1 – BECKMAN RETIRES THE 1996 TRIBUTE UNDEFEATED – The 1996 John Force tribute scheme will head back into retirement undefeated. Anything short of a clean sweep at the NHRA U.S. Nationals might have felt like failure considering the history Jack Beckman carried into Indianapolis.
Force’s original 1996 Funny Car won 13 of 16 national events, qualified No. 1 13 times and collected 65 round wins on the way to the championship. Beckman didn’t have 65 rounds available at Indy, but he had seven, and he won every one of them.
Beckman completed a $180,000 weekend Monday by defeating Matt Hagan in the U.S. Nationals final with a 3.965-second run at 327.35 mph. One day earlier, the two-time NHRA champion swept three rounds to win the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout.
“I could truthfully tell you this is the greatest weekend I’ve ever had holding the steering wheel,” Beckman said. “Doesn’t get any better.”
The victory was Beckman’s third at the U.S. Nationals, second of 2026 and 39th of his Funny Car career. More importantly, there was nothing cheap about this one.
Beckman was quickest in every round Monday, eliminating Jeff Arend, John Force Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria, and two-time defending Indy winner Austin Prock before facing Hagan. Beckman’s 3.962 in the semifinals ended Prock’s attempt to become the first Funny Car driver to win three consecutive U.S. Nationals.
“Any loss sucks in a drag car, right?” Beckman said. “Some people said fate’s on your side. No, it’s not. Fate doesn’t know how to tune a fuel car.”
Beckman said the team protected lane choice throughout eliminations, keeping the Chevrolet in the preferred left lane. When the track temperature climbed to 127 degrees for the final, the Force tribute car answered one more time.
“Nobody gave us anything this weekend. We went out and we earned every single one,” Beckman said. “It’s the same trophy, but we know how much we kicked butt today.”
Hagan reached the final by beating Hunter Green, Paul Lee, and Ron Capps, with his semifinal victory securing the regular-season championship and its $150,000 prize.
2 – NOW YOU HAVE ONE – Now Shawn Langdon has a diamond-edition NHRA U.S. Nationals trophy to go with the one commemorating his 1,000th Top Fuel round win. Brian Husen finally has an Indy trophy, too, because Langdon handed his crew chief the one he had just won.
The gesture spoke volumes about a driver-crew chief combination that has become one of Top Fuel’s best. Husen earned his first U.S. Nationals victory as a crew chief when Langdon defeated Tony Stewart in Monday’s final at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Langdon covered the 1,000 feet in 3.804 seconds at 333.99 mph, beating Stewart’s 3.904 at 315.27. His .048-second reaction time put the SealMaster dragster in front immediately, and Stewart never caught him.
It was Langdon’s fifth victory of the 2026 season, 27th of his Top Fuel career and third at the U.S. Nationals. He qualified No. 1 and defeated Clay Millican, Justin Ashley, and Leah Pruett before beating Stewart.
“It’s Indy, so it’s exciting for sure,” Langdon said. “For Brian to win his first U.S. Nationals and to step out from working with Alan Johnson the last couple of years and really make his mark makes me happy to be his driver and that I get the opportunity to be a small piece of his success.
“Also, on top of that, a few of the crew guys, it was their first Indy win, so it was special for a lot of people for a lot of reasons,” Langdon said. “These are hard to come by, and the competition is so good. It’s nice to get back in the winner’s circle and it’s always great to win Indy.”
Stewart reached the U.S. Nationals final for the second consecutive season after defeating T.J. Zizzo, Antron Brown, and Doug Kalitta. This time, Langdon never gave him much of an opening.
The victory also gave Langdon momentum heading into the Countdown to the Championship, where he will begin the six-race playoff second in points. Teammate and reigning champion Kalitta clinched the regular-season championship and its $150,000 prize Monday.
Langdon has spent much of 2026 making the most of the combination Husen has assembled around him. Five victories and an Indy trophy provide the numbers, but Langdon’s decision to hand that trophy to Husen offered a better measure of how he viewed this particular win.
For Langdon, there was no need to explain much more.
“It’s nice to get back in the winner’s circle and it’s always great to win Indy.”
3 – BE LIKE MIKE, INDY EDITION – Dallas Glenn was quick to admit after his Pro Stock victory at the NHRA U.S. Nationals that he is a terrible basketball player, at least on offense.
