Photos by Ron Lewis, Mike Burghardt, Jeff Burghardt
SUNDAY FINAL – COMPETITION PLUS’ RANDOM WATER-COOLER TOPICS FROM THE STAMPEDE OF SPEED NHRA TEXAS FALL NATIONALS AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX
1 – KALITTA TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS HIMSELF – Shawn Langdon was the last domino to fall.
Doug Kalitta defeated Steve Torrence in Sunday’s final round of the NHRA’s Texas Fall Nationals “Stampede of Speed”, to record his third triumph at Texas Motorplex and his 59th overall. But arguably his semifinal triumph over Langdon was the more significant accomplishment of the weekend. The eyes of Texas were on that match-up.
With five of his six closest Top Fuel challengers already eliminated from the event by the semifinal round, Kalitta only had to worry about how sizable a dent teammate and No. 3-ranked driver Shawn Langdon could put in his championship plans. The positive news for Kalitta was that he had the chance to stop Langdon himself, to control his own destiny. The two found themselves in a semifinal showdown.
The points leader and Kalitta Motorsports headliner ran away from a tire-smoking Langdon to extend his advantage from 86 points to 141, with just the Las Vegas event and the points-and-a-half-awarding season finale at Pomona, Calif., remaining. The Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 drivers – Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart, Clay Millican, Brittany Force, and Antron Brown – were out of contention.
“We’re trying to go rounds and stay ahead of these guys. Everybody’s hungry right now,” Kalitta said after scoring back-to-back victories in the playoffs. He won two weeks ago at St. Louis. “[It’s] a huge relief to get this win here in Ennis. Really big deal for us.”
2 – PROCK CONTINUES HIS ROLL – After claiming his ninth victory of the season and his second of four Countdown to the Championship events in hand, Funny Car winner Austin Prock said, “I just want to be the best all the time.” He’s well on his way to that lofty goal after beating Ron Capps in the final for his 21st win and first at Dallas.
Referring to his Chevrolet Camaro that’s commonly called “The Prock Rocket,” he said, “This thing was lights-out all weekend. We took home all the money – and a cowboy hat [Texas Motorplex’s gift to winners]. I love driving this car – this car’s bad-fast.” Prock will head to Las Vegas, the penultimate race in the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, with a 112-point lead over closest rival Matt Hagan. That represents a 92-point swing, as Hagan trailed by only 20 points entering the event. Hagan lost in the opening round Sunday. However, Prock isn’t complacent. He said, “The job’s not finished. The tables could turn at Las Vegas. That 92-point swing could swing the other way.”
Thrilled with his winner’s cowboy hat, Prock said Bobby Lane Jr., one of his crew members, is getting married soon. Lane and fiancée Krista Baldwin, the Top Fuel team owner and racer, are planning a December wedding. “All my boys are getting cowboy hats, and everybody’s wearing cowboy hats at the wedding,” Prock said.
3 – ROUGH ROUND 1 FOR DRAGSTERS – A lot of smoke, fire, upsets, swearing, hurt parts, hurt feelings, and damaged championship hopes marked the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations. The carnage began with the day’s first pairing, between Tony Stewart and Clay Millican. Millican won, but crew chief Jim Oberhofer was peeved. Oberhofer said, “We got it, all right. But it pisses me off that we blew the damn thing up again. Getting tired of that crap.” Millican, the No. 5-ranked driver who had just taken out No. 4 Stewart, said at the other end of the track, “I ain’t even thinkin’ about the championship. I’m thinkin’ about that cowboy hat [presented to the winner of the meet].”
Kyle Satenstein made things exciting at the hit of the throttle in the third pairing. It didn’t take more than a second or two for his car to blow up and cross the center line. Bouncing and trailing fire, the dragster darted well behind Shawn Reed. And Satenstein, a rookie from Thornwood, N.Y., was a blend of puzzled and perturbed afterward. “I don’t know what the hell happened,” he said. “As soon as I stepped on it, it just didn’t feel right. I tried to stay in it, and it just felt like it was smoking the tires. By the time I lifted, that bitch was up on two wheels. I just tried not to hit the wall or hit anybody else. I’m a little pissed. We didn’t come to Texas to do that. It’s a little disheartening.”
Justin Ashley and Shawn Langdon, the Nos. 2 and 3 racers in the standings made it down the 1,000-foot course without incident before Ida Zetterström won in a ball of fire against Antron Brown. After losing in the quarterfinals to Doug Kalitta in a rematch of the St. Louis final two weeks ago, Zetterström said she was “embarrassed for that first round” and called herself “an a—hole” for staying on the throttle too long. She said, “I’m still a new driver. I don’t have thousands of runs like everybody else here. The way the car smoked the tires down-track, I’ve never had that exact experience. I was scrambling to find a page in my playbook that does not exist. I know I’m a way better driver than that. Unfortunately, you’ve got to experience everything once to know how it feels. It’s not like any other sport – we do it right here in front of everybody. And sometimes you look like an idiot, especially on race day, when you want to win and you don’t see the car in the other lane and sometimes you stay in it for too long.”
Round 1 of Funny Car eliminations wasn’t much tamer. Dan Wilkerson upset higher-qualified Alexis DeJoria, and Spencer Hyde eliminated Bob Tasca III, who was trying desperately to break back into the top 10. And No. 4-ranked Ron Capps – who got a break three pairings later when third-place Matt Hagan lost, and another one in Round 2 when second-place Jack Beckman lost – blew up another engine. Like Zetterström, he admitted he stayed on the gas too long. “I stayed in it later than I normally would, and it just backfired. All my fault, 100 percent.” Then Capps, who’s also the team owner, quipped, “The owner should fire the driver.” J.R. Todd’s engine let go right off the starting line, as well.
4 – DALLAS DOES DALLAS IN PRO STOCK – As part of a weekend sweep by points leaders in all four pro categories, Pro Stock’s Dallas Glenn stretched his advantage over KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson from 20 points to 60 with his narrow victory over Aaron Stanfield, of rival Elite Motorsports, in the final round. Glenn’s margin of victory was seven-thousandths of a second, as he picked up his 20th victory in the Pro Stock class. He’ll take a three-round edge over Anderson into the Las Vegas event in two weeks.
5 – GADSON OVERCOMES DREADFUL TEXAS INITIATION – Referring to himself as a “Philly Boy,” Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Richard Gadson loved the cowboy hat that’s a traditional gift from Texas Motorplex for its winners – but he reminded that he’s a Philadelphia Eagles fan and that “growing up in my household, the word ‘cowboy’ is not a good word.” The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are bitter NFL rivals. But he even gave an obligatory “Yee-hah!” to the fans and media, a small price to pay for his fourth victory and second in this Countdown to the Championship. And it’s no wonder his memories and word association with Texas is less-than-enthusiastic.
