The halfway point of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship produced another huge Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, and Shawn Langdon continues to be the driver everyone in Top Fuel is chasing.
Langdon won his fourth consecutive race at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, defeating first-time finalist Will Smith and extending his championship lead to a commanding 116 points. Austin Prock added a major Funny Car victory over Jordan Vandergriff, Aaron Stanfield won a father-versus-son Pro Stock final against Greg Stanfield, and Gaige Herrera captured his fourth straight St. Louis Pro Stock Motorcycle victory.
With three races remaining in the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, the championship pictures in all four professional categories are starting to get very interesting.
Langdon came into St. Louis already riding one of the hottest streaks of the season, and he left even hotter.
After qualifying No. 1, Langdon powered his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster to a 3.732-second pass at 335.90 mph in the final. Smith smoked the tires early, allowing Langdon to finish off his eighth victory of the season and 30th of his career. The win also gave Langdon four consecutive victories and kept him undefeated through the first half of the Countdown. He defeated Tony Schumacher, Leah Pruett, and Justin Ashley on the way to the final.
One of the biggest numbers of the day came in round one, when Langdon blasted to 341.68 mph to reset the World Wide Technology Raceway speed record.
“The results we’re showing now come from the hard work of the last couple years. I’ve had a lot of faith and confidence in this race team,” Langdon said. “I knew the capabilities this team had. It was just a matter of things coming together, and I really feel like this year a lot of things have come together.
“We’ve been good when we needed to be good, but we’ve been great when we needed to be great. Every time I hit the gas, I know I’m going to have a really dang good race car. Hopefully I don’t mess that up. With what we’ve done, we’re going to have a big target on our backs. People are going to be gunning for us. It’s up to us to rise to the occasion and do even better at the last three races.”
Austin Prock picked an excellent time to get hot. The back-to-back Funny Car world champion defeated Vandergriff in the St. Louis final with a 3.909 at 332.84 mph in his Motorcraft Ford Mustang.
It was Prock’s second victory of the season and first at World Wide Technology Raceway, byt more importantly, it moved him to third in the standings and kept his championship hopes alive.
“This was a big win. For the points, for our family, for our team — this is the time to get hot,” Prock said. “After everything we’ve been through this year, all the hours we haven’t slept and seven days a week working at this, it really pays off when you get a win. We’re hot right now, and we’ve been hot for the last 12 races. We just haven’t been able to finish the job.
“We had a really dominant Ford Mustang this weekend. We had to run through a lot of hitters today. Each round was like a final round. Everybody we beat was in front of us in the Countdown. It was an epic way to cap it off. You don’t have days like this very often. When you run through four hitters like that, that’s like winning two races in one.
“We’re just over 100 points out of the lead. We’re in striking distance now going into Dallas and I’m really excited for these next three races.”
In the Pro Stock final, Aaron Stanfield lined up against his father, Greg Stanfield, with both an event win and valuable Countdown points on the line. Aaron came through with a clutch starting-line performance.
His .018 reaction time helped him score the holeshot win with a 6.556 at 209.20 mph over Greg’s quicker 6.547 at 209.85.
“It’s hard to get to the final round alone, and to be able to share it with my dad is pretty special,” Stanfield said. “He’s taught me absolutely everything I know in a race car. I told him I was fixing to show him what he taught me. We’re going to race as hard as we can possibly race. A thousandth at the stripe — it doesn’t get any better than that.
“At the start of the day, I would definitely say my car kind of pulled me along. As the day went on, I started finding myself on the Tree, and it ended up with me in the final round with my dad. As a whole, the entire Elite team ran really well this weekend. We just need to keep that trajectory.”
Gaige Herrera has apparently figured out World Wide Technology Raceway. Herrera defeated Vance & Hines teammate Richard Gadson in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final, running 6.710 at 200.98 mph to beat Gadson’s 6.763 at 200.08.
It was Herrera’s fourth consecutive victory at the St. Louis facility. He also qualified No. 1 with a track-record 6.644 and then defeated Michael Phillips and Ryan Oehler to reach the championship round.
“The Countdown, the last six races, is when it all matters,” Herrera said. “Getting this win here in St. Louis means a lot. St. Louis holds a special place for me. I don’t know what it is with this place, but it’s always been very good to me. I wish we had all the races here.
“Racing Richard in the final puts a lot of pressure on me. He’s the man on the tree. He’s very consistent, and it was awesome to race him in the final. I felt like I was trying to push myself too much the last couple races. This whole weekend, I just reminded myself: I’m living the dream, I’m having fun and that’s what it’s all about.
“This is a big deal for me. Points-wise, we gained a little bit on my teammate. He still has the points lead, but it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Top Fuel — Shawn Langdon, 3.732 seconds, 335.90 mph def. Will Smith, 4.024 seconds, 269.03 mph.
Funny Car — Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.909, 332.84 def. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.926, 325.37.
Pro Stock — Aaron Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.556, 209.20 def. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.547, 209.85.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.710, 200.98 def. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.763, 200.08.
Competition Eliminator — Christopher Dodd, Chevy Cobalt, 8.286, 133.33 def. Scott Linder, Pontiac Gran Am, 13.534, 76.06.
Super Stock — Jimmy Hidalgo Jr., Pontiac Firebird, 9.359, 127.78 def. Jacob Delaune, Dodge Challenger, 9.759, 133.84.
Stock Eliminator — Johnny Diekema, Chevy Corvette, 9.719, 137.44 def. Brett Saurbaugh, Corvette, 9.837, 133.08.
Super Comp — James Glenn, Dragster, 8.903, 173.38 def. Michael Holcombe, Dragster, 8.908, 179.14.
Super Gas — Kris Whitfield, Ford T, 9.905, 147.88 def. Todd Pullen, Chevy Corvette, 9.910, 171.16.
Top Dragster — Luke Bogacki, Dragster, 6.806, 190.19 def. Alaia Isenhower, Dragster, 6.922, 189.36.
Pro Modified — Steve Jackson, Chevy Camaro, 5.634, 255.48 def. Stan Shelton, Ford Mustang, Foul – Red Light.
Factory Stock Showdown — Jonathan Allegrucci, Ford Mustang, 7.640, 179.92 def. Scott Libersher, Chevy Camaro, 12.567, 86.19.
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