{"id":100859,"date":"2025-05-19T12:43:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T19:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=100859"},"modified":"2025-05-19T12:43:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T19:43:16","slug":"stewart-beckman-herrera-win-in-very-windy-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/stewart-beckman-herrera-win-in-very-windy-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Stewart, Beckman, Herrera Win in Very Windy City"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gaige Herrera, Jack Beckman and Tony Stewart rejoice in the Winner\u2019s Circle – NHRA photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 25th Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK presented obstacles to racing that pretty much define the location of Route 66 Raceway. Held in Joliet, IL near Chicago, wind dominated the proceeding\u2019s outcome over three days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The damaging winds actually began on Thursday when Lucas Oil Sportsman were on-track and Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle squads were setting up their work stations. Many teams declined to put up their awnings in the fear they might be damaged. A bit of rain Thursday night added to teams\u2019 work the following morning.<\/p>\n

Friday was one of the more difficult days of competition in NHRA\u2019s Chicago history, as the Windy City let loose with more-than-blustery conditions, with gusts of 40-plus miles per hour changing direction throughout the day. At the close of the second qualifying session Friday evening, dust storm warnings chimed in on everyone\u2019s cell phones, even as Pro Stock Motorcycle declined to run, citing the possibility of injury once the Suzuki and Buell riders cleared the massive grandstands en route to their quarter-mile finish lines.<\/p>\n

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The wind provoked a dust storm that spread throughout the Chicago area – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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There had been discussions throughout Friday about whether the motorcycles would run. They completed their first qualifying session but by the time for Q2, blowing winds were so severe that they opted not to take to the track. Both Funny Car and Top Fuel did both sessions of their second qualifying, but the two-wheel set\u2019s decision not to race was right and proper.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By the time Sunday beckoned with clear, moderate skies and only breezy conditions, many teams had already folded their hauler\u2019s awnings in defense and tied down much of their equipment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What they couldn\u2019t tie down was the march to victory by Tony Stewart, who battled Justin Ashley to his second Top Fuel win in a span of three races, Jack Beckman\u2019s starting line mastery over John Force Racing teammate and reigning titleholder Austin Prock in Funny Car and Gaige Herrera\u2019s ownership of the Chicago area racetrack, where he\u2019s won every time he\u2019s competed on this dragstrip. All three Mission Foods Drag Racing Series victors came from the left lane on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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Stewart is finding his footing in the Top Fuel class – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stewart, who needed more than a year to secure his initial NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel victory, scored at the Nevada Four-Wide NHRA Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, qualified second for this race with his career best 3.679-second lap time and romped past Terry Totten, Shawn Reed, and four-time champ Steve Torrence to meet Ashley in the final round. Stewart\u2019s 3.777-second lap at 329.10 mph beat Ashley\u2019s 3.818\/324.12. With his win Stewart moved into the points lead for the first time, with a three-point margin over Kalitta Motorsports\u2019 Shawn Langdon.<\/p>\n

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Langdon won the Top Fuel Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – NHRA photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Langdon had to be satisfied with his Saturday Top Fuel victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, as Stewart\u2019s teammate Matt Hagan secured the Challenge win for Tony Stewart Racing in Funny Car with his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat while Herrera steamrolled to yet another win on his Vance & Hines Motorsports Suzuki Hayabusa3 to double up for the weekend against his perennial rival Matt Smth.<\/p>\n

Stewart knew he had to step up against Ashley, who is renown for his ability to set top reaction times in his SCAG Racing dragster. \u201cYou know,\u201d Stewart said, \u201cwhen you race Justin, you have to bring your \u2018A\u2019 game and rise to the occasion. His reaction times are the best out here, and he does that both in qualifying and eliminations. That makes today\u2019s win that much more special. They have a great team and program,\u201d Stewart said of the No. 5 qualifier. \u201cWhen you can beat them, it is a feather in your cap because you\u2019re beating one of the best teams in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tony Stewart beat Justin Ashley in the Top Fuel finals – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stewart has assumed the points lead, followed by Ashley, Torrence, Kalitta, Shawn Reed, Langdon, Antron Brown, Josh Hart (who earned another round win in Joliet), Clay Millican and Canadian Dan Mercier rounding out the top 10.<\/p>\n