Gadson said he arrived at Texas Motorplex two years ago with a helmet and a hope, trying out for a coveted spot with the elite-caliber Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team. And his debut was not the stuff dreams are made of – he never made it past the water box. And team boss Terry Vance bluntly asked him, “Are you going to get this thing down the racetrack or are you going to keep sh—— the bed?” Gadson said, “That’s the first thing he ever said to me.” The conversation is much different today, now that Gadson is a successful member of the team and the leader in the standings by 72 points with only the Las Vegas race and the Pomona, Calif., finale to go.
Still, Gadson said he and crew chief Eddie Krawiec – a four-time champion who has nothing left to prove – believe he has something to justify himself. He said he feels “extremely motivated,” even after he beat the newest Vance & Hine protégé, Brayen Davis, in Sunday’s final round. Gadson said, “People keep congratulating me, and I keep saying it’s [the championship race is] not over yet.” He’s not tentative, though. He has faith in his abilities: “I got a good horse. But ‘good’ isn’t good enough for us.” For Gadson, the belief that he could be in this position was always there. “We knew it, even if it didn’t look like it,” he said.
Gadson didn’t earn his first victory until this June, but now he has four, most notably two in the playoffs.
6 – FORCE DEALT ANOTHER DISAPPOINTMENT – Brittany Force registered her second 340-plus-mph speed of the meet at 340.14 in her Round 1 victory over Tony Schumacher. She ran a track-record 340.57 mph in Friday qualifying. But once again, her car would not cooperate when it came to going late rounds. After she drove out on her burnout in the semifinal, ready to take on Steve Torrence, the car experienced what the team thought was an ignition problem of some description. It simply quit on her. She opened the cockpit canopy, climbed out right there on the track, and went straight to her tow vehicle, supremely disappointed.
7 – IS THIS A CLUE? – Maybe it isn’t a clue at all. But did Ron Capps drop hints about the 2026 partner/sponsor for his Top Fuel dragster that Maddi Gordon will be driving? Following his second-round pass, in which he beat Cruz Pedregon but crossed the center line following the finish line, Capps said in a top-end interview that his daughter Taylor was in attendance, as were the Formula One McLaren team. “We have [Oscar] Piastri and Team McLaren here as guest of NHRA. They’re in our pit area.” He said his daughter “is a big Lando [Norris] fan. I’m a big Piastri fan. It was cool to have them. They’re at the starting line right now. Maddi’s down here. Big announcement at SEMA opening day. Can’t wait.” Perhaps the comments that flowed together aren’t related, but pretty soon Capps will share his news.
8 – HAGAN FRUSTRATED BY PARTS ATTRITION – Matt Hagan, looking to overtake Funny Car dominator Austin Prock, entered this weekend with just a 20-point gap to close. He left with a 112-point margin to overcome, thanks in part to an engine concussion in Friday qualifying and to a first-round loss Sunday to Paul Lee by six-thousandths of a second. Hagan had beaten Lee in all eight of their first-round meetings and had won all 14 of their total match-ups. Now he knows he needs to win the remaining two races if he is to earn a fifth title.
“This was a really challenging weekend and obviously not what we set out to do, losing first round,” Hagan said. “It all started with Friday night, when we missed it because we had a big explosion in the first session. It wasn’t a tune-up issue or parts being put on wrong, but just a parts failure. It’s hard to swallow when we keep having part failures from manufacturers, but it’s the hand we’re dealt.
“In the second session on Friday night, we had all new parts on the car. It was an unrealistic challenge to think we could go up there and row low (ET). We had cylinders out and had to shut the car off, so we didn’t qualify well. On Saturday in the heat of the day, we were making half-track pulls because we’re out of parts and pieces. We don’t have any more blowers, so we were trying to salvage the two we have to get through race day. That’s challenging because you’re going up there at kind of half-go. We’ve blown up six times this year. We had a close drag race today against Paul [Lee]. We did the best we could in the right lane. I got him a little on the tree [in reaction time], but he had more for the racetrack. That’s how it goes sometimes, and I’m not mad. I know it’s easy for my guys to put their heads down, but we have two races to go. No matter how the points hunt shakes out, we can still win two more races, so that’s what we’re focused on.”
9 – ROCKY ROAD AHEAD – Tony Stewart isn’t giving up, but he knows his path toward a Top Fuel championship is going to be uphill from here on out. “This wasn’t the weekend we were looking for at the FallNationals,” he said. “We were able to qualify the Mobil 1 machine in the top half of the field during Friday’s night session. We knew Clay [Millican] was going to be a tough opponent in Round 1 today. We just didn’t have enough for him. We have two races left to try and capitalize on points and try to bring home a couple more wins.”
10 – POST SCRIPTS – Buddy Hull, whose hand was injured in July at Sonoma, said he plans to return for the final two races of the season, at Las Vegas and Pomona, Calif. … Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson rode into the sand trap at the end of his Round 1 victory and was not able to prep the bike for his Round 2. That gave Gaige Herrera a free pass into the semifinal round.
SATURDAY NOTEBOOK – CLASS LEADERS REMAIN SAME AS FRIDAY’S, MOTORPLEX STILL MAGICAL FOR BECKMAN, JEGS ALLSTARS WINNERS CROWNED, ANDERSON PRAISES KEENEST RIVAL
1 – ‘BIG D’ BIG DEAL FOR BECKMAN – “Some things you try not to think about. That’s one of them,” Jack Beckman said.
But this weekend at the NHRA’s Texas FallNationals at Ennis, just south of Dallas at Texas Motorplex, he couldn’t shake entirely the memory of what happened to him here last October. A sudden bout of vertigo on race-day morning decked him and caused him to withdraw from competition – and he was the No. 3 starter, just like he is this time.
“I would have say, you want to hear about a low point in your career? A DNQ is tough, losing on a hole shot’s tough, red- lighting really sucks … not even getting a chance to get strapped in the car after you have qualified well there, that was a tough pill, especially at Dallas,” he said. It marked the only time in his career that he was unable to race on Sunday.”
The disappointment went beyond the obvious.
“My dad’s a Texan. It was the last track on my bucket list to cross a win on. That’s not to say I’ve wanted every track, it’s to say that Dallas was the one I wanted for so long, and in 2020, finally got a win. So to come back for the next time in competition, for me, but five or four years later, and not get the shot to hear the National Anthem was rough,” Beckman said. “But you know what? I can put that behind me. A trophy and a cowboy hat on Sunday, it’s a good [reward].”
The happy news for Beckman is that he shouldn’t have to worry about suffering vertigo again for quite awhile.
“I had two bouts in ’94, and I know I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It’s one of those things that you cannot put words to to describe to somebody how miserable it is,” he said. “And I’m guessing, like a lot of things in life, it’s scalable on a factor of one to 10, and all of mine seem to be right up near the 10 scale. Everything spins, and the only way to get it to stop spinning is stop moving and don’t move your eyes. The moment you do, or turn your head five degrees, your world starts spinning again. Even that 12,000-horsepower Funny Car can’t do that to my brain.
