Four drivers will roll into The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend knowing a single round could decide everything.
The 2025 Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series championship comes down to Billy Banaka, Mike Stavrinos, J.R. Gray, and Derek Menholt — four names separated by just 24 points heading into the season finale. Banaka leads Stavrinos by 11 points, with Menholt 16 back and Gray 24.
“It’s a very tight race,” said Stavrinos. “There’s about seven or eight of us fighting for a championship. It’s going to come down to the final round, in my opinion.”
Gray, who dominated the regular season with three wins, said the goal is straightforward. “It’s a real easy strategy — win the race, win the championship,” he said. “You can only do that one round at a time.”
Menholt surged into contention with his St. Louis victory and believes the format helped level the field. “Everybody that’s in that hunt is competitive,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been able to compete if it wasn’t reset.”
The Pro Mod class has seen five different winners in nine events this year, including three first-timers in Banaka, Stavrinos, and Menholt. Sidnei Frigo sits fifth in points, 51 back, as part of a deep 20-car field where even veterans like Mike Janis and Rickie Smith remain mathematically alive.
Banaka’s consistency has carried him to the top, though his margin offers little comfort. One early exit could erase a season’s worth of steady results.
For Stavrinos, the moment is a dream realized. “I’ve watched those championship battles all my life, thinking maybe one day we’d be here,” he said. “It’s surreal to come to Vegas knowing we’re less than one round out of first.”
The Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series will hold qualifying Friday and Saturday before eliminations begin Sunday at 9 a.m. PT.
By the time the lights cool on The Strip, one driver will celebrate a first world title — and the others will leave knowing how close they came.
“Win the race, win the championship,” Gray said. “It’s really that simple — and that hard.”