But for one warm Monday afternoon in Indianapolis, Glenn put on his best Michael Jordan impersonation, if the NBA legend had been driving a Pro Stock Camaro instead of wearing No. 23.
Glenn went on the offensive Monday afternoon.
Glenn needed nearly everything to fall his way to steal the regular-season championship from KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson. Then, when the opportunity arrived, Glenn finished the job himself, beating Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the final round with a 6.599-second run at 207.56 mph.
The victory gave the reigning NHRA champion his first U.S. Nationals title, fourth win of the season and 25th of his career. It also secured his second consecutive regular-season championship and the $55,000 payday that came with it.
Glenn entered Monday needing Anderson to lose early while he kept winning. Coughlin handled the first part when he eliminated Anderson in the second round.
“I felt like that we had a shot to win, but honestly, I figured Greg would be semis or final round right there with me,” Glenn said. “So, him losing early, I think, is the most improbable one that I had on my Monday.”
That changed Glenn’s day immediately.
“I wasn’t thinking about points until Jeggy ran into Greg there in the second round, and I was like, ‘OK, well now the pressure’s on. Ball’s in my court so it’s time for the Michael Jordan two-second, last 3-point shot,’”
Glenn said. “And I got lucky enough where it actually bounced around the rim and went in.”
Glenn then knocked off defending event winner Erica Enders to reach the final against Coughlin, who had already defeated Chris Vang, Anderson, and No. 1 qualifier Matt Hartford.
For Glenn, the final was also a chance to erase an old Indy wound after a previous red-light loss to Anderson in the U.S. Nationals final.
“I just had to do everything I could to not think about points, not think about, ‘Hey, this is Indy,’” Glenn said. “Just think, ‘OK, Jeggy took me out in Brainerd first round, and I would really like to get you back.’”
This time Glenn waited for green, made the run and checked Indianapolis off the list.
“To be able to come in and say that, ‘Hey, in 20 years you’re going to win the US Nationals and beat Greg Anderson for a regular season championship,’ I would have been like, ‘Yeah, no, you’re lying to me,’” Glenn said.
4 – A SMITH-SMITH WIN-WIN FINAL – Thank goodness for 100-degree days in North Carolina.
Without those miserably hot, humid test sessions at Rockingham Dragway, Matt Smith might not have left the NHRA U.S. Nationals with his fourth Indianapolis victory.
Smith defeated his wife, Angie Smith, in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final with a 6.791-second run at 198.58 mph aboard his Denso Auto Parts Buell. Angie slowed to a 6.834, 194.80.
The victory was Smith’s third of the season and 45th of his career. It also came in his first full national event since gall bladder surgery forced him out of competition in late May.
“We worked really hard to get back to here,” Smith said. “We did a lot of testing at Rockingham in these conditions – hot, humid, knew the track was going to be 120, 130 degrees.”
Smith said the team spent two days testing in triple-digit temperatures, concentrating heavily on clutch setup. The work showed in Indianapolis, where his bike consistently delivered 1.06-second 60-foot times and qualified No. 1.
“We learned a lot of stuff,” Smith said. “We learned stuff with the clutches, and it made us better for here because I was consistent.”
Smith defeated Chris Bostick, Clayton Howey, and reigning champion Richard Gadson before meeting Angie in the final. The semifinal victory nearly created a major problem when Smith discovered a broken intake valve spring after the run.
There was no time to change engines. The team installed another spring and hoped the wounded engine had one more pass left.
“If it’ll just last one pass, that’s all it’s got to do,” Smith said. “Whether we win or lose, just don’t blow up on me.”
It survived.
Angie reached the final by defeating Kelly Clontz, Geno Scali, and Gaige Herrera, ending Herrera’s bid for a third consecutive U.S. Nationals win.
Smith called the weekend one of the most meaningful of his career, behind only his championship-clinching victory at Pomona in 2007. He is now focused on winning a seventh championship and separating himself from fellow six-time champions Dave Schultz and Andrew Hines.
“I want to get seven,” Smith said. “I want to be the all-time leader in that, and that will complete my career over here in this motorcycle category.”
5 – THE $150,000 QUARTER-FINAL GRUDGE RACE – Matt Hagan was never a grudge racer, but he sure looked like it in the semifinals. In a head-to-head race to determine the regular-season championship, Hagan left on Ron Capps and led him to the stripe, winning with a 4.020 elapsed time at 327.35. Capps absorbed the loss with a 9.500.
