NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

TOP FUEL ROUND 1

Clay Millican, perhaps the current driver with the most experience and success at Rockingham, having won 11 times in 14 raceday appearances here during his IHRA days, didn't make it down on a full pass on any of his four qualifying runs, but new crew chief Rob Wendland got it sorted for round one, where their 3.80 upset No. 2 qualifier Tony Stewart, whose pipes went wet down track.

Entering raceday, Shawn Langdon’s lead was just five points over teammate Doug Kalitta, but Langdon’s Kalitta Air dragster only made one solid run in four shots in qualifying, the complete inverse of the team’s season-long profile that had them completing 74% of all runs. All of that was forgotten after a blistering 3.71 to beat Cameron Ferre, who posted a competitive 3.93. Fans will be able to see Ferre and the Jerry Freeman team at the remaining four events of the schedule.

In round two, Langdon will take on Billy Torrence, who posted a fine 3.74 in taking down Canadian Dan Mercier.

Kalitta kept pace with his teammate as he cruised past longshot Rit Pustari with a workmanlike 3.74.

Justin Ashley was a psychic .010 on the Tree -- he’d left on 24 of the 26 drivers he’s faced and had the event’s quickest reaction time on nine occasions over 15 races and scored a class-high three holeshot wins --- and was leading Maddi Gordon (who also had a great light with an .037) until the blower on Ashley's Scag machine backfired and allowed the rookie phenom to squeeze by and take the win with a 3.75. It's her first win against Ashley in three races so far this season.

"Man, that's so awesome," said the ever-excitable Gordon, who lost in round one last weekend in Michigan. "That's exactly what we needed. Justin has set the bar in Top Fuel, so I knew it had to be up on it."

Will Smith, coming off a season-best 3.69 in Martin, added another win light to his first Countdown highlights, defeating Josh Hart, 3.76 to 3.82. Smith, second only to Ashley in reaction-time average, was also on time with a .015 light. In round two, Smith will take on Leah Pruett, whom he beat in round one last weekend, after Pruett took down Tony Schumacher in a great 3.77 to 3.77 race.

"I'm just working on trying to be a driver," Smith said. "I've sucked lately getting the car down through there straight. Had some challenges, but I'm working through it. Just getting better, more repetition, more runs. That Bluebird Turf team is doing a great job. Two weeks in a row, we've collected first-round wins."

Hart's loss will end up costing him at least two spots in the standings.

Shawn Reed closed the frame with a victory over Antron Brown, his first in four tries this season against the four-time world champ. It's the first round-win for new Reed crew chief Ryan Elliott. With Brown's loss, Pruett moved past him and into fourth place in the standings.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Doug Kalitta vs. Maddi Gordon; Will Smith vs. Leah Pruett; Clay Millican vs. Shawn Reed; Shawn Langdon vs. Billy Torrence

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 1

Martin winner Jordan Vandergriff ran his Countdown record to five straight wins with a stout 3.86 to 3.91 victory over Chad Green for the fourth time in six meetings this season. Vandergriff, who’s had the quickest reaction time of the event four times and collected a pair of holeshot wins, was a solid .045 on the Tree, better than his .063 season average.

Reigning world champ Austin Prock raced to a solid 3.892 to beat longshot Jon Capps, which will set him up for a second-round date with Vandergriff and a chance to avenge his first-round loss last weekend where Prock went red against Vandergriff and his former team.

Points leader Matt Hagan kept his run going with a 3.91 victory over Dave Richards and, in a points-crucial monster battle, with take on low qualifier Ron Capps, who raced to a 3.892 on his first-round bye. Capps has lane choice..

Alexis DeJoria, looking especially strong during qualifying this weekend in the Bandero Cafe Ford ("We made Saturday our bitch," she grinned), advanced to round two with a 3.95 despite having a cylinder or two out, trailering John Smith and the Rockingham-sentimental Steve Earwood Motorsports entry. It's her fourth straight race with a round-one win following a pair of first-round exits on the Western Swing. She'll cede second-round lane choice to Paul Lee, who ran 3.93 to beat Cruz Pedregon.

Daniel Wilkerson eked past Jack Beckman by .004-second on a holeshot, 3.931 to 3.916. D-Wilk hasn’t gotten the pub he deserves for his starting-line prowess (unlike his Scag Top Fuel teammate Justin Ashley), but coming into this race he had left on 22 of 26 opponents this year (84.6%) and leads the class in reaction-time average at .059. He was .026 this time to Beckman's .047 (reaction times at this event are being impacted somewhat by the timing system). Beckman's loss and Capps' win moved Capps into third place in the standings.

J.R. Todd, whose DHL Toyota went down the track on all four qualifying passes (the team leads the class in completed-run percentage at about 70%), took an easy 3.91 victory over Spencer Hyde, who had to step off the gas in Jim Head's entry after it dropped cylinders. Todd's win ties him for fourth place now with Beckman, who was the only one of the top eight drivers to exit in the opening stanza.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Ron Capps vs. Matt Hagan; J.R. Todd vs. Daniel Wilkerson; Paul Lee vs. Alexis DeJoria; Jordan Vandergriff vs. Austin Prock

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PRO STOCK ROUND 1

Greg Stanfield ran his record against his son, Aaron, to 5-1 this season (6-1 career) after the youngster, one of the best leavers in the class, blatantly fouled against him with a -.299 reaction. For the record, the top four leavers in the class are Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield (.029) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Dallas Glenn (.030).

