NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals marks the beginning of the final stretch of the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season. With just four races to go until the end of the first leg of the championship race that culminates with the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, everything that happens starting today at Pacific Raceways seems to have a more significant impact.

Today's final eliminations are the green light and the time to stomp on the pedal, roaring into the final four races that will determine the seeds for the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Certainly, no one understands the need to put the hammer down more than 2023 world champion Doug Kalitta. The class’ most tenured driver has been having a good season from a performance standpoint, racking up his sixth No. 1 qualifying effort at this event, and dominating Saturday’s action with four #2Fast2Tasty Challenge wins. Still, the raceday results just haven't been there for the driver of the Mac Tools dragster. 

The 55-time winner has yet to reach the winner circle on Sunday and sits in fourth place in the standings. He’d love to get a big win here in Seattle to kick off that stretch drive and move closer to the rich rewards that will be presented for the first time in NHRA history to the winner of the 14-race regular season. Kalitta looked good throughout qualifying with several 3.6-second runs, as did his teammate, Shawn Langdon, who won his fourth Mission Challenge title Saturday in the Kalitta Air dragster. 

The dominating duo will race into eliminations with a lot of momentum after their qualifying efforts but will face steep challenges from a number of drivers including points leader Tony Stewart, two-time world champ Brittany Force, who made a dazzling 340-mph run during Friday qualifying, resurgent Clay Millican, who reached the final round in Norwalk, and of course, Justin Ashley, who has reached the final round in five of the last six events in his Scag Racing dragster.

Kalitta and Ashley will clash in round two; both have a first-round bye -- Kalitta from the 11-car ladder and Ashley as the result of Shawn Reed's big crash on Saturday.

In Funny Car, no one is hotter than reigning world champ Austin Prock. The “Prock Rocket” and his Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet came into the event on a hot streak, winning in both Richmond and Norwalk, then added a Mission Challenge victory and another No. 1 qualifying berth Saturday at Pacific Raceways. As always, there's no shortage of challengers to Prock, including this year's most improved driver, Paul Lee, and young Daniel Wilkinson, who seems primed to win his first national event and could get it done here, where his father, crew chief, Tim, has his victories before.

In Pro Stock, as it has been all season, the narrative revolves around the dynamic duo of Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn. Anderson, the six-time world champ, looks to barely have the stronger car of the two KB Titan teammates, but it was Glenn, the hometown hero, who yesterday broke the track record for the third time during this event and also won the Mission Challenge.

Glenn said that although he turned on the win light, he felt that Anderson had not had problems; Anderson would have run even quicker, setting up a huge clash in today's eliminations.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, the battle will be as it has been all season between the Vance & Hines Suzukis of Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson and the Matt Smith Racing four-pack of Matt Smith, Angie Smith, John Hall, and Jianna Evaristo. 

Hall, who came into the event hot off a return to the winner circle in Norwalk, showed no signs of letting up with his American Rebel Light Buell, qualifying No 1 and also winning the Mission Challenge. Herrera, the two-time and reigning world champ, qualified second, and Smith was right behind him in third with Herrera's teammate Gadson hot on their tail. With just eight bikes entered, the eliminations will be just a three-round affair for them, which means that every drop of the clutch and every twist of the throttle means more.

2024 EVENT WINNERS

Steve Torrence, Top Fuel; Austin Prock, Funny Car; Jeg Coughlin Jr., Pro Stock; Chase Van Sant, Pro Stock Motorcycle

MOST VICTORIES

Tony Schumacher and Joe Amato, 5, TF; John Force, 9, FC; Bob Glidden, 6, PS; Gaige Herrera, 1, PSM.

TRACK RECORDS

• Top Fuel - 3.685 sec. by Antron Brown, Aug. ’16; 340.74 mph by  Force, July ‘24
• Funny Car – 3.832 sec. by Del Worsham Aug. ’16; 334.15 mph by Jack Beckman, Aug. ’16.
• Pro Stock – 6.462 sec. by Dallas Glenn, July 2025; 213.40 mph by McGaha, Aug. ’15.
• Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.704 sec. by Jianna Evaristo, July ’24 200.56 mph by Hector Arana Jr., July ‘23.

NATIONAL RECORDS

• Top Fuel - 3.670 seconds by Doug Kalitta, July ‘24; 3340.47 mph by Brittany Force, July ‘25.
• 3.832 seconds by Del Worsham, Aug ‘16; 338.51 mph by Bob Tasca III, July ‘24.
• Pro Stock –  6.472sec. by Greg Anderson, July '25; 213.40 mph by McGaha, Aug ‘15
• Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.704 seconds by Jianna Evaristo, July ‘24; 203.95 mph by Evaristo July ‘24.

SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, July 20
Pre-race ceremony, 9:45 a.m.
NHRA MISSION FOODS SERIES eliminations begin at 10:30 a.m.

TELEVISION

• Sunday, July 21, FS1 will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 1:00 p.m. (ET).
• Sunday, July 21, FOX will televise three hours of live finals coverage at 4 p.m. (ET).
• All weekend: NHRA.tv

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