Ron Capps came to Indianapolis looking for every point he could get before the NHRA regular season closes this weekend. On Saturday night, he collected a few of them with his quickest run of the weekend.
Capps powered to the provisional No. 1 position in Funny Car, while Shawn Langdon remained No. 1 in Top Fuel and Matt Hartford and Gaige Herrera moved to the top in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, respectively. That’s how things stand after two of the three days of qualifying for the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
With two qualifying sessions remaining Sunday, Capps continued his push toward the regular-season championship. The three-time Funny Car champion delivered a 3.914-second run at 332.18 mph in his Carlyle Tools/NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra after rain and lightning interrupted Saturday’s qualifying.
The delay eventually worked in Capps’ favor as temperatures dropped and NHRA’s Safety Safari worked the racing surface.
Alexis DeJoria’s problems ahead of Capps provided even more time for the track to cool before crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli sent him to the starting line.
“Obviously, we didn’t want to see the weather come in and cause that delay for the fans with the rain and lightning, but once we got back on track, it was quick,” Capps said. “You’ve got to hand it to Safety Safari and NHRA, they made both of those lanes here at IRP fantastic; it was the best round of racing we’ve seen all weekend. We saw Alexis have an issue right in front of us, which gave the track time to cool off even more.”
Antonelli took his time making the final adjustments. Capps knew he had something underneath him when the clutch locked up downtrack.
“Guido was in the box quite a few times, and when I got to about half track and the clutch locked up and it threw me in the trunk, I got on the radio and said ‘Mama mia!’” Capps said. “When you have a crew chief named Guido, you have to say ‘Mama mia.’”
In Top Fuel, Friday night’s best remained good enough to keep Langdon on the pole.
Langdon’s 3.727 at 334.98 in the Kalitta Motorsports SealMaster dragster survived Saturday’s qualifying and kept the former champion in the provisional No. 1 position. Tony Stewart remained second after running 3.744, while Leah Pruett’s Friday run of 3.772 has her third.
Langdon entered Indianapolis chasing teammate Doug Kalitta in the standings, giving the Kalitta Motorsports pair plenty to race for before the points reset for the Countdown to the Championship.
Pro Stock changed hands Saturday when Hartford knocked Friday’s leader, Greg Stanfield, from the top spot.
Hartford drove his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro to a 6.626 at 205.54 to claim the provisional No. 1 position. With cooler conditions expected Sunday, the Pro Stock field will get two more opportunities to take a shot at Hartford’s position before the ladder is set.
Herrera made his move to the top in Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying while winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
The back-to-back champion ran 6.842 at 196.50 aboard his RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki, replacing Matt Smith as the provisional No. 1 qualifier. The run came during Herrera’s march to the #2Fast2Tasty victory and season championship.
Herrera defeated teammate Richard Gadson in the Challenge final when Gadson left 2/1,000ths of a second early. Herrera’s 6.842 would have given Gadson plenty to deal with regardless, and he ended the day with a trophy and the quickest qualifying run.
Two sessions remain Sunday before the fields are locked for Monday’s U.S. Nationals eliminations.
Qualifying resumes at noon EDT at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, with the opening round of the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout scheduled for 12:45 p.m.
SATURDAY’S #2FAST2TASTY – AUSTIN PROCK, LEAH PRUETT LEAD NHRA #2FAST2TASTY WINNERS AT U.S. NATIONALS
Austin Prock turned a miserable start to the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge season into a championship Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
The back-to-back Funny Car champion defeated J.R. Todd in the final round of the specialty race at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, securing his third Challenge victory of the season and the overall 2026 title.
Leah Pruett won the Top Fuel Challenge, rookie Cody Anderson scored his first Pro Stock victory of any kind, and Gaige Herrera won in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Herrera also wrapped up the season’s Challenge championship for the bikes.
Prock drove his Ford Racing Mustang to a 3.921-second pass at 317.87 mph to beat Todd’s 4.006, 325.06. The victory also gave Prock 16 bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship.
Those points didn’t look likely earlier in the season. Prock went through the first six Challenge races without winning a round before his team reversed course after Chicago, eventually reaching five finals since May.
