NHRA’s Countdown Playoffs Begin in Reading
The NHRA’s six-race playoff series, the Countdown to the Championship begins this weekend with the tour’s 40th visit to Maple Grove Raceway outside Reading, PA. The picturesque location was taken over by the Koretsky family a few years ago and their NHRA Reading Nationals are presented by Nitro Fish, which has been the family’s sponsor whenever it races.
All four Mission Foods Drag Racing Series categories are in play as the tension builds and racers vie for a 2025 world championship in straight-line racing. The top 10 in each class have been noted and, of the first time in NHRA’s 74-year history, there were champions named of the 14-race “regular” season: Top Fuel’s sophomore racer Tony Stewart, reigning Funny Car titleholder Austin Prock, KB Titan Racing’s Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock and reigning, two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Gaige Herrera.
As nine other competitors in each class chase these over-achievers, there is plenty of news about the Countdown and about next year’s 75th anniversary season, with the 2026 schedule announced just prior to the 71st Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals, held over the Labor Day weekend at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
For the second consecutive race, Jim Dunn Racing is using the driving talents of Alex Laughlin, as their regular Funny Car driver Buddy Hull continues to recover from a left-hand injury suffered at the DENSO Sonoma Nationals the final weekend of July. While Hull will be on-site for the race, as he was at the U.S. Nationals, Laughlin will, again, try to bring victory for the 91-year-old Jim Dunn, who is celebrating the 75th anniversary of his namesake team.
In Top Fuel, Tony Stewart has led the points standings several times during the regular season, recorded two victories – in only his second year of competition at the top of the NHRA mountain – and his consistency is what landed him at the head of the standings after the 14 races that comprise the regular season. Still, Smoke needs to watch his mirrors for the Kalitta Motorsports duo of Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta, both of whom have already climbed that championship mountain with success.
Langdon had a grand regular season going, but a first-round loss at the U.S. Nationals was tough for the Californian to take. As the No. 2 Countdown seed, Langdon and his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary team fell just short of winning regular season honors, despite winning three races in five final rounds. With the bonus points from his five Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge wins, Langdon shadows Stewart by a minuscule 16 points.
As Doug Kalitta, Langdon’s teammate knows, it’s not where you start the Countdown it’s where you finish. In his 2023 championship run, Kalitta came to Reading sixth in the seeding; with his Pomona win, he earned his first championship after trying to attain a title for a quarter-century! This week he’s focused on letting “it all play itself out and see what happens.”
This trio better be sure to keep their eyes on two particular racers: reigning Top Fuel titleholder Antron Brown, who won this race in 2024 as he sped to his fourth title and Brittany Force, the fastest human in straight-line racing who aced a 343.51-mph lap in Indy for her tenth run over 340-mph. Indy winner Justin Ashley is getting hot at the right time after a fairly mild regular season and Clay Millican’s Rick Ware Racing rail has been strong all season.
Tony Stewart is looking in his rearview mirror at another driver looking to succeed in Top Fuel racing again, and that’s his wife, Leah Pruett, who dedicated the last two seasons and years to parenthood. With Dominic about to finish his first season of life, she’s decided – as expected – to return to her first love of straight-line racing. The 12-time NHA Top Fuel national event winner with race the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection green dragster in NHRA’s 75th anniversary season, the team announced this week. Pruett has kept her hand in by her involvement in day-to-day operations at Tony Stewart Racing, both from the marketing side and assisting the team’s capable crew chiefs with technical projects.
“I’d first like to thank Tony, the team and our partners for allowing me the necessary time on my hiatus to start our family, learn motherhood and welcome me back,” she said. “I tested in Richmond earlier this year, which as expected, validated my eagerness and passion for racing Top Fuel.” While this announcement was anticipated, both Pruett and Stewart elected wait until after the U.S. Nationals as the team focused on Stewart’s progress and capitalized on his ability to secure the regular season title. “Tony has done an incredible job behind the wheel, as many would expect, but I know how much he’s devoted himself to being the beset ‘driver replacement’ he can be, and I couldn’t be more proud and thankful for him.”