The moment at the top end was a bit overwhelming for Hagan.
“One of the toughest I’ve ever seen. I mean, Ron Capps is my hero, man,” Hagan said. “Those guys over there, they kill it. They led the points all year long. And we kind of came in here at the end, they made a few mistakes and we scooped up some points and made it happen. But I just can’t say enough about my guys, man.
“This Dodge Hellcat Funny Car, man, it’s on a tear right now. And Jason Johnson here from the deal, I mean, every time he shows up seems like we’re leaving with something, you know what I mean? So we still got to race to win.”
It was less dramatic for Doug Kalitta, who needed to reach the semifinals, which he did by beating Tripp Tatum,
“Alan [crew chief Johnson] has proven himself year after year, and just real fortunate to be in that car,” Kalitta said. “We’ll take this check back to Connie. We’ll get a little bonus from that, and looking forward to getting the Countdown going. Just real proud of everybody on my team. It’s pretty good.”
Defending NHRA champion Richard Gadson clinched the Pro Stock Motorcycle regular-season title after beating Ryan Oehler in the second round, while Dallas Glenn clinched the season title by beating Jeg Coughlin, Jr., in the final.
6 – MR. AND MRS. SMITH: SEMIFINAL ASSASSINS – They were small, but they got the job done. Angie and Matt Smith beat Vance & Hines riders Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson.
Angie had a .007-second reaction time to beat Herrera, 6.794 to 6.791. It was the first time she’d beaten Herrera in the Vance & Hines era. She had beaten him when he rode the Stoffers’ bike.
Matt beat Gadson 6.773 to 6.878.
7 – GRAY WINS PRO MOD TITLE – J.R. Gray already owns an NHRA Pro Mod championship. On Monday, he added the one trophy every drag racer wants on the shelf.
Gray captured his first Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, stopping No. 1 qualifier Justin Bond in the final round of the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Gray delivered his best shot when the Diamond Wally was on the line, driving his Al-Anabi Performance Chevrolet Camaro to a 5.701-second run at 252.47 mph. Bond answered with a 5.759 at 251.72, but couldn’t keep Gray from collecting his sixth career NHRA Pro Mod victory and first of the season.
“That final round, it was all or nothing,” Gray said. “I want to thank all the guys for their hard work. We had to swap motors after the first round, and we just kept on digging and came out with this Diamond Wally.”
The engine change underscored the fight Gray’s team faced on a long Monday at Indy. After beating Alex Laughlin in the opening round, Gray returned to eliminate Mike Thielen and Billy Banaka before saving his quickest run of eliminations for Bond.
“It’s been hard fought for us to get to this point, and I’m so grateful for my team to get this win and get a little closer to that No. 1 spot [in the standings],” Gray said.
Bond reached his third final of the season after defeating Chip King, Stan Shelton, and Michael Stavrinos.
The runner-up was enough to put Bond atop the standings after two races in Pro Mod’s Road to the Championship. He leads Stavrinos by seven points, with Banaka only 10 points out of first.
Gray’s Indy payday moved the defending champion to fifth, 40 points behind Bond.
The series returns Sept. 25-27 for the inaugural NHRA at The Rock at Rockingham (NC) Dragway.
8 – THE CONTROVERSY – A controversy that erupted Saturday in Pro Modified didn’t disappear when qualifying ended. It followed the class into Monday’s eliminations at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.
At the center was the Scott Tidwell Racing entry driven by Jason Collins, which had its first three qualifying runs thrown out following an NHRA technical inspection of its supercharger.
NHRA officials had sealed a number of superchargers at the beginning of the weekend for inspection. Following the third qualifying session, the units were unsealed and examined, with Collins’ supercharger becoming the focus of the controversy.
Collins was allowed to continue with a supercharger deemed legal by NHRA, but his previous qualifying runs did not count. That left him one shot to make the 16-car field, and the team failed to get in.
9 – LIBERSHER DELIVERS BIG WIN – Scott Libersher saved one of his biggest wins for drag racing’s biggest stage Monday, taking the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown title at the 72nd annual NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Libersher defeated No. 1 qualifier Jonathan Allegrucci in a final that turned into survival almost immediately. Allegrucci grabbed the starting-line advantage with a .018 reaction time against Libersher’s .032, but his chances disappeared when his car spun the tires.