Stanfield will take on Matt Latino, whose 6.507 victory over Kenny Delco (who's been racing Pro Stock since before Latino was born) was quicker than Stanfield's 6.511.

Martin winner Troy Coughlin Jr. continued to use Eric Latino as his personal punching bag, beating him for the fourth time this season and doing it this time on a holeshot, 6.517 to 6.514, in a class Elite vs. KB Titan matchup. T.J.'s uncle, Jeg Coughlin Jr., wasn't as fortunate, as he hammered the tires on the launch then stayed with the sashaying yellow Camaro until he was about to lose the handle and shut off, giving Stephen Bell a rare round win.

Troy Jr. will have second-round lane choice against points leader Matt Hartford, who ran a thousandth slower with a 6.518 on his bye run.

Dallas Glenn kept pace with Hartford with a 6.499 against Shane Tucker's keeping-him-honest  6.528, the Aussie's best run of the weekend.

Greg Anderson will face his son, Cody, in round two after respective wins over Deric Kramer and Erica Enders. It's rookie Cody's second victory over the six-time world champ in five meetings this season.

The top five in points all advanced to round two.

Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Troy Coughlin Jr. vs. Matt Hartford; Greg Anderson vs. Cody Anderson; Dallas Glenn vs. Stephen Bell; Matt Latino vs. Greg Stanfield

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 1

Points leader and reigning world champ Richard Gadson continued to pile on the points with a 6.742 victory over Geno Scali, a pass matched by Ryan Oehler on a solo pass after Maclom Phillips broke, but Gadson will have lane choice based on a better speed, 200.71 to 199.56.

Gadson's teammate, Gauge Herrera, had low e.t. of the round with a 6.68 victory over Lance Bonham.

Clayton Howey ran his record to 3-0 against fellow Southern California native Steve Johnson, whose Suzuki faltered and watched him roar into round two with a 6.80, while Joey Gladstone, earning points for injured Jianna Evaristo, put another 20 points into her account with a win over surprise Martin runner-up Marc Ingwersen. Evaristo continues to rehab her injured right knee and told us before eliminations she doesn't expect to be back in the saddle this season.

Martin winner John Hall's hopes for another win ended early with a -.004 red light against Chase Van Sant, who will cede second-round lane choice to low qualifier Angie Smith, who raced to a 6.80 on her first-round bye. Angie's husband, Matt, will join her in round two after a 6.73 victory over Marcus Hylton. Matt's win and John Hall's loss moved Smith into second place in the standings.

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

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TOP FUEL ROUND 2

Points leader Shawn Langdon and the Kalitta Air team caught a major break as Billy Torrence caught his second red-light of the season against them, only for Langdon's engine to go sour and coast to a 4.37 win. Langdon's points lead remained at a slim five points over Doug Kalitta, who drove around Maddi Gordon's holeshot at halftrack en route to a 3.76 victory.

With Torrence's loss, the Kalitta teammates, who are on opposite sides of the ladder, continued to gap the field as Nos. 3 through 8 in the points are already on the sidelines today.

Will Smith continued to show off his starting-line chops with an .013 reaction time that carried him to victory against Leah Pruett in a race in which both cars ran 3.772. Smith's win moved him past Justin Ashley and into ninth place in the standings.

Kalitta drove around Maddi Gordon's holeshot at half-track to post a 3.76 half-car victory over the rookie.

Shawn Reed evened his season scorecard against Clay Millican with a 3.85 pass after Millican's mount dropped cylinders. It's Reed's first semifinal appearance of the season on the heels of six straight first-round losses that led to the departure of crew chief Rob Wendland.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Doug Kalitta vs. Will Smith; Shawn Reed vs. Shawn Langdon

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FUNNY CAR ROUND 2

Points leader Matt Hagan put down one of his closest pursuers, beating Ron Capps with a strong 3.941 and will have semifinal lane choice over J.R. Todd by a slim .001-second. Todd won for the fourth time in five races this season against Daniel Wilkerson. 

It's Hagan's fifth straight quality start (semifinal or better). With points runners 2-4 already out, Hagan's lead will continue to grow.

"Talk about pressure, man," exhaled Hagan. "I mean, it's always there, but it's big, big rounds, big points. Damn, it's been a nerve-wracking day for us."

Austin Prock avenged his first-round loss from last weekend, defeating Jordan Vandergriff by the ultra-fine margin of just .0002-second in a 3.916 to 3.905 win. It's Prock's third holeshot win of the season. Prock will take on Paul Lee, who raced to a 3.923 to 3.924 win over Alexis DeJoria. Funny Car racing today is not for the weak of heart.

