Maple Grove Raceway is known as “the house of chaos,” and boy did it live up to its name during the 40th annual NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish. The first event of the NHRA Mission Foods Countdown to the Championship was a wild one, and the storylines were like something straight out of Hollywood.

Shawn Reed scored his first career NHRA Top Fuel win in what was easily the most emotional story of the weekend. Just two months removed from a brutal Seattle crash that cost him a finger, Reed came back and drove like a man possessed. After qualifying fourth, Reed took out Kyle Satenstein, Shawn Langdon, and number one qualifier Clay Millican before lining up against points leader Doug Kalitta in the final. A 3.844 at 326.63 mph sealed the deal, and Reed left Reading with the Wally and a move to fifth in points.

Photos provided by the NHRA/National Dragster

“Honestly, you couldn’t even write it any better — just a storybook weekend,” Reed said. “For what happened to me in Seattle, what happened to our team there, and then Jordan Vandergriff stepping in to keep our crew going, this car’s been good. I’ve been telling everybody for a long time that we were going to surprise a lot of people. We just had to get our Sunday morning thing figured out, and today, we finally broke through.

“I’m so happy for my guys. I’m happy for me too, but when you get older, you just get thankful for what everybody’s done for you and with you. I’ll remember this forever.”

Kalitta still grabbed the points lead with round wins over Antron Brown, Tony Stewart, and Steve Torrence. His matchup with Stewart will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Kalitta’s dragster crossed the centerline past the finish line, clipping Stewart’s car and sending it onto its side before hitting the wall. Both drivers walked away, but it was a scary moment. Kalitta now leads Stewart by 18 points and Langdon by 33 points going into the next event.

Cruz Pedregon reminded everyone why he’s a two-time champ. Pedregon snapped a 55-race winless streak with a 3.969 at 330.63 mph run, taking down Blake Alexander in the final. The win was Pedregon’s first since 2022 and the 40th of his career.

Pedregon plowed through Bob Tasca III, points leader Austin Prock, and Paul Lee to reach the final. The win launched Pedregon to sixth in the standings and inserted him into the Funny Car title picture.

“This is very special, very special,” Pedregon said. “You know, you start to doubt yourself — as an owner, as a driver — and I’ve done that a lot the last couple of years. I thought, ‘Maybe this is it.’ But we took the hard road. I hired young guys who weren’t already on other teams. It was like a draft.

“We went through the growing pains, but now I’ve got a good group. They’re still learning, but they’re hungry, and now here we are. This morning, I told the guys there are six races left, including this one. I’ve won this race before and sat in the winner’s circle, wondering how we did it. We can do that again — just be mistake-free, be aggressive, and stay the course.”

Dallas Glenn opened the Countdown like a man who doesn’t want to give up his number one position in the Pro Stock points. Glenn dominated the weekend, qualifying on top and rolling through Shane Tucker, Deric Kramer, and KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson, who was DQ’d in bizarre fashion for crossing the start line beams on back-to-back burnout attempts. Glenn then dropped rookie Cody Coughlin in the final with a 6.557 at 209.23 mph in his RAD Torque Camaro. It’s Glenn’s fifth win of 2025 and the 18th of his career, giving him a 62-point cushion over Anderson.

“You definitely come in here, and my goal every race in the Countdown is to leave with a little bit more of a lead — and we definitely capitalized on that today. What a crazy day,” Glenn said. “Having Cody Coughlin in the final, with me taking out Erica Enders and Eric Latino taking out Aaron Stanfield — it was just a wild weekend. They call it the House of Chaos for a reason. The car is working fantastic right now.

“My car is so good, I just need to make sure I don’t beat myself. I definitely have the car to beat right now. I just need to continue what I’m doing, keep riding the wave, and see how far we can go with it.”

John Hall made sure Pro Stock Motorcycle added to the chaos at Maple Grove. Hall took out teammate Matt Smith in the final with a 6.802 at 199.70 mph. The win was Hall’s second this season and first ever at Maple Grove, pushing him into a tie for second in points. Along the way, Hall also knocked out back-to-back champ Gaige Herrera and rookie Brayden Davis before getting past Smith in an all-MSR showdown.

“They’re all special for me. To do it in the Countdown is great because, I mean, there’s six races in the Countdown — you’ve got to bring your A-game,” Hall said. “We had a new tire on there that wasn’t working for us. We put the old tire back on, which worked out. We went four 6.80s in a row. The track was great — thank you to the Koretsky family for a great track and to MSR.

It is great that they gave me this opportunity. Matt Smith and Angie Smith gave me an opportunity to come out here and compete, probably in the later stages of my career, and I’m just thankful for everything.”

Smith’s runner-up was enough to move him into the points lead, but the Pro Stock Motorcycle title fight is now a logjam: Smith leads Herrera and Hall by just six, with Richard Gadson nine back.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Sept. 19-21 with the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.

Top Fuel — Shawn Reed, 3.844 seconds, 326.63 mph def. Doug Kalitta, 4.717 seconds, 202.12 mph.

Funny Car — Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.969, 330.63 def. Blake Alexander, Charger, 4.020, 314.39.

Pro Stock — Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.557, 209.23 def. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.562, 208.68.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — John Hall, Beull, 6.802, 199.70 def. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.950, 167.66.

Top Alcohol Dragster — Jamie Noonan, 5.259, 277.66 def. Anthony Troyer, 5.278, 266.85.

Top Alcohol Funny Car — Brian Hough, Chevy Camaro, 5.613, 253.52 def. Jim Whiteley, Camaro, 6.631, 134.39.

Competition Eliminator — Mark Hopkins, Chevy Beretta, 7.656, 176.05 def. Paul Ricci, Dodge Avenger, 8.159, 144.53.

Super Stock — Louis Gill, Chevy Cavalier, 9.536, 135.73 def. Anthony Bongiovanni, Ford Mustang, 8.793, 148.80.

Stock Eliminator — Michael Iacono, Chevy Camrao, 11.237, 113.21 def. Dave Casey, Chevy Corvette, 10.476, 126.71.

Super Comp — Dave Long, Dragster, 8.898, 174.91 def. Amanda Boicesco, Dragster, 8.892, 170.75.

Super Gas — Michael Reynolds, Chevy Vega, 9.931, 134.63 def. Charlie Kenopic, Chevy Corvette, 9.936, 159.74.

Top Sportsman — Vincent Fourcade, Chevy Camaro, 7.395, 153.28 def. George Forster, Chevy Monte Carlo, 7.331, 191.81.

Factory Stock Showdown — Taylor Dietsch, Ford Mustang, 7.727, 178.35 def. Scott Libersher, Chevy Camaro, 9.891, 124.33.

Factory X — Lenny Lottig, Chevy Camaro, 6.963, 196.47 def. Jesse Alexandra, Camaro, Broke – No Show.

Mountain Motor Pro Stock — Johnny Pluchino, Ford Mustang, 6.331, 221.89 def. Brad Waddle, Mustang, 18.321, 44.76.

Junior Dragster Shootout — Daniel Spotts, Halfscale, 7.890, 82.04 def. Charlotte Ecks, Halfscale, Foul – Red Light.