NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

PRE-RACE NOTES

A number of Pro drivers have won the U.S. Nationals in two different pro classes, led by Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, Ed McCulloch, and Jim Head, who all have won in Top Fuel and Funny Car, but Antron Brown remains the only pro driver to have won in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle, winning on two wheels on 2000 and 2004 and on four in 2011, 2022, and 2023

Brown scored his milestone 70th victory during the 2022 event when he earned the first U.S. Nationals triumph as a team owner for his AB Motorsports team during its rookie season.

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Although Leah Pruett has previously captured a U.S. Nationals victory in Factory Stock Showdown (2018), a Top Fuel title at Indy has remained just out of reach. In Top Fuel, her career-best U.S. Nationals showing came in 2020 when she earned runner-up honors to Shawn Langdon while posting the quickest time of the event at 3.703 seconds.

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Will Smith will make his second U.S. Nationals start this weekend and feels confident going into the action with his Bluebird Turf team.

“Brainerd was a really good weekend for our Bluebird Turf team,” said Smith. “The car ran really well, and we were able to learn a lot throughout the weekend. We also had a really productive test session after the race, so we feel like we’re heading into Indy with a good car. This is the Big Go, and it’s a race that means a lot to me personally since it’s where I made my Top Fuel debut back in 2022. I’m really looking forward to getting back to Indy, getting this Bluebird Turf dragster down the track, and seeing what we can do this weekend.”

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There are a slew of new Funny Car paint schemes this weekend, including three really cool throwback paint schemes to honor NHRA’s 75th anniversary.

John Force Racing has two, with Jack Beckman in a 1996 throwback Force livery and Alexis DeJoria rocking a scheme celebrating Force’s first Funny Car, the wild rear-engine Night Stalker from 1973.

Force won the 1996 NHRA Finals with the now-iconic black-and-white flame job scheme to cap the greatest season in modern NHRA Funny Car competition, accumulating 13 event wins, 16 final-round appearances, 13 No. 1 qualifier spots and 65 round wins in eliminations. Beckman wants to add another win with the paint scheme to maintain its perfect 2-0 record.

“The throwback scheme looks virtually identical to the 1996 car, but this one says ‘John Force 16-time Champion’ down the side,” said Beckman. To be standing next to John while the media is capturing this unveiling, that was a ‘pinch me’ moment. I’m going to roll out for Q1 while John’s standing behind the car watching me. I don’t think the term ‘pinch me’ even comes close to describing what that means to me.”

Force’s Night Stalker car was named after the 1972 made-for-TV movie starring the late Darren McGavin.

“I was really excited when I found out the other two John Force Racing Funny Cars were doing special liveries and wanted to be part of it,” said DeJoria. “So, I asked if our team could do the Night Stalker paint scheme that was John Force’s very first nitro Funny Car back in the mid-1970s. The Bandero Café car is already black, but it’s just the fact that the Night Stalker is one of the coolest liveries I’ve seen from John Force’s camp. More than anything, I wanted to do it to show support for my new boss and my new team.”

Paul Lee has a Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen throwback scheme celebrating several historic milestones starting with the 50th anniversary of McEwen's 1976 Bicentennial paint scheme, America’s 250th anniversary, the 75th season of NHRA competition, and the 60th anniversary of the Nitro Funny Car category.

"Tom McEwen helped shape the sport into what it is today," said Lee. "His personality, innovation, and ability to connect with fans changed drag racing forever. Being able to honor his legacy on one of the biggest stages in our sport is something our entire team is incredibly proud of. 'The Mongoose' was a close friend of mine as well as my drag racing mentor. It’s amazing to be able to honor him and get to run my all-time favorite 'Mongoose' paint scheme. And having English Leather participate makes this even more exciting.”

Ron Capps will match his Top Fuel teammate Maddi Gordon this weekend, as he’ll hit the track in a venom green Carlyle Tools scheme like he did last year, a bit of clever marketing at an event sponsored by tool rival Cornwell. Capps ran the car here last year.

“We’ve got a great Funny Car and get to break out the Carlyle Tools paint scheme again,” he said. “Nothing would be better than to park both Carlyle cars in the winner’s circle at the end of the weekend. It’s a tall order, of course, but we’ve done it before, and we’d love to do it again at the U.S. Nationals.”

Chris King is also debuting a new look on his Howards Cams/Competition Products nitro Funny Car at Indy.

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Daniel Wilkerson has a long history with the U.S. Nationals and knows firsthand what makes the Big Go so special. His father, Tim, won The Big Go in both 2003 and 2021

After spending much of his life attending the event, he is looking forward to another opportunity to chase a Wally at Indy with his SCAG Power Equipment Ford Funny Car team.

