NHRA’s 75th anniversary season of its professional Mission Foods Drag Racing Series has completed its regular season and now barrels into the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs. This year’s Countdown begins with a trio of contests in three consecutive weeks, which isn’t that unusual. What makes this Countdown extraordinary is that two of the six Countdown venues are new to the series and competitors, and that these two begin the playoffs.
When the 2026 schedule was announced, a single new venue was on the docket, Rockingham Dragway, the historic dragstrip that’s been through changes in ownership during the past few years. Then, when IHRA announced its intention to own Maple Grove Raceway outside Reading, PA, NHRA had to pivot on its initial race of the six. The decision went out to conduct the start of the Countdown at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. It’s been 66 years since NHRA raced in The Great Lakes State at Detroit Dragway, making this week’s event an unknown to many competitors in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
If some of the standings look familiar, the first 14 races of this year’s schedule have shown us that, in Top Fuel you’re either part of Kalitta Motorsports or chasing them. Doug Kalitta nailed the regular season title while Shawn Langdon aced the regular-season-ending race, the 72nd Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP). The regular-season championship gave Kalitta a few extra points, with his Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge championship. The reigning Top Fuel titleholder has 26 points on his teammate, with Tony Stewart Racing’s Leah Pruett – Kalitta’s lead protagonist in the 2023 title chase – in third, while her husband, Tony Stewart, driving with Elite Motorsports holds fourth-place points.
The Kalitta family will be recognized during the weekend as part of NHRA’s 75th anniversary celebration, with Doug, his uncle Connie and Connie’s late son Scott Kalitta honored by the sanction. Both Connie and Doug Kalitta will be recognized as two of the top 75 drivers in NHRA history. As Doug Kalitta prepares to fully defend his current title, he’s feeling right at home and using the Applied Innovation colors to celebrate a local business that has worked with Kalitta in the recent past, for the wrap on his dragster. “It’ll be business as usual, really,” Kalitta stated. “Each qualifying run’s going to be important and, typically, Friday’s usually a good qualifying day, then Saturdays are typically a little warmer. Still,” he qualified, “this time of year in Michigan, I’m not sure what the forecast holds, but it’ll be exciting for the fans.”
Kalitta has a modest, 26-point lead on Langdon, who’s had as hot a hand as his teammate, securing five wins on the season, including a trio of consecutive victories (Valdosta, Joliet, Budds Creek, MD). Langdon has taken part in multiple bracket races at this track in recent years, giving him an advantage his competition lacks. And that competition is strong, starting with Antron Brown in fifth, rookie Maddi Gordon sixth, followed by Josh Hart, Billy Torrence, Justin Ashley, Clay Millican, Will Smith and Tony Schumacher, with 12 drivers eligible for the title. Schumacher is a full 142 points behind Kalitta, but the eight-time titleholder is, at least, part of this scenario.
There are 19 dragsters on this entry list, with a few drivers that haven’t been to many events in 2026. Kyle Wurtzel, Bernie Plourd, Spencer Massey, Jasmine Salinas, Cameron Ferre and Kyle Satenstein are joining the regulars, which means there are three drivers who will be watching, not racing on Sunday.
There may only be 16 racers signed up to compete in Funny Car at Martin, Michigan, but this is a stout group with fully 12 racers eligible for Countdown championship honors. Of course regular season champion – a four-time World Titleholder – Matt Hagan leads the group of Funny Car championship aspirants, and holds a miserly 17-point advantage on a perennial contender, Ron Capps. Hagan’s Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat will celebrate Dodge’s sponsorship of this race. The Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR give Hagan the opportunity to be a winner at his sponsor’s race and to win an event that’s not been held in the past.
With a full week of events planned around the Dodge Great Lakes Ntionals, Hagan will be a busy guy without even looking at his racing gear. “There’s a lot of variables to these new tracks,” as NHRA visits two new venues a week apart. “We have to take care of our stuff but still run it hard.” In his first Countdown, Hagan recalled then-crew-chief Tommy DeLago “set aside stuff for the Countdown; he had stuff up his sleeve. This year,” he recognized, “is really a war of attrition, massaging and working on our parts.” He’s had 5-6 blowups in 14 races and “it was all valvetrain-related. The rules are so strict, super, super strict so that rotating parts is what helps us. It’s so hard to replicate a lap,” he said.
Hagan’s closest competitor and the driver he usurped for the regular season crown, Ron Capps is still having a mega year for his Toyota GR Supra Flopper. In addition he’s fielding the Maddi Gordon dragster, so this driver’s plate is definitely full. After losing to Hagan in the U.S. Nationals semifinals, Capps has licked his wounds and moved forward. He was obviously disappointed to lose the regular season title to his former teammate at Don Schumacher Racing, but he’s thrilled to have won three races – to date – in this year’s 75th season that offers diamond Wally trophies. With four drivers vying for that regular season title, Capps knew the job would be tough. Coming into Indy, “Guido still didn’t feel comfortable with the tune-up yet. So, as he continues to get more and more comfortable, we’re just going to keep running better and better. It’s clear,” Capps said, “he’s comfortable now and that couldn’t have come at a better time than the start of the Countdown.”
Behind this perennial duo are Jack Beckman and Jordan Vandegriff, both driving John Force Racing (JFR) Chevrolet Camaro SS race cars, followed by Kalitta Motorsports’ J.R. Todd’s Toyota GR Supra, reigning two-time consecutive champ Austin Prock in Tasca Racing’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse, the third JFR Chevy SS for Alexis DeJoria, Chad Green’s, Daniel Wilkerson’s, Spencer Hyde’s and Dave Richards’ Mustangs. Two-time champ Cruz Pedregon, driving his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is the final eligible Countdown driver. This dozen are joined by Terry Haddock (Mustang), Joey Haas (Mustang), Jeff Diehl’s Camry and Hunter Green in a Dodge SRT Hellcat.
Only 14 Pro Stock entries have signed up to race at US. 131 Motorsports Park this weekend, and all but two of them are Countdown eligible. This fight could be intramural at KB Titan Racing, with reigning champ Dallas Glenn the No. 1 seed for this class, followed by six-time champion Greg Anderson. There’s a tiny 19-point gap between this duo, but they need to watch their mirrors as Greg Stanfield of Elite Motorsports is in third place, followed by KB Titan’s consistently quick Matt Hartford. Six-time champion Erica Enders of Elite Motorsports is fifth, KB’s Matt Latino is sixth, followed by Elite’s Jeg Coughlin Jr. (a five-time Pro Stock titleholder) and Aaron Stanfield.
Cody Anderson, in his first year driving for KB Titan, holds ninth place points, followed by Elite’s Troy Coughlin Jr., KB Titan’s Eric Latino and independent racer Kenny Delco, the latter having a competitive year. Deric Kramer and Aussie Shane Tucker complete this race’s entrants. After winning the regular season title over Anderson at Indy, Glenn has more on his plate than racing this week, as he’s prepping wife Sadie’s Top Dragster for next weekend’s contest at Rockingham. While he’s never been to the track at Michigan, much less raced there, he’s definitely looking forward to it. And he does expect the title fight to go all the way to Pomona, as it customarily does. He said, “2024 prepared me for the mental stress last year, and I expect another nail-biter in 2026. I’m hoping,” he said, “that it doesn’t rain. We want to race in front of fans; you never want it to be like 2025. We love that celebration at Top End and last year, not getting that moment at Top End was tough.”
Richard Gadson leads all comers in Pro Stock Motorcycle, thanks to his regular season title. Matt Smith won the U.S. Nationals as he aims for a seventh world championship. There are 11 eligible motorcycle riders for Countdown honors and both Vance & Hines Motorsports Suzuki Hayabusa3 riders, Gadson and his two-time-consecutive champion partner Gaige Herrera will have to deal with Matt Smith Racing’s quartet of Buell challengers. Smith, thanks to his Indy win, is 25 points behind Gadson with Herrera three points behind the North Carolina rider. Angie Smith is fourth, followed by teammate John Hall, Ryan Oehler on his Buell, Chase Van Sant’s Suzuki, Jianna Evaristo, Clayton Howey, Steve Johnson and 2003 champ Geno Scali.
For much of this season and at Indy, Howey rode a Suzuki, but he’s changing brands this week and will finish the season at Ryan Oehler Racing, on a Buell. He tested on Tuesday after the U.S. Nationals, as did Ida Zetterstrom, who earned her Pro Stock Motorcycle license to accompany her Top Fuel license. Joining the competition this weekend are Mathieu Dube from Quebec, riding a Suzuki, Marc Ingwersen on his Buell, Wesley Wells’ Suzuki and Mark Paquette, making a second straight start on a Buell this week; Paquette was unable to make the Indy field.
Expecting to “control my destiny in Michigan,” Gadson knows it “means everything to be able to win on-track. I love the point from top-end interview because there’s no question you won. I feed off emotions and that pushes me. Beating the best rider on Sunday is why you are where you are,” he said of winning the regular season title over Smith and Herrera. While he’s tested at Martin four, five years ago, “U.S. 131 is one of the rare situations where I haven’t raced on this track. I watched Gaige make his first pass on Karen Stoffer’s bike and I think U.S. 131 is a great replacement for where we were supposed to go.” While he realizes that everyone has motivating factors when they race, “I’m at my best when I have something to prove. I like to have my emotions under control and when I’m in the staging lanes, I’m not cool, calm, collected. My emotions,” he revealed, “are outward, whether it’s a big round or for a championship.”
In addition to NHRA’s Mission Foods competition, fans have the opportunity to watch Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Top Sportsman and Factory Stock Showdown. NHRA’s special commemorative 75th anniversary tickets for these final six races tickets will celebrate the Kalitta family at Martin, Vance & Hines’ Terry Vance and Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson in Rockingham, four-time Top Fuel champ Antron Brown in the critical St. Louis race, while Dallas’ tickets feature Billy Meyer, Las Vegas goes for the Pedregon duo, Cruz and Tony, while the season finale’s ticket features Tony Schumacher.
Friday’s qualifying sessions begin at 12:15PM and 2:45PM, while Saturday’s duo start at noon and 2:30PM. Sunday’s eliminations are scheduled to begin at 10:30AM. The weather may – or may not – cooperate, as Friday is expected to be the sole clear day. Temps are expected to be in the mid-70s for the first two days, then falling to the upper 60s on Sunday.
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