Early November sees North America’s highest level Pro Mod circuits season wraps…..
Single Point Differential!
NHRA’s 10-race Congruity Pro Mod Series had it’s closest point chase in history.
In a thrilling winner-take-all final round (Nov 2nd) at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, J.R. Gray clinched his first career NHRA world championship by taking down Billy Banaka to close out the season.
The event was the final of 10 races in NHRA Pro Mod and the last of the category’s four-race “Road to the Championship” playoffs was powered by JBS Equipment.
Gray, who won three races in the regular season, was stellar on Sunday as the stakes grew with each passing round. He defeated Alex Laughlin, Kevin Rivenbark and past world champion Mike Castella to reach the final round, setting up the high-stakes championship round against Banaka.
JR Gray prevailed to win a monumental close NHRA Pro Mod World Championship title.
Gray left first with a sterling .028 reaction time and never looked back, pulling away from Banaka with a run of 5.749-seconds at 250.04 mph, clinching the event win and, more importantly, the world championship for the very first time in the NHRA ranks.
JR Gray’s Al-Anabi Performance supercharged Camaro is overseen and tuned by Canada’s Mark Savage, originally from Saskatchewan.
Gray’s dramatic final round win-light gave him the series title over Banaka by a single point: 1121 – 1120!
“The level of competition in this class is incredible. Every round, I kept going, ‘This is the most important round,’ and it was just all day long like that. To come out on top, this is my greatest victory ever,” Gray said.
Gray, who qualified No. 3, had a dominant regular season with four final-round appearances, but stumbled out of the gates in the Pro Mod playoffs, falling in the first round at the first two races. He recovered with a semifinal showing in St. Louis, knowing he likely needed to win in Las Vegas to have a shot at a championship.
Gray went 5.710 at 252.28 in the opening round and went 5.75 in the next two rounds to set up the marquee matchup with Banaka.
“It’s just amazing for it to come down the last round,” Gray said. “I just didn’t let the pressure get to me and we worked together as a team. In that final round, I wasn’t going to lift no matter what. It just felt amazing to see that win light pop up.”
Banaka, who won his first career race in NHRA Pro Mod earlier this year, qualified No. 1 and advanced to the finals for the third time this season thanks to round wins over Stan Shelton, Derek Menholt and Chip King.
Billy Banaka, who led the NHRA series points for a good portion of 2025 – was R/UP at Las Vegas and finished 2nd in final points.
The NHRA Pro Mod Series will open the 2026 season as part of the NHRA Gatornationals at legendary Gainesville Raceway on March 5-8.
Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series – Final 2025 Points
1. JR Gray, 1,121; 2. Billy Banaka, 1,120; 3. Mike Stavrinos, 1,042; 4. Mike Castellana, 1,038; 5. Derek Menholt, 1,035; 6. Sidnei Frigo, 964; 7. (tie) Alex Laughlin, 923; Mason Wright, 923; 9. Chip King, 915; 10. Mike Janis, 905.
The “new era” IHRA completed it’s 2025 Outlaw Nitro Series campaign at newly named Darana Motorsports Park (formally Galot Motorsports Park) in North Carolina. That event did include the concluding rounds by all three of that sanctioning bodies “Pro Mod” configuration class cars – namely Pro Mod, Outlaw Pro Mod and Pro Nitrous.
The Pro Mod class, which was well attended — with 24 cars opening round one — did feature a rather stunning winner when “2nd Gen” racer Ethan Steding took home the IHRA Ironman — in what was his first venture into that class competition.
Ethan, who is son to team owner and driver Kurt Steding, drove his teams screw-blowner P2 Contracting ’69 Camaro to victory after collecting five round win lights. In the final round he took the win over Kevin McCurdy — after being a little better at both the tree and down the track — at 3.568 secs 209.49 mph to McCurdy’s 3.687 secs at 200.35 mph.
Ethan Steding (shown with parents Wendi and Kurt) – won his first PM title in his first ever race entered!
The year’s final IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series event also included wins for Randy Weatherford (in Outlaw Pro Mod) and Cam Clark (Pro Nitrous).
The victory allowed Weatherford to cap off his quite memorable season in Outlaw Pro Mod. He had won the lucrative $125,000 IHRA Outlaw Pro Mod Nationals in August (at Milan MI) and here finished with his first national-event title. He got the holeshot (.026 to .075) racing Texan Frankie Taylor in the final and took a convincing 3.566 secs at 211.00 mph to 3.651 and 202.09 mph decision.
Outlaw Pro Mod class racing went to Randy Weatherford.
P/N featured an upset win by the #14 qualified car with Cam Clark just edging out Dane Wood in an incredibly close final — settled by just .001 seconds. Clark had a .046 to .054 reaction time, but his 3.698 seconds at 202.73 mph wasn’t as quick as Wood, who powered down the track in 3.691 seconds at 201.46 mph.
The P/N winner at the IHRA final season race was Cam Clark.
Posted with files by NHRA & IHRA Communications & Bruce Biegler
Photos by Dave DeAngelis, Steve Embling, Robert Richard (IHRA) and Courtesy of NHRA