“There are two races that just hit different,” said Wilkerson. “Pomona because there are championships on the line, and Indy. The U.S. Nationals has a vibe of its own. Maybe it’s because I have been 36 times, maybe it’s because it pays the most, maybe it’s because it is the oldest, most prestigious race on the tour, or maybe it’s because we make more runs there than any other race. Whatever it is, it means more. I have literally been there almost every year of my life in pursuit of that Wally, and I think we have a dang good chance to be the last team standing.”

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Hunter Green will be racing alongside his father Chad Green in Funny Car, and, unlike his father, Hunter already has a U.S. Nationals win to his credit, having won in Top Alcohol Dragster in 2024.

“I’ll be honest, that 2024 U.S. Nationals win has been the biggest of my racing career, but a Funny  Car victory at Indy would top that one easily,” he said. “There is a huge Funny Car class this year with 24 drivers going for 16 starting spots in the final eliminations. That puts pressure on every driver and team to just get in the field. And then you need to get four ‘win’ lights on Monday for that U.S. Nationals trophy. I hope we can get to that final round.”

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It has been 27 years since Frank Pedregon won the U.S. Nationals for Jim Dunn Racing (1999), claiming the team’s lone victory in the world’s most prestigious event. Since then, Jim Dunn Racing has reached the quarterfinal round five times, most recently in 2024 with Buddy Hull as driver. Overall, Jim Dunn Racing has raced in the final round at Indy three times. Jim Dunn himself was runner-up to Hall of Famer Raymond Beadle in 1981, and Kenji Okazaki was runner-up to John Force in 1993.

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Each driver is searching for their own bit of history at the U.S. Nationals, and in Pro Stock it’s no different. You could argue the competition was just as tough when our sports legends raced as it is now.

Bob Glidden etched his name in the Big Go record books when he raced to a record nine wins. Erica Enders, who is the most recent winner, enters Indianapolis Raceway Park, looking to defend her U.S. Nationals title, where she simultaneously collected her milestone 50th career national event victory.

However, Enders, who recently debuted a new Jerry Haas race car in Brainerd, will have to find some Indy magic. her victory here last year was her milestone 50th of her career.

Her rival Greg Anderson currently leads the class in quickest runs, has notched seven No. 1 qualifier awards this year, plus has already scored four of the coveted 75th anniversary Diamond Wallys.

Then there’s Dallas Glenn and Matt Hartford, who each have three wins this year; Aaron Stanfield, who has two; and Greg Stanfield, who rounds out the Pro Stock field with one. But it’s Indy, and anything can happen, and where hoisting a Wally on Labor Day can change your life.

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While NHRA celebrates its 75th anniversary, the 2026 U.S. Nationals marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most dominant seasons in the history of the sport. In 1976, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme won seven of eight Funny Car events with his famed U.S. Army Monza.

Prudhomme won in Pomona, Gainesville, Columbus, Englishtown, Montreal, Seattle, and the Finals event in Ontario, Calif. The one event he did not win was the U.S. Nationals. At that event, Prudhomme’s dream of a perfect season came to an unceremonious end in the final round at the hands of Gary Burgin, who won, 6.25 to an off-pace 6.46. Prudhomme finished the season with a 30-1 record in elimination rounds, and was crowned the 1976 NHRA Funny Car champ.

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Gaige Herrera has work to do if he is going to overtake his teammate Richard Gadson for the regular season Pro Stock Motorcycle title, but he’s got one thing working in his favor; history. Herrera has raced at the U.S. Nationals three times and he’s won the last two. Overall, Herrera’s record at “the Big Go” is 10-1 with his only loss coming against Matt Smith at the 2023 event.

Herrera trails Gadson by 83 points coming into the U.S. Nationals, and under normal circumstances that would be a nearly insurmountable number, but with the Indy format of points-and-a-half, it remains difficult, but not impossible. 

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The resumption of Lucas Oil Series Sportsman Racing kicked off the program on Friday morning at Indy and the first order of business was setting the field in Right Trailers Top Dragster. Over the last few weeks, there has been much debate about the quality of the Top Dragster field, and the potential for a record bump spot.

Turns out, the build-up was justified as the U.S. Nationals features a record field that stretches from the nearly perfect 6.109-second run of low qualifier Chad Axford, to the record 6.278-second bump spot of JB Strassweg, runner-up at last week’s JEGS SPORTSnationals in Bowling Green, Ky. A record 28 drivers ran in the 6.1s.

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Mason McGaha made his Pro Stock debut at Indy in 2020 and he’s since established himself as one of the best drivers in the category although the one thing he still lacks is an NHRA Wally trophy. McGaha will have two shots to fulfill that goal this weekend as he is racing in Pro Stock, and in Comp Eliminator.

McGaha’s Comp entry is in the B/Altered class, which is essentially a Pro Stock car, albeit one that is considerably heavier than the current 2,350-pound Pro Stock minimum. After three rounds of qualifying, McGaha is third in the 45-car field with a run of 7.055, which is -.585-seconds under the index. In this interview with National Dragster’s Kayla Zadel, McGaha explains the difference between the two entries, and evaluates his chances for success.