Courtesy of the NHRA
CONCORD, N.C. – Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon was the only driver to reach the 3.60s on Friday at zMAX Dragway, powering to the provisional No. 1 position to kick off the 16th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
Ron Capps (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the fourth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
In the final quad of the night, Langdon went 3.674-seconds at 339.19 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster under the lights, giving the past world champion the quickest run in both of Friday’s qualifying sessions as he looks for his second No. 1 qualifier of the season.
Currently second in points, Langdon is also after his second win of the season as he is focused on keeping the team’s strong start going in Charlotte.
“It’s just a testament to the team,” Langdon said. “The guys have done a great job giving me a great race car. It’s all the hard work that they did in the off-season, a lot of things that they looked at to try to improve on from last year in the last two years, and just little by little, it’s been shown. So it’s a good feeling.
“We feel pretty confident right now that if the track conditions are hot, we feel like we can make the necessary changes. Then, when we get situations like this, where you try to throw down a little bit, we have a good handle on that as well.”
Leah Pruett is currently second with her run of 3.700 at 333.82, and reigning world champion and points leader Doug Kalitta is third after going 3.711 at 334.73.
Funny Car’s Ron Capps made the most of ideal conditions under the lights to close out qualifying in the category, ripping off a strong 3.883 at 333.91 in his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra. It continues a great streak for Capps, who shares the points lead with Matt Hagan, won in Phoenix and advanced to the final round in Pomona.
It’s an ideal sign at this point of the season and it also puts Capps in a great position to qualify first for the second time this year and the 39th time in his career. Though it’s still early, Capps loves the direction of the team and hopes for another big showing this weekend at zMAX Dragway, where he’s won four times in his career. That’s tied with Hagan for the most among active Funny Car drivers.
“This is classic zMAX. The first run there was a little humidity, and the track hadn’t been run on and everybody was tiptoeing,” Capps said. “But this place is always good and when the sun goes down, it’s great.
“We started hearing the good numbers being run ahead of us, and I could hear ‘Guido’ [crew chief Dean Antonelli] on the radio. I knew he was getting after it. If we get some cloud cover tomorrow that won’t hold, but it also depends on the humidity and the heat. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Jordan Vandergriff went to second with a run of 3.899 at 328.70 and Hagan, who won the 1,000th Funny Car race in Pomona, is third after going 3.901 at 326.16.
In Pro Stock, six-time world champion Greg Anderson showed no let-up after winning in Pomona, putting together a spectacular Friday, including a run of 6.498 at 211.23 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro that puts him in the top spot. Anderson was the only driver to dip into the 6.40s, putting him in position for third straight No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 143rd in his career.
Anderson, who is second in points to only KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn, continues to dominate in qualifying this year and performing well in Charlotte in front of his sponsor is always a good feeling for the veteran.
“It did feel very good. I can’t lie. Sometimes when you make a run, you say to yourself that we felt pretty damn good, and that’s what I said going down the race track. The scoreboard matched what I thought. I had fun today,” Anderson said.
Mr. H [Hendrick] was out here today, and he had a good time. He left before the second run and he called a little bit before it went up, and he’s like, make sure you don’t lose that pole. So I guess I got a little extra pressure there and got orders from the boss, and we got the job done. So you don’t want to lay an egg in front of the boss.”
Reigning world champion Glenn is currently second with a run of 6.521 at 210.77 and Matt Latino continues his solid season, with his 6.527 at 210.64 putting him third.
Racing close to home has always been a good thing for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith and that continued on Friday at his home track, as the defending event winner went 6.739 at 203.09 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. Should that hold, it would give Smith 60 career No. 1 qualifiers, eclipsing Angelle Sampey for the most in Pro Stock Motorcycle history.
Smith has always performed well at zMAX Dragway, winning four times, and he nearly set the speed record on Friday with his booming run. With the class racing for the first time since the season-opener in Gainesville, Smith was thrilled to start the weekend in such impressive fashion.
“I didn’t think it would stick. I drove to the center line, but all in all, it did stick, and we’re number one,” Smith said. “This is a great place to race and I love the four-wide. It’s a challenge and I’m getting old, and I like more challenges as I’m getting old.
“Tomorrow, we have the (Mission) #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, so we’re going to be competing for some extra points and I have a good quad. My goal is to go out there and win that quad and really set a time. I think if the bike had gone straight there, I would have gotten a little bit more 60-foot, and I think I could have gone .71 there. If people can go faster than that, they deserve to be number one.”
Ryan Oehler showed strong improvement on Friday, going all the way to second, while Gaige Herrera is third with a run of 6.756 at 200.50.
Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.
CONCORD, N.C. — Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 16th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, fourth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.674 seconds, 339.19 mph; 2. Leah Pruett, 3.700, 333.82; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.711, 334.73; 4. Josh Hart, 3.733, 324.59; 5. Billy Torrence, 3.748, 329.34; 6. Antron Brown, 3.761, 333.25; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.781, 327.98; 8. Jasmine Salinas, 3.783, 331.77; 9. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.789, 328.14; 10. Clay Millican, 3.792, 323.58; 11. Will Smith, 3.797, 328.22; 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.812, 328.14; 13. Maddi Gordon, 3.828, 326.32; 14. Justin Ashley, 3.877, 292.39; 15. Tony Stewart, 3.882, 277.20; 16. Dan Mercier, 3.888, 317.94.
Not Qualified: 17. Scott Farley, 4.086, 268.33; 18. Keith Murt, 7.246, 84.28; 19. Shawn Reed, 11.452, 50.44.
Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.883, 333.91; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.899, 328.70; 3. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.901, 326.16; 4. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.910, 336.40; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.932, 331.20; 6. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.933, 314.97; 7. Dave Richards, Ford Mustang, 3.939, 332.59; 8. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.941, 321.73; 9. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.981, 319.67; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.993, 305.70; 11. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.001, 282.84; 12. Hunter Green, Charger, 4.049, 313.88; 13. John Smith, Charger, 4.117, 308.50; 14. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.234, 247.47; 15. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 4.525, 198.96; 16. Austin Prock, Mustang, 4.977, 176.56.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.498, 211.46; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.521, 210.77; 3. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.527, 210.64; 4. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.539, 209.14; 5. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.545, 209.39; 6. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.553, 210.87; 7. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.553, 210.64; 8. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.555, 208.17; 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.564, 210.08; 10. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.566, 208.78; 11. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.574, 210.37; 12. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.577, 209.20; 13. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.586, 210.41; 14. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.588, 208.84; 15. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.594, 208.23; 16. Brandon Miller, Dodge Dart, 6.618, 208.84.
Not Qualified: 17. Mason McGaha, 6.622, 209.23; 18. Chris McGaha, 6.624, 209.75; 19. Shane Tucker, 6.639, 207.62; 20. Cody Coughlin, 6.777, 207.21; 21. Alan Prusiensky, 6.921, 197.31.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.739, 203.09; 2. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.752, 201.55; 3. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.756, 200.50; 4. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.759, 200.35; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.781, 201.46; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.785, 201.46; 7. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.793, 199.97; 8. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.804, 200.11; 9. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.805, 195.79; 10. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.822, 200.17; 11. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.843, 198.44; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.843, 195.99; 13. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.844, 200.02; 14. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.934, 196.70; 15. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.144, 187.29; 16. Michael Ray, Buell, 10.350, 81.45.
