NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

TOP FUEL ROUND 1

Doug Kalitta entered round one with a 68-point lead over teammate Shawn Langdon in the race for the regular-season championship, meaning Langdon would have to go three rounds further than Kalitta, and "Air Doug" made that a little tougher as tuner Alan Johnson poured on the coals with a 3.68 pass at 341.68 mph. The air temperature is a great 69 degrees, and the track temp is a near-perfect 89 degrees.

One pairing earlier, Langdon, whose SealMaster team struggled a bit experimenting in the hot weather on Saturday and even early Sunday, showed that crew chief Brian Husen has righted the ship with a 3.709-second win over Clay Million, his third in three matchups this year, with the meet's first 340-mph pass at 340.22.

If Kalitta wins the next round, he'll be the regular-season champ; if he loses, Langdon has to win the event to take the lead.

Tony Stewart had earlier reset low e.t. of the meet with a 3.717 to beat TJ Zizzo, whose team has been battling ignition woes since their last NHRA appearance in Chicago. Tuner Rahn Tobler looks like he might have gotten it turned around a bit, as Zizzo was a solid 3.76 in defeat. Stewart's wife, Leah Pruett, ran her season record to 4-0 with a great 3.71 to defeat Josh Hart.

Defending event champ Justin Ashley ran his Indy win streak to five rounds with an easy win over Shawn Reed, who had to pedal almost immediately. Reed was stellar on the starting line with a .035 reaction time, his best of the season, but Ashley still left first with an .031. Ashley has left on 23 of his 24 opponents this year, an incredible feat. Reed won't qualify for the Countdown playoffs.

Tripp Tatum pulled off a bottom-half upset with a 3,73, his best run of the weekend by seven-hundredths, to defeat Jasmine Salinas, whose mount broke loose at the top end and slowed to a 4.08, and Maddi Gordon did the same, winning from the No. 13 spot over Billy Torrence with a 3.763. Antron Brown also won without lane choice with a 3.73 to defeat Ida Zetterstrom.

The top six points earners all advanced to round two.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Shawn Langdon vs. Justin Ashley; Leah Pruett vs. Maddi Gordon; Tony Stewart vs. Antron Brown; Doug Kalitta vs.Tripp Tatum

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 1

Yesterday's Funny Car Callout winner Jack Beckman pounded out a 3.885 in the John Force 1996 tribute machine to end Jeff Arend's day in Jim Dunn's car. After taking over as a driver earlier this year, Arend has been helping Dunn with the tune-up, and it shows here with a respectable 4.01 in defeat. The Dunn team will skip the next few races and return to the tour in Dallas.

Low qualifier Ron Capps was not far behind Beckman with a 3.90 to take out John Smith. Capps is the points leader by three points over Matt Hagan, with Jordan Vandergriff 12 points out of the lead and J.R. Todd 30 points back in the race for the regular-season championship. Beckman is also still alive, but he's 73 points back.

Hagan kept the race alive with an easy 3.91 victory over Hunter Green and, in a huge matchup that helped clarify the scenarios, Vandergriff defeated Todd in a race where both ran 3.908, with Vandergriff's .044 to .058 reaction-time edge making the difference.

Paul Lee took his Tom McEwen tribute car to the second round with his first three of the meet, a 3.925, to end car owner Jim Head's hopes of a third Indy win (he has two as a driver) as Spencer Hyde's mount began dropping cylinders and nosed over before he stepped off. Same story for Del Worsham, who won the 2005 Indy Funny Car crown behind the wheel, but his driver, Julie Nataas, is out in round one against two-time defending event champ Austin Prock's 3.91.

Prock is trying to become the first Funny Car driver to win the U.S. Nationals three straight years.

After an all-day thrash, the John Force Racing team was able to wrap a spare body with the Night Stalker colors after Alexis DeJoria destroyed the first body in a Saturday blower explosion, and it paid off with a 3.937 to 3.977 victory over Chad Green, to even their head-to-head record this season to 2-2.

