NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals powered by Direct Connection in Las Vegas was the second-to-last event of the 2025 season and packed with all of the championship drama one would expect to set the stage for the season finale in Pomona. Here are our five big takeaways from the race.

DO NOT EVER COUNT OUT GAIGE HERRERA

Two-time and defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Gaige Herrera admitted that his prospects for a third title appeared dim after back-to-back round-one losses in Reading and Charlotte, but anyone who has followed Herrera’s career should have known better. Staging a dramatic comeback, Herrera has now won the last two events, and he has taken an axe to teammate Richard Gadson’s once-sizable points lead.

Herrera now trails Gadson by just 21points, which equals less than one round of competition under the points-and-a-half format in Pomona. That means there is the very real prospect of a winner-take-all final should the two RevZilla/Vance & Hines teammates advance that far.

“I’d love that,” said Herrera. “I’m the type of guy who thrives on pressure, and the last two years, I’ve just had to win the first round [in Pomona, to win the title]. It’s going to be different this time.”

What Herrera has done in the last three years is nothing short of incredible, and there is virtually no comparison. In his first 50 starts, he has logged 28 wins and has a 138-20 record in elimination rounds.

PRO MOD CONSISTENTLY DELIVERS THE GOODS

The Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals was the final event of the season for racers in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, and it isn’t an exaggeration or hyperbole to suggest it was the best Pro Mod racing found anywhere on the planet this season. In the end, J.R. Gray topped Billy Banaka in a winner-take-all final round, 5.74 to 5.76.

The final round featured two of the top title contenders, but it could have just as easily featured any two drivers in the field. Banaka led the pack with a 5.71, but even No. 16 qualifier Stan Shelton was a legit contender with a 5.81 run. There was more of the same in eliminations as six of the first eight races in round one and 11 of 15 overall featured side-by-side 5.7s.

Most fans are attracted to Pro Mod cars because they are loud, colorful, and fast, but an often overlooked aspect of the class is the talent level of the drivers, most of whom can hit the Christmas Tree with bracket-like consistency.

This season, the 10-race series featured five different winners with only Gray and Mike Stavrinos scoring multiple victories. There were also eight different drivers who appeared in the final rounds, a solid display of the sort of parity that defines NHRA Drag Racing.

DALLAS GLENN IS THE REAL DEAL

As he approaches what could easily be his first NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series championship, Dallas Glenn has drawn favorable comparisons to some of the class' all-time greats. From his undeniable talent to his work ethic and, perhaps more importantly, his humble attitude, it’s hard not to look at Glenn and think of another of the class icons, four-time world champion Lee Shepherd.

Much like Shepherd, Glenn was a successful Sportsman racer long before he had the opportunity to dump the clutch on a Pro Stock car. Glenn also continues to prove his worth on the mechanical side in addition to his driving chores as he not only works on almost every aspect of his car, but he also drives the team hauler from race to race.

Glenn’s meteoric rise also mirrors that of Shepherd as he’s now won 21 times in 91 starts and has appeared in 40 final rounds with a 185-69 record in elimination rounds.

Glenn still has work to do in order to clinch his first title, but with a 92-point lead heading into the final event of the season, he realizes he’s on the verge of greatness, and he’s determined to see the job through to the finish line.

QUALIFYING IN POMONA WILL BE HIGH DRAMA

All four Mission Foods Series world championships will go down to the finale at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, and while the two nitro championships lean heavily in favor of current leaders Doug Kalitta and Austin Prock, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle remain further up in the air.

With 30 points per round awarded in Pomona, you don’t have to be a math genius to understand the significance of Dallas Glenn’s 92-point lead over Greg Anderson. If the margin stays the same, Anderson would need to win four more rounds than Glenn – i.e. a  first-round loss for Glenn and an event win for Anderson. Anderson’s first job in Pomona is to earn three more session bonus points or qualifying position points than Glenn to get the deficit under 90.

(Refresher course: Low e.t of each session gets four points, second-best gets three, third gets two, and fourth gets one point. No. 1 qualifier at the end of qualifying gets 10 points, No. 2 gets nine, No. 3 gets eight, and so on until 9-12 gets four points and 13-16 gets three.)

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Richard Gadson’s lead is 21 points, or less than a round of racing. He’d have to add nine or more points to change that, which is definitely possible, but Gaige Herrera’s bike would have to falter on a few runs. It’s happened before, but not likely.

We could be headed for another winner-take-all final round in the class, just as we did in Top Fuel in 2023 and Pro Stock in 2024.

Don’t miss Friday and Saturday in Pomona!

BRITTANY FORCE IS GOING OUT ON A HIGH

There is a possibility that Brittany Force takes her last ride in a Top Fuel dragster two weeks from now at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, but regardless of what happens at her home track, Force can walk away secure in the knowledge that she’s earned her place among nitro racing’s all-time greats.

Force won’t win a third championship this season, but she doesn’t need to. With her win in Las Vegas, she’s now got 19 career victories and has passed Shirley Muldowney as the sport’s winningest female Top Fuel racer. Muldowney, of course, has three championships to Force’s two, so there’s something to shoot for when – if? – she makes her return in a few years.

She talked about how when she made the announcement to her crew in Reading that she would park her helmet at season’s end, their immediate reaction was “We have to win another race for you,” and they did that in Las Vegas.

Whether or not she comes back – and she said Saturday after qualifying No. 1 for the 58th time in her career that she was very much open to it – she’s already created a family-worthy addition to the legacy of John Force Racing.

A final win at her hometown race in Pomona and another 340-mph run or two would be an appropriate way to close her current chapter.