The inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock delivered exactly what the Countdown to the Championship is supposed to produce: big performances, major points swings, and pressure-packed final rounds. Matt Hagan, Shawn Langdon, Greg Stanfield, and Richard Gadson left Rockingham Dragway with victories during the 16th race of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the second of six Countdown events.
Hagan strengthened his grip on the Funny Car points lead. Langdon won his third consecutive Top Fuel race and beat teammate Doug Kalitta on a holeshot. Stanfield took over the Pro Stock points lead. Gadson extended his advantage in Pro Stock Motorcycle after teammate Gaige Herrera went red in the final.
Matt Hagan came into Rockingham with momentum and left with even more.
The four-time Funny Car world champion powered his 12,000-horsepower Dodge//SRT Hellcat to a 3.922-second pass at 327.75 mph in the final to defeat Paul Lee, who lost traction midway through the run. The victory was Hagan’s fourth of the 2026 season and 59th of his career.
He defeated Dave Richards, Ron Capps, and J.R. Todd before reaching the final. More importantly, Hagan now owns an 84-point lead over Jordan Vandergriff with four races remaining.
“It’s unbelievable that I get to have a great race car underneath me, and it’s going down the racetrack, and I know that every time I sit in that car every Sunday morning, I have an opportunity to win, and that’s huge,” Hagan said.
“The points chase is super competitive. There’s six cars that could just change the landscape at any given moment. As much as I’d love to sit here and say how great we’re doing, it takes one or two races of going out the first round, and it changes it. We have to keep working hard and keep putting that foot forward. I want to win this fifth championship not just for me but for my crew chief and the team. I’m excited for what we have. I’ve been very, very successful in this sport as far as four championships and so many races and a bunch of world records and all other stuff that’s happened, but I’ve never had what I’ve had what I have right now with this group.”
If anyone is hotter than Hagan right now, it might be Shawn Langdon. Langdon won his third consecutive Top Fuel race by defeating teammate Doug Kalitta in a dramatic final-round holeshot. Kalitta ran quicker with a 3.722 at 330.40 mph, Langdon, however, was much better on the starting line. His .024 reaction time gave him enough of an advantage to hold off Kalitta despite running a slower 3.739.
And he did it at a massive 342.73 mph, producing the first 340-mph Top Fuel pass in Rockingham Dragway history.
“We knew for the final round we had to make a picture-perfect run,” Langdon said. “AJ [Alan Johnson, Doug Kalitta crew chief] has been running really well. He’s got a great handle on that car. The Mac Tools guys have been doing a great job, and Doug’s been really lights-out this year. I knew going to the final, I had to figure out a way to find something on the starting line, and Brian [Husen crew chief] knew we were down four-hundredths in the semis, and we’re going back to that same lane and AJ wasn’t going to lay up. Brian was very, very aware of that, so he was doing some homework and I knew I had to do everything I could,” Langdon said.
“Brian’s really worked with the guys and the guys have done a great job working together to be perfect. We’re out here to win races and you have to be perfect in order to do things like this. We’re just bonding together and working hard and keeping our heads, working just as hard for the next one,” Langdon staes.
Greg Stanfield continued Elite Motorsports’ perfect start to the Countdown.
One week after Troy Coughlin Jr. won in Michigan, Stanfield put another Elite car in the winner’s circle at Rockingham, and he did it the hard way.
Stanfield defeated rookie Cody Anderson on a holeshot in the final, running 6.537 at 210.48 mph with a sharp .019 reaction time. Anderson ran quicker at 6.525 and 209.99 mph, but Stanfield’s starting-line advantage was enough to hold him off.
The victory was Stanfield’s second of the season and eighth of his Pro Stock career.
“To be able to do this today, it definitely feels good,” Stanfield said. “Any time you can hold a Wally, it’s a great day. I’m just trying to do the best I can and not let everybody down who works their butt off for me to be able to drive. I think I’ve let our team down through the year, getting to the semis, then not closing it. For me to be able to close it out today, it means a lot. There’s a lot of young drivers that are really talented right now, and for me to try to rise up to their level and race with them is tough,” Stanfield said.
“Anybody can win in this class right now. I mean, it’s incredible how tight it is. So, the points battle is going to go all the way to the end. I feel like it’s going to be that way. So what’s going to happen next week? I can’t predict it. We’re just going to try to work hard, work smart and if it’s meant to be, it’ll be,” Stanfield explains.
The Pro Stock Motorcycle final brought another showdown between Richard Gadson and Gaige Herrera, this time, the race was decided almost immediately.
Herrera left .018-second too early, handing the win to Gadson before the pair ever reached the finish line. Gadson still made a strong run, going 6.789 at 199.65 mph aboard his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
The victory was his third of the season and seventh of his career.
“I feel like I got away with one here this weekend. It’s kind of been our M.O. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t headline-worthy, but you know, we’re here holding our third diamond Wally,” Gadson said.
“Gaige and I are extremely competitive with each other, sometimes to the point where the lines are blurry in our competitiveness because he’s a friend. I’ve got a lot of respect for the guy, but I’m playing mind games the whole time. He’s playing games the whole time, and you know I said. ‘It’s his race to lose,’ hoping that he would lose the race somehow. In order to win the race, you’ve got to be green four times. Gaige went for the E.T., and he got away with it three rounds, but we decided we’re just going to race our lane, so it’s a lot of strategizing, and it paid off.”
Top Fuel — Shawn Langdon, 3.739 seconds, 342.73 mph def. Doug Kalitta, 3.722 seconds, 330.40 mph.
Funny Car — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.922, 327.75 def. Paul Lee, Charger, Foul – Outer Boundary.
Pro Stock — Greg Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.537, 210.48 def. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.525, 209.99.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.789, 199.65 def. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light.
Competition Eliminator — Joe Carnasciale, Chevy Cavalier, 8.876, 152.08 def. Monty Bogan, Pontiac G5, 8.450, 137.57.
Super Stock — Bryan Worner, Chevy Camaro, 9.940, 119.55 def. Dan Fletcher, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.
Stock Eliminator — Cody Phillips, Chevy Corvette, 10.351, 126.76 def. Brad Plourd, Chevy Nova, 10.634, 114.56.
Super Comp — Hayden James, Dragster, 8.920, 167.35 def. Mike Robilotto, Dragster, 8.881, 170.07.
Super Gas — Tim Powell, Chevy Corvette, 9.957, 157.89 def. Jock Lisenby, Chevy Camaro, 9.854, 157.51.
Top Dragster — Brad Plourd, Dragster, 6.202, 224.10 def. Steve Furr, Dragster, Foul – Red Light.
Pro Modified — Mike Stavrinos, Chevy Camaro, 5.664, 254.09 def. Justin Bond, Camaro, 5.656, 257.29.
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