At the Route 66 Raceway NHRA Nationals, Antron Brown battled back to reach the semifinals, Shawn Langdon reclaimed the points lead, and key semifinal matchups were set across Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
The afternoon at Route 66 Raceway started with wins so tight they came down to thousandths and ended with a bigger shuffle in championship momentum—especially in Top Fuel.
In the opening Top Fuel round, Antron Brown held off local favorite T.J.. Zizzo, posting 3.777 to 3.798.. Tony Stewart turned in a 3.742 run that still wasn’t enough to cruise past Tony Schumacher’s 3.785.. The race between Justin Ashley and Josh Hart swung on the start: Ashley’s .044 reaction light paired with a 3.790 time. but Hart’s quicker .035 reaction light secured a 3.785 holeshot victory—by just .004 seconds at the stripe.. It ended with added misery for Ashley’s SCAG entry. which suffered an engine explosion in the lights. taking out the supercharger and fuel injector.
Krista Baldwin pushed Maddi Gordon early. keeping pace for the first half of the track. until Baldwin’s Ron Douglas-tuned dragster knocked the tires loose. letting Gordon advance with a 3.813.. Gordon later revealed that she helped build the engine—an ability she learned working on her family’s Top Alcohol Funny Car.
Will Smith seized a win from the No.. 14 qualifying spot, throwing a 3.776 at Billy Torrence’s 3.795.. Smith also kept a clean advantage off the line with a .049 reaction light.. Shawn Langdon advanced into round two with a 3.739 win over Shawn Reed. setting up a matchup where Doug Kalitta would have lane choice by .003 seconds.. Round two pairings were set with lane choice first: Tony Stewart vs.. Josh Hart; Antron Brown vs.. Maddi Gordon; Leah Pruett vs.. Will Smith.
Funny Car opened with Spencer Hyde smoking the tires at the hit of the throttle. sending Saturday’s Mission 2Fast2Tasty winner Alexis DeJoria to the quarterfinal round with a 3.947.. DeJoria has advanced past the first round in five of six races since joining John Force Racing this season.. Austin Prock appeared close to a turning point after a 3.934. 330.31 win over Jeff Arend. and it marked Prock’s first round win of the season—also the first time he’s run in the threes during eliminations.. Chris King ran 4.233, but low qualifier Jack Beckman answered with a 3.945.
Both Bluebird Turf entries moved to the quarterfinals, with Dave Richards eliminating two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon using a 4.001.. Richards’ victory added up to his first round win of the season in Charlotte and his second overall.. J.R.. Todd beat Daniel Wilkerson with a 3.957 and set top speed of the round with a 334.48 mph run. though he would not have lane choice in round two against Austin Prock.. Chad Green delivered one of the round’s sharper moments. taking out the most recent winner Jordan Vandergriff with a 3.943 to 3.952 finish—leaving first by a hundredth and never trailing.
Matt Hagan advanced with a 3.950 after Blake Alexander knocked the tires loose in the Pronto Auto entry.. Hagan would face low qualifier Jack Beckman in round two.. Round two pairings (lane choice first) were: Alexis DeJoria vs.. Dave Richards; Austin Prock vs.. J.R.. Todd; Chad Green vs.. Ron Capps; Jack Beckman vs.. Matt Hagan.
Pro Stock began with No.. 9 Deric Kramer and No.. 8 Eric Latino qualifying side-by-side as Kramer left first and kept control to defeat Latino with a 6.611.. Aaron Stanfield and Matt Hartford followed, with Stanfield winning on a holeshot—.008 reaction time off the starting line—against Hartford.. Dallas Glenn turned things around from qualifying, running his best e.t.. of the weekend at 6.588 to beat Troy Coughlin Jr.’s 6.592.
Father-and-son action continued with Greg and Cody Anderson; Greg had the starting line advantage and finished first with an e.t.. of 6.575.. Greg Stanfield, after an off-pace 60-foot time, still beat Kenny Delco with an e.t.. of 6.629, but had to forfeit lane choice to Glenn in the next round since his e.t.. was 6.629.
