NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Las Vegas was blasted by heavy rain last night, so the NHRA Safety Safari presented by Simpson was out early this morning grooming the track and looking for any instances of the rain getting under the rubber. To give them extra time on the track, the traditional SealMaster Track Walk was canceled, and the pre-race ceremony was also scrubbed. If you believe the weather forecasters, there's a 40% chance of rain all day. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCENARIOS FOR THE DAY

Top Fuel: The big deal of the day, of course, is that Shawn Langdon has the opportunity to clinch his second Top Fuel world championship. The scenario is pretty simple: Langdon is 147 points ahead of Doug Kalitta, meaning he’d need to go three rounds further than Kalitta to clinch today. For example, if Kalitta loses in the first round, Langdon can clinch by reaching the final. If Kalitta loses in the second round, Langdon needs to win the race to clinch.  If Kalitta advances to the semifinals, Langdon cannot clinch today and it will be decided in Pomona.

Pro Mod: This is the final Pro Mod race of the season. Justin Bond leads Mike Stavrinos by 13 points, so Stavrinos would have to go a round further than Bond to pass him, and Derek Manholt needs to go two rounds further than Bond and Stavrinos. J.R. Gray needs to go three more than Bond but only two more than Stavrinos. Billy Banaka needs Bond to lose round one or he’s eliminated, but, like Gray, is a round closer to Stavrinos should Bond go out early.

Top Alcohol Dragster: After beating his closest points rival, Shawn Cowie, in round two last night, Jamie Noonan can clinch his first world championship by winning his semifinal race.

Super Stock: Justin Pucillo can clinch the championship by winning the final round against Carl Youngstrom.

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TOP FUEL ROUND 1

The air temperature is 63 degrees, the track temperature is 79 degrees, and the very first pair gave us some indication of what we might see today as Billy Torrence reset low e.t. with a 3.660 at 340.65 against tire-smoking Spencer Massey. Torrence's run is the 50th 340-mph pass in NHRA history, 48 of which have happened in Top Fuel. Surprisingly, neither of those are career bests for Billy-Billy, who has run as quick as 3.655 and as fast as 341.43.

Points leader Shawn Langdon posted a workmanlike 3.672 over Cameron Ferre but will not have lane choice against Torrence in round two. Doug Kalitta kept their championship battle alive with a 3.682 victory over Will Smith's game 3.74. Smith was out first with a .034 light (better than his .044 season average) but couldn't match the Alan Johnson horsepower. Langdon and Kalitta are on a collision course for a semifinal battle.

"Obviously we're big Doug Kalitta fans over here," said Langdon. "They're the cream of the crop. They got the No. 1 on the side for a reason. We want to be able to have the opportunity to beat them at their best. So a potential matchup in the semi's. We still got a long way to go. We got a big round next round against Billy."

In a rematch of their Dallas final, Antron Brown again beat Maddi Gordon (now 3-1 on the season) in a great race, 3.690 to 3.693. Gordon's speed of 340.82 resets Torrence's minutes-old track record, and that's both ends of her career best. AB was first off the line, as he has been 34 of 42 races this year.

Clay Millican added another 3.6-second pass (3.699) to our collection, but it wasn't enough for the win against holeshot artist Justin Ashley, who won by .002-second with a 3.740. It's Ashley's fifth holeshot win of the season. In 34 rounds this year, Ashley has only been left on twice.

Tony Stewart, whose first NHRA win came here in Top Alcohol Dragster back in 2023, advanced to Round 2 with a solid 3.678 against rookie Chris Powers, whose parachute deployed early and whose head gaskets exited late. After first-round losses at the last three events, Josh Hart got the W over Shawn Reed with a 3.719.

This is Tony Schumacher’s 600th race, making him just the seventh Pro driver to hit that mark. Also in that exclusive club are John Force, Cruz Pedregon, Ron Capps, Warren Johnson, Larry Morgan, and Doug Kalitta. In that 600-race span, he's only had nine DNQs. Pretty impressive. All things considered, though, this has been the worst active season of his storied career, with just four round wins in 18 events; he hasn't turned on a win light since the Norwalk event in June and stunningly DNQ'd at Indy, a race he once dominated.

Interestingly, Schumacher's opponent in round one is the driver whose seat he will take next year at Tony Stewart Racing, Leah Pruett. Schumacher is up in smoke right away, and Pruett steams to a 3.714 for second-round lane choice over Hart.

Even though the championship battle is clearly between Langdon and Kalitta, the other teams still want strong finishes, and the Top 5 in points all advanced here.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Billy Torrence vs. Shawn Langdon; Doug Kalitta vs. Justin Ashley; Tony Stewart vs. Antron Brown; Leah Pruett vs. Josh Hart

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 1

Points leader Matt Hagan kept on trucking at his sponsor's event, posting a 3.882 victory over Dave Richards, but all of his closest pursuers advanced as well.