Shawn Reed, injured at his home race in Seattle in mid-July, returns to NHRA competition in Pennsylvania after running through the pack in IHRA racing last weekend at DARANA Raceway in Hebron, Ohio. In a stacked eight-car draw, Reed beat Todd Paton, Jasmine Salinas and three-time NHRA Top Fuel champ Larry Dixon with a pass of 3.8191/327.75 to win that race. Other NHRA dragster regulars at the IHRA race were Mitch King, Doug Foley, Krista Baldwin and Lex Joon. Foley is scheduled to race at Reading, along with Dan Mercier, Kyle Satenstein and Scott Farley, in a 15-car entry.
Austin Prock will have his hands full as he attempts to earn a second straight Funny Car title in his John Force Racing Chevrolet SS. First he’ll have to fend off teammate Jack Beckman, and Tony Stewart Racing’s Matt Hagan, a four-time titleholder in his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. With seven Wally winner’s trophies in his bulging cabinet already this year, Prock is looking for a second straight win in Reading, but will have to deal with a host of standouts, including three-time champ Ron Capps and J.R. Todd, both racing Toyota GR Supras, Phoenix winner Paul Lee’s Charger and Daniel Wilkerson, the latter Ford Mustang racer looking for his first Wally trophy as a Funny Car driver.
Some part-time standouts coming to the verdant Pennsylvania countryside include Terry Haddock (Mustang), Phil Burkart Jr. (Mustang), Joe Morrison – doing double duty in Paul Smith’s Dodge and Tom Pickett’s Top Alcohol Dragster – as he supports Right2Breathe, Blake Alexander in Chad Green’s Charger and Jim Campbell.
Winning once makes you hungry for more. No doubt Erica Enders’ hunger wasn’t sated when she secured her first 2025 Wally trophy at the Big Go in Indy. Her Elite Motorsports teammate Aaron Stanfield won here last year, but Enders is primed to take him on, now that she’s finally tasted victory this year. She’ll have to barrel through the KB Titan Racing steamroller, including her final round opponent at Indy, Matt Hartford, along with her own teammates.
If there’s anyone that understands pressure, it’s Enders. She’s kept her spirits up through a tough season and was rewarded with that Indy win, her 50th in the very tough Pro Stock class after a 30-race winless streak. Thanks to points-and-a-half, she’s in the Countdown after being a spectator to the top 10 in class throughout much of the regular season. With 19 Pro Stock cars on the docket for two qualifying sessions and four rounds of eliminations, Enders will need to fire on all eight cylinders to keep KB Titan at bay.
Fifteen Pro Stock Motorcycle racers have signed up to race in Reading, which guarantees everyone in the field on Sunday. With eight Suzukis and seven Buell riders, anything can happen, but it’s easy to say last year’s winner won’t repeat, because Hector Arana Jr., the 2024 victor and the first class rider to 200mph isn’t on that list. Arana Racing came to the Big Go with Arana Jr. and Dystany Spurlock; neither one is in this race.
Still, this contest has strong adversaries facing one another on either side of the Suzuki/Buell divide with, of course the four-Buell Matt Smith Racing squad ready to fight Vance and Hines Motorsports’ Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson. V&H will also have Brayden Davis on-hand, after the Georgia rider nearly pipped Herrera in the Big Go finals, failing on the two-time reigning champion’s holeshot win. Matt Smith owns three victories in Reading, making him the prime competitor to the Vance and Hines duo, but teammates John Hall, a winner this season, Angie Smith and Jianna Evaristo are having stellar years as well.
There aren’t many outsiders in this competition, but look to Brandon Litten on a Suzuki, Marc Ingwersen’s Buell, the return of Ron Tornow’s Buell, Kelly Clontz’s Suzuki and Ryan Oehler, who recently welcomed a son to his growing family, returning on his Buell for this race.
There’s plenty more to watch from the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Reading, including Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car, Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman, Mountain Motor Pro Stock, Factory Stock Showdown and Factory X.
The grounds at Maple Grove Raceway tend to get muddy quite often when the NHRA comes to tow, but this weekend is looking mostly sunny with moderate temperatures and mostly sunny skies. The finals of this race are being disseminated on FS1 and FS1 this weekend, with final eliminations beginning at 11am ET on Sunday morning. The broadcast for final eliminations takes place 2-5PM ET on FS1.with replays on FS2.