NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

There is a chance that one or more NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Pro champs will be crowned during this weekend’s Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals powered by Direct Connection at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

After each of the incoming leaders won the most recent event in Dallas, Doug Kalitta, Austin Prock, Dallas Glenn, and Richard Gadson come into Las Vegas as the leading title contenders in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle, respectively.

Kalitta, the 2023 champ, has the largest lead at 141 points over Justin Ashley, and if he can stretch that advantage to 191 or more points this weekend, he can officially lock up his second title. Kalitta has won four times this season in seven final rounds, and he’s been particularly effective during the Countdown to the Championship playoffs with back-to-back wins in St. Louis and Dallas.

Ashley, who recently had a shake-up in his SCAG team with the departure of crew chief Mike Green and the arrival of Jason McCulloch, must have a strong showing in order to remain in title contention. The same goes for Shawn Langdon and Brittany Force, who are also in the hunt, although they both have much ground to make up.

In Funny Car, Prock is seeking his second straight title, and he’s holding a solid 112-point advantage over four-time champion Matt Hagan, and he leads Jack Beckman by 131 points and Ron Capps by 149. Prock has been rock solid this year with nine wins in the first 18 races of the season, including Countdown victories in Charlotte and Dallas. Prock has led the standings since the first Las Vegas event in late March and has a 42-9 record in elimination runs this season.

There are 21 Funny Cars on the pre-entry list, which raises the distinct possibility that the Vegas event could feature the sport’s first all-three-second Funny Car field.

The battle for the Pro Stock title is a bit closer with Dallas Glenn arriving in Las Vegas with a 60-point lead over his KB Titan teammate Greg Anderson. Glenn has won seven times this season in 12 final rounds, including the most recent event in Dallas. The Pro Stock title is essentially a two-horse race as third-ranked Matt Hartford trails by 224 points.

There are also 21 Pro Stock cars expected to compete in Las Vegas, which means qualifying is not a given for any team, including those currently ranked in the Top 10.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle title is also relatively close, with Richard Gadson holding a 72-point edge over his Vance & Hines teammate and two-time champ Gaige Herrera. Gadson won his first event earlier this season in Bristol and has gone on to add three more wins, including Charlotte and Dallas. Gadson has appeared in the final of six of 13 events this season.

The Las Vegas event also features a full roster of NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Sportsman categories with multiple championships up for grabs, as well as the NHRA Summit Racing E.T. Series world championships, where racers from all over North America will compete for E.T. bracket racing world titles.

2024 EVENT WINNERS: Brittany Force, Top Fuel; Austin Prock, Funny Car; Aaron Stanfield, Pro Stock; Gaige Herrera, Pro Stock Motorcycle:

MOST VICTORIES: Tony Schumacher, 4, TF; John Force, Ron Capps, 4, FC; Erica Enders, 6, PS; Andrew Hines, 5, PSM.

TRACK RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.652 sec. by Brittany Force, Nov. ’19; 338.17 mph by B. Force, Nov. ’19.
Funny Car - 3.816 sec. by Robert Hight, Oct. ’23; 335.90 mph by Beckman, Nov. ’19.
Pro Stock - 6.552 seconds by Kyle Koretsky, Oct. '23; 210.28 mph by Enders, Oct. '15.
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.755 seconds by Gaige Herrera, Oct. '23; 202.27 mph by Matt Smith, Nov. '22

NATIONAL RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading, Pa.; 343.51 mph by B. Force, Sept. ‘25, Indy
Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 341.68 mph by Austin Prock, Nov. '24, Pomona, Calif.
Pro Stock - 6.443 sec. by Greg Anderson, March '25, Gainesville; 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.

SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, October 30
Lucas Oil Series qualifying and time trials at 8:00 a.m.
Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 2:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, October 31
Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 8:00 a.m.
Summit E.T. time trial at 2:30 p.m.
Mission Foods Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m.
Mission Foods Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at 1:30 and 4:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, November 1
Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 8:00 a.m.
Summit E.T. time trial at 9:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.
Mission Foods Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Mission Foods Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, November 2 
Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 8:30 a.m.
Pre-race ceremony, 9:30 a.m.
Mission Foods eliminations begin at 11:00 a.m.

TELEVISION
SUNDAY, Nov. 2, FS1 will televise two hours of qualifying show at 3:00 p.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, Nov. 2, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 5:00 p.m. (ET)