earlier in the day, got some payback with a holeshot win, 4.01 to 3.98.

Capps will take on Austin Prock, whose .115 reaction time against Chad Green is atypical of the world champ, but the Cornwell Tools car moved into the final round with lane choice after a 3.96 victory.

If Capps wins the final round, he'll move into third place. If Prock wins, he'll leave with a 112-point edge on Matt Hagan, 92 if he loses.

***

Pro Stock semifinals

Aaron Stanfield upset world champ Greg Anderson, denting the six-time champ's hopes for a seventh crown on a 6.61 to 6.63 score. Stanfield has the chance to move to third in points if he can win the event,

Points leader Dallas Glenn dodges a bullet as he loses traction at the green, but so did his opponent, Jeg Coughlin Jr. Glenn glides the tranny into second to calm the spin and motors to a 6.62 run to reach his 42nd career final round. Glenn's lead over Anderson grows to an even 40 points.

 Stanfield will have lane choice.

***

Pro Stock Motorcycle semifinals

Brayden Davis gets his first win over world champ Gaige Herrera after four straight losses, including in the St. Louis final two weeks ago. Herrera was his own assassin, though with a -.005 red-light. It's Davis' third final round of the season, still looking for his first win.

With early losses by John Hall and Angie Smith, Davis now sits fourth in points.

Davis will take on points leader Rochard Gadson, who drove around Matt Smith's .016 to .032 holeshot with a 6.813 that will earn him final-round lane choice. Gadson's points lead over Herrera is 52 points and could go to 72 with an event win.

***

Lucas Oil Series final-round results

Top Alcohol Dragster
Joey Severance def. Jon Bradford

Top Alcohol Funny Car
Sean Bellemeur def. Stan Sipos

Comp
Jeff Taylor def. Joe Carnasciale

Super Stock
Darrell Stobbe def. Harvey Emmons Jr.

Stock
Jerry Emmons def. Doug Lambeck

Super Comp
Wayne Landry def. Thomas Marlow

Super Gas
Trisha Owens def. Bill Dennis

Super Street
Jimmy Gonzales def. Jimmy Denham

Top Dragster
Blake Peavler def. Michael Kile    

Top Sportsman
Douglas Crumlich def. Bradley Johnson

***

Mission Foods Series final-round results

Points leaders Kalitta, Prock, Glenn, and Gadson dominate in Dallas