“I woke up Sunday morning in the hotel room,” Beckman said, “and the world wouldn’t stop spinning. It put me in the emergency room. You want to talk about a low point in my racing career? That one would be hard to top. We had qualified well. We were still very much in the thick of the points race, and I thought we had a great shot of winning in Dallas. And I couldn’t even make it out to the racetrack that day. So, anything we do this year should be better than that.”
He said of his brush with vertigo in 1994, “I remember it like it was yesterday. I had two bouts of it. Went in for testing on it. And the first time they tested me they were like, ‘Yeah, you’re not symptomatic. We can’t find anything wrong.’ Then a few months later, it happened again, and I went in right away. And they said, ‘Yeah, you’re symptomatic. We see something.’ No diagnosis, no conclusion, no treatment, no symptoms for 30 more years – which is good, because I’ll be 89 next time that happens. And I’m not a doctor, but I’m sure it was something. Well, it obviously was something with the inner ear. Whether it was postviral, I don’t know. That’s my summation of the thing, but the fact that the instant it started happening Sunday morning here last year, I knew exactly what it was, and I knew it was not going to be a good day.”
That was last year. This weekend, at the 40th edition of the event, Beckman has a completely different outlook.
“I think it’s going to be a great weekend. My pops is back out here, 88 and still sniffing nitro,” he said. “And this track has always meant something special to me. I was here in ’86. My buddy Lee West and I were in the Air Force together. We drove his Chevette 500 miles to come out here, pitched the harmonic balancer off the thing right up the street.
“It is etched in my brain forever, because that track was way more remote back then. Lee and I were driving down that last couple miles and then you see the track looming in the distance. You see this electronic message sign at the highway next to the track. I couldn’t get him to park the car and get out of there fast enough to run in.
“It still brings tingles to me thinking of that moment 40 years ago. I was a 19-year-old airman, absolutely in love with the sport, and never did I think I’d be coming back there 40 years later with a legitimate shot of the Funny Car championship,” Beckman said.
Details of that race definitely are etched in his mind; “Darrell Gwynn had set the national record. Kenny Bernstein had run what nobody had ever run in Funny Car. I still remember the big rainstorm Sunday between the semifinals and the finals. I remember [Bob] Glidden getting his 50th win. I remember ‘Mongoose’ in the final, getting his butt handed to him by Kenny Bernstein, which everybody did that year. And then [Don] Garlits, which sounds odd, upsetting [Darrell] Gwynn in the final. Garlits had a one-in-four shot of winning in that thing and he just did what ‘Big Daddy’ always does. And these are memories.
“I was 19 years old then. I might’ve just turned 20,” Beckman said. “They’re just absolute pinch-me-moments. I’m getting goosebumps thinking back to that. I don’t remember the last three years of my life in a lot of instances, and I can remember exactly what it felt like, what it smelled like, the sensation of watching them run the final round under the lights. And it was way too dark here back then, but it was just magic to a 20-year-old back then. And today, it’s still magic. It’s a little different, but it’s still magic.”
Beckman still counts his victory here five years ago as “one of the greatest wins of my career.” He said, “My dad Bob, who lives an hour and a half from the racetrack, got the cowboy hat in the winners circle, and I wanted to do that for him for 20 years. One of my greatest racing memories ever was sealing the deal in 2020, and my dad will be out there again this year. He is 88 years old, and I would love nothing more than to win to celebrate it with him and the PEAK team and to know that that’s going to put us right on the rear bumper of our teammate [Austin Prock] for the championship.”
2 – LEADERBOARD UNCHANGED – Austin Prock (Funny Car), Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) will lead their respective classes into Sunday eliminations. The event marks the 18th stop of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the fourth of six Countdown to the Championship playoff races.
Funny Car points leader Prock remained in command with his 3.876-second, 336.07-mph run from Friday night in his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS. It was his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 24th career top spot. Prock followed that up with two solid Saturday passes, including a 3.934, 330.18
“The points are so close right now, so we just have to focus on going out and winning every race that’s left,” Prock said. “Whoever wins the most in this next three-race shootout is going to be champion. We’ve got to focus on our race car and what we’re doing. And right now, our race car looks good.”
Prock will open eliminations against Blake Alexander as he looks for his first Texas Motorplex win. “I feel like our two runs today were more impressive than our run last night,” he said. “Getting down the racetrack efficiently and quickly and a few hundredths ahead of the field definitely feels good.”
Ron Capps qualified second at 3.889 seconds and 334.55 mph, followed by Jack Beckman at 3.892, 330.83.
In Top Fuel, Langdon took the No. 1 spot with a 3.684-second pass at 338.88 mph in his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary dragster. The former world champion earned his first top qualifier of the season and the 22nd of his career. Langdon, third in points, will face Mitch King in Round 1 as he chases his first Dallas victory.
“We feel like we have a slightly better car with the cooler conditions, but it hasn’t played out that way,” Langdon said. “You just have to have a good, fast car when you need it, but also a good, consistent car when you need it. That’s been our focus.”
Shawn Reed qualified second at 3.685, 333.56, and Justin Ashley was third with a 3.688, 338.02.
3 – NHRA D2, WESTERN REGION DOMINATE JEGS – The best sportsman racers in the country battled for bragging rights Saturday at Texas Motorplex, where Joey Severance and Jim Whiteley earned marquee victories and Team Southeast captured overall divisional honors in the 41st annual JEGS Allstars competition.
The specialty event, part of the Texas NHRA FallNationals and the Stampede of Speed, showcased eight eliminator categories featuring top racers from NHRA’s regional and divisional programs. At the end of the day, the Southeast Division squad hoisted the team trophy with 1,600 points, followed by Division 3’s North Central team at 1,000 and Division 4’s South Central contingent at 900.
In Top Alcohol Dragster, four-time national champion Severance of Oregon collected another accolade for the Western Region. Severance left first on Matt Cummings and never looked back, running 5.269 seconds at 275.60 mph to Cummings’ 8.578 after tire smoke early. The victory added another milestone to Severance’s storied career and helped close out a dominant run that included earlier-round wins over Julie Nataas and Cummings.
Whiteley, representing Division 5, claimed his third JEGS Allstars title in Top Alcohol Funny Car. The veteran driver’s consistency paid off as he left on Brian Hough and powered his Camaro to a 5.469-second pass at 265.16 mph. “We got out first and just held on,” Whiteley said after earning his third Allstars crown.
In Competition Eliminator, Monty Bogan gave Division 2 its fourth overall title with a win over Joshua Lee, clocking an 8.588 at 156.73 mph. Bogan trailed early but drove around Lee on the top end to secure another strong showing for the Southeast team.