Daniel Wilkerson closed out the round with a 3.942 decision over Cruz Pedregon. How good was round one? Wilkerson's e.t. was the slowest winning time of the round with a run that would have qualified him fourth in the field and 10 of the 16 drivers ran in the threes.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Ron Capps vs. Daniel Wilkerson; Matt Hagan vs. Paul Lee; Jordan Vandergriff vs. Austin Prock; Jack Beckman vs. Alexis DeJoria

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PRO STOCK ROUND 1

Dallas Glenn’s regular-season championship hopes are still alive because he’s moving on to round two after racing to a win against Mason McGaha with a 6.570. However, McGaha made a very impressive run (6.579) and his best of the weekend against the reigning Pro Stock champ, but it just wasn’t good enough to advance.

The guy who can spoil Glenn’s defense is Greg Anderson. If Anderson wins the next round, he will clinch the championship.

The all-time leader in holeshots did it again. It’s no secret that Jeg Coughlin Jr. has been struggling this year, so his first-round win against Chris Vang was much needed. Jeg’s reaction time was .026 to Vang’s .039, and then “The Natural” went on to lay down his best e.t. of the weekend - a 6.595.

After struggling to qualify, Troy Coughlin Jr. ran his best e.t. of the weekend with a 6.568, which would’ve been good enough for the no. 1 qualifier award, but it wasn’t good enough to hold off Matt Latino’s holeshot. However, Troy did clinch his spot in the Countdown to the Championship, which was in question after qualifying.

In the marquee matchup, Cody Anderson will now be 1-2 against Aaron Stanfield. Even though A. Stanfield left first, C. Anderson had the race car to hold him off with a 6.573 to A. Stanfield’s 6.589.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hartford vs. Greg Stanfield; Greg Anderson vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.; Matt Latino vs. Dallas Glenn; Cody Anderson vs. Erica Enders

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 1

The final picture for the field in the Countdown to the Championship began to come into focus in round one, specifically when Clayton Howey used a nifty .008 light and a 6.857 to defeat Steve Johnson. The win clinched Howey’s spot in the playoffs, and he has said that should he make the playoffs, he’d do everything in his power to run all six races. That could be bad news for everyone else in the class.

Angie Smith made one of the best runs of the round with a 6.780 to easily outrun Kelly Clontz. This was their first head-to-head meeting of the season.

Michael Ray, filling in capably for an injured Jianna Evaristo, overcame a starting-line advantage by Chase Van Sant, to claim a win with a strong 6.809. Since Ray is eligible to earn points for Evaristo, the win was even more impressive as Evaristo is now in eighth place, moving past Steve Johnson in the Countdown field.

The first upset of the round came when Geno Scali, the 2003 world champion, scored a holeshot win over John Hall and his Outlaw Light Beer Buell, 6.869 to 6.840. The win was the first for Scali since the 2025 Chicago event.

Ryan Oehler not only made one of the best runs of the round with a 6.788 but also moved up to sixth place in the standings by beating his teammate, Malcolm Phillips, who made the best run of his career with a 6.846 at 196.67.

Richard Gadson’s RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki appeared to be sluggish off the starting line, and it reflected on the scoreboard with a 7.07, but he still turned on the win light after a red-light by Marc Ingwersen. Gadson, the reigning world champion, will have his hands full with a quarterfinal match against Ryan Oehler.

A red-light also settled the final pairing between Gaige Herrera and Hector Arana Jr. Herrera is still in the running for his third straight Indy win, after Arana Jr. left a tick too soon.  

Second-round pairings (lane choice first). Matt Smith vs. Clayton Howey; Ryan Oehler vs. Richard Gadson; Angie Smith vs. Geno Scali; Gaige Herrera vs. Michael Ray

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TOP FUEL ROUND 2

Barring an oildown or centerline penalty in later rounds, Doug Kalitta — who locked up the Mission Challenge championship yesterday — will be the regular-season champion after defeating Tripp Tatum. The win was a weird and lucky one as he slowed to a 4.20 against Tatum's 4.30.

Shawn Langdon had his part to keep the championship battle alive with a 3.79 victory over Justin Ashley, though it came at a cost with a booming blower explosion in the lights. Langdon will now concentrate on scoring a fourth Indy win after previous crowns in Top Fuel (2013 and 2020) and Super Gas (2010).

Tony Stewart, who just missed winning the U.S. Nationals last year, advanced to the semifinals with a 3.734 to 3.83 victory over five-time Indy winner Antron Brown. It's "Smoke's" first round-win over A.B. in three tries this season.

Leah Pruett joined her husband Tony in the semifinals, outlasting rookie sensation Maddi Gordon in a race where both were spinning the tires, 3.97 to 4.12. Pruett has now beaten Gordon in three of their four meetings this season.

