By Mike Haag | Raceday San Antonio
ENNIS, Texas — Shawn Langdon took another step toward extending his Top Fuel winning streak Saturday, securing the No. 1 qualifying position at the 41st annual Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex as he pursues his fifth consecutive victory.
Langdon secured his eighth No. 1 qualifying position of the season and 30th of his career Saturday after his career-best run of 3.648 seconds at 340.39 mph during Friday night’s qualifying session held up through two additional rounds of qualifying. The performance in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster was also the quickest Top Fuel elapsed time of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
The 2013 Top Fuel world champion enters Sunday’s eliminations riding a 16-round winning streak and seeking his fifth consecutive national event victory. Langdon has won all three races in the Countdown to the Championship and could take another significant step toward securing his second world title with a victory at the Texas Motorplex.
“We’ve had a good car all weekend, so now we know where we’re at,” Langdon said. “It’s going to be a little bit warmer tomorrow, but with similar conditions we feel very confident with what we have. There’ll be some good racing tomorrow, so that’s definitely going to be a big challenge.”
Despite his impressive qualifying performance and recent dominance, Langdon said his primary focus remains on winning Sunday’s eliminations rather than adding to his growing collection of accomplishments.
“Obviously, the No. 1 qualifiers are nice, but what matters is what you do on race day,” Langdon said. “It’s always nice to have a good-running car. Obviously, it gives you a lot of confidence going into Sunday.”
Langdon, who entered the weekend with eight victories this season and a 116-point advantage over Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta, knows the championship remains the ultimate prize. After experiencing disappointments in recent championship battles, Langdon said his team has found additional motivation to finish the season on top.
“As nice as it is, if we can’t finish the deal, then all that doesn’t really mean a whole lot,” Langdon said. “Our goal is to win the championship. There’s been a lot of things that happened the last couple of years with our team. We have a lot of motivating factors from a lot of different things that have happened. They’re putting in the extra time, they’re putting in the extra effort. I think we’re all pretty much on the same page. We really want to get this done.”
Langdon credited the dedication of his crew and the leadership of crew chief Brian Husen for the team’s success. He said the team’s chemistry and growing confidence have been just as important as the results on the racetrack.
“Obviously, winning cures a lot, but also with each win, it just builds confidence within the team,” Langdon said. “It makes everybody stronger, and they just work that much harder. When you’re all on the same page and you all have the same goal, you work together as a team. I feel like we really have a good group of guys right now, and everybody’s working really well together.”
While Langdon’s Friday night performance remained unmatched, several competitors made impressive runs during Saturday’s two qualifying sessions. Three-time world champion Antron Brown recorded a career-best speed of 340.03 mph on a 3.693-second pass, while Kalitta ran 3.677 at 340.57 mph during the third session. Josh Hart also surpassed the 340-mph mark with a 3.749 at 340.83 during the final session.
Tony Stewart qualified second with Friday’s run of 3.668 at 343.70 mph, which established a Texas Motorplex track speed record. Defending FallNationals winner Kalitta qualified third with a 3.668 at 338.80, followed by Brown at 3.677 and 335.32. Leah Pruett rounded out the top five with a 3.691 at 336.05. Kalitta also collected three qualifying bonus points Saturday, while Pruett earned two and Stewart picked up one.
Langdon will open Sunday’s eliminations against No. 16 qualifier Jake Sanders, who recorded a 3.844-second run at 319.78 mph. Other first-round matchups include Stewart against Spencer Massey, Kalitta against Tony Schumacher, Brown against Dan Mercier and Pruett against Billy Torrence. Maddi Gordon will face Shawn Reed, Justin Ashley meets Clay Millican, and Hart squares off against Will Smith.
With 19 Top Fuel drivers competing for 16 qualifying positions, Lee Callaway, Charles Loftin and Cameron Ferre failed to make the field. Callaway recorded a 3.863 at 308.77, followed by Loftin at 3.926 and 281.51 and Ferre at 4.021 and 301.45.
