NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Race three of six in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship is about to kick off. Here’s a look at what to expect on day one at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.

While defending event winners Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are working to go back-to-back, the story of the day is the glistening championship trophy calling from the not-too-distant future.

Top Fuel

The battle for championships is beginning to really boil, and while there is no clear victor yet in any category of professional drag racing, those in true contention are beginning to rise and shine. In Top Fuel, the war wages mightily with four-time St. Louis winner Doug Kalitta going back-to-back in the first two events to take the lead by just 38 points over Charlotte winner Justin Ashley. Kalitta Motorsports driver Shawn Langdon is in the thick of it just 59 marks out of first place, and he’s won St. Louis in both Funny Car (2019) and Top Fuel (2016). Regular-season champion Tony Stewart stands 67 points out of the top spot.

Reading Nationals winner Shawn Reed’s Cinderella story continues to hold him as a potential thorn in the side of his fellow competitors, and although carnage was aplenty for Clay Millican last week, he’s also an ever-threat and won this race in 2023. Brittany Force, the fastest driver in drag racing history, is 108 points out of the lead, and Reed is 131 back. Four-time Midwest Nats titlist Steve Torrence, five-time St. Louis winner Antron Brown, and Josh Hart round out the top 10.

Funny Car

Reigning world champion Austin Prock has had the points lead since the spring race in Charlotte, and he’s not loosening his grip. He rebounded from a second-round exit in Reading with a win last weekend in Charlotte to lead second-place Matt Hagan by 79 points. Hagan has two previous St. Louis wins. Ron Capps, who enters St. Louis carrying his long-worn NAPA banner and has won there four times, is 94 points from first in third, while Jack Beckman, a three-time winner there, is 98 points out of the top spot.

Top 10 players Paul Lee, Reading winner Cruz Pedregon, Daniel Wilkerson, Spencer Hyde, J.R. Todd, and Alexis DeJoria are all fully capable of throwing a wrench in the works, and although Bob Tasca III, Chad Green, and Dave Richards are all outside of the top 10, they’re each still in play and ready to jockey for position. Alex Laughlin will again be in Jim Dunn’s Funny Car for sidelined Buddy Hull, who continues to recover from a top-end incident earlier this season.

Pro Stock

Regular-season champion Dallas Glenn has refused to forfeit the lead with back-to-back wins to start the Countdown to the Championship. Greg Anderson, the reigning and six-time world champ and most winning driver in the history of the class, continues to keep his name toward the top. He and Glenn have traded the points lead all year and not left much room for anyone else, but with Cory Reed cracking the code in Norwalk, Pro Stock veteran Greg Stanfield returning to glory with a win in Sonoma, and six-time champion Erica Enders showing she’s in no mood to be left out with a win at the prestigious U.S. Nationals, a clean and unhindered sweep is out of the question.

Enders has long said, “Everything changes in St. Louis,” and in testament, she’s earned six trophies there, the most of any driver in a Pro category.

Matt Hartford has also shown to be a threat and emerged with the GETTRX All-Star Callout win mid-season. He’s No. 4 in the points behind a name surprisingly not yet on the win list for 2025. Aaron Stanfield, a diverse driver with 33 wins across five categories, has kept his name in the Pro Stock championship game several seasons running and has been runner-up in Pro Stock in each of the most recent two St. Louis national events. He’s also won St. Louis twice (2021 Factory Stock, 2024 Factory X).

Pro Stock Motorcycle

In the midst of a breakout season in which Richard Gadson earned his first Pro Stock Motorcycle win (and followed up with two more), locked down his first start from the No. 1 qualifying position, and took over the points lead with victory in Charlotte last weekend, the class is fully on its toes. A final-round finish last week next to Gadson has seven-time world champ Matt Smith just eight points back, while Reading Nationals winner John Hall is No. 3, 66 marks out of first. No one is counting out the reigning and back-to-back champion, though, and although he’s 71 points back from the lead entering the event, it is undeniable that Gaige Herrera has that proverbial chip resting squarely on his shoulder.

Smith’s five wins in St. Louis are the most for any rider, and Herrera enters the event with each of the last two St. Louis trophies tucked neatly on the shelf.

In addition to the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series classes, competition this weekend at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals will include Congruity Pro Mod, Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown, Holley EFI NHRA Factory X, Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock, and the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

2024 EVENT WINNERS: Tony Schumacher, Top Fuel; Jack Beckman, Funny Car; Dallas Glenn, Pro Stock; Gaige Herrera, Pro Stock Motorcycle

MOST VICTORIES: Antron Brown, 5, TF; Ron Capps, 4, FC; Erica Enders, 6, PS; Matt Smith, 5, PSM.

TRACK RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.631 sec. by Clay Millican, Sept. ’17; 338.43 mph by Brittany Force, Oct. ‘22
Funny Car – 3.814 sec. by Austin Prock, Sept. ’24; 338.60 mph by Robert Hight, Sept. ‘17
Pro Stock – 6.492 sec. by Greg Anderson Sept. ’15; 213.47 mph by Jason Line, Sept. ’12
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.701 sec. by Gaige Herrera, Sept. ’23; 203.40 mph by Matt Smith, Sept.  ‘23

SCHEDULE 
FRIDAY, Sept. 26 (All times Central)
NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES qualifying and time trials 8 a.m.
NHRA MISSION FOODS DRAG RACING SERIES qualifying 5 and 7 p.m.

SATURDAY, Sept. 27
LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations 8 a.m.
NHRA MISSION FOODS SERIES qualifying 12:15 p.m. and 3 p.m.

SUNDAY, Sept. 28
LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations 9 a.m. Pre-race ceremonies and Seal Master track walk 9:45 a.m.
NHRA MISSION FOODS SERIES eliminations 11 a.m.

TELEVISION
Sunday, Sept. 28, FS1 will televise one and one-half hours of qualifying coverage beginning 1:30 p.m. (ET)
Sunday, Sept. 28, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage beginning 3 p.m. (ET)