NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Just four races remain in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season, and a strong finish in the remaining events has never meant more with the new NHRA regular-season championship, which was introduced for the 2025 season.

NHRA will award nearly $400,000 to the regular-season champions in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle, with $150,000 going to the driver in both Top Fuel and Funny Car who finishes atop the points standings at the conclusion of the prestigious Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Aug. 27-Sept. 1.

With regular-season races remaining in Seattle (July 18-20), Sonoma (July 25-27), Brainerd (Aug. 14-17), and Indy, let’s take a look at the top challengers for the regular-season championship before the start of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

TOP FUEL

This has turned into a three-car battle for the regular-season crown, one that features points leader Tony Stewart, Shawn Langdon, and Justin Ashley. 

Stewart currently leads Langdon by 52 points and Ashley by 77 points, which means this one could come down to the wire. Stewart has already grabbed a pair of victories and remains remarkably consistent this season, while Langdon’s impressive 2025 campaign has included a pair of wins and four trips to the final round.

Nobody has been hotter than Ashley as of late, as he’s won back-to-back races and has advanced to the final round at six of the past seven races. In some form or fashion, the trio has met up late during eliminations at nearly every event, which could make for some must-see moments at the next four stops. Langdon is 6-4 against Stewart and Ashley, while Ashley is 4-6 against the two drivers ahead of him. Stewart, meanwhile, is 4-4 against Langdon and Ashley in 2025.

Expect to see plenty of fireworks here, and this battle could make for a thrilling NHRA U.S. Nationals.

FUNNY CAR

It has been a spectacular John Force Racing run in Funny Car dating back to the start of the 2024 campaign, and that trend has certainly continued this year.

The combo of Austin Prock, Jack Beckman, and John Force has won 18 of the past 30 Funny Car races, a streak that includes six of the first 10 races this year. Prock has four of those victories, giving him a commanding 127-point lead over Beckman, who has won twice. Paul Lee is a distant 192 points behind reigning champ Prock, who has shown no sign of letup since joining the Funny Car ranks.

He seems headed to a regular-season championship in 2025 after leading for nearly the entire season in 2024 as well. It would be a fitting triumph for the team, though a hot streak by Beckman could make things interesting.

A JFR vs. JFR battle has taken place three times this year, with Prock holding a 2-1 advantage, including most recently in the final round in Richmond. Based on what we’ve seen thus far (and in 2024), Prock or Beckman seems likely to add another impressive accomplishment to their brilliant run.

PRO STOCK

Speaking of dominant teammates, Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn have left the Pro Stock field far in the rearview mirror, at least when it comes to the regular-season championship.

Anderson, the reigning world champion, leads Glenn by just 50 points, but the next-closest competitor, Matt Hartford, is a whopping 313 points behind Anderson, making this the absolute definition of a two-horse race.

A big advantage tends to happen when you combine to win seven of the first eight Pro Stock races, which is precisely what Anderson and Glenn have done for the KB Titan Racing team. Anderson has won four times, and Glenn is right behind with three victories, as both drivers have also been to the final round at every race except one.

It’s a foregone conclusion that one of them wins the regular-season title, but it should be an interesting battle between the veteran and young standout. They’re tied 3-3 in head-to-head matchups this year, with each of those duels taking place in the final round. A few more could decide who wins the regular-season title for the first time.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: It’s Vance & Hines vs. Matt Smith Racing for the championship. This time, it happens to be the regular-season version, but Gaige Herrera and Matt Smith are again dueling, with Richard Gadson close behind.

Herrera leads Smith by 96 points and his Vance & Hines teammate by 111 points, but it hasn’t been quite the same dominant season from Herrera as the previous two. Of course, that would have been nearly impossible considering what he accomplished in 2023 and 2024. Still, he has won three times this year, the most for anyone in the class, which makes him the favorite here.

But it could be an interesting fight to Indy. Each of the top three has won this year, setting up what could be an exciting finish, especially when they also have the upcoming GETTRX All-Star Callout taking place in Sonoma as well.

A regular-season championship is also a definite precursor to success in the Countdown to the Championship as well. Both Prock and Herrera won world titles starting from the No. 1 position last year, while Doug Kalitta and Glenn each finished second. In 2022 and 2021, seven of the eight drivers who entered the playoffs with the points lead ended up as champions.

REMAINING RACES IN THE 2025 REGULAR SEASON

July 18-20: 36th annual Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals, Pacific Raceways, Seattle

July 25-27: 37th annual DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge, Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma

Aug. 14-17: 43rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd

Aug. 27-Sept. 1: 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis

NHRA COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS

Sept. 11-14: 40th annual Reading NHRA Nationals, Maple Grove Raceway, Reading

Sept. 19-21: 17th annual NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals, zMAX Dragway, Charlotte

Sept. 26-28: 14th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, World Wide Technology Raceway, St. Louis

Oct. 9-12: 40th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals, Texas Motorplex, Dallas

Oct. 30-Nov. 2: 25th annual NHRA Nevada Nationals, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas

Nov. 13-16: 60th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona