NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

TOP FUEL ROUND 1

Even though they had a first-round bye, Shawn Langdon and crew chief Brian Husen didn't take it easy, powering to new track records of 3.718 and 338.00 mph. Should Langdon win this weekend, he would be the first Top Fuel driver to win three-straight races since Steve Torrence won Norwalk, Denver, and Sonoma in 2021. 

Two of the Rookie of the Year-eligible drivers, Maddi Gordon and Will Smith, squared off for the second time this year. Gordon is competing in her seventh career race and Smith his 15th, with eight starts scattered in a few years before this season's seven events. Smith avenged his loss to her in Georgia, leaving first with a .044 Tree (a hair better than his .045 average as the class' second-best leaver) and racing to a 3.802 to 3.805 victory, his second straight first-round win after going winless through the season's first five races. Smith will cede second-round lane choice to Leah Pruett, who powered to a 3.78 alongside traction-plagued Spencer Massey,

Doug Kalitta took on Lex Joon, piloting a car formerly driven by Kalitta. It's Joon's 2026 NHRA debut, and his 3.86 effort, well better than his 4.22 qualifying best, will probably provide a bit of solace, hanging tough against Kalitta's 3.76. Joon's 320.51-mph speed was a career best.

Clay Millican, who probably has more experience at MIR than any other driver, having won here four times when IHRA hosted a national event, and then running a 2019 match race against Dom Lagana (Lagana's final time behind the wheel), advanced to round two with a 3.82 over Josh Hart but the win was costly as his RocketDoctor machine oiled the right lane, It's Millican's second oildown of the seasonand that will cost him 10 of the 20 points he just earned.

A battle of a pair of Texans, native Billy Torrence and Chicago transplant Tony Schumacher, with Billy-Billy taking the win with a tire-smoking 3.99 to Schumacher's troubled 4.87. Shawn Reed avenged his Phoenix loss to Tony Stewart in a race where both drivers lost traction at midtrack, but Reed recovered better for a 4.21 to 4.41 victory, but will cede lane choice to Torrence. Stewart is one of many drivers recognizing the late Kyle Busch in his headgear choice; Stewart, of course, was much closer to "Rowdy" than most.

The round closed with good friends, Justin Ashley and Antron Brown, who entered just a point apart in the standings and Brown owning a 12-11 head-to-head advantage, but Ashley feathered his way through top-end smoke for a 3.99 win to even the score. With the fourth through seventh-place drivers (Stewart, Hart, Gordon, and Brown) all losing ahead of him, an event win by Ashley would carry him from eighth place into a tie for fourth with Stewart.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Shawn Langdon; Billy Torrence vs. Shawn Reed; Doug Kalitta vs. Clay Millican; Leah Pruett vs. Will Smith

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 1

Chad Green's great season continued with a first-round win in a see-saw battle with Paul Lee and a 3.97 time slip. The win is Green's 13th in the season's first seven events and just three shy of his total from 19 races last year.

Green will have second-round lane choice (barely) over South Georgia winner Jordan Vandergriff, who raced to a 3.988 to defeat tire-smoking Dave Richards. Richards' Bluebird Turf team made a great 4.05 pass on its first qualifying run, but never got back there in four subsequent passes.

World champ Austin Prock's resurrection continued with his third round-win over the season, taking down blower-booming Matt Hagan for the second straight day. Prock's PPG/Tasca Racing Ford made four qualifying runs between 4.03 and 4.15 and won Saturday's Mission Challenge over Hagan, and the win light moves Prock into the Top 10 of points for the first time this season.

Hagan, who lost third place to Green, was upbeat nonetheless. "We were getting our ass kicked anyway, so it's kind of one of the deals where we might as well add insult to injury and go ahead and blow it up," he joked.

"Fast Jack" Beckman, the low qualifier for the second straight race, won the battle of the nicknames over "Nitro Joe" Morrison, nearly matching his 3.935 qualifying effort with a 3.939. Morrison's Jimbo Ermalovich-tuned Herzhauser Racing machine, which made just one tire-smoking qualifying attempt, ran a much-improved 5.02.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Spencer Hyde showcased his driving chops, keeping Jim Head's entry centered despite a ton of top-end tire slip to take a 4.17 victory over Daniel Wilkerson's 4.30.

Del Worsham, who is making his NHRA season debut at the prompting of his wife, Connie, who told him he needs a new diamond Wally to add to his 39 conventional ones, gave Cruz Pedregon a real run to half-track, but his Hedinger's Equipment Toyota went silent before the stripe, allowing cylinder-dropping Pedregon to "Cruz" by for a 4.01 win.