The Super Stock final came down to inches as Jeremy Duncan edged Larry Leazer by just .0025 seconds — roughly six inches — at the stripe. Duncan’s 9.406 at 137.91 mph sealed the win and kept Division 3 in contention for overall honors.
In Stock Eliminator, Steve Foley of Clinton, N.C., kept his Chevrolet on course while opponent Landon Emmons spun the tires. Foley posted a 10.023 at 119.23 mph to take the win for Division 2.
The Super Comp crown went to Tanner Thorp, who cut a .018 light and ran 8.894 to edge Bradley Snowball in a double-breakout finish. Jim Perry won Super Gas after Charlie Kenopic went red at the start.
Dennis Dawson earned the Top Sportsman title when Curt Fredrich went too quick on the tree, while Blake Peavler drove to the Top Dragster win with a 6.180 at 230.04 mph, completing the day’s roster of champions.
With seven division winners and a strong performance across multiple categories, the Southeast Division left Ennis with the team championship.
4 – SONS WAITING IN WINGS TO DRIVE – Like Doug Foley and Lex Joon in Top Fuel and team owner-driver Del Worsham in both nitro categories, Terry Haddock in Funny Car is racing in both the IHRA and the NHRA. Haddock, who had claimed the 2008 IHRA Funny Car championship just before that sanctioning body discontinued the class, said, “The new owner [Darryl Cuttell] is an amazing guy, and he just loves drag racing and he wants to see it grow. And I applaud him for what he’s doing, and we’re trying to support it. He understands it’s a business, and he’s trying to make it better. All the facilities he’s bought, he’s making them beautiful. And everybody, when you show up over there, they’re nice to you. They’re kind, and it’s just been a fun experience. He is spending the money. He’s in this for the long term, I think, to grow the sport of drag racing. So, it’s a real good opportunity, and again, he’s trying to help and give us a place to race. We should all be trying to support it. All the sanctioning bodies need each other.
Competition promotes growth in any business.”
Son McKailen is starting to take baby steps in becoming a driver, as well. “McKailen’s still got the training wheels on. We’re trying to teach him. We’re trying to make sure he grows into a good young man, so we’re letting him make laps here and there, and he’ll continue to do that as the future grows,” dad Terry said. “I believe he’s got talent in that car. I believe he’s doing a real good job, but again, he just needs laps. All new drivers need laps. Nobody gets in these cars and starts out perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, and this is not an easy job, contrary to what people believe. But he has to learn the sport and the business of it, and he’s got to go find money. This ain’t a free ride over here. It can’t be. You give somebody something, they don’t have any respect for it. So he’s going to earn it. He’s earned his way this far, and he’ll continue doing the same thing.”
But McKailen Haddock isn’t the only one his father is tutoring. “My oldest son, Tyler, is learning to drive now. We put him in our nostalgia car, and he’s actually going to drive the other car here in the next couple months,” Terry Haddock said. “We’ll get him licensed up, and then these kids can go out and find money and see what we can do. Over here, this is a whole family business. My wife [Heather] does a tremendous amount to keep this going.”
5 – WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS … – Paul Lee’s Funny Car crew salvaged the chassis from his massive Friday night engine explosion, and his crew worked until 2:30 a.m. Saturday, stripping down everything, checking the wiring, and installing a new engine, back-up supercharger, and back-up body – not to mention fresh sponsor decals. Ironically, the car’s new sponsor is Everything Breaks, a home, auto, and electronics warranty company. And Steve Cole, the team’s vice-president of marketing and corporate partnerships, found a clever way to use the grenaded car body. He took it to the manufacturers’ midway as a marketing tool. “They really increased their lead generation program that we built for ’em for this weekend. It’s been a great audience draw.” Cole said of Lee, “How about the job he did keeping off the wall? He’s amazing. I mean, I tell they don’t give him enough credit for how good a driver he really is.”
6 – THE DALLAS GLENN EFFECT – Reigning and six-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson is locked in a battle with KB Titan teammate Dallas Glenn. Anderson is within a round of leader Glenn on the brink of eliminations Sunday. He lost the 2016 championship to teammate Jason Line by three points and the 2017 title to Bo Butner by seven. Anderson beat Glenn last year by 11 points. So he knows how valuable every tiny point is in the Countdown. But he said he figured that he “can give him [Glenn] a run. Either way, I’m so damn proud of Dallas, whether wins or not. I’m so damn proud of him. And if he puts me down, which is certainly possible, I’ll be the proudest guy on the team and want to shake his hand first.
“He’s a win waiting to happen every race we go to. It makes me dig down and find an extra gear. He’s absolutely pushing me to find something that probably is almost gone in me. And I’ve been able to find youth a little bit, once in a while, when I race him,“ Anderson said. “So I thank him for that.”
7 – HARTFORD’S STEPPING STONES – Long before Matt Hartford became a fixture in NHRA Pro Stock, he was already a champion. Few fans realize the Arizona-based racer’s path to the professional ranks was built through titles in NHRA’s Sport Compact division and the ADRL’s Mountain Motor Pro Stock ranks — stepping stones that shaped one of the class’s most consistent contenders.
Hartford, now a multi-time NHRA national event winner and Callout champion, has quietly built one of the most versatile résumés in modern drag racing.
“Yeah, we’ve won a few races here and there between the Sport Compact deal, and obviously winning the Mountain Motor Championship was huge for us back in ’09,” Hartford said. “But we got our sights set on winning the championship in NHRA, and we’ve got a long road ahead of us if we’re going to try to do it this year.”
Entering the Texas NHRA FallNationals, Hartford sits within striking distance of the championship leaders, but the window is closing quickly.
“We were 160 points behind coming into this race with three races left,” he said. “But anything can happen, and those two guys up front [Dallas Glenn and Greg Anderson], if they stumble a little bit, we need to be there to capitalize.”
Before his Pro Stock success — including eight national-event victories, a career-best 6.478-second run, and a 212.73-mph top speed — Hartford honed his skills in a much different arena. He earned back-to-back NHRA Sport Compact titles in 2001-02, driving in the Pro Rear-Wheel-Drive and Modified Eliminator classes. “The 2002 championship was with John Lingenfelter, so that was certainly incredible, for sure, to win with that man,” Hartford said. “Matter of fact, I still have the golf cart that he used all the way back in the Pro Stock Truck days.”
That early experience, Hartford said, was “100 percent” the foundation of his current career.
“If I hadn’t have done what I had done in those door cars, I’d probably be in a blown alcohol car or fuel car,” he said.
His path also ran through one of IHRA’s wildest grassroots divisions. “I raced a class called Super Eliminator, which was a professional version of Top Dragster. It was blown alcohol dragsters, ‘run what you brung, hope you brung enough’-type thing,” Hartford said. “Back then, it was a heads-up class, and I had a lot of fun racing all over the country in that class, as well.”