The couple are on opposite sides of the ladder and could meet in the final round, which would be amazing, as through the season's first 13 races they've never paired up in eliminations.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Shawn Langdon vs. Leah Pruett; Tony Stewart vs. Doug Kalitta

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 2

The battle for the regular-season title may come to a head in the semifinal after second-place Matt Hagan defeated Paul Lee with a tire-slipping 3.95 to 4.00, and points leader Ron Capps took down Daniel Wilkerson with a 3.989. 

"We were lucky to get down the track," said Hagan, who will have lane choice. "I'm shocked we got down there that round. I love this guy; Ron Capps is the man. We're gonna dig deep as I know he will, and put on a good show for the fans."

Austin Prock, looking for that historic Indy three-peat, beat the team and car that won him the last two with a 3.93 win over Jordan Vandergriff, which eliminated Vandergriff from the regular-season title bout.

Two-time Jack Beckman kept trucking toward another final, defeating his teammate, 2014 Indy winner Alexis DeJoria, with a stout 3.924. Capps' win eliminated Beckman's chance of winning the regular-season title, but Beckman did move past J.R. Todd into fourth place in the standings.

The four drivers in the semifinals are all world champions, with 10 titles between them.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hagan vs. Ron Capps; Jack Beckman vs. Austin Prock

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PRO STOCK ROUND 2

Jeg Coughlin Jr. does it again and punched his ticket to the semifinals on a hole shot win. And who did he leave on in round two with his .042 reaction time? None other than Greg Anderson, whose reaction time was a .052, which means he will have to sit back and watch as his KB Titan teammate Dallas Glenn fights to defend his title.

Glenn, however, advanced to the semifinals and, as we mentioned before, will still need to win the Big Go.

Less-than-clean runs were made by neither Cody Anderson nor Indy defending champ Erica Enders, but Enders was able to pull off the win with a 6.691 to C. Anderson’s 7.752. She has solidified her fifth place spot in the standings, moving up from fourth.

No. 1 qualifier Matt Hartford decided to make a lane swap to the right lane, putting Greg Stanfield in the left lane. Even though the right lane was the lane that had been producing slower runs, it paid off for Hartford when he ran a 6.580. G. Stanfield lost the race at the starting line when he went red for only the second time this season. 

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hartford vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.; Dallas Glenn vs. Erica Enders

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 2

Richard Gadson needed a round win in the quarterfinals to secure the regular season title and he delivered an impressive performance with a holeshot win over Ryan Oehler. Gadson grabbed .08-second off the starting line and held on for a 6.856 to 6.841 victory. Oehler made a monster run in the first round with a 6.788, and was among the quickest riders in the quarterfinals.

Angie Smith’s combination of .008 reaction time and 6.796 was enough to easily cover Geno Scali as the Maryland winner put her pink Denso Buell into the semifinals.

Gaige Herrera ran his Indy win streak to 10-straight rounds with a 6.809 in his victory over Michael Ray, who did a workmanlike job when called in as a last-minute replacement for Jianna Evaristo.

Clayton Howey locked up his spot in the Countdown in round one and in the second, he threw a big scare into six-time champ Matt Smith. Howey was nearly perfect off the starting like with a .001 light, and he held the lead for most of the track until Matt Smith came roaring by with the best run of the round, a 6.762.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Angie Smith vs. Gaige Herrera; Matt Smith vs. Richard Gadson

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TOP FUEL SEMIFINALS

Shawn Langdon will have a shot at a fourth U.S. Nationals win and his third in Top Fuel after ending Leah Pruett's dream of winning her first in the class with a 3.81 after she had to pedal her Dodge machine early in the race. The race was the rubber match of their five meetings this season, with Langdon now holding a 3-2 lead.

It won't be, as expected, Langdon's teammate, Doug Kalitta, squaring off against him in the final, as Kalitta's Mac Tools car went up in smoke in Pruett's tracks and watched Stewart steam to his second straight Indy Top Fuel final. 

Kalitta's consolation is the regular-season championship and a big payday for the team. Stewart's final-round appearance moved him past Maddi Gordon and Antron Brown into fourth place in the standings. The top four going into the Countdown will be Klaitta, Langdon, Pruett, and Stewart.

