NHRA U.S. Nationals Friday Qualifying: Langdon And Beckman Lead The Big Go

The opening night of qualifying at the 72nd Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals gave racers one shot to make a statement under the lights at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Shawn Langdon made sure his was a big one.

Langdon blasted to a 3.727-second pass at 334.98 mph on Friday’s final run to take the provisional No. 1 position in Top Fuel. Jack Beckman grabbed the top spot in Funny Car, Greg Stanfield led Pro Stock, and Matt Smith paced Pro Stock Motorcycle as the biggest race of the NHRA season got underway.

With massive fields, regular-season championships on the line, and only one scheduled Friday qualifying session, getting off to a strong start at Indy carries a little extra weight.

Shawn Langdon Fires The First Shot In Top Fuel

Langdon entered the U.S. Nationals 67 points behind teammate Doug Kalitta after losing the Top Fuel points lead at Brainerd.

The former champion is one of only two drivers still mathematically eligible to win the Top Fuel regular-season championship, making every available point important at Indy. Langdon responded by putting the SealMaster dragster at the top of the 22-car Top Fuel field with a 3.727 at 334.98 mph. If the run holds through the remaining qualifying sessions, it will give Langdon his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 28th of his career.

More importantly, the run means Langdon can spend the rest of the weekend working on race-day performance rather than worrying about simply making the 16-car field.

“It was definitely a big confidence boost for the team and it takes some of the pressure off for the rest of the weekend,” Langdon said. “The last couple of races, things just didn’t really seem to go our way. We still have a good car, though, and we still know what our group is capable of, so this is definitely a good start to the weekend. With the amount of cars that we have (22 in Top Fuel), we know we’re in, so not qualifying goes out of your head.”

Langdon may be on top, but he certainly doesn’t have much breathing room. Tony Stewart sits second after running a 3.744 at 328.22 mph. Stewart clinched the regular-season championship at Indy one year ago and appears to have another strong combination at the Big Go. Leah Pruett opened her weekend in third with a 3.772 at 326.24 mph.

Jack Beckman Puts John Force Throwback On Top

For the second consecutive year, Jack Beckman ended Friday night at the U.S. Nationals as the provisional Funny Car No. 1 qualifier.

Beckman drove the PEAK Chevrolet SS to a 3.937 at 326.79 mph to lead what is another massive Indy field. The run was also a fitting debut for Beckman’s special U.S. Nationals appearance. His John Force Racing Funny Car is wearing a throwback paint scheme honoring Force’s dominant 1996 championship season. The original version of the scheme ran at the 1996 NHRA Finals, where Force won the race.

Thirty years later, Beckman immediately put the tribute version on top at Indy.

“It’s awesome to be No. 1 qualifier when there are 16 cars, but I don’t want to say it’s essential when there are 23 cars – it just sets you right,” Beckman said. “It’s a unique race because we get five qualifiers. It’s the only event where we’re only scheduled for one run on Friday, and we only get one night session. This might be an interesting weekend. Sunday, it looks like the forecast is a lot more favorable. Maybe there’s a chance to swing harder than that, and I hope there is.

“It’s so rewarding when you step on the throttle on one of these things, and it just keeps motoring down there. I don’t know if ours mixed a cylinder up – it wasn’t a great mile an hour, but it was efficient.”

Qualifying No. 1 would be just one piece of what could become a very busy U.S. Nationals for Beckman. He is also the No. 1 seed in Sunday’s PlayNHRA All-Star Callout, giving him another opportunity to collect hardware before Monday’s U.S. Nationals eliminations.

The Funny Car field is tight behind him. Ron Capps is just one-thousandth of a second back in second after running 3.938 at 329.10 mph. Austin Prock, who enters Indy with back-to-back event victories, is third with a 3.943 at 313.37 mph.

Greg Stanfield Gives Elite Motorsports A Strong Start

Greg Stanfield has been the front-runner for Elite Motorsports during the 2026 regular season, and he continued that trend Friday night.

Stanfield drove the Janac Brothers Racing Pro Stock entry to a 6.650 at 206.01 mph, putting him in the provisional No. 1 position. If it holds, Stanfield will collect his second No. 1 qualifier of the season.

“If you could be number one at the end of the session, it’s a great day for us, so we’re tickled to death with where we finished up,” Stanfield said. “Looking at the weather for Sunday, and as the race goes on, I think the weather’s going to get better, so things will kind of get jockeyed around, but it feels good to start out on top for sure.

“I love this race. It’s our best race. So, hopefully, we can just keep moving forward, and we need luck. That’s what we need more than anything.”

Stanfield’s Elite Motorsports teammate Erica Enders sits second after the first qualifying session with a 6.661 at 206.67 mph. Enders is also the defending U.S. Nationals Pro Stock winner. Points leader Greg Anderson matched Enders’ 6.661 elapsed time but recorded a 205.60-mph speed to sit third after Friday.

Matt Smith Leads Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Return

Friday marked the first time the full Pro Stock Motorcycle category had competed since late June, but Matt Smith certainly didn’t look rusty.

Matt Smith and his teammates grabbed all three of the top qualifying positions. Matt Smith led the way aboard his Denso Auto Parts Buell with a 6.864 at 198.90 mph.

“I thought it was pretty good. We went to Rockingham [Dragway] and made a bunch of test laps,” Smith said. “We spent two days down there in conditions just like this. It was hot and humid, and we dedicated ourselves to it because we knew it was probably going to be hot here.

“Sunday might be a little different, but right now I think we got a good little start. We had some time off, and we worked really hard preparing motors and getting everybody’s stuff fresh for this race and for the Countdown.”