Langdon said that statistics and winning streaks remain secondary to securing another championship. Despite his team’s dominance, he insists there is no reason to change the approach that has carried the Kalitta Air team through the playoffs.
“At the end of the day, we’re just trying to keep it as simple as possible and keep doing what we’re doing,” Langdon said. “Our main goal is to win the race, and if that’s the case, then some good results follow with that. We’re not trying to look too far ahead. We get one win, we want two. We get two, we want three. We want four, now we want five.”
Eliminations for the Texas NHRA FallNationals begin at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday at Texas Motorplex.
ENNIS, Texas — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 41st annual Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex, the 18th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.648 seconds, 340.39 mph vs. 16. Jake Sanders, 3.844, 319.78; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.668, 343.70 vs. 15. Spencer Massey, 3.758, 327.80; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.668, 338.80 vs. 14. Tony Schumacher, 3.755, 336.68; 4. Antron Brown, 3.677, 335.32 vs. 13. Dan Mercier, 3.748, 329.89; 5. Leah Pruett, 3.691, 336.05 vs. 12. Billy Torrence, 3.730, 335.35; 6. Maddi Gordon, 3.701, 333.43 vs. 11. Shawn Reed, 3.727, 333.78; 7. Justin Ashley, 3.713, 335.80 vs. 10. Clay Millican, 3.716, 332.45; 8. Josh Hart, 3.714, 337.64 vs. 9. Will Smith, 3.714, 335.80.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Lee Callaway, 3.863, 308.77; 18. Charles Loftin, 3.926, 281.51; 19. Cameron Ferre, 4.021, 301.45.
Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.852, 330.13 vs. 16. Terry Haddock, Ford Mustang, 4.033, 310.97; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.855, 334.80 vs. 15. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.985, 321.31; 3. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.855, 323.83 vs. 14. Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.930, 300.20; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.873, 333.09 vs. 13. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.925, 333.68; 5. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.874, 337.13 vs. 12. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.922, 323.93; 6. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.881, 333.83 vs. 11. Blake Alexander, Toyota Supra, 3.914, 327.92; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.896, 329.98 vs. 10. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.912, 328.37; 8. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.899, 324.61 vs. 9. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.910, 330.32.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris King, 4.038, 311.22; 18. Jeff Arend, 4.050, 315.99; 19. Jim Campbell, 4.083, 311.18; 20. Jeff Diehl, 4.331, 214.65.
Pro Stock — 1. Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.434, 213.50 vs. 16. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.495, 211.26; 2. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.443, 213.42 vs. 15. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.473, 213.03; 3. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.447, 213.63 vs. 14. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.472, 212.21; 4. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.449, 211.95 vs. 13. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.471, 211.69; 5. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.452, 213.76 vs. 12. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.469, 212.59; 6. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.457, 213.95 vs. 11. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.468, 212.01; 7. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.458, 213.37 vs. 10. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.464, 211.67; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.459, 212.91 vs. 9. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.460, 212.80.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Shane Tucker, 6.502, 213.44; 18. Mason McGaha, 6.514, 212.30; 19. Cliff Mayes, 6.621, 210.41.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.651, 203.05 vs. 16. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.880, 198.00; 2. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.653, 202.89 vs. 15. GT Tonglet, Buell, 6.873, 196.63; 3. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.659, 204.18 vs. 14. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.867, 194.12; 4. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.689, 201.53 vs. 13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.809, 196.09; 5. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.692, 202.07 vs. 12. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.803, 198.46; 6. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.718, 201.58 vs. 11. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.789, 200.60; 7. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.733, 201.13 vs. 10. Clayton Howey, Buell, 6.753, 199.21; 8. John Hall, Buell, 6.735, 201.72 vs. 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.750, 199.17.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Hector Arana, 6.969, 197.19; 18. Blaine Hale, 7.624, 176.88.