“We went the first six races without winning a single round, and then after Chicago, we made it to our first semifinal round, and I think we’ve been almost we’ve been in every Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge except one,” Prock said. “It just shows how far this team’s come. Those are the kind of stats that’ll win you a third championship in a row.”
There was another encouraging piece for Prock. His Mustang wasn’t running on all eight cylinders during Saturday’s two Challenge runs and was still among the quickest Funny Cars on the property.
“Both runs that we’ve made were full pulls that had a few cylinders out, and the E.T. board still shows we’re second quick, we’re third quick,” Prock said. “We’re making impressive runs on six cylinders in this Ford Mustang. There’s a lot of racing to go, and I guarantee you this Ford Mustang will be dialed in on Monday.”
Prock has won the last two U.S. Nationals and can become the first Funny Car driver to win the event three consecutive years.
In Top Fuel, Pruett didn’t like what she saw when she hit the throttle against points leader Doug Kalitta. She liked the win light considerably more.
Pruett defeated Kalitta with a 3.873 at 319.98 in her Dodge dragster to claim her first #2Fast2Tasty victory of the season. Kalitta had dominated the season-long bonus haul with 22 Countdown points, but Pruett took the final Saturday trophy available before the playoffs.
“I barely even hit the light, I was like, ‘That sucked!’ and I am not happy at all,” Pruett said. “I’m just waiting for Doug to just scream on by at 340 miles an hour and he didn’t. That car saved that round. I saved our first round against Maddi, and, yeah, it all comes back to unity and team.”
Pruett has won at Indianapolis before, but not the U.S. Nationals Top Fuel title. Saturday gave her another shot of momentum before Monday’s eliminations and the coming Countdown.
“To get a win like that at Indy with the crowd, with the changing variables, the history, the pageantry, everything about it is fulfilling,” Pruett said. “I’m embracing it because all this is emotional warfare in preparation for the biggest, baddest ‘Big Go’ that there could ever be. That’s where I’m at.”
Cody Anderson didn’t need to wait until Monday for his first taste of winning in Pro Stock.
The rookie cut a .020-second reaction time and ran 6.642 at 204.91 in his Troy Humphrey Motorsports/Daiken/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to defeat veteran Greg Stanfield in the final. Two win lights gave Anderson his first victory in Pro Stock competition.
“It’s super special, and any win feels good,” Anderson said. “This place is extra special and iconic since it’s Indy. This win gives me a lot of confidence. It’s hard to win one round, especially on race day, and just to get two win lights is a huge confidence boost – and to be able to leave on Greg Stanfield is a big deal. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going for race day.”
There was a family twist to the outcome. Cody’s father, six-time champion Greg Anderson, had already clinched the season #2Fast2Tasty championship, but lost in Saturday’s opening round.
“It’s pretty damn cool,” Greg Anderson said. “I felt so bad when I crossed the finish line in the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty round and got my butt whipped. Cody held up his end of the bargain. I’m so very, very proud of the boy. It’s pretty cool to see, and for it to happen at Indy means more since I’ve said all my career [that] I love this place more than anywhere else.”
Herrera and Richard Gadson finished Saturday with the kind of starting-line duel that has become familiar between the Vance & Hines teammates.
Gadson left 2/1,000ths of a second too soon, handing Herrera the Pro Stock Motorcycle victory on a red-light. Herrera wasn’t waiting around for help, however, as his 6.842 at 196.50 aboard the RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki also moved him into the No. 1 qualifying position.
The victory clinched the overall #2Fast2Tasty championship for Herrera and kept him pointed toward an even bigger piece of Indianapolis history. Herrera is chasing his third consecutive U.S. Nationals victory, something only Dave Schultz has accomplished in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
“This was kind of how I saw it playing out that one of us was going to possibly go red,” Herrera said. “I mean, that’s how it’s been with us. I feel like we’re both going to lay it all out there. I won’t lie. I went up there and squeezed my [clutch] lever a little extra tighter than normal to make sure I wasn’t the one to go red. We go out there to cut each other’s head off, and it’s live or die by the sword.”
Herrera walked away with the Saturday trophy, the season championship, and another reason to like the #2Fast2Tasty format.
“I’m also very happy to get this Mission #2Fast2Tasty overall win,” Herrera said. “This is a great deal and it makes it a lot more fun to race on Saturdays.”
