Four-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan kept his championship hopes alive by defeating Jack Beckman in the final round Sunday at the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Hagan’s victory highlighted a weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway where Doug Kalitta, Greg Anderson and Gaige Herrera also claimed playoff wins.
The event marked the 17th of 20 races in the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the third of six Countdown to the Championship events. Each victory had major implications for the title picture as the season heads into its closing stretch.
Funny Car winner Hagan drove his American Rebel Beer Dodge/SRT Hellcat to a 3.979-second pass at 329.34 mph, holding off Beckman’s 4.036. It was his second win of the season, 54th of his career, and third at St. Louis.
Hagan advanced by defeating Alex Laughlin, Cruz Pedregon, and Daniel Wilkerson. His .040-second reaction time in the final helped him close to within 20 points of leader Austin Prock with three races remaining.
“I told my guys when we came into this race, we’re all chasing Austin,” Hagan said. “He won eight races this year, but no one is infallible. You just have to be ready when they mess up, and they messed up today.”
Beckman, last year’s St. Louis winner, reached his fifth final of 2025 and 77th of his career. He is third in the standings, 65 points behind Prock.
Kalitta continued his own title push with a Top Fuel victory, running 3.796 at 327.98 to defeat first-time finalist Ida Zetterström. The 2023 NHRA champion qualified No. 1 and beat Will Smith, Steve Torrence, and Justin Ashley on his way to the final.
Kalitta secured his third win of the season and 58th of his career. It was also his fifth victory at St. Louis, extending his lead to 86 points over Ashley and 127 over teammate Shawn Langdon.
“Each of the rounds today, my car was just on a rail,” Kalitta said. “Conditions were pretty slick out there, but this whole Mac Tools group gave me a car that went down the track. For me, it’s just a huge relief.”
Zetterström reached her first career NHRA final after eliminating Tony Stewart, Kyle Wurtzel, and reigning champion Antron Brown. Her run added to the playoff drama, even as Kalitta controlled the points chase.
Anderson reasserted himself in the Pro Stock title fight with a 6.531 at 209.33 to beat Matt Hartford in the final. Anderson had to defeat KB Titan teammate Dallas Glenn in the second round, and also eliminated Mason McGaha and rookie Matt Latino.
It was Anderson’s sixth win of 2025 and 112th overall, trimming Glenn’s lead to 25 points with three events to go. “Today was crazy. I’m whipped,” Anderson said. “After yesterday, I probably didn’t come in with the most confidence, but what a recovery my guys made with my racecar. They figured it out and I made four very high-quality runs today.”
Hartford reached his third final of the season and 20th of his career with wins over Cristian Cuadra, Erica Enders, and Troy Coughlin Jr. He now sits third in the points chase.
Herrera rounded out the winners, claiming a Pro Stock Motorcycle win with a 6.791 at 199.61 after teammate Brayden Davis fouled out by .001 in the final. The victory was Herrera’s sixth of the season, 27th of his career and his third straight in St. Louis.
The defending champion had suffered rare early exits in the first two playoff races. But on his birthday, he jumped back into contention, moving to second in points and cutting the gap to teammate Richard Gadson to 29.
“This means a lot. Moving from fourth to second in points, that’s awesome, but I’m still the hunter,” Herrera said. “Getting three wins in a row here means a lot to me. To win on your birthday, there’s just nothing like it.”
Davis reached his second career final, defeating Bostick, Chase Van Sant, and Gadson.
The NHRA tour continues Oct. 8-12 at the Texas FallNationals near Dallas.