Langdon will have lane choice over Stewart in the Top Fuel final.

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FUNNY CAR SEMIFINALS

Matt Hagan and Ron Capps had only raced one time this year, in the final round of the Winternationals, NHRA's milestone 1,000th Funny Car event, and Hagan's win there still steams Capps; he said as much yesterday in his low qualifier interview.

Well, now he'll have another burr in his saddle after smoking the tires against Hagan, handing the regular-season title to Hagan, who clocked a 4.04 to seal the deal.

"This was a tough championship battle," said Hagan. "Capps and those guys killed it. They led the points all year long, and you know we kind of came in here at the end. They made a few mistakes, and we scooped up some points and made it happen. Now we still got a race to win."

The right lane that bit Leah Pruett and Doug Kalitta in the Top Fuel semi's and Capps ahead of him, also ended Austin Prock's bid for an unprecedented third straight U.S. Nationals Funny Car crown, as he could only watch Jack Beckman steam into the final round with a 3,96 that will earn him lane choice over Hagan.

Hagan has one previous Indy win (2016), while Beckman has climbed the mountain twice (2015 and 2020).

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PRO STOCK SEMIFINALS

A lot is riding on the shoulders of Dallas Glenn as he enters the finals of the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals. Not only is he defending his regular season championship title, but he’s racing for his first Indy win.

Glenn punched his ticket to the finals when he bested Erica Enders in the semifinals, who shook the tires after the starting line, while Glenn went on to clock a 6.607 to have lane choice in the finals. 

Meanwhile, Jeg Coughlin Jr. continued to rinse and repeat what he’s been doing all day. He pulled off another hole shot win, and this time his victim was Matt Hartford. Coughlin’s reaction time was .036 and then raced to a 6.643, while Hartford’s reaction time was a .098 and then recorded a 6.856.

Coughlin will be racing for his 70th professional Wally - four of them have been wins at Indy (three in Pro Stock), which will be a 75th anniversary Diamond Wally, as a matter of fact. His last wins were in 2024 - the first one was against Glenn in Seattle, and the second in Dallas, where he beat Greg Anderson.

Lastly, Aaron Stanfield has locked up third in the standings, Hartford has landed in fourth, and Enders in fifth.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMIFINALS

There will be history made in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a husband-wife final at NHRA’s biggest and most historic event. Matt and Angie Smith, who famously raced in the final of the 2014 Epping race, will once again battle for the trophy at Indy.

In the semi’s, Angie scored a massive win over Gaige Herrera, who was seeking his third-straight win at “the Big Go”. Angie left first and rode to a 6.794 to 6.791 win against Herrera. Should she win the final, Angie can move to second in the regular season standings.

Matt Smith, fully recovered from recent surgery, joined Angie in the money round with a 6.773 to 6.878 win over Gadson. Matt can also move to second in the standings with a victory.  

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RIGHT TRAILERS OUTLAW STREET FINAL

Scott Taylor made history in the final round of the Right Trailers Outlaw Street class when he not only became the first ever class winner at the Cornwell Tools U.S. Nationals, but he also became the category’s first repeat winner following his recent win at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

In the final round of the eighth-mile series, that highlights some of the world’s quickest authentic doorslammer, Taylor drove to a 3.703 after Kyle Canion fouled away a competitive 3.705. 
 

LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES RESULTS

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER

Richie Crampton def. TJ Tindle

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR

Sean Bellemeur def. Shane Westerfield  

COMP ELIMINATOR

Don Thomas def. Jeff Taylor

SUPER STOCK

Peter D’Agnolo def. Michael Reynolds

STOCK ELIMINATOR

Hunter Pierdolla def. Ray Thurston

SUPER COMP

Brian Harris def. Nick Smith

SUPER GAS

Rob Kropfeld def. Jordan Pratt

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP DRAGSTER

Zach Sackman def. Tom Bayer

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP SPORTSMAN

Brandon Baxter def. Doug Gbur

RIGHT TRAILERS OUTLAW STREET

Scott Taylor def. Kyle Canion

JBS EQUIPMENT NHRA PRO MOD SERIES

J.R. Gray def. Justin Bond

FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN

Scott Libersher def. Jonathan Allegrucci

MISSION FOODS SERIES FINAL RESULTS

Langdon, Beckman, Glenn, Matt Smith collect huge U.S. Nationals victories