NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

As traffic continued streaming through the gates and the grandstands steadily swelled at New England Dragway , Saturday's qualifying sessions at the NHRA New England Nationals roared to life with Top Fuel leading the way. 

News & Notes: Top Fuel Q3 — Urgency Takes Center Stage at New England Dragway

With only one more opportunity remaining before Saturday's Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and the final qualifying session, teams rolled into Q3 knowing that every run carried significant weight. Some contenders strengthened their positions, while others were left scrambling to solve issues before the day's final shot at the field.

Top Fuel—Third Qualifying Session:  

Langdon continued the remarkable consistency that has defined his season, posting a strong 3.736-second pass at 332.10 mph. The Kalitta Motorsports driver once again demonstrated why he entered the weekend atop the standings, delivering a clean run when many around him struggled.

Teammate Doug Kalitta also showed race-winning potential, powering to a stout 3.734 at 335.82 mph, the quickest elapsed time of the session among the pairings shown. Kalitta's run reinforces the strength of the Kalitta camp as eliminations draw closer.

Not everyone enjoyed a smooth trip down the historic New England Dragway surface.

Tony Stewart and Josh Hart both encountered significant trouble, with Stewart coasting to a 6.662-second pass and Hart slowing to an 8.813. Leah Pruett also failed to complete a full run opposite Kalitta, while Shawn Reed's machine lost momentum early against Maddi Gordon. For those teams, the pressure heading into Q4 has intensified considerably.

Among the other notable performances, Justin Ashley continued to show flashes of championship form with a 3.780-second effort against Clay Millican, while Tony Schumacher edged Antron Brown in a tightly contested side-by-side race, 3.820 to 3.831. Will Smith also delivered an impressive 3.848-second run at more than 326 mph.

The biggest storyline heading into the final qualifying session remains simple: urgency.

The weather conditions that allowed Shawn Langdon to claim Friday night's No. 1 Clawifier Award presented by NAPA have changed, and several top teams still need better runs to secure favorable positions for Sunday's eliminations. Crew chiefs can be seen pouring over data, drivers are focused, and every decision now carries added significance.

With one qualifying session remaining and Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge bonus points still on the table, the intensity around the Top Fuel category continues to build. Saturday afternoon promises another round of high-stakes drama as teams make their final push toward race day at the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto.

Saturday Schedule

11:30 a.m. — Professional Qualifying Session 3
12:00 p.m. — Sportsman Eliminations Continue
2:00 p.m. — Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge Finals
2:30 p.m. — Professional Qualifying Session 4

Tickets and Streaming

Tickets remain available for both Saturday and Sunday's championship eliminations at New England Dragway. Fans planning to attend can purchase tickets through the NHRA ticket office and event website. (NHRA)

For those unable to make the trip to Epping, every round of professional qualifying and eliminations can be streamed live on NHRA.TV, which provides complete coverage of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. (NHRA.TV)

Friday belonged to Langdon, DeJoria, and Anderson.

By the end of Saturday afternoon, the rest of the field hopes the story will be very different.

TELEVISION
FRIDAY, June 5, FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise one and half hours of qualifying coverage at 8:00 p.m. ET 
SUNDAY, June 7, FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 12:00 p.m. ET 

SUNDAY, June 7, FOX will televise three hours of finals coverage at 3:00 p.m. ET 

2025 EVENT WINNERS
Brittany Force, Top Fuel; J.R. Todd, Funny Car; Greg Anderson, Pro Stock. 

MOST VICTORIES (active drivers)
Tony Schumacher, 2, TF, Matt Hagan, 4, FC; Greg Anderson, 3, PS. 

TRACK RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.646 seconds by Doug Kalitta, June '25; 341.42 mph by Brittany Force, June '25. 
Funny Car - 3.822 seconds by Robert Hight, June '17; 336.74 mph by Hight, June '17. 
Pro Stock - 6.469 seconds by Greg Anderson, June '25; 214.72 mph by Greg Anderson, June '15. 

NATIONAL RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading; 345.00 mph by Shawn Langdon, May ’26, Adel
Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 341.68 mph by Austin Prock, Nov. ’24, Pomona
Pro Stock - 6.443 sec. by Greg Anderson, March '25, Gainesville; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May '14, Englishtown