Michigan made NHRA wait an extra day to finish its first race at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.
Shawn Langdon made Monday worth the wait with a record-setting performance.
Langdon didn’t just win the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals, he spent four rounds pushing the limits of a Top Fuel dragster. He capped the day with a 346.95-mph blast that stands as the fastest run in NHRA history and a victory that returned him to the championship lead.
Jordan Vandergriff completed an improbable march from the bottom of the Funny Car ladder, Troy Coughlin Jr. ended a 41-race drought in Pro Stock, and John Hall survived a bracket full of others’ busted championship expectations in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
For a race pushed to Monday by rain and cold, there wasn’t much left when NHRA finally turned them loose.
Langdon was the headliner.
He opened eliminations with a 3.652-second run against Maddi Gordon, the quickest Top Fuel pass of the season. Then came speeds of 342 mph or better on every trip down the track, including the number that rearranged the record book.
Langdon went 3.663 at 346.95 mph in the semifinals against Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta, erasing the 345.00-mph mark established earlier this season at Valdosta.
There was no backing off in the final.
Langdon ripped off a 3.664 at 346.15 mph to beat Spencer Massey’s 3.764 at 327.75, securing his sixth victory of 2026, second in a row, and 28th of his career. The win also moved Langdon back atop the standings, 11 points ahead of Kalitta after the opening race of the six-event Countdown to the Championship.
“It just goes to show it takes everything,” Langdon said. “You have a facility like U.S. 131 that takes a lot of pride in their facility. It’s a great track, and then you get some good conditions and really anything’s possible. It all starts there, and my guys have been doing such a great job.
“Brian [Husen, crew chief[ made perfect calls and he races smart. It was just getting everything in sync and the car showed what it was capable of. We knew that it was going to be good, but to be able to do that for four runs today, I’m just proud of my guys to get this win. There was just a lot of good things going on this weekend.”
Langdon also remained perfect at NHRA’s new venues this season after victories at Valdosta and Maryland.
Massey’s Monday was a story of its own. He knocked out Tony Schumacher, Josh Hart, and Tony Stewart to reach his first Top Fuel final in more than a decade.
If Langdon’s victory was built on domination, Vandergriff’s came from the other end of the spectrum.
He qualified 16th after failing to make a representative run in four qualifying attempts. His first-round situation didn’t look much better when Vandergriff smoked the tires immediately against No. 1 qualifier Austin Prock.
Then Prock turned on the red light. That opened the door, and Vandergriff kept working his way back. Once John Force Racing diagnosed the problem that had plagued its Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, Vandergriff reeled off three consecutive 3.80-second runs. His last was a 3.858 at 329.43 mph to defeat points leader Matt Hagan and complete one of the weekend’s more improbable turnarounds.
Vandergriff became the first No. 16 Funny Car qualifier to win an NHRA national event since Del Worsham in 2003. His third career victory also moved him to second in the standings, 23 points behind Hagan.
“It almost doesn’t even feel real. We struggled so much, but my guys looked at everything and we finally dissected the singular problem. Once we found that, we went out there [and went 3.871]. It’s just an unbelievable weekend and a credit to my team,” Vandergriff said.
“We capitalized on some good luck in that first round and I’m just very fortunate to be part of this team and for this opportunity. We came out of round one, diagnosed the problem and fixed it. Today’s win is a total credit to my entire team. Funny Car is a battle, and I recognize how hard these next five races are going to be. It wasn’t easy today, and it’s not going to get any easier. It’s a gauntlet out there, but thankfully today was our day.”
Hagan reached his 113th career final and sixth of the season after beating Joey Haas, Alexis DeJoria, and Jack Beckman.
It was only appropriate that on a rainy weekend in Michigan that Troy Coughlin Jr. ended a drought – a long one … 41 races, in fact.
Coughlin finally ended it with a 6.515 at 209.69 mph against Matt Hartford, collecting his sixth career Pro Stock victory and one of NHRA’s commemorative Diamond Wally trophies during its 75th anniversary season.
The road wasn’t soft. Coughlin beat Matt Latino, No. 2 qualifier Greg Anderson, and his uncle Jeg Coughlin Jr. before taking out Hartford, whose No. 1 qualifying performance helped him leave Michigan with the points lead.
“There’s a lot of emotions with this. It’s extremely exciting,” Coughlin said. “I love the history of this sport, and to have a Diamond Wally celebrating 75 years of this great sport, it’s majestic. I’m very humbled and everyone at Elite Motorsports has worked extremely hard to give us the best.
“I had so much faith and trust in this team. I’m really lucky to have such a wonderful group of guys on this team. This is extremely rewarding. We’re constantly pushing ourselves for the love of the game. We had a blast today and when we have a blast, it’s fun. This is a hard sport. There’s so many things that have to go right to win one of these races.”
Coughlin jumped five positions in the standings to fifth. Hartford, meanwhile, carries a five-point advantage over Greg Stanfield, with Anderson and reigning champion Dallas Glenn 11 points behind.
Pro Stock Motorcycle was full of surprises, as none of the usual hot shots were around for the final round.
Marc Ingwersen ripped through Gaige Herrera, points leader and reigning champion Richard Gadson, and No. 1 qualifier Ryan Oehler to reach his first career final. Hall was waiting for him.
Ingwersen’s red light – just 1/1,000th of a second too early – ended the Cinderella run before the final could develop. Hall would’ve been hard to handle anyway, as he paired a .005-second reaction time with a run of 6.808, 194.22 mph. The Matt Smith Racing Buell carried him to his first victory of the season and fifth of his career.
Hall had beaten Clayton Howey, teammate Matt Smith, and Ronald Procopio Jr. to reach the final. For the second consecutive season, he opened the Countdown with a victory.
“It’s just a great feeling coming in strong and getting some momentum,” Hall said. “We did it last year, but let me tell you, I was ready to quit racing this weekend. I was so down on myself and that’s what drag racing does to you. I wasn’t riding like I wanted to, but I’m happy I’m back and I hope I’m back for a long time.
“I just go up there and do what I do. I don’t put a lot of thought or stress into it. It’s just awesome to be able to do this and these fans are awesome. The stands were full on a Monday and that was really cool to see. Everyone I raced was tough, so I knew I had to be good on the starting line. I got my confidence back, but it can go quick.”
The motorcycle standings were scrambled accordingly. Gadson escaped Michigan with the lead, but Hall is only one point behind and Smith sits 25 points back.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Friday through Sunday with the inaugural NHRA Nationals at Rockingham (NC) Dragway.
