Dallas Glenn / RAD Torque Systems Camaro — rips NHRA record while winning!…
Four-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown picked up his second win of the season on Sunday at Texas Motorplex while J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 18th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the fourth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Brown went 3.706-seconds at 335.75 mph in his Matco Tools dragster in the final round, picking up his second victory of the 2026 season when Gordon left early and went red.
It’s also the 83rd career win for Brown, who put together an impressive hit list just to reach the finals. He knocked off Dan Mercier, Leah Pruett and points leader Shawn Langdon to reach the final round, ending Langdon’s perfect run in the Countdown to the Championship and snapping his four-race winning streak.
Langdon still has a healthy lead in the points standings as the runaway favorite for the championship, but it remained a big weekend for Brown, who moved to third in points with his fourth career victory at Texas Motorplex. Late-season wins are always special and that certainly holds true for Brown in Dallas.
Antron Brown scored the Top Fuel title at NHRA@ Texas Fall Nationals.
“This class is really intense right now, and we know we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Brown said. “The class was dropping bombs out there today, but that Matco Tools horsepower came through, and we went 301 mph to half-track in round two, so we’re definitely getting the combination figured out.
“I like where we are, I like where we’re heading, and we’ve got to keep going. Our main focus is that we go into these races with confidence, and we know that we can compete, and we know we can win. Once this team gets a little motivation and drive and gets some confidence, we’re a tough competitor to compete with.”
Gordon reached her third final round in an impressive rookie season, defeating Shawn Reed, reigning world champion Doug Kalitta and Justin Ashley. Langdon’s points lead now stands at 139 over Kalitta, with Brown 224 back in third.
Maddi Gordon – NHRA’s likely pick as Pro Rookie of the Year – went to her 3rd career final round in Top Fuel.
Funny Car’s J.R. Todd kept his championship hopes alive with a terrific showing at Texas Motorplex, finishing off a productive day by taking down points leader Matt Hagan in the final round thanks to a run of 3.931 at 331.76 in his 12,000-horsepower DHL Toyota GR Supra for Kalitta Motorsports.
Todd jumped all the way to third in points, now trailing Hagan by 119 points with two races left in NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. It’s Todd’s first Funny Car win in Dallas, too, as he became just the fourth driver in NHRA history to win in both Top Fuel and Funny Car at Texas Motorplex (Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein and Mike Dunn).
JR Todd stayed in the championship points mix for NHRA fuel FC racing after his 24th career victory.
This one came at the perfect time, too, as Todd defeated Spencer Hyde, Alexis DeJoria and Ron Capps to reach the final round. Hagan left first in the championship round, but Todd was a solid .059 on the starting line, quickly tracking down Hagan to earn his 24th career victory.
This was a must-win weekend for Todd, who knows there’s still work to do if there’s any chance of getting past Hagan in the championship hunt. But he was thrilled with how his team performed on Sunday in Dallas.
“This is special in so many ways. It’s tough to get a win, period, especially in the Countdown, and Matt Hagan’s been making it really hard for everybody in the category,” Todd said.
“Those guys are hard to get by, and to do it here, in Dickie [Venables] home state, and running [against his previous team] means a lot to him to beat them in the final. I’m proud of my guys, and now we’ve got to execute in these last two races, but either way we’re going to enjoy this.”
Hagan advanced to the finals for the fifth time in the past six races and the seventh time this season after defeating Hunter Green, Daniel Wilkerson and Jordan Vandergriff, who remained second in points. Vandergriff trails Hagan by 98 points.
Pro Stock’s Dallas Glenn finished off a dominant weekend in style, moving back into the points lead after holding off Matt Hartford in the final round with a stellar run of 6.478 at 212.30 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.
Dallas Glenn piloted the RAD Torque Systems Camaro to a booming new national ET record while winning PS at the Texas Fall Nationals.
It’s the fifth win of the year for Glenn, who also went back-to-back at Texas Motorplex.
This year’s win included a record-breaking performance, as Glenn made the quickest run in Pro Stock history on Saturday with a spectacular run of 6.434 at 213.50. That gave him the No. 1 qualifying spot and he followed that on Sunday with four great runs.
He continued to live in the 6.40s during eliminations, defeating Stephen Bell, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson to reach the final round. Following a .010 reaction time, Glenn continued to pull away for the victory, taking the points lead in the process. His advantage now stands at 14 points over Stanfield, which means things will be tight – and thrilling – the rest of the way.
“Anytime you win a Countdown race, it definitely sticks with you. To go up there and know that you’re going to have the opportunity in the weather conditions to be able to set a national record, to make a fantastic run in the right conditions and have the fastest car every single run.”
Hartford reached the finals for the seventh time in his standout 2026 campaign, defeating Aaron Stanfield, Chris Vang and T.J. Coughlin. He remains third in points and trails Glenn by 41 points.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith kept his championship hopes alive on Sunday, defeating points leader Richard Gadson on a holeshot in the final round, going 6.660 at 203.08 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell to win for the fourth time this season.