Pedregon lost lane choice to Capps by about a hundredth as the NAPA driver beat Alexis DeJoria in a 4.001 to 4.009 battle. The win was important to Capps, who entered the event tied with J.R. Todd for the points lead. Todd earned four more qualifying points than Capps over Friday and Saturday. Todd kept the advantage by taking down Blake Alexander, but faces a tough challenge in Beckman in the next round.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Jack Beckman vs. J.R. Todd; Chad Green vs. Jordan Vandergriff; Ron Capps vs. Cruz Pedregon; Austin Prock vs. Spencer Hyde

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PRO STOCK ROUND 1

Maryland International Raceway is the 33rd NHRA venue to contest the Pro Stock class, and Greg Anderson has won at 23 of them, which encompasses every track on the current schedule (minus this year's four new tracks) and previous events in Atlanta, Columbus, Denver, Englishtown, Memphis, Reading, and Topeka, according to Pro Stock historian Kelly Wade. Will he win this one? Let's see.

Well, a track-record first-round pass of 6.476 in pounding Brandon Miller's errant Dodge certainly won't hurt those odds, but a subsequent 6.473 by teammate Dallas Glenn in taking down Shane Tucker might be an argument against.

Low qualifier Greg Stanfield drove around Alan Prusiensky's substantial holeshot to win with a 6.501. Talking to Prusiensky before the round, he was optimistic that the extra 500 rpm that NHRA gave to Dodges early this season would pay off later, but that he was still dealing with other car-related problems before he can unleash the beast.

Longtime East Coast favorite Kenny Delco, who impressed in qualifying with a 6.522, scored his first round win since Seattle 2024, eking his way past two-time season winner Matt Hartford by just .008-second and will have second-round lane choice over Troy Coughlin by .001-second after Coughlin's 6.537 against Eric Latino's red-light.

Deric Kramer and Get BioFuel team ambushed No. 5 qualifier Matt Latino with a 6.489, at the time the third quickest pass of the event, to score his third straight first-round win of the season.

Erica Enders' challenging event continued with a tire-rattling first-round loss to Elite teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s 6.505, boosting "the Natural's" edge over his fellow world champion to 23-11 lifetime.

A battle of second-generation Pro Stock talents between Aaron Stanfield and Cody Anderson went to Mission Challenge winner Stanfield with a 6.51. Stanfield, who beat Cody's dad, Greg, to win the Challenge yesterday, won easily when Cody's machine went silent early.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first):  Greg Stanfield vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.; Greg Anderson vs. Deric Kramer; Dallas Glenn vs. Aaron Stanfield; Kenny Delco vs. Troy Coughlin Jr.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 1

With Matt Smith out of the hospital and back at the track, Jianna Evaristo took advantage of a good tailwind to run 6.702 at 204.98, the second fastest speed behind Smith's own 205.04-mph clocking from the 2021 Sonoma event.

Chip Ellis then rode Smith's personal bike to a 6.776 at "just" 200.92 to easily defeat Geno Scali, but will cede Round 2 lane choice to Clayton Howey, who popped off a 6.733 to send class veteran Steve Johnson home early. John Hall's MSR Buell ran 6.75 on a solo pass for a broken Charles Poskey, and all eyes turned to Angie Smith, the low qualifier and winner of Saturday's Mission Challenge. Angie was quick and fast, but not as much as Jianna, clocking a 6.715 at 203.65 on her bye run. The MSR bikes went 4-0 in the round,

In a stunning development, two-time world champ Gaige Herrera's Suzuki went silent after the burnout against Brayden Davis. It's just the fifth first-round loss of Herrera's 54-race career, and only his second in two and a third seasons with the Vance & Hines team (2025 Charlotte 2). The win cost him third place as Angie Smith moved past him, and he could drop another spot depending on how far Hall goes today.

Herrera's teammate, world champ Richard Gadson, had no such woes, speeding to a 6.716 at 201.88 to best Wes Wells.

"Flyin' Ryan" Oehler got a gift when Chase Van Sant went -.003 red against him as Oehler's bike went silent early and coasted to a 10-second win.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first):  Angie Smith vs. Brayden Davis; Clayton Howey vs. Chip Ellis; Richard Gadson vs. Ryan Oehler; Jianna Evaristo vs. John Hall

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TOP FUEL ROUND 2

Billy Torrence reached his first semifinal of the season in a close race with Shawn Reed, 3.83 to 3.85, which wasn't all that close due to Torrence's. 04-second holeshot. Torrence has been to 15 previous semifinals and went on to win the race more than half of those times (eight).