Second-place Jordan Vandergriff ripped to a 3.876 to take down Julie Nataas while third-place J.R. Todd scored his fourth holeshot win of the season, beating Chad Green, 3.909 to 3.88. Todd's .054 light was well better than his .065 season average. Todd is still a major factor in the championship battle, especially following his win in Dallas two weeks ago, and he'll have a chance to close on Hagan as they race in round two.

Fourth-place Austin Prock went 3.95 to defeat Daniel Wilkerson and low qualifier Jack Beckman, fifth in points, continued to flex that Danny Hood- and Tim Fabrisi-brewed horsepower with a solid 3.85 victory over Jeff Diehl, who got loose at the top end and took out the timing blocks.

Outside the championship contenders, Ron Capps matched his 3.89 qualifying pace to beat Cruz Pedregon's 3.93, Capps' third win in four tries against his fellow past world champ this season, putting a dent in Pedregon's hopes of making the Top 10 of points.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Spencer Hyde showcased that skill, winning a pedalfest with Paul Lee and Hunter Green upset Alexis DeJoria in a tight 3.92 to 3.93 battle. It's Green's first round-win since reaching the semifinals in Valdosta way back in early May.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Jack Beckman vs. Ron Capps; Hunter Green; Matt Hagan vs. J.R. Todd; Jordan Vandergriff vs. Spencer Hyde

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PRO STOCK ROUND 1

Low qualifier and points leader Dallas Glenn had a bye because Alan Prusiennky's Dodge was unable to make the call, but the world champ wasn't messing around, setting new low e.t. with a 6.615, and the championship chase got turned on its head as second-place Greg Stanfield lost on a holeshot to Elite teammate Troy Coughlin Jr., 6.628 to 6.624. Stanfield was a decent .015 on the Tree, but Coughlin was perfect with a trip-zip, so don't tell us anything about team orders. It's T.J.'s third holeshot win of the season.

"I'm trying to get this JEGS.com some lights, just trying to set up tight just because I'm running Greg Stanfield, and he's one of our quickest cars at Elite Motorsports, and really quickest on the property," said Coughlin. "He's a veteran racer that I grew up watching. It's an honor just to be next to him, so, uh, we're excited to head on to the next round."

Matt Hartford, third in points, can make up some ground on Stanfield after a 6.64 victory over Kenny Delco.

Rookie of the Year contender Cody Anderson was lights-out on the Tree as well with a .010 light (significantly better than his .042 average) en route to a 6,626 victory over Aaron Stanfield. Cody's dad, six-time world champ Greg, also advanced with a 6.62 against a broken Chris Vang and will have lane choice over his son in round two.

Conversely, it was a tough round for the Latino family as patriarch Eric caught his sixth red-light of the season to advance Erica Enders (he would have outrun her, 6.63 to 6.65) and son Matt logged his fourth foul to hand the win to Shane Tucker, who broke just off the line and coasted to a 22-second victory.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Dallas Glenn vs. Erica Enders; Deric Kramer vs. Matt Hartford; Greg Anderson vs. Cody Anderson; Troy Coughlin Jr. vs. Shane Tucker

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 1

Gaige Herrera, second in points, laid down the smack in his opening match, blasting to low e.t. of the meet with a 6.765 at a track-record 199.79 to defeat Chris Bostick. He'll take on Clayton Howey in round two after Howey's 6.85 win against Michael Phillips Jr.

Teammate and points leader Richard Gadson threw a scare into the Vance & Hines team as his Suzuki went toward the centerline, slowing him to a 7.15; fortunately for him, Martin winner John Hall's bike quit at the top end and coasted to a 7.86 loss. Gadson will cede the pick of lanes in round two to Angie Smith, who advanced with a 6.83 on Chase Van Sant's red-light.

Matt Smith kept pace in pursuit of what would be a class-record seventh world championship, tightroping down the centerline while staying ahead of Nevada favorite Karen Stoffer for a 6.857 win. He'll take on Joey Gladstone, who rode around Macr Ingwersen's holeshot for a 6.87 victory.

GT Tonglet strapped a massive holeshot on Ryan Oehler, but "Flyin' Ryan" was able to claw his way back for a 6.86 victory and will take on class veteran Steve Johnson, who raced to a 6.93 victory over past world champ Geno Scali.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Gaige Herrera vs. Clayton Howey; Matt Smith vs. Joey Gladstone; Angie Smith vs. Richard Gadson; Ryan Oehler vs. Steve Johnson

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PRO MOD CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

The top four in points all advanced, with points leader Justin Bond beating Shane Gray, Mike Stavrinos getting around Alex Laughlin, and Derek Menholt taking down Chip King, and J.R. Gray trailering Jason Collins. Bond and Menholt will face off in round two.

Billy Banaka, who advanced to the second round (and actually the semi's with a round-two bye slated), was eliminated from the championship battle by Bond's win.