Today, Hartford competes with the same edge that carried him through those early days.
“My heart’s really in 500-inch Pro Stock. It always has been,” he said. “I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to do it, and I just want to go out here this weekend and perform.”
8 – GREEN A WINNER IN IDLE NHRA WEEK – Chad Green is in a winning mood. He captured the Top Fuel trophy last weekend at a small event at Missouri’s Flying H Dragstrip that he likened to Norwalk, Ohio’s “Night Under Fire” specialty event. Track owner Scott Higgs is Green’s friend and a sponsor, so he was eager to go. In the process, Green said, “We were actually the first nitro cars to go down the track in Missouri, I think. Ever. So it was a pretty cool event.”
He said he was among the four Funny Car drivers who joined four Top Fuel dragster drivers. “And yeah, just out there promoting the track, getting people out, and there’s a lot of people there who’ve never seen nitro cars run. It’s a really cool event, and it went off really well. That was their first one, and it’s going to be become an annual event now. So it went off really well.”
He defeated Del Worhsm in the final round. Worsham also entered his dragster, with Gary Pritchett behind the wheel.
Green brought both of his Funny Cars to the event. “It worked out well for us. Track prep wasn’t exactly the same as NHRA, but the weather conditions and everything were very similar to this weekend here.”
Green said he is not planning to compete in IHRA events, partly because the tracks on the schedule are rather far from his home at Midland, Texas, and partly because “we’re busy racing over here,” he said.
Green said the 2025 season has “been an up-and-down year. We stared out good, then we struggled a lot through the middle of the season and now our car’s kind of coming back around. It’s been running good these last few races, so we’re back feeling good about it.”
He said he plans to field a two-car team again next season, with son Hunter Green and Blake Alexander sharing driving duties with the second car.
9 – STATISTICS CONSOLATION FOR HAGAN – Matt Hagan has the Texas Motorplex momentum, statistically speaking. Never mind that he had another engine blow-up Friday and ended up 12th in the qualifying order Saturday. He ran his victory total at Texas Motorplex to five last October when he beat Ron Capps to the finish line in the final round. His five triumphs here put him second among active drivers to Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), who have six apiece. John Force has seven. The Texas Fall Nationals winner in 2010, 2015, 2019, 2023, and last year, Hagan has advanced to the final round in each of the past six years and has appeared in more final rounds of the Texas NHRA FallNationals than he has at any other event in the series (nine times in 16 appearances). He also has four runner-up finishes (2012, 2020-22).
This year, his victory in the previous event, at St. Louis, was his 17th in the Countdown, most by any Funny Car driver and fourth-most overall. Hagan is trying to become just the 12th driver in the sport’s history and the only other Funny Car driver besides John Force to earn at least five series championships. (The others are Tony Schumacher and Joe Amato in Top Fuel; Bob Glidden, Warren Johnson, Greg Anderson, Erica Enders, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Pro Stock; and Andrew Hines, Dave Schultz, and Matt Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle.)
10 – POST SCRIPT – Pro Stock racer Mason McGaha, also the No. 1 qualifier in Comp Eliminator who earned a Round 1 bye Friday, beat Jarrod Granier in the second round of Comp eliminations Saturday. He and father Chris McGaha didn’t fare as well in Pro Stock qualifying. Both DNQd, joining the Cuadra brothers David and Fernando Jr. and Kenny Delco. … Already Dave Richards is turning around his Funny Car experience at Texas Motorplex. Two years ago, the BlueBird Turf/Versatran/SCAG Ford driver was an innocent bystander in a 2023 crash in which Dale Creasy Jr. crossed the center line into his lane, destroying both of their cars. But last year here, he ran his career-best elapsed time (3.92 seconds at 1,000 feet). “We’ve had highs and lows at this track. We ran our career-best elapsed time here last year, but the year before we had the crash that I thought would end our racing careers. We totaled the car, but fortunately were able to continue our relationship with SCAG Racing, and here we are still going strong,” he said. Richards entered this race in 13th place. And the host of nearly 500 SCAG Southwest dealers this weekend said, “We’re not going out without a fight.” … Ron Capps Motorsports’ expansion to include a Top Fuel dragster with current Top Alcohol Dragster title contender Maddi Gordon driving is just around the corner. An official NHRA source told Competition Plus this weekend that Capps hopes to announce the sponsor for Gordon’s entry at the SEMA Show at Las Vegas just after the penultimate race of the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. … Some of the latest grist for the rumor mill is that a Carolina-based dragstrip with deep roots in NHRA, IHRA, and AHRA is being considered to fill the empty September slot on the 2026 calendar. If the rumor grinds into truth, it would be the third new venue on the tour and the second stop in next year’s Countdown to the Championship. … Join the crowd, Jasmine Salinas. The Top Fuel sophomore said, “Nothing this season looks like I thought it would.” However, she was quick to say, “I’ve had the opportunity to develop skills that will continue to enhance my driving abilities.” Despite her interrupted schedule, she came to Texas Motorplex with an above-.500 record (9-5). … Two-time Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon, like Top Fuel driver Josh Hart and Top Fuel champion Antron Brown, is racing to raise awareness of breast cancer. For Pedregon, whose sister Dora is a breast-cancer survivor, has a special Snap-on “Socket to Breast Cancer” Dodge Hellcat Nitro Funny Car in support of the Pink Fund. To show their ongoing support each year, Snap-on creates a new pink paint scheme, and once again, it even has pink tools. The Pink Fund helps patients in active breast-cancer treatment and experiencing reduced household working income with funding so they can cover expenses for such bills as utilities, housing, transportation, and health-insurance premiums. “On a personal note, my sister continues to recover well from her battle with breast cancer, which makes flying the Pink Fund banner that much more meaningful for me and my family,” Pedregon said. … Curious statistic: In 17 races so far, despite Austin Prock’s eight victories in 10 finals, the Funny Car class has had eight different winners. In the 17 races in hand, the Top Fuel class has had nine winners. So the parity will make the final three races a little more suspenseful.
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – A NIGHT TO REMEMBER WITH NOSTALGIA AND TOP PERFORMANCES
1 – LANGDON LEADS IN CATCH-UP MODE – Shawn Langdon made the most of Friday night qualifying at the Texas NHRA FallNationals, jumping to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 3.684-second pass at 338.88 mph in his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary dragster. The run earned him the $15,000 “JEGS Friday Night Live” bonus and three qualifying points — but he still lost ground to second-place Justin Ashley, who earned four.
Langdon entered the weekend 127 points behind his Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta and knows a strong finish in Dallas is critical to keep his championship hopes alive. “We know our team’s capable of it,” Langdon said. “It’s just been certain situations throughout the year where we got behind here and there. Brian [Husen, crew chief] is doing a really good job with the car.”
