TOP FUEL ROUND ONE
Following a lively pre-race ceremony including the Seal Master track walk, NHRA pros got down to business at Route 66 Raceway and it didn’t take long for the fans to get a great show as Antron Brown edged local favorite T.J. Zizzo, 3.777 to 3.798.
Tony Stewart made his best run of the weekend with a 3.742, and he needed just about all of it as Tony Schumacher was in the other lane running a 3.785.
The race between Justin Ashley and Josh Hart was decided via a holeshot, but not in the way one might think. Ashley did his usual solid job on that starting line with a .044 light but Hart was a touch quicker at .035. That led to a 3.790 to 3.785 holeshot victory for the Speedmaster team in a race decided by just .004 second at the stripe. To add insult to injury, Ashley’s SCAG entry suffered an engine explosion in the lights, taking out the supercharger and fuel injector.
Krista Baldwin gave Maddi Gordon all she could handle for the first half of the track until her Ron Douglas-tuned dragster knocked the tires loose, allowing Gordon to advance with a 3.813. Afterwards, Gordon revealed that she helped build the engine, a skill she learned working on her family’s Top Alcohol Funny Car.
Will Smith grabbed a win from the No. 14 qualifying spot when he threw a 3.776 at Billy Torrence, who ran 3.795. Smith also continued his string of solid reaction times with a .049 light to get off the starting line first.
Shawn Langdon will be paired with teammate Doug Kalitta in round two following a strong 3.739 in his win over Shawn Reed. Kalitta has lane choice by .003-second.
Round two parings (lane choice first): Tony Stewart vs. Josh Hart; Antron Brown vs. Maddi Gordon; Leah Pruett vs. Will Smith. Doug Kalitta
FUNNY CAR ROUND ONE
Spencer Hyde smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle, sending Saturday’s Mission 2Fast2Tasty winner Alexis DeJoria into the quarterfinal round with a 3.947. DeJoria has now advanced past the first round in five of six races since joining John Force Racing this season.
Is this the weekend that Austin Prock and the Motorcraft team begin to turn their season around? It certainly appears so after a solid qualifying effort and a 3.934, 330.31 to defeat Jeff Arend.
Incredibly, this is Prock’s first round win of the season and the first time he’s run in the threes during eliminations.
Chris King put forth an honest effort with a 4.233, but that was no match for low qualifier Jack Beckman, who powered to a 3.945.
Both of the Bluebird Turf entries will race in the quarterfinals after Dave Richards took out two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon with a 4.001. Richards scored his first round win of the season in Charlotte and now has a second as he holds steady in the Top 10.
J.R. Todd won his race against Daniel Wilkerson with a 3.957, and also set top speed of the round with a 334.48 mph blast. Todd won’t have lane choice when he runs Austin Prock in round two.
It’s not necessarily an upset, but Chad Green took out the most recent winner in Jordan Vandergriff in arguably the best race of the round. Green left first by a hundredth and never trailed, 3.943 to 3.952.
Matt Hagen moved on with a 3.950 after Blake Alexander knocked the tires loose in the Pronto Auto entry. Hagan will face low qualifier Jack Beckman in round two.
Round two pairings (lane choice first): Alexis DeJoria vs. Dave Richards; Austin Prock vs. J.R. Todd; Chad Green vs. Ron Capps; Jack Beckman vs. Matt Hagan
PRO STOCK ROUND ONE
No. 9 Deric Kramer and No. 8 Eric Latino qualifiers were first down the track for the opening round of Pro Stock. Kramer was the first to leave and never looked back to defeat Latino with a 6.611.
Aaron Stanfield and Matt Hartford were next, and Stanfield defeated Hartford on a holeshot when he left the starting line with a .008 reaction time.
Dallas Glenn turned things around from qualifying and ran his best e.t. of the weekend – a 6.588 – and beat Troy Coughlin Jr.’s 6.592, who had been seeing some success after his runner-up finish at Valdosta.
In the second encounter of the season between father and son, Greg and Cody Anderson, Greg had the starting line advantage and finished first with an e.t. of 6.575.
Greg Stanfield, who has had a solid car this season, took the win over Kenny Delco even though his 60-foot time was off a bit, resulting in forfeiting lane choice to Glenn in the next round since his e.t. was 6.629.
Derrick Reese fouled right at the start, going red, giving the win to No. 1 qualifier Erica Enders, who continued to show that she has a consistent race car when she made a 6.576 at 208.52 mph pass.
