NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The champions of the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS will be crowned today on another glorious Maryland day, diamond Wallys pressed into eager hands at the second new race of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

While some clear favorites emerged over the course of four qualifying sessions over two days, if history has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes what happens in qualifying gets erased on raceday.

Shawn Langdon enters the day not only as the Top Fuel points leader but riding a two-race win streak after wins in Adel, Ga., and Chicago, then swept to No. 1 qualifying honors, three times having the low e,t, of a session and having the third-best pass of the other, and winning Saturday’s Mission Challenge.

Teammate Doug Kalitta was almost as good, being low of the session that Langdon was not and running second behind him in the others. Drag racing’s nitro love story, Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett, had both qualifying remarkably well, and class rookie Maddi Gordon also has a potent pony to ride today.

In Funny Car, Jack Beckman qualified No. 1 for the second straight event, leading for hope of a resurgence for John Force Racing’s long-tenured driver, while two-time world champ Austin Prock also will enter raceday with a ton of momentum after winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge yesterday.

The top 14 cars all qualified within just .013-second of one another, which could translate to a first round full of upset.

The balance of Pro Stock power between the powerhouse KB Titan team and the Elite Motorsports rivals rages on, with the Elite team gathering significant steam over the last two events. Erica Enders won the Mission Challenge in Chicago, and Aaron Stanfield the event, and Stanfield won yesterday’s Mission Challenge while his father, Greg, was the no. 1 qualifier.

While the senior Stanfield stood atop the pack, the next six qualifiers -- Dallas Glenn, Eric Latino, Greg Anderson, Matt Hartford, Matt Latino, Cody Anderson – are all KB-powered. Elite’s Jeg Coughlin Jr. rounded out the top eight.

The story all weekend in Pro Stock Motorcycle has swirled around Matt Smith Racing, and its impressive weekend with its eponymous leader hospitalized nearby after a gallstone flare-up. With the six-time world champ tuning remotely from his hospital bed, wife Angie not only qualified No. 1 but won the Mission Challenge to boot.

MSR team riders John Hall, Chip Ellis (earning points for Matt aboard his bike), and Jianna Evaristo qualified Nos. 3, 4, and 6, respectively, and there are high hopes that Smith will be in attendance to further the cause today.

Of course, they’ll face their stiffest opposition from the rival Vance & Hines team, with No. 2 qualifier and world champ Richard Gadson, two-time world champ Gaige Herrera and fast-rising rider Clayton Howey leading their charge.

SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, May 31
Pre-race ceremony at 10:00 a.m.
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at 11:00 p.m.

TELEVISION

Sunday, May 31: FOX will televise three hours of finals coverage at 3:00 p.m. ET

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.744 sec. by Shawn Langdon, May '26; 336.23 mph by Langdon, May ’26
Funny Car - 3.935sec. by Jack Beckmann, May '26; 327.03 mph by J.R. Todd, May '26
Pro Stock – 6.482sec. by Greg Stanfield, May '26; 212.56 mph by Matt Latino, May '26
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.690 sec. by Angie Smith, May '26; 202.97 mph by Smith, May '26

NATIONAL RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. ‘19, Reading, Pa.; 345.00 mph by Shawn Langdon, May ’26, Adel, Ga.
Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd, Minn.; 341.68 mph by Austin Prock, Nov. ’24, Pomona, Calif.
Pro Stock – 6.443 sec. by Greg Anderson, March ‘25, Gainesville, Fla.; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May ’14, Englishtown, N.J.
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.627 sec. by Gaige Herrera, Oct. ‘23, Dallas; 205.04 mph by Matt Smith, July ’21, Sonoma, Calif.