Libersher went around him quickly and never gave the position back, although his 7.770-second run at 178.05 mph provided its own dose of drama. His car drifted close to the centerline through the run, but Libersher kept it in his lane and carried it through the finish line for the Indy victory.
Allegrucci recovered enough to record an 8.403 at 176.44 mph, but by then Libersher was gone.
The victory capped a steady march through eliminations for Libersher, who qualified fifth with a 7.750. He opened eliminations by beating Mark Lloyd with a 7.757 before improving to a 7.695 to dispatch Richard Hord.
Libersher stepped up again in the third round, running 7.650 at 179.16 mph to defeat Taylor Dietsch. His semifinal was considerably less conventional, as an 11.544-second run at just 89.14 mph was enough to advance him into the final.
Allegrucci entered Monday as the driver everyone was chasing after qualifying No. 1 with a 7.714 at 179.59 mph. He worked his way past Lee Hartman, Jason Dietsch, and James Betz before lining up alongside Libersher for the trophy.
10 – CRAMPTON, BELLEMEUR LEAD LUCAS OIL WINNERS – Richie Crampton returned to an Indianapolis winner’s circle Monday, only this time the former Top Fuel winner got there by a different route.
Crampton drove the Samsel Racing Top Alcohol Dragster to a 5.255-second pass at 272.56 mph to defeat T.J. Tindle in the final round of the 72nd annual NHRA U.S. Nationals. It was Crampton’s second Indy victory, 10 years after he won the event in Top Fuel, and he did so in a chassis that he built.
“This one means the world to me for sure,” Crampton said. “Obviously, I never knew if I’d get an opportunity to drive a good race car like this again, and I was fine with that at some points in my life.”
Crampton qualified sixth and defeated Jasmine Gutierrez, Angelle Sampey, and Brandon Greco before delivering his quickest run of the weekend in the final.
“Coming back racing with these guys in Norwalk and here at the US Nationals, the whole Samsel crew have taken me in as one of their own,” Crampton said. “So to be going rounds and then standing here at the end of the day at Indy, winning with this group in this race car, it’s so hard to put it into words.”
Sean Bellemeur added another Indy trophy to his collection with a 5.486 at 266.58 to chase down Shane Westerfield in the Top Alcohol Funny Car final. Westerfield grabbed a .020-second starting-line advantage and led past 1,000 feet before Bellemeur won by .0076 seconds, or approximately three feet.
“The Killer Bs, baby,” Bellemeur said. “It’s Indy and this was a true team win.”
The victory was Bellemeur’s 53rd career national event triumph.
Donald Thomas collected his third career Wally in Competition Eliminator after defending NHRA champion Jeff Taylor’s engine backfired shortly after the launch.
Peter D’Agnolo won Super Stock for his seventh career victory when Michael Reynolds red-lighted, while Hunter Pierdolla earned his first national event victory by beating Ray Thurston in a double-breakout Stock final.
Brian Harris also became a first-time national event winner, running 8.906 on the 8.90 index to defeat Kevin Thorp in Super Comp. Rob Kropfeld collected his fourth national event victory when Jordan Pratt broke out by .038 in the Super Gas final.
Brandon Baxter earned his first national-event Wally in Top Sportsman after Doug Gbur suffered engine failure early in the final.
Zach Sackman closed the sportsman winners list with a .003 reaction time and 6.200 on a 6.19 dial to defeat Thomas Bayer in Top Dragster. It was Sackman’s fourth national-event victory and his third at Indianapolis.
11 – PUSHBACK ON PULLBACK – After Leah Pruett defeated Maddi Gordon in the Top Fuel class’ second round, she once again addressed the throttle pullback device that first ignited debate back at Epping, N.H., in June. The throttle pullback is a device connected to the pedal of a Top Fuel dragster designed to help a driver during a loss of traction.
Clearly weary of defending her team for its use, Pruett nevertheless said, “There hasn’t ever been two runs the same with that device. We have lost more rounds with it than we ever won,” she said.
Pruett then changed the subject: “To be able to race against NHRA’s sweetheart, Maddi, and her family with so much legacy. I look at what she has and what Tony [husband Stewart] and I are trying to build, it’s a wonderful moment to be here in the U.S. Nationals.” Referring to her match-up with Gordon, she said, “That right there was top-notch racing.”
