World Wide Technology Raceway sold out Saturday for the sixth consecutive year, and by the time qualifying was finished, there was little mystery about who had the best race cars.
Jack Beckman made the best Funny Car run of the weekend. Shawn Langdon stayed out front in Top Fuel, as he has for much of the past month. Troy Coughlin Jr. continued his late-season Pro Stock turnaround, and Gaige Herrera ran the quickest Pro Stock Motorcycle pass in track history.
The NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals marked NHRA’s 11th sellout of the season and third consecutive Saturday with a capacity crowd for the Countdown to the Championship event. With St. Louis serving as the third of six playoff races, there isn’t much of a schedule left for anyone needing to make a move.
Beckman certainly qualifies.
His 3.866-second run at 332.59 mph Saturday put the PEAK Chevrolet SS atop Funny Car qualifying, earning Beckman his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 36th of his career. He entered St. Louis fifth in points, 126 behind leader Matt Hagan.
At this point, qualifying No. 1 is useful. Winning Sunday is what Beckman needs far more.
“Relative to the conditions, that pass was probably one of the best runs of the year,” Beckman said. “We weren’t pushing to run an .86. We got everything there was out there — maybe a little bit more. The racing gods gave us a hundredth in Q3. We weren’t pushing to run an .86, but we got everything there was out there.
“We’ve got a car that’s basically good enough to win all the time,” Beckman said.
“It’s just about eliminating that small stuff, that hundredth of a second, that five-thousandth of a second that can eat you alive. Every qualifying run matters. We’ve got to keep doing stuff like that.”
Alexis DeJoria, Hagan, and Austin Prock all ran 3.882, with DeJoria’s speed putting her second ahead of the other two. Beckman opens Sunday’s eliminations against Dale Creasy Jr.
Langdon has created an entirely different problem for the Top Fuel field.
His 3.679 at 339.87 from Friday remained No. 1 through both Saturday sessions, giving the Kalitta Air driver his seventh top qualifying position this season. It also kept intact a run that has become the story of this Countdown.
Langdon has won three consecutive races, beginning at Indianapolis and continuing through Martin and Rockingham. It’s his second three-race winning streak this season, and he hasn’t lost an elimination round since the playoffs started.
The final qualifying session gave Langdon and crew chief Brian Husen a chance to find out how much more was available.
“The car’s been really consistent making good runs, so in Q4 we pressed it a little bit to see where the threshold was,” Langdon said. “It had good early numbers. We were trying to go probably low .70s there, and it just smoked the tires down track.”
Antron Brown qualified second with a 3.704, while rookie Maddi Gordon was third at 3.708. Gordon also ran a track-record 340.65 mph.
Langdon gets Tony Schumacher in the opening round Sunday with the potential for a fourth consecutive victory and eighth of the season on the table.
Coughlin’s recent stretch has come from the opposite direction.
He went 41 races without winning before breaking through at Martin in the Countdown opener. Two races later, the JEGS Pro Stock car is No. 1 in St. Louis.
Coughlin’s track-record 6.473 at 211.69 from Friday held through Saturday, giving him his first No. 1 qualifier in three years. The turnaround has come at a useful time for a driver who spent much of the season trying to find this combination.
“It feels awesome. To be at this facility — this place is so much fun to race at — this one will definitely go down as a good one in our hearts,” Coughlin said. “We can’t wait for race day. It’s a lot of fun to see everybody’s work pay off. Everything comes and goes in cycles, and to see the perseverance, persistence, and consistency these guys possess is fantastic.
“It’s difficult to struggle, but struggle brings growth,” he said. “Those are stepping stones for growth, and I think that’s the way we all view it. The fruits of their labor are starting to show, and the grins are getting bigger and bigger. What a great time to really turn the corner like this.”
Coughlin races Chris Vang in the first round. Points leader Greg Stanfield qualified second with a 6.474, followed by six-time champion Greg Anderson.
Herrera waited until the final Pro Stock Motorcycle session to deliver Saturday’s biggest number.
The two-time champion went 6.644 at 202.76 aboard his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki, lowering the track record of 6.701 he set in 2023. The run was only two-hundredths off the national record Herrera set in Dallas two years ago and gave him his third No. 1 qualifier this season.