"I never heard him, I never saw him," said Prock. "I just knew I knew mine had given up down there, probably 800 feet. It either had a hole out or spun, and the nose dropped, and the tires were up. I'm glad the win light came on. We've lost a lot of close ones this year. It's good to get a close one in the Countdown; big point round there."

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hagan vs. J.R. Todd; Austin Prock vs. Paul Lee

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PRO STOCK ROUND 2

After both Troy Coughlin (against Matt Hartford) and Matt Latino (against Greg Stanfield) violently shook the tires in left-lane losses, world champ Dallas Glenn and the Rad Torque team switched to the right lane and breezed to a 6.51 to 6.55 victory over Stephen Bell, who proved that the left lane could be navigated safely with a 6.55 in defeat.

It was father versus son for the second time today as Greg Anderson took on son Cody, and for the first time in three matchups this season, Cody took the win after Greg's car shook the tires in the right lane. (Cody is now grounded for two weeks.)

For those keeping score, with his wins,12-time champions are 0-2 against Cody today.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Cody Anderson vs. Matt Hartford; Dallas Glenn vs. Greg Stanfield

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 2

The two-wheeled upsets that dropped jaws last weekend in Michigan continued as low qualifier Angie Smith fouled to Chase Van Sant, and her husband, Matt, had to roll out of the throttle after wounding the engine downtrack against Joey Gladstone.

The twin losses by the Matt Smith Racing leaders were offset by the success of their rivals in the Vance & Hines camp as Gaige Herrera blasted to a 6.69 to ride around Clayton Howey's perfect, trip-zip reaction time and Richard Gadson advanced on Ryan Oehler's red-light.

The round was huge for Herrera, who entered eliminations in the unfamiliar sixth spot in the standings. With second-place John Hall out in round one and third (Matt Smith), fourth (Angie Smith), and fifth (Oehler) all bowing out in this frame, Herrera is already up to third place and would go to second if he beats Gladstone in the semi's.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Richard Gadson vs. Chase Van Sant; Gaige Herrera vs. Joey Gladstone

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TOP FUEL SEMIFINALS

For the fourth time this season, Kalitta Motorsports teammates Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon will face off in the final round. Kalitta defeated Will Smith for the fourth straight time this season with a 3.75 after Smith's car lost traction at midtrack while Langdon went 3.79 in the battle of Shawns with Shawn Reed. It's Langdon's 11th straight round win.

Langdon has a remarkable streak going, having won at all three of the new venues on the tour this year -- South Georgia, Maryland, and Martin, Mich. -- and beat Kalitta in South Georgia and Maryland. Kalitta defeated Langdon in the Charlotte final earlier this year.

Lifetime, Langdon holds a 5-3 advantage over Kalitta in final rounds dating back to their first at the NHRA Finals in Pomona in 2013, the year that Langdon won his first Top Fuel championship.

Kalitta has lane choice.

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FUNNY CAR SEMIFINALS

Paul Lee will get a shot at a second career nitro Funny Car Wally after stunning everyone with a 3.88 in besting tire-smoking Austin Prock. Lee's only other win in the class came over Prock in the final of the 2025 Phoenix event.

Matt Hagan will provide the opposition, but his 3.91 victory over J.R. Todd (his third in four races this season) will cede lane choice to Lee. It's Hagan's seventh final of the year and the 112th of his great career.

Of interesting note, Lee and Hagan made up the final round of the 2008 IHRA race at Rockingham, the last time that Rockingham hosted nitro cars at a national event. Hagan got that one, and you can be sure Lee is looking for revenge.

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PRO STOCK SEMIFINALS

Second-generation phenom Cody Anderson, who earned his Pro Stock license at this track, reached the first final round of his young 15-race career, getting past tire-shaking low qualifier Matt Hartford with a 6.56. Anderson's previous best finish was a semifinal in Brainerd.

"We're having a day," Anderson said. "I'm so excited right now. It's so cool seeing those win lights. I'm pumped. I feel a little bit better about this win than the last one against Pops, but we've got one more to go. One more win light and, man, I couldn't be more excited. I got the whole family here this weekend."

With Hartford's loss, the other semifinal battle, between Greg Stanfield and Dallas Glenn, was for the points lead, and Stanfield raced ahead to a 6.53 to 6.55 victory.

Anderson has gone from ninth to sixth place in the standings today and would go to fifth with his first career win. Stanfield's lead over Hartford is 12 points..

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMIFINALS

For the third time this season, the Pro Stock Motorcycle final will be an all-Vance & Hines affair between Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson. Herrera took down Joey Gladstone, 6.71 to 6.74, while Gadson had to ride his tail off to stay ahead of Chase Van Sant after his silver Suzuki got out of the groove toward the guardwall in the right lane on a 6.79 pass.

Herrera has gone from sixth place to second today but cannot overtake Gadson regardless of the final-round outcome.

"I've got a bracket bike right now; I've just got to do my job, hit the Tree n time and hit my shift points, and keep it in line," said Herrera. "The thing is running good with a string of .60s, but I have to race my teammate. I'm trying to gain points on him, but he's not letting that happen."

"It's Gaige's race to screw up," admitted Gadson. "It's hard to beat him, but I'm sure going to go up there and try. I've done crazier things before."