12 – LOOKING FOR SENTIMENTAL MOMENT – Six-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith said during pre-race ceremonies that he was hoping he could share another monumental moment at the racetrack with his father, Pro Mod ace Rickie Smith.
“Hopefully, he can get to the final. We’ve doubled up before. We’ve won championships together. He’s not got too many more races left in him, and I’d like to stand in the winners circle with him at some point before he retires.”
Matt Smith reached the bike class’ final round, where he faced off against his wife, Angie Smith, and won. Rickie Smith lost in the first round of Pro Mod eliminations to Billy Banaka.
13 – ANYTHING YOU CAN DO … – First-round winners in Top Fuel kept outdoing each other with lower elapsed times and faster speeds.
Tripp Tatum clocked the second-quickest E.T. of the meet, a 3.731-second pass that nearly eclipsed Shawn Langdon’s No. 1 qualifying time of 3.727. In the next pairing, Tony Stewart posted the quickest of the weekend at 3.717 seconds. Langdon took back the distinction in the following pairing at 3.709 seconds, coupling that with the first 340-mph speed of the weekend. Doug Kalitta came along and showed them all how it’s done with a 3.681-second pass at 341.68 mph. That speed was the eighth fastest in NHRA history, giving Kalitta three of the top 10.
14 – DIGGIN’ INDY – Maddi Gordon was the lone Top Fuel qualifier who was making her first appearance at the U.S. Nationals. And the Ron Capps Motorsports rookie couldn’t contain her enthusiasm after her upset first-round victory over Billy Torrence. “Indy is different! It’s just huge! I’m sitting in my race car, trying not to freak out out of excitement! The fans are great! The racing’s great!” Then, referring to crew chief Rob Flynn, Gordon gushed, “I’m just so happy to be on ‘Flynn’s Flying Forklift!’”
15 – LOOK OUT! – During pre-race driver introductions, Top Fuel owner-driver Antron Brown was spot-on with his prediction about the intensity and quality of racing at this Labor Day classic at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. He said, “This is the U.S. Nationals. This first-round match-up is going to be ‘Bring the kitchen sink. Open the refrigerator. Empty all the groceries. Turn the screws up. Hit the pedal.’ There’s going to be a lot of action.”
16 – LOVE THAT RON CAPPS – Matt Hagan ended up eliminating Ron Capps to earn the $150,000 payout as the Funny Car class’ regular-season champion. But he paid respects to his semifinal opponent.
“I absolutely, 100 percent love this dude. Ron Capps, he’s the man. He’s been out here in this sport for a long time,” he said, anticipating their critical semifinal match. “We’re just going to work hard and dig deep. I know he will beside us, as well. “
After he won against Capps in the semifinal to reach his 110th final-round appearance, Hagan said, “Ron Capps is my hero. They led the points all season long, and we kind of came in here at the end. They made a few mistakes, and we scooped up some points and made it happen.”
He called this season “one of the toughest I’ve ever seen” and added, “I can’t say enough about my guys. It’s not possible without our group. This Dodge Hellcat Funny Car, it’s on a tear right now. All greatness comes from God through Jesus Christ.”
17 – MARQUEE MATCH-UP – Only No. 1 qualifier Shawn Langdon and his teammate/points leader Doug Kalitta were left to battle for the $150,000 bonus earmarked for the Top Fuel regular-season champion following Monday eliminations. So when the pro action started, the real suspense was likely to come from the Funny Car class.
With a special points-and-a-half format play, Ron Capps made full use of the five qualifying sessions – most other races have four – and earned 15 of a possible 20 bonus points throughout the weekend. Those points, plus the ones he received for securing the No. 1 starting position, pushed him ahead of Matt Hagan for the lead in the standings Saturday evening.
Hagan ended up flipping the script, beating Capps in the semifinals to earn the regular-season crown and bonus.
But as the day began, four drivers – Capps, Hagan, Jordan Vandergriff, and J.R. Todd – all were separated by one competition round. That set the stage for a NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series showdown that would determine the seeding going into the six-race Countdown to the Championship. The marquee opening-round duel was No. 7 starter Vandergriff and No. 10 qualifier Todd.
