NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Welcome to the opening day of pro qualifying for the 57th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, the first of 20 events in the 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing season. A full house is expected at Gainesville Raceway this weekend as NHRA kicks off its highly anticipated 75th anniversary season. 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q1

The first pro qualifying session of 2026 kicked off with the Pro Stock Motorcycle class where in a not-so-surprising move, Matt Smith, Richard Gadson, and Gaige Herrera found the 6.7s and occupy the top three spots in the 16-bike field.

Smith, who reportedly lost 20 pounds this offseason, rode his Denso Buell to a 6.764. Smith also recorded the only 200 mph speed with a 200.77 run. Vance & Hines teammates Gadson and Herrera, winners of the last three championships, followed closely with runs of 6.777 and 6.780, respectively.

Clayton Howey made perhaps the most surprising run of the session with a 6.833 for the fourth spot while Kelly Clontz also made a solid opening run with a 6.843.

Ryan Oehler, who has completely revamped his Buell program this winter, got close to the retaining wall and had to shut off early to a 6.900 at just 171.90 mph, but his incremental runs were two hundredths quicker than Howey’s.

Steve Johnson, who began his career in 1987 and has a pair of Gatornationals titles to his credit, also made what should be a competitive run with a 6.857. 

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PRO STOCK Q1

After a five-month hiatus, Cody Coughlin makes his Pro Stock return with a statement, taking the provisional no. 1 position with a 6.544 at 210.37 mph. Coughlin rejoined the KB Titan team during the offseason and is proving that his previous driving experience is paying off.

Aaron Stanfield, driving the JHG/Melling/Janac Brothers Camaro, was the only other driver to dip into the .54’s, crossing the finish line with a 6.548.

Reigning Pro Stock champion Dallas Glenn had to drive his car once he left the starting line, but recovered and moved into the provisional 13th spot. His teammate, Greg Anderson, made a clean run and secured the provisional no. 4 position.

Also standing out in the field are the return of the traditional yellow and black JEG'S liveries, piloted by Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Troy Coughlin Jr.

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FUNNY CAR Q1

J.R. Todd, who has been to the final round of the Gatornationals three of the last five years, led the opening session of Funny Car with a 4.027 from his Dickie Venables-tuned DHL Toyota under difficult conditions that caused a lot of teams to struggle.

Four-time world champ Matt Hagan was not far behind with a 4.031, and sophomore sensation Hunter Green surprisingly was the only other driver in the 4.0s with a 4.048.

Reigning world champion Austin Prock lost traction early in his pass as his tuning tandem continues to work out their new combination at Tasca Racing. Prock pedaled to a 4.83 that has the PPG Mustang in the No. 6 spot with Paul Lee (4.131) and Julie Nataas (4.600) between him and the leading trio.

Ron Capps sits on the bump spot with a 6.769 after the parachutes deployed early on his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota.

Nineteen cars are entered for the 16-car field.

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TOP FUEL Q1

The Kalitta Motorsports duo of Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta went 1-2 – reversing their order of finish in last year’s championship battle – to close out a Top Fuel session that was split in two parts after a rain shower stopped the action after the first three pairs,

Langdon, who made headlines with unofficial quickest and fastest runs here in testing, didn’t get anywhere near those numbers, but crew chief Brian Husen still had the hottest hand with a 3.734 pass for the provisional No. 1 spot and had top speed as well as 336.82 mph. Kalitta was not far behind with a 3.745

Josh Hart, who topped 340 mph twice in testing, didn’t get near those numbers with a speed of 335.40, but his 3.751, his official opening lap as part of John Force Racing has him ranked third.

Maddi Gordon made her official first Top Fuel pass as part of the pre-rain activity and clocked a 3.861 that has her Carlyle Tooks machine ranked 11th.

Scott Farley sits 16th of the 19 cars entered with a 5.186.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q2

Angie Smith, Richard Gadson, and Gaige Herrera picked up bonus points during the second round of qualifying in Gainesville as the field got quicker with a barrage of 6.7- and 6.8-second runs.

