NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Two races into the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the intensity is already building. On Friday, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series rolls into World Wide Technology Raceway for the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, where four rounds of qualifying will set the stage for a pivotal Sunday in the championship chase.

The St. Louis stop is the third of six playoff races, making it the midpoint of the Countdown and one of the most important weekends remaining in NHRA’s 75th Anniversary season. With Friday qualifying sessions scheduled for 4:30 and 7 p.m. CT, the opening day will conclude under the lights in conditions that could produce some of the quickest and fastest runs of the weekend.

The early playoff rounds at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin and Rockingham Dragway have already reshaped the championship picture. Shawn Langdon, Matt Hagan, Greg Stanfield, and Richard Gadson enter St. Louis as the points leaders, but each category brings a different kind of pressure into a facility known for close racing, big crowds, and major Countdown moments.

In Top Fuel Langdon has supplied the biggest surge of all. The Kalitta Motorsports standout has won three consecutive races — the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals and the first two events of the Countdown — and has done it with a combination of record-setting performance and starting-line precision.

At the playoff opener in Michigan, Langdon delivered one of the most dominant race-day performances in NHRA history. He made the quickest Top Fuel run of the season with a 3.652-second pass and reset the NHRA speed record at 346.95 mph before defeating Spencer Massey in the final round. Six days later in Rockingham, he beat teammate Doug Kalitta on a holeshot in the final, leaving with a .024 reaction time and winning with a 3.739 at 342.73 mph against Kalitta’s quicker 3.722.

That gave Langdon his sixth win of the season and 29th of his career, along with a 25-point lead over Kalitta. The two Kalitta Motorsports drivers have separated themselves from the rest of the field, with Tony Stewart third, 155 points behind Langdon. Still, St. Louis has historically been one of Kalitta’s best tracks. He won here last season for the fifth time, qualifying No. 1 and defeating Ida Zetterström in the final with a 3.796 at 327.98 mph.

The Top Fuel field also includes Stewart, Leah Pruett, Antron Brown, Maddi Gordon, and a deep collection of contenders looking to interrupt the Kalitta Motorsports run.

Funny Car points leader Hagan may arrive with the strongest combination of current momentum and St. Louis history. Hagan won Sunday in Rockingham, powering to a 3.922 at 327.75 mph against Paul Lee for his fourth victory of 2026 and the 59th of his career. He has reached the final round at four consecutive events and has opened an 84-point advantage over rookie Jordan Vandergriff.

Hagan is also the defending St. Louis winner. A year ago, he defeated Jack Beckman with a 3.979 at 329.34 mph for his third victory at World Wide Technology Raceway. His 2023 St. Louis win was followed by a world championship, and another strong weekend here would further his pursuit of a fifth Funny Car title.

Vandergriff, however, has already shown how quickly a Countdown weekend can change. He qualified 16th in Michigan without making a representative run, then recovered to win the race and move to second in points. He reached the semifinals in Rockingham and remains Hagan’s closest challenger.

J.R. Todd sits third, 106 points back, followed by Ron Capps at 112 behind and Beckman at 126 back. Back-to-back world champion Austin Prock is sixth, 144 points out of the lead. With Capps coming off the No. 1 qualifying position in Rockingham and Todd reaching the semifinals there, Hagan’s advantage is substantial but far from secure.

No category appears more open than Pro Stock. Stanfield used a .019 reaction time to defeat rookie Cody Anderson on a holeshot in the Rockingham final, moving into the points lead with his second victory of the season and eighth of his Pro Stock career. His performance continued a perfect start to the Countdown for Elite Motorsports after Troy Coughlin Jr. won the playoff opener in Michigan.

Stanfield leads Matt Hartford by 31 points, reigning world champion Dallas Glenn by 39 and defending St. Louis winner Greg Anderson by 66. Anderson won here last season with a 6.531 at 209.33 mph, defeating Hartford in the final and keeping his championship hopes alive. Erica Enders, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Coughlin, Cody Anderson, and a tightly packed field give the class the potential for another major points swing this weekend.

Pro Stock Motorcycle has also shifted rapidly through the opening playoff events. John Hall won the Michigan opener, while Gadson rebounded from an early loss there to win in Rockingham. In the final, teammate Gaige Herrera left .018-second too soon, handing Gadson his third victory of the season and seventh of his career.

The reigning world champion now leads Herrera by 64 points, with six-time champion Matt Smith 81 back. Hall is 85 behind, Angie Smith trails by 96, and Michigan No. 1 qualifier Ryan Oehler is 101 out of the lead. Herrera, though, returns to a track where he has won three consecutive times. Last year’s St. Louis victory — a 6.791 at 199.61 mph against Brayden Davis — helped revive his championship bid after a difficult start to the Countdown.

The NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals will also include the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports, and the Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown.

Following Friday’s two qualifying rounds, NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying continues Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. CT. Final eliminations begin at a special 9 a.m. CT start time Sunday, positioning the event for a marquee national broadcast window on FOX.

For the sixth consecutive year, an NHRA Countdown race will air on FOX adjacent to an NFL broadcast, but this will be the first time the St. Louis event occupies that high-profile window. Most markets will receive the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals from 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET following football on FOX, while select markets will air the race from 2-4 p.m. ET leading directly into football coverage.

The opportunity follows NHRA’s record-setting FOX audience from Texas Motorplex last season, when the broadcast drew 2.065 million viewers and peaked at 3.631 million. Qualifying coverage from St. Louis will also air at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1, with additional coverage at 11 a.m. ET Sunday.

Fans at World Wide Technology Raceway can take part in Sunday’s SealMaster NHRA Track Walk, driver introductions, and the winner’s circle celebration following eliminations. Every event ticket is also a pit pass, giving fans an up-close view as teams service their 12,000-horsepower race cars between rounds, along with access to driver autograph opportunities and the NHRA Manufacturers Midway.

Tickets may be purchased at the World Wide Technology Raceway ticket office, by phone at (618) 215-8888, or online at www.wwtraceway.com. Children 12 and under are admitted free in the general-admission area with a paid adult.