The victory went to Vandergriff, who happened to be Grand Marshal because his sponsor, Cornwell Quality Tools, was title sponsor of the event. With Todd out, it came down to three. But Austin Prock, in another big-time match-up, faced Vandergriff … faced the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet he had driven to the past two series championships. Prock defeated Vandergriff, paring the list of regular-season title contenders to two, Capps and Hagan.
18A – ‘CHANGED THE SPORT’ – Accepting the trophy for the season championship in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge program, Greg Anderson said the bonus race has “changed the sport, I think. It gets you in race mode on Saturday, before Sunday. I treat it just as big as a Sunday race. A race is a race – you want to win every race you go to.” Anderson, Pro Stock’s winningest driver, said, “Qualifying’s cool, but we’re racers. We want to race. It’s all about locking horns with that person in the other lane and trying to draw blood.”
18B – GADSON CAPTURES REGULAR-SEASON CROWN IN BIKES – With a holeshot victory over Ryan Oehler in the second round, reigning champion Richard Gadson secured the Pro Stock Motorcycle regular-season title. And he counted it as further proof that his series championship last year was no fluke, even though he was declared the champion on points during a complete washout at the NHRA Finals last November at Pomona, Calif.
“I said at the beginning of the season that I didn’t want momentum. I wanted to be steady. Momentum can go both ways. And that’s a testament to my crew chief,” the Vance & Hines racer said. His crew chief is Eddie Krawiec, the four-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion who also felt he needed to prove he was a legitimate champion.
“He won his first championship before he won his first race,” Gadson said. “His model is consistency – just do the same thing over and over. It’s not always pretty. We’re not the fastest. We’re not low qualifier. We’re not dominant. But we find ways to go rounds every race. That’s a testament to the chemistry we’ve built.”
19 – SAY WHAT????? – Drag racers say the darndest things. Here’s a few good ones from Monday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.
“Don Prudhomme was sitting next to me in the media center and I overheard him tell somebody, ‘Shawn Langdon is the greatest Top Fuel driver here right now.” What does that mean to you to have that kind of praise given to you by somebody of that stature?’ – Mighty Mack’s Noah Carmichael asking a question of Shawn Langdon in a post-race press conference.
“Was he drinking?” Langdon responded.
“This Countdown is going to be a bloodbath.” – Pro Stock regular season champion Dallas Glenn.
“At least we are consistent with two different teams and two different cars,” – Tony Stewart on reaching the Indy final round for the second year in a row.
“It was the final round and it was all or nothing. My man let me rob him and I didn’t even have a gun.” – Pro Modified winner J.R. Gray on beating Justin Bond on a holeshot
“It’s the King of Everything.” – Pro Stock veteran Greg Anderson, referring to the U.S. Nationals.
“It’s such a surprise. I was not expecting this at all. He loved racing. He loved going fast. But most of all, he just loved his fans. He loved the people who came out here to watch him race. That’s what it was all about. – Gina Trett, daughter of Elmer Trett. Her husband, Tony Lang, was in the opposite lane when Elmer Trett was killed at the U.S. Nationals 30 years ago. The family honored Elmer Trett’s memory and celebrated his selection as one of the NHRA’s Top 75 Drivers during pre-race ceremonies Monday.
“God promises He will comfort us when our hearts are broken. And He sure did answer that prayer. I want to thank everybody – all the fans, our racing family. Everyone brought us so much peace through remembering him and keeping his memory alive. So, thank you, everyone.” – Pam Johnson, sister of the late Blaine Johnson, whose fatal accident took place at the 1996 U.S. Nationals. Blaine Johnson was honored and celebrated as one of the NHRA’s Top 75 Drivers of all-time during pre-race ceremonies Monday. (Melanie Johnson, Top Alcohol Dragster driver and niece of Blaine Johnson, added, “Thank you to the fans for sharing your memories of Blaine. We really appreciate it.”)
“John Force always says, ‘Be a showman. Do something crazy.” – Funny Car regular-season champion Matt Hagan
“We’re just a three-headed monster right now.” – Matt Hagan crew chief Mike Knudsen, referring to Hagan, Leah Pruett, and team boss Tony Stewart
20 – ON TO THE COUNTDOWN – The NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs begin with the inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR, which takes place Sept. 18-20 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park at Martin, Mich.