Joe Wilczek was unable to get his car to fire at the starting line and had to be pushed back, while No. 2 qualifier Jeg Coughlin Jr. went on to record a 6.584 to race his teammate Aaron Stanfield in round two.
Round two pairings (lane choice first): Erica Enders vs. Deric Kramer; Greg Anderson vs. Matt Latino; Jeg Coughlin Jr. vs. Aaron Stanfield; Dallas Glenn vs. Greg Stanfield
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND ONE
In an exciting first matchup between two evenly matched riders, Clayton Howey and Chase Van Sant lined up against one another. Howey had the starting line advantage with a .010 reaction time, but Van Sant’s Trick Tools bike outpowered Howey’s 6.864 e.t. with a 6.838.
Kelly Clontz and Brayden Davis were the second pair out, and once they left the starting line, Clontz had to abort the run while Davis went on to record a 6.869.
Matt Smith Racing teammates Jianne Evaristo and Matt Smith, unfortunately, had to race each other in round one. Smith rode by Evaristo, even though she had the better reaction time, to a 6.825.
Richard Gadson and Steve Johnson both were challenged down the race track. Johnson, in the left lane, started drifting toward the centerline and was forced to lift. Meanwhile, Gadson was also drifting on his bike and had to release the throttle. Gadson began looking over his shoulder and debated on “pedaling” his Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle to advance to the next round, but he was ahead by enough to move on to round two.
Ryan Oehler also made a harrowing run in the right lane and got extremely close to the wall, but recorded a 6.084 to gain lane choice over his teammate Davis. His opponent, Wesley Wells, red lit and coasted to the finish line stripe.
Only two motorcycles dipped into the 6.70s – Angie Smith on her bye run when she made a 6.784 pass and Gaige Herrera when he recorded a winning run against Geno Scali of 6.790.
Round two pairings (lane choice first): Angie Smith vs. Chase Van Sant; Richard Gadson vs. John Hall; Ryan Oehler vs. Brayden Davis; Gaige Herrera vs. Matt Smith
TOP FUEL ROUND TWO
The quarterfinals started with a great side-by-side race as Maddi Gordon and Antron Brown left as one and Brown put the nose of his car ahead to take a narrow 3.774 to 3.804 victory in a battle of rival tool companies. Brown will be in the semifinals for the first time since the season opener in Gainesville.
Tony Stewart smoked the tires, sending Josh Hart on to the semifinals. Hart made a solid run in the heat of the day with a 3.782, 330.63.Hart is also in the semifinals for the first time since Gainesville, and event where he won.
Will Smith lost traction early, which allowed Leah Pruett to reach the final four where she’ll face off against Antron Brown.
Shawn Langdon went back into the points lead after Shawn Langdon, the No. 9 qualifier, took out teammate Doug Kalitta. Langdon ran 3.789 after Kalitta’s car lit the tires before the finish line.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Antron Brown vs. Leah Pruett; Josh Hart vs. Shawn Langdon.
FUNNY CAR ROUND TWO
It wasn’t pretty, but Chad Green did what he needed to in order to reach the semifinals. Green and Ron Capps both lit the tires early, and Green, who admittedly has little pedaling experience, was able to get to the finish line first with a 6.102.
Tire smoke also bit Jack Beckman, giving Matt Hagan an essentially free ride into the semifinals with a 4.026, 324.15. It did not affect the run, but Hagan’s parachutes got caught in the stiff crosswind and wound up draped over the guardwall.
Austin Prock’s comeback continued with a win over J.R. Todd in what was an entertaining race from start to finish. Prock double-bulbed Todd, who responded by quickly lighting both stage bulbs. The race ended when Todd smoked the tires, allowing Prock to advance.
The cleanest run of the round came from Alexis DeJoria, who cruised to a 4.005 for the win against Dave Richards, who went up in smoke early.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Austin Prock vs. Chad Green; Alexis DeJoria vs. Matt Hagan
PRO STOCK ROUND TWO
Greg Stanfield and Dallas Glenn took the line to open the second round of eliminations, and to everyone’s shock, Glenn red lit due to a speculated clutch slip. Greg went on to win the round with a 6.661.
Aaron Stanfield and Jef Coughlin Jr. both had to pedal their Pro Stock Camaros, but Stanfield did it a bit better to advance with a 6.630 to pick his lane over his father, Greg.