Smith was a brilliant .006 on the starting line against the reigning champion, which was enough to hold off Gadson’s quicker 6.654 at 203.79 at the finish line. It is Smith’s 46th career victory and his second at Texas Motorplex, and it’s also one he desperately needed if a seventh world championship is in his future.
The Pro Stock Motorcycle title at Dallas went to Matt Smith
He knocked off Malcolm Phillips Jr., Chase Van Sant and Ryan Oeheler to reach the final round and made a big jump in performance in the final round to hold off Gadson and stay in the title conversation. He’s now third in points with two races remaining and trails Gadson by 85 points.
Gadson reached the finals for the eighth time in 2026 thanks to round wins against Marc Ingwersen, Angie Smith and Steve Johnson. He leads teammate Gaige Herrera by 58 points heading to Vegas.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Oct. 29-Nov. 1 with the MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Sportsman Racing Summary
Top Alcohol Dragster — Shawn Cowie, 5.207, 279.69 def. Alan Bradshaw, Broke.
Canada’s Shawn Cowie was dominating while winning TAD – it was his 29th career NHRA nationals level score!
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Shane Westerfield, Chevy Camaro, 5.479, 266.73 def. Doug Gordon, Camaro, 5.478, 241.27.
Competition Eliminator — Christopher Benham, Spitzer, 7.426, 148.89 def. Monty Bogan, Pontiac G5, 8.447, 127.30.
Super Stock — Jeremy Duncan, Chevy Camaro, 9.213, 139.09 def. Larry Hodge, Chevy Cavalier, 9.717, 131.67.
Stock Eliminator — Chris Knudsen, Chevy Camaro, 10.226, 125.13 def. Paul Stalba, Chevy Corvette, 10.205, 119.68.
Super Comp — Kyle Secrest, Dragster, 8.895, 174.11 def. Tom Stalba, Dragster, 88.911, 174.45.
Super Gas — Kyle Pawuk, Chevy Bel Air, 9.920, 161.98 def. Jeremy Demers, Chevy Corvette, 9.929, 157.55.
Super Street — Ross Ragland, Chevy Camaro, 10.913, 133.28 def. Cary Huber, Chevy Nova, 10.932, 126.45.
Top Dragster — Crystal Peterson-Martinez, Dragster, 6.111, 214.79 def. Dylan Hough, Dragster, 6.163, 223.99.
Top Sportsman — Chanse Bullock, Pontiac GTO, 6.526, 206.01 def. Jim Thorp, Chevy Camaro, 6.218, 230.38.
Sportsman racing at the Texas Motorplex also featured the 2026 running for the Jegs All-Stars competition – an annual aggregate gathering of the very best NHRA class sportsman racers from each of NHRA’s geographical divisions.
Winners for that event (held Oct 17th) included Melanie Johnson (TAD) and Sean Bellemeur (TAFC) for Top Alcohol competition.
Other Jegs Sportsman All-Stars titles went to Jeff Taylor (Comp), Michael Chitty (Top Sportsman), J.R. Baxter (Top Dragster), Larry Hodge (Super Stock), Jeff Strickland (Stock), Bo Butner (S/G 9.90), Kyle Secrest (S/C 8.89) and Kevin Myers (S/ST 10.90).
Melanie Johnson won the Jegs All Stars TAD event title.
Doorslammer Series Wraps!
Reigning two-time Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown world champion Mark Pawuk closed out the 2026 season with a victory outrunning Lee Hartman in the final round. In a close race, Pawuk’s winning time of 7.522 seconds at 185.07 mph got to the finish line first over Hartman’s 7.542 second, 183.32 mph run.
Prior to Pawuk’s Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown win, his son Kyle Pawuk won in Super Gas. The Pawuks became the 17th family to double-up at an NHRA national event.
“When Kyle won today, I said the kid can’t outdo The Cowboy and I got the win,” said Pawuk, who has been known as The Cowboy throughout his career. “My dream all year has been to win one of these diamond Wallys. Dallas was one I never won, and I finally got it done.”
Texas NHRA FallNationals Factory Stock Showdown winner – Mark Pawuk
Jonathan Allegrucci drove his Mustang Cobra Jet to the overall 2026 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series title. Allegrucci clinched that world championship racing his Ford Mustang.
The 2026 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series featured five different national event winners including 4X national event winner and 2026 world champion Jonathan Allegrucci. The series will return in 2027 with the schedule release slated for later this year.
The Texas Motorplex event also included the 4th and final event for 2026’s inaugural Right Trailers-presented Outlaw Street category.
That 8-car result produced a first time winner with Carson Baker (file photo below) edging out opponent Clay Cole by a scant 3.666 secs 205.35 mph to 3.662 secs margin within the 1/8th mile shootout competition.
Posted with files by NHRA Communications – Elon Werner – Bruce Biegler
Photos Courtesy of NHRA + Auto Imagery + LMLC Media