Derrick Reese fouled right at the start, going red, handing No.. 1 qualifier Erica Enders the win with a 6.576 pass at 208.52 mph.. Joe Wilczek wasn’t able to get his car to fire at the starting line and had to be pushed back. while No.. 2 qualifier Jeg Coughlin Jr.. recorded a 6.584 to race teammate Aaron Stanfield in round two.. Round two pairings (lane choice first) were: Erica Enders vs.. Deric Kramer; Greg Anderson vs.. Matt Latino; Jeg Coughlin Jr.. vs.. Aaron Stanfield; Dallas Glenn vs.. Greg Stanfield.
Pro Stock Motorcycle had its own early drama: Clayton Howey won the start with a .010 reaction time. but Chase Van Sant’s Trick Tools bike outpowered Howey’s 6.864 e.t.. with a 6.838.. Kelly Clontz and Brayden Davis made the next pairing, and Clontz had to abort while Davis recorded a 6.869.. Matt Smith Racing teammates Jianne Evaristo and Matt Smith raced each other. with Smith advancing despite Evaristo having the better reaction time; Smith’s line was 6.825.
Richard Gadson and Steve Johnson both had trouble down track—Johnson drifting toward the centerline and being forced to lift. while Gadson also drifted and released the throttle.. Gadson debated on “pedaling” his Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle to advance, but stayed ahead enough to move on.. Ryan Oehler ran extremely close to the wall, recording a 6.084 to gain lane choice over his teammate Davis.. 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 with a 6.784 pass and Gaige Herrera with a winning run against Geno Scali of 6.790.
Round two pairings (lane choice first) were: Angie Smith vs. Chase Van Sant; Richard Gadson vs. John Hall; Ryan Oehler vs. Brayden Davis; Gaige Herrera vs. Matt Smith.
In the quarterfinals of Top Fuel. Maddi Gordon and Antron Brown raced side-by-side as Brown put the nose of his car ahead and won 3.774 to 3.804.. Brown will be in the semifinals for the first time since the season opener in Gainesville.. Tony Stewart smoked the tires, sending Josh Hart to the semifinals with a 3.782, 330.63 run.. Hart is also back in the semifinals for the first time since Gainesville, where he won.
Leah Pruett made it to the final four after Will Smith lost traction early, and she’ll face off against Antron Brown. Shawn Langdon went back into the points lead by beating teammate Doug Kalitta; Langdon, the No. 9 qualifier, ran 3.789 after Kalitta’s car lit the tires before the finish line.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first) in Top Fuel were set: Antron Brown vs. Leah Pruett; Josh Hart vs. Shawn Langdon.
The Funny Car quarterfinals were less forgiving.. Chad Green reached the semifinals after fighting through tire trouble. beating Ron Capps; both lit the tires early. but Green used the finish-line-first advantage with a 6.102.. He also said he has “little pedaling experience.” Tire smoke also hit Jack Beckman, letting Matt Hagan advance with a 4.026, 324.15.. The run wasn’t affected. but Hagan’s parachutes got caught in the stiff crosswind and ended up draped over the guardwall.
Austin Prock’s comeback continued with a win over J.R.. Todd.. Prock double-bulbed Todd at the start. and Todd quickly lit both stage bulbs. but the race ended when Todd smoked the tires and Prock moved on.. The cleanest quarterfinal came from Alexis DeJoria. who cruised to a 4.005 win over Dave Richards. who went up in smoke early.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first) in Funny Car were: Austin Prock vs. Chad Green; Alexis DeJoria vs. Matt Hagan.
Pro Stock round two opened with Greg Stanfield and Dallas Glenn.. Glenn red lit due to a speculated clutch slip, and Stanfield went on to win the round with a 6.661.. In the next pair, Aaron Stanfield and Jef Coughlin Jr.. both had to pedal their Pro Stock Camaros.. Stanfield did it better and advanced with a 6.630, also picking his lane over father Greg.