Even Herrera wasn’t expecting that much.
“It felt really good. It stuck, and I was kind of waiting for it to spin the tire a little bit, but it didn’t,” Herrera said. “I could feel like it was really moving. To go .64 and only be two-hundredths off the national record I set in Dallas a couple years ago is pretty crazy. I thought maybe a .65 if everything aligned, but not a .64.
“That’s a testament to Andrew [Hines, crew chief] and his tuning ability and all the guys at the shop,” Herrera said. “Those numbers on the board are bragging rights for them. I’m just happy I get to ride the motorcycle.”
Matt Smith qualified second at 6.663, with Joey Gladstone third at 6.695. Points leader Richard Gadson qualified seventh at 6.729. Herrera draws Malcolm Phillips Jr. for the first round Sunday.
Saturday’s crowd provided the backdrop for all of it.
“Today’s sold-out crowd at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals is another tremendous showcase of the passion and enthusiasm St. Louis fans have for NHRA drag racing,” NHRA President Glen Cromwell said. “The team at World Wide Technology Raceway continues to provide an outstanding experience and it’s exciting to see another packed house in St. Louis during our 75th anniversary season.”
Eliminations begin at 10 a.m. CDT Sunday.
Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, the 17th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.679 seconds, 339.87 mph vs. 16. Tony Schumacher, 3.842, 320.20; 2. Antron Brown, 3.704, 337.24 vs. 15. Clay Millican, 3.760, 323.19; 3. Maddi Gordon, 3.708, 340.65 vs. 14. Will Smith, 3.742, 332.75; 4. Spencer Massey, 3.715, 332.67 vs. 13. Jasmine Salinas, 3.741, 327.11; 5. Billy Torrence, 3.716, 338.00 vs. 12. Justin Ashley, 3.737, 331.36; 6. Josh Hart, 3.717, 333.41 vs. 11. Tony Stewart, 3.733, 337.50; 7. Shawn Reed, 3.721, 333.49 vs. 10. Doug Kalitta, 3.728, 339.45; 8. Leah Pruett, 3.722, 335.07 vs. 9. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.723, 332.59. Did Not Qualify: 17. Keith Murt, 3.862, 307.09; 18. Scott Palmer, 3.973, 281.07; 19. Charles Loftin, 4.044, 249.16; 20. Brian Inouye, 4.159, 247.47; 21. Cameron Ferre, 4.169, 228.34.
Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.866, 332.59 vs. 16. Dale Creasy Jr., Dodge Charger, 4.234, 238.17; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.882, 334.65 vs. 15. Bobby Bode, Ford Mustang, 4.047, 319.90; 3. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.882, 335.07 vs. 14. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.028, 315.19; 4. Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.882, 332.84 vs. 13. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.994, 327.35; 5. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.898, 336.07 vs. 12. Blake Alexander, Toyota Supra, 3.958, 327.66; 6. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.906, 329.99 vs. 11. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.945, 327.35; 7. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.906, 329.26 vs. 10. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.928, 321.27; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.921, 325.22 vs. 9. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.923, 333.74. Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris King, 4.265, 244.34; 18. Jack Wyatt, 7.299, 94.35.
Pro Stock — 1. Troy Coughlin Jr., Chevy Camaro, 6.473, 211.69 vs. 16. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.548, 209.79; 2. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.474, 211.93 vs. 15. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.548, 210.87; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.479, 210.50 vs. 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.531, 209.95; 4. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.481, 211.49 vs. 13. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.531, 211.10; 5. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.486, 210.73 vs. 12. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.510, 209.65; 6. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.487, 211.46 vs. 11. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.498, 210.93; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.488, 210.47 vs. 10. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.495, 210.70; 8. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.489, 209.49 vs. 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.491, 211.63.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.644, 202.76 vs. 14. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.895, 192.36; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.663, 203.12 vs. 13. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.865, 195.42; 3. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.695, 202.45 vs. 12. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.841, 199.29; 4. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.696, 201.01 vs. 11. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.830, 199.43; 5. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.699, 202.21 vs. 10. Clayton Howey, Buell, 6.783, 197.88; 6. John Hall, Buell, 6.707, 202.03 vs. 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.745, 199.02; 7. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.729, 202.06 vs. 8. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.742, 200.59.