The Friday pass gave Langdon his first potential No. 1 qualifier of the season and 22nd of his career. “Brian felt like he could go 3.68, and that was his target, and that’s what it ran,” Langdon said. “So it gives me a lot of confidence because it shows he’s got a handle on the car.”
Langdon said the team has emphasized qualifying consistency, something that has eluded them in key moments. “Sometimes you think you’ve got a handle on the car and it doesn’t do what you want, and sometimes it’s vice versa,” he said. “He’s been trying to focus hard on qualifying better. That was a good run.”
With only three races left in the Countdown, Langdon said there’s no time for mistakes. “For us, where we’re at — third behind Doug and Justin — we knew we’ve got to make good runs and we’ve got to get a win,” he said. “Doug’s been on a good run, and when Doug and AJ [Alan Johnson] get in the zone, they’re tough to beat. And obviously Justin’s a great driver, and when Mike and Tommy [Ashley’s crew chiefs] get that car going, they’re tough too.”
Langdon said experience helps him stay composed. “The first couple of times you go through it, it’s the fear of the unknown,” he said. “I just come out here and do my job — hit the gas on time and give my team the best opportunity. I make sure I’m prepared and give 100% every time.”
Shawn Reed followed at 3.685, 333.56 mph, and Ashley was third at 3.688, 338.02 mph heading into Saturday’s qualifying sessions
2 – PROCK ROCKETS TO THE TOP, AGAIN – Austin Prock returned to familiar form Friday night at Texas Motorplex, racing to the provisional No. 1 Funny Car spot and pocketing another $15,000 “JEGS Friday Night Live” bonus with a 3.876-second run at 336.07 mph. It marked his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and another step in defending his NHRA Funny Car world title.
The Cornwell Tools Chevrolet driver rebounded from a shaky first qualifying session to the top of the order in the second. For Prock, who entered the Texas FallNationals with eight wins this year, it was more than a fast lap — it was a statement after recent early-round losses.
“It’s a little nerve-racking on a Friday,” Prock said. “Especially when you spin early, because you’re a little bit gun-shy because you don’t really know exactly what the track can hold. You’ve got to go up there and load this race car up to make a lot of horsepower and run a quick ET.”
Prock credited his Cornwell Tools team, led by his father, crew chief Jimmy Prock, and brother Thomas. “These guys are very intelligent, very sharp,” he said. “You just got to believe in your run book and try to make smart decisions. They did exactly that, and we’re walking home with $16,000.”
Texas Motorplex has long been known for its narrow groove and limited traction, making it one of the most demanding surfaces in the NHRA. “I walked the racetrack and was impressed with how much traction there was outside the groove,” Prock said. “You could walk outside that dark distinct coloring and it still had quite a bit of grip. It kind of lets you float the race car around a little bit.”
Still, he said the Friday night sessions remain among the toughest of the year. “Every Friday night here in Dallas, this is one of the most nerve-racking runs,” he said. “I got about to the 660 and felt the thing creeping a little bit to the wall and gave it some wheel. This Chevrolet steered good and went right to the center line. I had my hands full, but it was still good enough to go low ET.”
The strong qualifying effort helped erase recent frustrations. “I haven’t lost confidence in this team,” Prock said. “In Reading, we had a parts failure. In St. Louis, the racetrack got away from us. I did a great job recovering the race car, probably one of the better pedal jobs I’ve had in my life, but our luck just wasn’t on our side.”
That misfortune tightened the championship race, cutting his once 280-point lead to just 20 over Matt Hagan. “We had a huge lead, and they take it all away and tighten everyone up to put on a show for the fans,” Prock said. “We’re in the competition business, but we’re also entertainers. Whoever wins the most in these last three races, that’s what it’ll come down to.”
Prock said he’s not counting points. “I’m not even counting points at this point,” he said. “It’s so close. We just got to go out there and try and win the next three races, and if we do that, we’ll be back-to-back world champions, and that’s got a damn nice ring to it.”
Looking ahead, Prock expects tougher track conditions. “It’s going to be hot, greasy, and nasty out here in Dallas,” he said. “We’re definitely going to have to tame this Prock Rocket down.” He added, “The track’s going to continuously get better throughout the weekend. Hopefully, we can do some damage on Sunday. I’m ready for the fight — bring it on.”
For now, Prock leads the Funny Car field over Ron Capps’ 3.889 at 334.55 mph and Jack Beckman’s 3.892 at 330.83.
3 – THAT GOOD OLD TEXAS DOMINANCE – Greg Anderson showed again why Texas Motorplex has long been his kind of track, powering to the provisional No. 1 Pro Stock position Friday night with a 6.497-second run at 209.88 mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. The performance earned him a $7,500 “JEGS Friday Night Live” bonus and helped trim his points deficit to teammate Dallas Glenn.
The six-time world champion, coming off a win in St. Louis, claimed his seventh potential No. 1 qualifier of the season and second straight “Battle for the Saddle” victory at the Motorplex. “What a great atmosphere out there tonight,” Anderson said. “Not that much gets my heart ticking, but it did tonight. The lighting was perfect, absolutely perfect out there. It’s magical. You just tell yourself, ‘Focus, man, focus.’”
Anderson said his run came with extra motivation. “Anytime there’s an extra carrot like we had tonight, it seems to wake me up for sure,” he said. “We had a lot of cars that could have won that bonus tonight. Three of them could have won it, so that’s a pretty darn good feeling.”
The victory helped close the gap in the Countdown to the Championship standings. Entering the weekend trailing Glenn by 25 points, Anderson picked up five bonus markers Friday to close within 20. “They mean everything,” Anderson said. “Every chance you get, you’ve got to try and capitalize if you want to have a chance to be champion.”
Seven of the top eight cars after Friday belonged to KB Titan Racing, a reflection of the team’s continued dominance. “That’s fantastic, but we know a hundredth or two can be made up on that starting line anytime you go down the racetrack,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to be on your A-game, and all your fortunes can turn in a heartbeat.”
Anderson also credited the extra push from JEGS’ event sponsorship. “First of all, thank you to JEGS for putting up the bonus,” he said. “Does it make you want to dig down and find a way to make sure you get that check? You’re damn right it does.”
Cory Reed followed in second with a 6.504 at 210.99 mph, while Glenn was third at 6.507 and 210.31 mph.
4 – THE GADSON SWAGGER IN FULL EFFECT – Richard Gadson strengthened his grip on the Pro Stock Motorcycle points lead Friday night, riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 6.747-second pass at 201.59 mph at the Texas NHRA FallNationals. The performance earned him a $5,000 “JEGS Friday Night Live” bonus and his second No. 1 qualifier of the season.