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TOP FUEL ROUND 2

In a wild round, three of the four races were won on a holeshot. It's Vegas, baby!

Doug Kalitta assured that the world championship will not be settled this weekend, drilling Justin Ashley with a 3.667 and, on top of that, he was a sterling .012 on the Tree, becoming just the third driver this year to leave on Ashley, who was slower than usual with a .051 reaction time (season average: .037).

He'll take on his teammate, points leader Shawn Langdon, who advanced on a 3.678 to 3.675 holeshot on Billy Torrence. Big points implications there heading to Pomona. How close can Kalitta get?

"Yeah, the first two rounds, it seemed like those were my lucky rounds," said Kalitta. "I'm getting by some tough cars, and we'll see what happens with Shawn. We'll have him next round if he can get by this one. It's  just we're just a dogfight out here right now trying to make it happen."

Leah Pruett racked up her third holeshot win of the season, beating Josh Hart and improving her record against him this season to 5-0 on a 3.687 to 3.681 holeshot.

Just when it was looking like Tony Stewart and Pruett would race one another for the first time in their careers, Stewart gets upset on a holeshot by Antron Brown, 3.678 to 3.683, winning by just .006-second.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Doug Kalitta vs. Shawn Langdon; Antron Brown vs. Leah Pruett

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 2

J.R. Todd kept alive his chances for a second championship, taking down points leader Matt Hagan in a tight 3.88 to 3.89 victory, evening their season score at three wins apiece. That ends a streak of seven straight semifinal or better appearances for Hagan.

"That's a great team over there, but I feel like I got a great team behind me as well, and it's not over yet," said Todd. "If we win, then that means we've cut out a lot of work and set ourselves up good for Pomona, but you just gotta take it one round at a time. I hit the gas there, and it got a lot of wheel speed and downtrack, I don't know if it was the wind or what, but it felt like it was getting loose and I was solid on the wheel, and thankfully the win light came on, so hopefully two more."

Jordan Vandergriff will take advantage of Hagan's loss, beating tire-smoking Spencer Hyde with a 3.918, and Ron Capps took out low qualifier Jack Beckman with a 3.87 after Beckman dropped a cylinder downtrack.

Austin Prock also kept the flame alive on his hopes for a third straight championship, beating Hunter Green on a 3.88 to 3.95 count, and will take on Todd in another monster points matchup. Vandergriff can't catch Hagan this weekend, but with a race win he can pull to within 39 points of the leader.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Austin Prock vs. Ron Capps; J.R. Todd vs. Jordan Vandergriff

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PRO STOCK ROUND 2

After a wild round one that likely spelled the end to Greg Stanfield’s title hopes, all four of the remaining title contenders advanced to the semifinals.

Matt Hartford, who entered the event trailing Dallas Glenn by 41 points, moved on after opponent Deric Kramer shook the tires and slowed. Hartford would have been formidable with a solid 6.637. The win allowed Hartford to move around Greg Stanfield into second place in the standings.

Facing a 99-point deficit at the start of the event, Troy Coughlin Jr. is an admitted longshot to the title, but he has reached the semifinals with a 6.651 to 6.725 victory over Shane Tucker’s Ranch Water Camaro.

There are no team orders in the KB Titan camp, even amongst family as Cody Anderson slapped a .016 light on his father, Greg, but came up .009-second short at the stripe in a tight 6.613 to 6.643 battle.

Dallas Glenn, the incoming leader, got a free pass when Erica Enders fouled, but didn’t need it as he ran low elapsed time of the event with a 6.610 in his RAD Torque Systems Camaro.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Dallas Glenn vs. Matt Hartford; Greg Anderson vs. Troy Coughlin Jr. 

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 2

Matt Smith likely dropped out of title contention when he slowed against teammate Joey Gladstone, who advanced with a 6.863. That leaves Vance & Hines teammates Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson as the remaining contenders.

Gadson narrowly defeated Angie Smith on a small holeshot, 6.857 to 6.865, while Herrera lowered the boom on Clayton Howey with a 6.752, the quickest run of the event.

Ryan Oehler also moved on to the final four with a 6.823 win over Steve Johnson, who was very close with a 6.828.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Gaige Herrera vs. Joey Gladstone; Ryan Oehler vs. Richard Gadson.

***

PRO MOD CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

Justin Bond’s 5.67 to 6.01 over Derek Menholt set him up to win the championship. Menholt left first but had to pedal. That win also eliminated J.R. Gray from championship contention.

So it’s down to Mike Stavrinos and Bond. Stavrinos needs to beat local favorite Nick Januik to keep his slim title hopes alive and does what’s needed on a 5.695 to 5.728 count.

Stavrinos will take on J.R. Gray and Bond will take on Bill Banaka in the semifinals, if both win their semifinal rounds, it will be a winner-take-all final round.