NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

With three NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series championships and a host of major E.T. bracket racing wins, Luke Bogacki’s racing speaks for itself. Bogacki is also a drag racing school instructor and founder of the popular ThisIsBracketRacing.com website, where he shares many of his successful secrets. Luke also hosts the Daily Driver Podcast, a short-form podcast designed to help racers take one small step toward becoming a more thoughtful, better driver each episode. 

It’s September. With the Big Go in the rearview mirror, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Professional classes are officially in their Countdown to the Championship. Likewise, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series championship pictures are beginning to gain some clarity.

While it’s impossible to predict a champion at this point in the season, we can at least narrow down most fields to a handful of championship contenders. While it feels like there is a lot left to be determined, this year’s schedule actually has Sportsman competitors a bit farther down the path of their season than we traditionally see at this date on the calendar. With just five Sportsman national events and only 10 LODRS events remaining on the 2026 schedule, Lucas Oil Series competitors are more than 75% through the season. Two divisions (Division 1 and 6) have already completed their entire LODRS schedule. In short, time is running out.

While this picture will change — repeatedly — between now and the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, let’s take a moment to zoom in on the top contenders for the 2026 Lucas Oil Series titles.

Super Comp

THE LEADER

Trey Vetter is not only the leader; he’s the heavy title favorite in the ultra-competitive 8.90 category. If you were to lay odds on all of the Sportsman championship chases, Vetter is probably the current leader most likely to claim the title. Why? In seven events thus far in 2026, Vetter has lost just three rounds. He started the season with a divisional win in Phoenix and hasn’t let up yet, adding Division 7 triumphs in Las Vegas and Sonoma before driving to the national event victory in Sonoma as well. He currently sits atop the standings with 573 points and gets a full claim at his next divisional event.

ONE TOP CONTENDER

The driver with the best chance to overtake Vetter might be Phil Unruh. The fact that Unruh is currently 110 points back of Vetter might be the best illustration of just how big of a favorite the West Coast runner appears to be at this point. For Unruh’s part, he earns full points at his next national event: If he could win it, suddenly this race gets pretty juicy. Unruh has made late-season runs before; if he can get hot, the opportunity to put up a monster score is there.

THE LONGSHOT 

Zach Meziere. The Division 6 runner has put up a great score on the divisional side of the ledger with three runner-up finishes. He added another runner-up in his only national event appearance of the season. To say it would be challenging for Meziere to make a realistic run at the title might be an understatement. To fill his points ledger, he’d have to attend all five remaining national events, which would include a trip to Rockingham (last I checked, that’s not close to Boise, Idaho, where Meziere resides). But remember: Sportsman racers claim their best three national events from the first six they attend … So, there’s no need to attend four, five, and six if your first three are great. It’s a long shot, but Meziere is capable.

Super Gas

THE LEADER

Longtime Division 3 standout Nathan Vrooman leads the standings currently, on the strength of an outstanding 2026 campaign. With two races left on his schedule, Vrooman has tallied a respectable 612-point score. While that total currently has Vrooman enjoying a comfortable lead of more than 100 points, it’s not traditionally a championship total. The good news for Vrooman: He’s advanced to round five (or farther) in seven events already this season, which is pretty remarkable. The bad news: He’s yet to win one. If he is to don the No. 1 in 2027, that will likely have to change in his next two events.

ONE TOP CONTENDER

If 612 points won’t hold, who will be the one to track Vrooman down? The most likely candidate might be Bo Butner. Butner currently sits third in the standings and still has five opportunities to bolster his score. Unlike Vrooman, Butner has some early-round exits to improve upon; so, while he’s considerably behind on paper at the moment, that could change quickly. And we know Butner’s reputation: If anyone can catch fire at the right time, he’s the guy.

THE LONGSHOT 

Jordan Pratt is new to Super Gas, but he’s no stranger to the .90 wars. The young Minnesota-based racer has division championships and national event wins in Super Comp and Super Street. This season, he got the opportunity to wheel Jesse Smith’s Super Gas Corvette, and he’s made the most of it. In just six events, Pratt has appeared in three final rounds, including a runner-up at the U.S. Nationals. Pratt’s campaign has also had an all-or-nothing feel: He has three second-round exits to go along with the three final rounds. It’s a tough row for Pratt to hoe, as logistics and an ultracompetitive Super Gas field are working against him, but there is a realistic path for him to make a run at the title if he can stay hot.

Update! Pratt’s “longshot” status has improved tremendously. By virtue of his victory at the Division 5 LODRS in Iowa, Pratt now finds himself very much in the mix. It’s just one example of how fluid these points situations are as we approach season’s end. Stay tuned for many more updates between now and Pomona.

Previously: Comp, Super Stock, and Stock
Next: Top Dragster and Top Sportsman