Smith, who shut off on the first session, more than made up for it with a 6.740 on her Denso Buell to lead the field after day one. Reigning world champion Gadson gave Smith a run for her money but ultimately came up six-thousandths of a second short with a 6.746. Herrera was also solid with a 6.761 on his RevZilla Suzuki while Q1 leader Matt Smith backed up his earlier 6.764 with a 6.769.

Clayton Howey has stepped up significantly over last year with a pair of great runs, including a 6.800 on the Suzuki he leases from Kelly and Chris Clontz, while John Hall, winner of two events last season, is solidly in the field at6.804.

Another noteworthy performance came from Ryan Oehler, who shut off early in the first session but bounced back quickly with a 6.811 on his Buell V-twin. 
 

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PRO STOCK Q2

After another impressive pass, Cody Coughlin continues to lead the Pro Stock field after Friday’s two qualifying sessions. He set himself apart from the field with a 6.523 - a full one hundredth of a second ahead of provisional No. 2’s Matt Hartford.

It only took one round for the father-son duo of Greg and Cody Anderson to line up against one another. Cody, who is making his Pro Stock debut at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, laid down another stout pass with a 6.556. Greg, on the other hand, aborted his run but was able to watch his son from a unique vantage point as Cody passed him on the track. However, Greg is not qualified heading into Saturday’s sessions.

Matt Latino, another fresh face in the class, is showing off his sophomore skills with a 6.533 in his Fass/Poweredge/Ace Race Part Camaro.

Finally, Erica Enders drastically improved with a 6.547 after her team uniquely lined her up at the starting line in the left lane. 

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FUNNY CAR Q2

The mid-day rainshower pushed nitro qualifying under the lights and the Funny Cars took full advantage of the cooler conditions. After no driver ran in the threes in the first session, eight made sub-four-second passes in Q2, led by Ron Capps at 3.890, a nice recovery after his parachute came out early on his first lap.

First-session leader J.R. Todd improved by almost a tenth with a 3.912 to slot into the No. 2 hole with Paul Lee third at 3.920 and defending event champ Chad Green fourth at 3.926.

Matt Hagan (3.931), Cruz Pedregon (3.948), Daniel Wilkerson (3.961), and Jordan Vandergriff (3.990) round out the top eight. It’s a good start to Vandergriff’s Funny Car career.

The man that Vandergriff replaced in the Cornwell Tools Camaro, two-time and reigning world champion Austin Prock and team, continued their recent struggles, failing again to get to halftrack under power. The Tasca Racing/PPG Mustang will finish the night in the No. 12 spot. Spencer Hyde is on the bump spot with a 6.12 with two sessions still to go.

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TOP FUEL Q2

Like their nitro brothers in Funny Car, the Top Fuel class took full advantage of the cool conditions to raise the bar considerably and almost everyone improved on their earlier runs.

Hometown hero Josh Hart set both ends of his personal best with a 3.658, 340.30-mph ripper in the David Grubnic-tuned car that carried Brittany Force to a dozen 340-mph clocking last year.

First-session leader Shawn Langdon improved from a 3.734 to a 3.681 to hold down the No. 2 spot.

Leah Pruett, in her second official pass after a two-season hiatus, looks right back in the form that almost won her the 2023 world championship, posting 3.690 to be the early leader in the session. Her husband, Tony Stewart, one of many to run a 340-mph speed in testing, almost got there again with a 339.96-mph blast on a fifth-best 3.703, 339.66. Sitting between them in fourth is Antron Brown with a 3.694.

Tony Schumacher ripped to a 3.710 at a career-best speed of 338.60 mph for the No. 7 spot and Tripp Tatum rounds out the fast half of the field with a 3.725.

Rookie Maddi Gordon took another big leap in performance with her first 3.7-second pass, a 3.791, despite losing a spark plug downtrack.

Dan Mercier sits on the 16-car bump spot with a 3.885.