Justin Bond had never won a championship until Sunday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, where he defeated Mike Stavrinos in the final round and finally collected the one piece of hardware that had eluded him. The Canadian Pro Modified racer had finished runner-up twice, and after everything he endured in 2026, winning his first world title was almost too much to believe.
There’s a good chance Bond never envisioned winning a championship would be such a headache, although he’s won races with one of those before. He certainly couldn’t have imagined a season that began with him getting run over, included a supercharger controversy at Indianapolis and ended with an eye infection and a starting-line adventure.
“I just think that luck pays me back when I’m hurting,” Bond said.Â
Bond arrived in Las Vegas holding a 17-point lead with three other drivers still fighting for the championship. By Sunday afternoon, he had survived the points battle, watched a controversial semifinal between two teammates and beaten Stavrinos in a final round that nearly became a disaster before either car left the starting line.
The championship was a long time coming for a driver who had grown accustomed to getting close enough to see the trophy without taking it home. Bond admitted there were times when he wondered whether he would ever win another national event, much less a championship.
“Beginning of this year, I didn’t know if I’d ever win a Wally again,” Bond said. “It was a long time and it’s hard.”
His 2026 campaign nearly ended before it began, courtesy of a February accident during a company gathering that featured drag racing. Bond was run over Feb. 24, suffered a broken ankle and faced the possibility of watching somebody else drive the race car he had spent the offseason preparing.
Bond had already decided that less would be more after a disappointing 2025 season, reducing his operation from two cars to one and changing engine suppliers to KTR. The team spent January and February testing before the accident forced him to put Travis in the car while he recovered.
There was one problem with sitting out the season opener in Phoenix: Bond’s company, JBS Equipment, had scheduled dealer meetings there, and he wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to race in front of his customers. Never mind that he was still recovering from an accident that could have kept him out of the driver’s seat considerably longer.
“All I kept saying is, ‘I got to drive at this event. I got to drive. I got to do this,'” Bond said. “And then when I got there, the performance of the car was awesome. My driving wasn’t great.”
He won the race anyway, turning what had looked like a miserable beginning into a victory that helped launch his championship season. Bond called it a turning point, although the months ahead would give him plenty of opportunities to question just how much more adversity he needed.
Indianapolis provided another test when a dispute over supercharger rules and safety became one of the season’s more contentious Pro Modified stories. Bond found himself in the middle of the controversy and eventually finished runner-up, another near miss in a career that already had enough of them.
By Las Vegas, his biggest concern wasn’t the controversy from Indianapolis or the broken ankle from February. An eye infection that developed Wednesday in Phoenix had worsened, leaving him to fight for the championship with another physical problem he hadn’t planned on having.
It wasn’t his first experience winning while hurting, having previously captured the Charlotte four-wide event with a migraine. Frank Hawley had talked him out of taking medication before that race because Bond had been driving well, an experience that made his latest ailment seem almost familiar.
Bond had enough to worry about without watching what happened in the semifinal between Stavrinos and his Al-Anabi teammate, J.R. Gray. Gray left -.330 seconds early, turning on the red light, and his car moved left, leaving Stavrinos to advance into the championship-deciding final.
For anyone expecting Bond to complain about what appeared to be a team strategy, he offered a response that probably disappointed those looking for a fight. He understood what the opposing team was trying to accomplish and admitted he would have considered the same approach.
“I have no issues with what those guys did, but I will tell you on record, in 2012, I went all the way to Dallas, Texas because my buddy Stephen Conley was number two in the world,” Bond said. “And we were going down there and it was me and him and Shane Molinari.”
That particular plan ended with all three drivers losing in the opening round, leaving Bond with little faith in the effectiveness of blockers. He also had a financial objection to running two cars when only one needed to make a pass.
“If I was in J.R. and Mike’s position, I would’ve just sent one car up to the starting line,” Bond said. “I wouldn’t have sent both because every burnout and every launch costs money and I’m half Dutch, so I would’ve left the car in the pit, but I have no issues with what they did.”
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The final round brought its own aggravation, beginning when Bond and Stevie Fast discussed whether he should change his usual staging routine. Bond considered going in first because Stavrinos preferred doing the same, but Stevie warned him against abandoning what had worked all season.
Once the engines fired, Bond became increasingly concerned about the time Stavrinos was taking to stage. He lit the top bulb, waited, moved forward again and eventually found himself fighting his own routine while trying to anticipate what would happen in the other lane.
“And like a programmed idiot, I just pushed the transbrake button and stuffed the gas pedal to the wood,” Bond said. “And then my brain started catching up and it was like, ‘Oh no.'”
Bond repeatedly eased off and returned to the throttle while waiting for Stavrinos. When the Christmas Tree finally activated, Bond’s reaction time was .114, compared with Stavrinos’ .070, leaving the championship leader chasing his opponent.
Bond knew immediately that he was behind, and for a moment he wondered whether another championship opportunity had escaped. Then he began reeling in Stavrinos, who faded as Bond drove past him to claim the victory and the championship.
“And by about four or 500 feet, I could see I was catching him and I was like, ‘Oh wow, we might be in this,'” Bond said. “And then all of a sudden he just faded behind me and I was just, I think in awe.”
The victory ended years of frustration for Bond, who had spent much of his career believing he could win a championship without ever quite getting there. Even several days afterward, he was still coming to terms with having accomplished what had seemed so elusive.
There is an old saying that the second championship comes easier than the first, although Bond would probably appreciate a little less drama if he gets another opportunity. After surviving broken bones, headaches, controversy and one last starting-line headache, he has earned the right to hope for a more conventional title defense.
“I will also tell you it fuels your fire,” Bond said. “For me, it’s going to fuel my fire where I want to maybe come back and try to win a championship either with maybe a team car, like my kid driving, or maybe it’ll be where I win the season on hole shots. I want to try to write, do it again, but with a different story next time.”