"I'm the weak link in this whole deal," Torrence admitted. "The guys are getting the car to come around, and I need to do a little better job, and not drive around and stage the car right, the whole deal. It's been Driver 101. They scold me a lot, you know. You know how it is."

Will Smith was .046 on the Tree (after an .044 in round one), but it wasn't enough to hold off Leah Pruett's solid 3.789, sending her to the semifinal round for the second straight race as she continues to look for the first win of her comeback tour after a two-season absence to start a family with Tony Stewart.

Pruett will have semifinal lane choice over Doug Kalitta, who ran 3.798 to reach the final for the sixth time in seven events this season and send Clay Millican home early.

Points leader Shawn Langdon won his 10th straight round easily with a 3.79 after Justin Ashley smoked the tires after leaving first, as he now has done in 13 of his first 14 rounds this season. The top three points runners (Langdon, Kalitta, and Pruett) all advanced along with Torrence, who started the day ninth as couldget as high as sixth with a race win.

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

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 2

After winning no rounds in the season's first five events, world champ Austin Prock has now reached the semifinal for the second straight event after taking down Spencer Hyde with a 3.99, moving him into ninth place in the standings.

"I feel like myself again," said a thrilled Prock. "It's been a long time coming, and I'm just really proud of all the effort we put in. I mean, we sucked three races ago, and now the Prock Rocket is back, and it's looking pretty damn sporty, and this is just the beginning. I'm really proud of what we've accomplished, and really proud to be a part of Bob Tasca Racing. You know, I think today might just be our day."

Jordan Vandergriff, who took Prock's place at JFR after he left, continues to target a second career win after advancing the Cornwell Tools Chevy past Chad Green with a 3.99. Vandergriff's win pulls him to within five points of Green's total for fourth place in the standings.

 John Force Racing was assured a car in the final round as Jack Beckman's 4.00 defeated points leader J.R. Todd's 4.01 as he will race Vandergriff in the semifinals.

Ron Capps cagily powered through top-end traction woes to light the win light with a 4.25 against Cruz Pedregon, which will allow him to pass Todd for the points lead. it's the third time this season that he's been atop the standings.

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

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PRO STOCK ROUND 2

Entering this event, Troy Coughlin Jr. had just three round wins this season -- all in a runner-up at South Georgia -- and he's added two more today with a 6.53 after Kenny Delco shook the tires. He's now moved up two spots in the standings from 11th to ninth and could cimb higher.

Low qualifier Greg Stanfield powered to a 6.487, not far off his 6.482 pole pass, to send Coughlin's uncle, class hero Jeg Jr., down to defeat, but lost his track record a pair later to Greg Anderson's eye-popping 6.464 at 212 mph after driving around the holeshot of Deric Kramer.

Stanfield was hoping to be joined in the semifinals by his son, Aaron, Saturday's Mission Challenge winner, but he lost by just .0019-second to point leader Dallas Glenn's stout 6.488.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Greg Anderson vs. Greg Stanfield; Dallas Glenn vs. Troy Coughlin Jr.

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 2

"Flyin' Ryan" Oehler dropped jaws all across Maryland International Raceway with a dual-career-best blast of 6.697, 203.12 (previous CB: 6.752, 201.55) to upset world champ Richard Gadson, ending a disappointing outing for the Vance & Hines team.

Clayton Howey, who's racing with the assistance of local heroes Kelly and Chris Clontz, took a huge win after Chip Ellis' Matt Smith/Denso Buell broke just a few feet off the starting line. It's the third semifinal of Howey's young 10-race career.

Angie Smith continued that Cinderella weekend with a wild 6.70 at 201 mph to defeat Brayden Davis and earn lane choice over Howey's 6.751. With Gadson, husband Matt, and Gaige Herrera already out, Angie would be in second place if she reaches the final round.

Hot off of her stupendous 204-mph first-round pass, Jianna Evaristo won the battle of Matt Smith Racing Buells over John Hall, 6.74 to 6.77, though her speed was "only" 202 mph.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Angie Smith vs. Clayton Howey; Ryan Oehler vs. Jianna Evaristo

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TOP FUEL SEMIFINALS

Shawn Langdon carried a 10-round win streak into his semifinal battle with Billy Torrence and quickly made it 11 straight and a third straight final-round appearance with a 3.772 to top Torrence's 3.86. As mentioned previously, no Top Fuel driver has won three-straight races since Steve Torrence won Norwalk, Denver, and Sonoma in 2021. 

Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett raced for the third time this season, with Kalitta owning a 2-1 edge with wins over her in the second rounds in Gainesville and South Georgia. Her only win over him was a big one, in the semifinals in Phoenix that led to her only final-round appearance of the season. She entered the round exactly 120 points (six rounds) behind Kalitta and needed a win to stop the Kalitta duo to extend their runaway leads, but Kalitta matched Langdon's e.t. exactly to get the win. Langdon's superior speed, 334.57 to 334.15, earned him final-round lane choice over his teammate.

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FUNNY CAR SEMIFINALS

Jack Beckman, who was the first guy to lose to new Funny Car teammate Jordan Vandergriff in round one in Gainesville, exacted revenge and then some with a blistering, track-record 3.93 to defeat Vandergriff, whose mount swerved hard at the finish line. The win for Beckman denied fans their first chance for what might be viewed by some (but not the drivers, apparently) as a grudge match between Vandergriff and Austin Prock, the guy he replaced in the Cornwell Tools car this season.

In his first two years in Funny Car, Prock never went more than four events without a win, and it's now been eight events since his win at the 2025 Dallas event, but he'll have the chance to snap that string after racing to yet another 3.99 to defeat Ron Cappps' 4.01. Capps will nonetheless leave the race as the points leader.

Beckman will have final-round lane choice.

"We shouldn't have been able to run that quick, but we'll get it in the bad lane -- which is not a bad thing, both have a bump at four or 300 feet, a little bit more on the right lane -- but now we've got a little bit of dilemma," said the ever-introspective Beckman. Do we go over to the left lane where we've been running and put Austin over there, where we just set low ET the entire weekend?"

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PRO STOCK SEMIFINALS

In a rematch of their final-round race in South Georgia, Dallas Glenn again defeated Troy Coughlin Jr. to reach the final round for the fourth time this year with a 6.492, driving around Coughlin's .024 to .051 holeshot.

Greg Anderson made it an all KB Titan final round when he edged Greg Stanfield by just .009-second with a lane-choice-earning 6.488 to reach his 197th career final.

"We're getting there," said Anderson. We're probably 90%, but like I said earlier, if you're 100% satisfied, what's there to look forward to next round? So you gotta leave a little bit on the table, and hopefully we did. Hopefully, we pick up a little bit. We're gonna have to, Dallas is obviously fast and racing his heart out. He drives the wheels off that race car, so I'll see what I can do."

No matter what happens in the final, Glenn will leave as the points leader but knows that to win, he's going to have to leave on Anderson.

"We're definitely going to have to steal a few," he admitted. " I think we're gonna be thrown over into that right lane. It's a little hard to see the Tree over there, but that last round was an interesting one. I went to tighten my belt when I was before pre-stage, and I accidentally pulled my Simpson hybrid loose, so I had to quickly put it back on before I went into pre-stage, and kind of threw me off a little bit."

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMIFINALS

Angie Smith will have the chance to complete an emotional whirlwind of a weekend with an event win to go with Saturday's Mission Challenge victory after ripping to a 6.696 (after a .008 light!) to defeat Clayton Howey. Smith reached the final in Chicago two weeks ago but broke the transmission on the line against her husband, Matt, who was in the hospital Thursday through this morning and tuning her bike remotely before returning to the track today.

The win moves her past Matt and into second place in the standings behind only Richard Gadson. An event win would move her to within 26 points of the lead. she's never been the points leader. An event win would make her the winner of the 200th female Wally in NHRA's pro classes.

She'll have lane choices when she takes on Ryan Oehler, who will be going to his fifth career final looking for his first win since the fall Las Vegas event in 2021 after Jianna Evaristo went -.005 red on her Buell to end the hopes of an all-Matt Smith Racing final. Oehler was lucky to reach the starting line after getting into a pit-area collision aboard his bike that sent him sprawling but relatively uninjured.

"Man, we are working so hard," he said. "This is definitely probably the most underfunded team out here. I'm telling everybody we may get this far, and I have to thank Capital One for not sending me to collections yet. Thanks to my dad back home and my whole team."

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LUCAS OIL SERIES FINAL ROUNDS

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
Jackie Fricke def. Gary Pritchett

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Sean Bellemeur def. Bob McCosh

COMP
Steve Szupka def. Joe Arrowsmith

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP SPORTSMAN
Ron Riegel def. Vince Fourcade

NHRA MISSION FOODS DRAG RACING SERIES FINAL RESULTS

Prock back to winner's circle as he, Langdon, and Smith double up in Maryland