Beckman earned the No. 1 slot in qualifying on Saturday afternoon in his Chevrolet SS, then marched past Dave Richards\u2019 Ford Mustang, Chad Green\u2019s similar car and Cruz Pedregon\u2019s Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to meet his teammate Prock in the final round. He used a better reaction time to get a hole shot win against Prock, putting up an RT of .049 against Prock\u2019s .063 to gain the win despite his slower ET of 3.935\/325.77 to his teammate\u2019s 3.933\/329.02. Yes, it was that close at the finish line, with a margin of victory of .012 second!<\/p>\n

Winning for the fourth time since taking over John Force\u2019s seat, as the 16-time champion recovers from injuries sustained last June at Richmond, last August Beckman, who had not raced competitively since 2020 (winning his final race with Don Schumacher Racing after earning a 2012 title with the team) was circumspect about his victory. After being unable to post a fourth qualifying time when an electronics issue foiled his final attempt, \u201cEvery win is great, but winning here in Chicago, a track that was off the tour for a while, is as good as it gets,\u201d he said after racing in Joliet for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n

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Jack Beckman earned his fourth Funny Car title as relief driver for John Force, racing against tesammate Austin Prock – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the 55th time, John Force Racing teammates met in the final round but it\u2019s just the second time at Chicago, where Force beat Robert Hight, Prock\u2019s predecessor to win the Funny Car trophy in 2006. Force won that match-up with a hole shot. Prock reflected, \u201cAll we wanted to do was race each other today. We\u2019re in the backyard of PEAK (and its parent company, Old World Industries).\u201d Prock, who won four times in a JFR Top Fuel car before getting the opportunity to race with his father, Jimmy, turning the knobs, dispatched Boby Bode\u2019s Ford Mustang, Dodge Charger racers Paul Lee and Hagan, who won here last year against Force, to reach the final round.<\/p>\n

Beckman and Prock lead the point standings, followed by Hagan, Pedregon and Paul Lee\u2019s Dodge Chargers Ron Capps Toyota GR Supra,\u00a0 <\/span>Chad Green, Bob Tasca III and Spencer Hyde\u2019s Mustangs and Alexis DeJoria’s Dodge Charger.<\/p>\n

Pro Stock Motorcycle continues to be a battle between Vance & Hines Motorsports and Matt Smith Racing. Reigning two-time titleholder Gaige Herrera continued to be six-time champ Smith\u2019s foil here in Chicago, where he\u2019s won three times in a row. Winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, earning the No. 1 slot for eliminations the same day and knocking off John Hall\u2019s Matt Smith Racing Buell and Chris Bostick\u2019s WAR Racing Suzuki after a first-round bye, Herrera swept the weekend when he raced Smith in the final.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Gaige Herrera at the hit in his final round against Matt Smith – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe final was fun,\u201d he admitted. \u201cMatt whacked the throttle and then I whacked the throttle and we both played with the stage lights. He brings out the best in me, but we\u2019ve got a fast hot rod. I had a great reaction time (.005 to Smith\u2019s .024) and we came out on top – and that\u2019s our main goal,\u201d Herrera said. \u201cI expect games when I race Matt. I actually like it. It takes me back to my grudge racing days when you\u2019d ace your friends and blow them kisses on the starting line. Matt and I haven\u2019t gotten to that point yet!\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith made the final round for the third consecutive time in 2025, beating Wesley Wells\u2019 Suzuki, teammate Jianna Evaristo and Suzuki stalwart Steve Johnson. Even so, he\u2019s leaving the Chicago area second in points, as he has a single victory this year to Herrera\u2019s two wins in a three-race season to date. Behind this duo are Herrera\u2019s teammate Richard Gadson, Chase Van Sant and Steve Johnson on their Suzukis, Friday top qualifier Angie Smith\u2019s Buell, a tie between Suzuki rider Kelly Clontz and Evaristo, John Hall\u2019s Buell and Bostick\u2019s Suzuki.<\/p>\n

NHRA takes the Memorial Day weekend off but resumes competition at Epping, NH with the May 30-June 1 New England Nationals and New England Dragway.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wind dominated the 25th Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK over the three day event.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":100865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3465,3470,5029],"tags":[38,9719,9740,9966,7,74,6859,73],"class_list":["post-100859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-racing","category-news","category-racing","tag-funny-car","tag-gerber-collision-glass-nhra-nationals","tag-mission-2fast2tasty-challenge","tag-mission-foods-drag-racing-series","tag-nhra","tag-pro-stock-motorcycle","tag-route-66-raceway","tag-top-fuel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Herrera-Beckman-Stewart-WC-NHRA-photo-min.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-qeL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100859"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100870,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100859\/revisions\/100870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}