The second-year rider continues to impress in his breakout season, leading both sessions and widening his edge over defending world champion Gaige Herrera. “Even championship battle aside, I’ve always wanted to have a specialty low qualifier Friday,” Gadson said. “None of them are like the Stampede of Speed. I’ve always wanted to get up there on the bowl, and this was pretty cool. From the championship standpoint, I’m counting every point I can find. I’m holding on for dear life right now, so I’ll take anything I can get.”
Gadson said the team’s recent progress is the result of finding consistency. “Last year, in the Countdown, I think I rode pretty good, but something happened to that motorcycle in St. Louis and it never woke up again,” he said. “We figured that out between Gainesville and Charlotte, won this year, and it’s been solid ever since. It’s a different swagger when you know you have a bike too. It makes me feel like I’m in the fight.”
He credited his growing chemistry with crew chief Eddie Krawiec for the turnaround. “Me and Eddie are starting to have a really good chemistry,” he said. “That’s one of the hidden things people don’t give enough credit for. Gage is an amazing rider, Andrew’s an amazing tuner, and whatever intensity I feel, they feel too. So I’ll take that, knowing that it’s even.”
Gadson said his ability to stay calm under pressure has been key. “You have to learn how to lose because you’re going to do it,” he said. “People have opinions, but I’ve learned to turn down the volume and just stay focused. When I put my visor down, nothing matters. I’m completely at ease.”
Herrera followed in second with a 6.767 at 200.35 mph, and rookie Brayden Davis was third with a 6.772 at 200.53 mph.
5 – BONUS BONANZA – One highlight at Texas Motorplex’s Stampede of Speed — and the inspiration for regional Friday-night side bets and prizes at Epping, Seattle, Brainerd, and St. Louis — is the “Battle for the Saddle” and more than $40,000 in cash for the four Mission Foods Drag Racing Series classes. As part of its JEGS Black & Yellow Bash, a $15,000 bonus Friday went to Shawn Langdon and Austin Prock, the respective provisional top qualifiers in Top Fuel and Funny Car. Greg Anderson, the tentative No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock, received $7,500. And Pro Stock Motorcycle leader Richard Gadson earned $5,000.
The Battle for the Saddle is a playful rivalry in which the first to lead the qualifying order sits on a saddle, waiting to see if anyone can top the elapsed time. Each time someone does, the previous saddle-sitter yields the seat. It was part of the Friday Night Live program at the track in Ennis, as fans were encouraged to dress in the iconic black and yellow colors of JEGS.
Langdon grabbed the honors in Top Fuel. Funny Car leader Austin Prock followed. Sitting on the saddle at the end of Friday’s Pro Stock passes was Greg Anderson, and Richard Gadson went from straddling a Pro Stock Motorcycle to tossing a leg over the saddle.
“I’m a Philly boy, so I’m not very good at ‘Yee-haws,’ but I’m happy to be up here on the saddle,” Gadson said. “We know this is going to be a tight championship battle. I need to win one more. It starts here in Dallas at the Stampede of Speed. I’ve always wanted to sit up there, so to be low Friday night is cool.” He said that although he has earned a number of accolades, “none of ’em are as cool” as this achievement, which included a briefcase full of money.
Anderson said from atop the saddle, his perch for the second straight year, “You can’t make a mistake [in the Countdown at this point]. I don’t know how I’m going to catch Dallas [Glenn, his teammate and the points leader]. But I’m going to chip away at it. I love racing here. It’s a Pro Stock track, and my car loves it. It’s a Greg Anderson track. What a great atmosphere out there tonight.” He picked up five points on Glenn to sit 20 back.
6 – BURNOUT BY BILLY – Billy Meyer turned back the clock Friday night at Texas Motorplex, climbing into a Funny Car for the first time in 37 years to celebrate the track’s 40th anniversary with a burnout that reminded fans why he remains one of drag racing’s great showmen.
Behind the wheel of Buddy Hull’s Funny Car Chaos entry and sporting a 40th-anniversary livery, Meyer staged in front of a packed house and unleashed a long, smoky burnout all the way to the 330-foot mark. The crowd erupted as he backed up, climbed out through the roof hatch, and was greeted by Jack Beckman, who helped him remove his safety equipment, and Ron Capps, who captured the moment on his phone.
“I wanted to go,” Meyer said with a grin. “But my family — my daughter Christie — would’ve killed me. I wanted to do it again because I did the first burnout here, and this is the 40th anniversary. So I wanted to do it one more time.”
The burnout wasn’t just symbolic — it was vintage Meyer to the 330-foot mark, an estimation he quickly corrected. “Yeah, no, it went farther than that, actually, on video,” he said. “Now that they have throttle stops on them, they kind of start grabbing a little bit. If you had a little more throttle, you could spin a tire a little farther. Yeah, it was fun. It was very fun.”
7 – PIVOTAL POINT IN COUNTDOWN – Doug Kalitta said the Texas FallNationals is where “the points can swing out.” This is the race that could seal the also-ran fate of a number of drivers across the pro spectrum.
In Pro Stock, the chase has come down to KB Titan teammates Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn. Anderson said, “I’m so damn proud of Dallas,” knowing he could win the championship and end Anderson’s reign.
In Top Fuel, the top five still are battling, but the top three are making it a dogfight, with Kalitta leading Justin Ashley by 86 points and Shawn Langdon by 127. No. 4 Tony Stewart is 153 back, and Clay Millican is 182 back — with a points-and-a-half finale at Pomona.
The Funny Car crown first looked like a near lock for Austin Prock, dominant since spring Charlotte. But the points reset after Indianapolis, along with Countdown wins by Cruz Pedregon at Reading and Matt Hagan at St. Louis, have tightened the chase. Hagan has pulled within 20 points of Prock as the second-ranked driver. Jack Beckman is third, 65 points off Prock. Ron Capps (-125), Dan Wilkerson (-137), Paul Lee (-158), and Pedregon (-162) remain in the hunt.
Prock, stung by two quarterfinal losses in the Countdown, is embracing a simpler approach: “Just go in there and execute and do as good as you can and hope that it’s good enough.”
Beckman said, “St. Louis let us know we very much are still in the run for the championship.” He added that last year’s head-to-head was “do-or-die,” and the win “revived our championship chase.”
Parity adds intrigue: in 17 races, Funny Car has eight different winners; Top Fuel has nine.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, it’s a seven-rider scramble. Leader Richard Gadson is 29 points ahead of Vance & Hines teammate Gaige Herrera, with Matt Smith 53 back. John Hall and Angie Smith are separated by one point in fourth and fifth. Brayden Davis (-157) and Jianna Evaristo (-163) are longshots.
8 – NO PLACE LIKE HOME – Because of changing priorities with his growing family and CAPCO, the family’s pipeline construction company near Kilgore, Texas, this will be the final event of the season for Steve Torrence, as well as for his father. They have opted out of the final two races at Las Vegas and Pomona.