Erica Enders and Deric Kramer swapped lanes after Enders’ team initiated the change to move Enders into the right lane after seeing her teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr.. drive into tire shake on the previous run.. Kramer left first and was better for about half track, but Enders powered to a 6.604 over Kramer’s 6.622.. Greg Anderson also swapped lanes, moving to the right lane to put Matt Latino in the left lane.. Latino might’ve been too prepared, red lighting by -.053 and throwing away low e.t.. of the round at 6.600 to allow Anderson to advance and face off against rival Enders.. Enders said he “doesn’t remember” his loss to her here in 2012 when she earned her first win.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first) in Pro Stock were: Erica Enders vs. Greg Anderson; Aaron Stanfield vs. Greg Stanfield.
Pro Stock Motorcycle round two had its own sequence of small margins and mechanical drama.. Richard Gadson left with a .005 reaction time against John Hall and advanced to the semifinals as Gadson ran a 6.850 to Hall’s 6.880.. Chase Van Sant left first against Angie Smith, but Smith had the better bike all weekend and recorded a 6.809.
Ryan Oehler left too soon against teammate Brayden Davis, and Davis’ reaction time wasn’t spectacular at .122.. Davis had to sit up about halfway through his run because of the wind, which knocked some timing blocks loose.. The final matchup featured Matt Smith in the left lane and Gaige Herrera in the right.. Both used body English to steer against the Chicago wind.. Herrera drifted too far toward the centerline and lifted. but Smith didn’t give up—riding past the finish line as his bike kept inching toward the wall. eventually rubbing his boot against the concrete barrier.. Smith’s 6.832 effort held up for 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 rubbed raw from the wall.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first) in Pro Stock Motorcycle were: Angie Smith vs. Richard Gadson; Matt Smith vs. Brayden Davis.
The Top Fuel semifinals set up the final-round storyline: Shawn Langdon raced in the final round for the fourth time in six events this year and 58th time in his pro career after downing Josh Hart in the semi’s. 3.790 to 3.823.. Hart was appearing in his 101st Top Fuel event and 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 defeat Leah Pruett. Pruett had been 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 moved toward a rematch: 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.
Put another check mark in the son wins against father category in Pro Stock: Aaron Stanfield beat Greg Stanfield.. Aaron left first with a .004 reaction time to Greg’s .007.. Aaron crossed the finish line first with a 6.639. but when Greg clocked a 6.646. his engine let go and was immediately engulfed in smoke and a bit of flames.. Greg climbed out as soon as he got the car 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.” Aaron answered back. chuckling. saying. “I might owe him a little bit because I tuned his car. ” referring to the engine explosion.
In another anticipated 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 decided the final lineup: Angie Smith punched her ticket by outrunning Richard Gadson with a 6.774 at 200.35 MPH.. Gadson clocked a 6.850 at 195.93 MPH.. Matt Smith is going to the finals as Brayden Davis dropped the clutch at the starting line and his bike shut off.. Smith gave up lane choice to his wife, Angie, because of his 6.823 e.t.. The 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.
The pattern of margins kept repeating across the elimination rounds: holeshots decided the opening Top Fuel race with Hart’s .035 over Ashley’s .044 for a 3.790 to 3.785 difference. and later a clutch of quarterfinals and semifinals turned on traction. reaction timing. and tire smoke—Brown’s 3.774 to 3.804 spread. Green’s tire-affected 6.102 finish. Glenn’s red light after a speculated clutch slip. and Anderson’s nine-thousandth win at 6.597 to 6.603.
NHRA Route 66 Raceway Top Fuel Funny Car Pro Stock Pro Stock Motorcycle Antron Brown Shawn Langdon Maddi Gordon Leah Pruett Austin Prock Chad Green