Erica Enders and Deric Kramer made a lane swap, which was initiated by Enders’ team to move her into the right lane after they saw her teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. drive into tire shake on the previous run. Kramer left first and was better to about half track, but Enders had the better horse to power her to the 6.604 over the Colorado native’s 6.622.
Greg Anderson also made a lane swap and moved to the right lane, putting Matt Latino in the left. Latino might’ve been a little too prepared and red lit by -.053 and threw away low e.t. of the round – a 6.600 – to allow Anderson to advance and face off against rival Enders, who said he “doesn’t remember” his loss to her here in 2012 when she earned her first win.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Erica Enders vs. Greg Anderson; Aaron Stanfield vs. Greg Stanfield
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND TWO
Richard Gadson was like a surgeon, leaving with a .005 reaction time against John Hall and will move on to the semifinals as he ran a 6.850 out the back end to Hall’s 6.880.
Even though Chase Van Sant left first, it didn’t fetch him the win against Angie Smith, who has had the better bike all weekend, and recorded a 6.809.
In an interesting drag race, Ryan Oehler left too soon against his teammate, but Brayden Davis’ reaction time wasn’t spectacular – a .122. But then, Davis had to sit up about halfway through his run because of the wind, which, once the runs were complete, knocked some of the timing blocks loose.
The final pair was just as interesting to watch. Matt Smith was in the left lane, and Gaige Herrera was in the right. Herrera and Smith both had to use their body English to try to steer their bikes against the Chicago wind. Herrera drifted too far towards the centerline and lifted, but Smith didn’t give up.
He rode his bike past the finish line even as it kept inching towards the wall, where he eventually rubbed his boot against the concrete barrier. However, Smith’s 6.832 effort was rewarded with the win and lane choice.
“[The bike] just took off, but these steel-toed Corral boots just saved me,” Smith explained as the camera showed the tip of his boots that were rubbed raw from the wall.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Angie Smith vs. Richard Gadson; Matt Smith vs. Brayden Davis
TOP FUEL SEMIFINALS
For the fourth time in six events this year and 58th time in his pro career, Shawn Langdon will race in a final round after downing Josh Hart in the semi’s, 3.790 to 3.823. Hart, appearing in his 101st Top Fuel event, now has a semifinal to go with his Gainesville victory to start the season.
Langdon will take on Antron Brown in the final round after Brown used a 3.809 to defat Leah Pruett, who was with Brown at the start, but had to give a quick pedal on her Dodge dragster. Brown has now won three rounds, doubling his win total for the 2026 season.
FUNNY CAR SEMIFINALS
Chad Green backed up his Gainesville win with another final round appearance after wheeling his Bond Coat Ford to a 3.969 to 4.015 victory against Austin Prock. Green will now race in his sixth final round in the Funny Car class.
The final will be a rematch of the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals after Alexis DeJoria drove her Bandero Café Chevy past Matt Hagan’s Dodge with a 4.006. DeJoria also won Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
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PRO STOCK SEMIFINALS
Put another check mark in the son wins against father category as Aaron Stanfield took the victory against his father, Greg. Aaron left first with a .004 reaction time to Greg’s .007. The race was nothing short of exciting as Aaron crossed the finish line first with a 6.639, but as soon as Greg clocked a 6.646, his engine let go and was immediately engulfed in smoke and a bit of flames. He climbed out of the car as soon as he got it stopped and was greeted by the Simpson Safety Safari.
“I’m ok,” Greg shared at the top end. “I just feel like I smoked 20 packs of cigarettes, but I’m proud of him [my son] going to the finals.”
“I might owe him a little bit because I tuned his car,” Aaron answered back, chuckling, referring to the engine explosion.
Then in another anticipated seminal matchup, Erica Enders and Greg Anderson left within three thousandths of each other, but Anderson got to the finish line stripe first. Anderson’s 6.597 defeated Enders’ 6.603 by nine thousandths of a second.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMIFINALS
Angie Smith punched her ticket to the finals by outrunning Richard Gadson with a 6.774 at 200.35 MPH pass. Gadson clocked a 6.850 at 195.93 MPH run.
Matt Smith will go to the finals, as when Brayden Davis dropped the clutch at the starting line, his bike shut off. Smith gave up lane choice to his wife, Angie, because of his 6.823 e.t.
The first time and only time the couple has raced each other was in 2014 at the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire. When asked what Angie is going to do to get ready for the final round, she answered, “I’m just going to do my job and focus on the light and have a good reaction time. My bike has been flawless all weekend long, so let’s see what we do in the finals.