“With the championship pretty much out of our reach, going out west for the last two races really didn’t make much sense — especially since we have holidays coming up that we all want to make special for the girls (daughters Haven Charli and Harper),” Steve Torrence said.
Although he said it is not his priority, the father-son duo has the chance to extend to 14 the number of consecutive seasons in which they have started at least one event from the No. 1 position. Steve Torrence has not started eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier in 25 events, not since August 2024 at Brainerd, Minn. Billy Torrence’s last No. 1 start was at Reading in 2021, when he won most recently. He also won from No. 1 at Epping that year.
The two-time Top Fuel champion who recognizes her quest is out of reach for a third before stepping from the cockpit to begin family, said, “We focus on eye-hand coordination and quick-feet exercises. I also stay consistent in my workouts where I focus on lower body explosive movements to help with power and speed when stepping on the throttle pedal. Lastly, I’ve made the effort daily with seat time in my cockpit simulator, where I work on reaction time. There are only three races left, and I’m going to give it my all until the seasons end. My team is staying committed back in Indy and I’m staying committed in California. I’ve always had to really put in the effort to see the slightest of improvement, and in racing that’s all you need sometimes.”
Force set top speed of the event Friday night with the first-ever 340-mph run at 340.57. The 3.703-second pass placed her No. 6 in the field.
“We’ve run 340 before but we’d never done it here at the Texas Motorplex,” Force said. “This is for the fans; this is for the Meyer family and I’m excited to be here. We had two good runs down the track today so I’m very excited for the Monster Energy team.”
9 – JEGS ALLSTARS IN FULL SWING – Celebrating its 41st year as the Texas FallNationals marks its 40th, the JEGS Allstars specialty race got right to business Friday. In its third straight edition at Texas Motorplex, the Final Fours were set in Top Sportsman, Super Gas, Top Dragster, Stock, Super Stock, Super Street, and Super Comp. Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car reached the semifinals after a full Thursday of activity that included a Hoosier Racing Tire welcome breakfast and a Stampede of Speed Fan Fest appearance in downtown Waxahachie. Final rounds are scheduled for 1:50 p.m. CT Saturday.
JEGS CEO Gabe Mendoza said, “Our commitment to these racers runs deep. They represent the foundation of drag racing and the passion that fuels the industry. Supporting them isn’t just tradition for us — it’s part of who we are as a company.” JEGS Marketing Director David Salin added, “The JEGS Allstars truly represents the best of sportsman racing. We’re proud to have supported this premier event for so many years, and our commitment to the sportsman community is stronger than ever.”
The event brings out the best from across NHRA’s seven divisions and crowns individual champions in 10 classes, plus an overall team title. Racers qualify by earning points in their home divisions during year-long battles.
Texas Motorplex co-owner Christie Meyer Johnson said, “Having racers from all over the country race in an all-star event brings a lot of prestige to the FallNationals.” Texas-style extras include custom T-shirts and decals, a custom trophy, a JEGS Allstars belt buckle for winners, and the traditional custom-fit Texas Motorplex cowboy hats.
9B– NEW SPONSOR — AND A NEW HEADACHE — FOR LEE – Everything Breaks is the primary sponsor for Paul Lee Racing’s Nitro Funny Car this weekend, marking the warranty company’s debut in NHRA competition.
Everything Breaks offers customized protection plans for homes, vehicles, and electronics, with a single-source approach to service and claims. “We are thrilled to launch our partnership with Paul Lee Racing and to be part of the NHRA family,” CEO Brandon San Antonio said.
Paul Lee Racing entered the weekend as a Countdown contender, highlighted by Lee’s first career nitro victory in Phoenix and a top-five regular season. “It only gets better with the addition of our new partner, Everything Breaks,” Lee said.
Fans can learn more at the company’s midway display, where 90 days of complimentary WeCare benefits are available. But Lee’s Friday brought an unwelcome twist: mid-run, his engine exploded. He kept the car off the wall and stopped safely, though the engine and body were ruined.
“Well, I was on a decent run going down there. And right at the finish line, just as I was about to lift it, just blew up,” Lee explained. “Blew the windshield out and blew everything up and couldn’t see much. And main thing was just trying to get it stopped and stay out of Danny’s Lane. And that was my main goal, get a stop, stay out of his lane and get out of the car.
“But luckily, I have Brandon and Jordan here from Everythingbrakes.com. They’re out here and got a booth out in the midway. You guys need to go visit Everythingbrakes.com. I got a warranty on this car, so I’m not worried about it. I’m covered. How about you guys? Are you covered with your car? I’m covered. I’m going to take my warranty down to Everything Breaks and get it fixed for nothing.”
10 – REPORTSremarksOBSERVATIONSinsights . . . – Four-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown claimed his first of his 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle trophies (and 81 altogether) at Texas Motorplex in 1999, at the discontinued Dallas 1 event. In that final round, he defeated Angelle Sampey, the first driver in his current Accelerate Program. . . . Shawn Reed said his “hopes are high, even after a couple of slim losses that kicked us back in the points a little bit” but is hoping for a top-five finish to his tedious-to-tragic-to-triumphant 2025 Top Fuel performance. The Reading Countdown-race winner, who has bowed out in Round 1 at the past two events, said, “We know what we need to do to try and get back in that top five spot, which would be a win-win for Shawn Reed Racing.”
After the weekend’s opening qualifying session Friday, he said crew chief Rob Wendland and the crew “have a handle on the car. We went through Hell, but we’re back.” . . . Funny Car veteran Ron Capps said he knows that “our team needs to make up ground this weekend.” But he has some reassurance that it can. Capps scored back-to-back victories here in 2021 and 2022, and he went on from there to earn two of his three series crowns. (Capps also won the 1998 Dallas spring race, which has been discontinued.) “If you look back at a few of our championship title runs, you can point right to the Dallas race as being a pivotal event. We’ll see if we can’t have some of the success we’ve had there in the past and move back up in the points this weekend,” he said. . .
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Funny Car’s Alexis De Joria has moved from the Austin, Texas, area and lists Los Angeles as her residence. But she said, “I love going back to the Stampede of Speed. I still consider the Motorplex to be one of my home tracks, even though I don’t live in Texas anymore. The Meyer family is incredible, and they really know how to deliver when it comes to the fan experience. It’s always a great show.” She’s seeking her first victory of the season, her first since the 2021 Bristol, Tenn., race, and her first with crew chiefs Mike Neff and Todd Smith. So Dallas-winner cowboy hats all around for her team is the goal – along with improving from her ninth-place status, right in the middle of a tightly bunched field. In his first pass. . . Mason McGaha has been splitting his attention between the Pro Stock and Comp Eliminator classes this weekend. He qualified No. 1 in Comp and earned a first-round bye Friday.
BOBBY BENNETT: THE REALITY NO ONE WANTED TO FACE AT POMONA