Langdon's 346 MPH Run and a Countdown Headed to Pomona: NHRA July to November 2026

No NHRA world champion has been crowned yet. That is the first thing to know about this recap. As of Nov. 2, with the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals complete and one race left on the 20-race schedule, all four pro titles are still open, and the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona on Nov. 12 to 15 will settle it. What the last four months did produce is one of the strangest and fastest stretches in recent memory: a veteran on a summer tear, a speed record at a brand new national event, a holeshot decided by a thousandth of a second, and a Pro Stock Motorcycle final blown clear out of Nevada.

July: Kalitta starts rolling

The West Coast trip belonged to Doug Kalitta. At the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals on July 19, he beat Jasmine Salinas with a 3.731 at 339.36 mph for his seventh Sonoma win, the most in Top Fuel history. Jordan Vandergriff took Funny Car over Daniel Wilkerson, 3.900 at 330.72 to a 3.950, for his second career win. Greg Stanfield edged Erica Enders in Pro Stock even though she ran the quicker number, 6.550 to his 6.551, thanks to a .015 reaction time.

A week later in Seattle, Kalitta led Leah Pruett from start to finish, 3.677 to 3.689. J.R. Todd ended a 23-race winless streak when Austin Prock went red in the Funny Car final. Greg Anderson beat Stanfield on another red light and took back the Pro Stock lead.

August: Brainerd sets the seeds

Kalitta made it three straight at Brainerd on Aug. 23, catching rookie Maddi Gordon after she left first, 3.743 to 3.770. It was his 63rd career win. Matt Hagan beat Vandergriff 3.946 to 4.038 and jumped from fifth to first in Funny Car. Anderson's 116th career win came over first-time finalist Chris Vang, and it was his fifth at Brainerd, the most by anyone in Pro Stock at that track.

September: Indy, then a record in Michigan

The U.S. Nationals finished Sept. 7 with Shawn Langdon, Jack Beckman, Dallas Glenn and Matt Smith in the winner's circle. Smith beat Angie Smith 6.791 to 6.834 in an all-Smith Pro Stock Motorcycle final, while Richard Gadson secured the regular-season title and points lead on the bikes. Then the points reset for the six-race Countdown to the Championship.

The playoffs opened at a brand new stop, the inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, and finished on Monday, Sept. 21. Langdon delivered the headline. In the semifinals against Kalitta he ran 3.663 at 346.95 mph, the fastest pass in NHRA history, and then won the final over Spencer Massey at 3.664 and 346.15. Vandergriff beat points leader Hagan, who slowed to 8.357. Troy Coughlin Jr. beat Matt Hartford by a thin 6.515 to 6.527. John Hall took the bike win when Marc Ingwersen red-lit.

The next weekend at Rockingham Dragway, Langdon, Hagan, Greg Stanfield and Gadson all won. By then Langdon was on a real run.

October: the holeshot and the streak breaker

At World Wide Technology Raceway on Oct. 4, Langdon beat first-time finalist Will Smith for his fourth straight win, eighth of the season and 30th of his career. Prock beat Vandergriff in Funny Car. Gaige Herrera beat Gadson, his teammate and the points leader, for his fourth straight win at the track. The Pro Stock final was the race of the fall: Aaron Stanfield and his father Greg ran 6.556 and 6.547, and Aaron won by about .001 on a .018 reaction time. The son took it on the tree with the slower elapsed time.

Antron Brown stopped Langdon's Countdown streak on the way to the final at the Texas NHRA FallNationals, then beat Gordon when she red-lit for career win number 83 on Oct. 18. Todd beat Hagan to become the fourth driver to win in both nitro categories at Texas Motorplex, joining Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein and Mike Dunn. Glenn won and took the Pro Stock lead after setting the quickest run in class history, 6.434 at 213.50 in Saturday qualifying. Matt Smith beat Gadson on reaction time even though his 6.660 was slower than Gadson's 6.654.

Las Vegas: wind sends the bikes to Pomona

The race wrapped on Sunday, Nov. 1. Kalitta beat Pruett 3.658 to a slowing 5.751, Vandergriff beat Ron Capps 3.873 to 3.921, and Glenn beat Coughlin with a 6.587. Excessive wind stopped the Pro Stock Motorcycle final before it ran, so Gadson and Herrera will settle it at Pomona during the third qualifying session on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. PT.

Pro winners, July to Nov. 1

• Sonoma, July 19: Kalitta (TF), Vandergriff (FC), G. Stanfield (PS)
• Seattle, July 26: Kalitta (TF), Todd (FC), Anderson (PS)
• Brainerd, Aug. 23: Kalitta (TF), Hagan (FC), Anderson (PS)
• Indianapolis, Sept. 7: Langdon (TF), Beckman (FC), Glenn (PS), M. Smith (PSM)
• Martin, Sept. 21: Langdon (TF), Vandergriff (FC), T. Coughlin Jr. (PS), Hall (PSM)
• Rockingham, Sept. 25 to 27: Langdon (TF), Hagan (FC), G. Stanfield (PS), Gadson (PSM)
• St. Louis, Oct. 4: Langdon (TF), Prock (FC), A. Stanfield (PS), Herrera (PSM)
• Dallas, Oct. 18: Brown (TF), Todd (FC), Glenn (PS), M. Smith (PSM)
• Las Vegas, Nov. 1: Kalitta (TF), Vandergriff (FC), Glenn (PS), PSM final moved to Pomona

Going into Pomona, Vandergriff has closed fast. He was 98 points behind Hagan after Dallas and is 39 behind now. Whatever happens, this will be remembered as a Countdown in which the fastest run in NHRA history and a one-thousandth holeshot both happened in the space of two weeks.