NHRA lands another rousing event at fabled Route 66 Raceway facility….
Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon rolled to his second straight victory, defeating four-time world champion Antron Brown in the final round to close out the 26th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK at Route 66 Raceway.
Chad Green (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the sixth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Langdon went 3.775-seconds at 335.90 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster to get past Brown, who went up in smoke early in the run. It is the 25th career win for Langdon, who extended his points lead and knocked off Shawn Reed, teammate Doug Kalitta and Josh Hart to reach the final round.
The weekend started as a struggle for Langdon and his Kalitta Motorsports team, but they put together a solid run to close out Saturday and win the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. That momentum continued through four rounds on Sunday and it continues a remarkable first six races for the past world champion, who has already picked up three wins this season, qualified No. 1 twice and made the fastest run (345.00 mph) in NHRA history.
“We definitely had a big turnaround from qualifying,” Langdon said. “Brian (Husen, crew chief) realized that we had to tame some things down in the car — but at the end of the day, we had to get some information for our car to make a good run.”
Drag racing’s all time fastest driver (345.00 mph) Shawn Langdon was a winner at NHRA’s Route 66 Nationals.
Brown reached his first final round of the season and 145th in his career thanks to round wins against T.J. Zizzo, rookie Maddi Gordon and Leah Pruett. Kalitta remained second in points, 54 behind his teammate Langdon.
Funny Car’s Chad Green continued to build his championship contender case on Sunday in Chicago, slipping past Alexis DeJoria in a thrilling final round duel with a run of 3.945 at 324.75 in his Bond-Coat/bproauto Ford Mustang. It’s Green’s second win in the first six races of the 2026 campaign, putting the Texan fourth in points and right in the thick of the championship battle.
On Sunday, he was again consistent against a loaded field, defeating Valdosta winner Jordan Vandergriff, Ron Capps and back-to-back world champion Austin Prock to reach the final round.
Green and DeJoria put on a remarkable side-by-side show in the finals, but Green had enough for the slim wire-to-wire victory, joining Capps as the only two-time winners in the class thus far in 2026.
“The whole team aspect of this sport doesn’t get enough recognition. This is 100 percent a team sport, just like football, basketball and any of those other sports,” Green said. “The driver, they get a lot of the fame and glory, but to be honest, what these guys do is just incredible. To go out there and turn on four win lights on a Sunday is so difficult. I can’t say enough about the team.”
Chad Green continued his impressive strides forward – winning in NHRA fuel FC.
DeJoria continues to build on her solid season in a class filled with contenders, picking up her second runner-up of the year after round wins against Spencer Hyde, Dave Richards and four-time world champion Matt Hagan. She’s sixth in points, as Capps and J.R. Todd leave Chicago tied for the points lead, with Hagan nine points behind.
Fan favourite Jack Beckman was the quickest FC at Joliet – qualifying #1 at 3.913 secs.
In Pro Stock, Aaron Stanfield snapped KB Titan Racing’s undefeated streak in 2026, picking up the first win of the season for Elite Motorsports when six-time world champion Greg Anderson went red in the final round. Stanfield went 6.595 at 208.46 in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Janac Brothers Racing car, winning for the first time since 2024.
KB Titan Racing had won the previous 10 races dating back to last year, but the tide seemed to turn in Chicago this weekend. Erica Enders qualified No. 1 and won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, and Stanfield rolled to his 15th career win on Sunday.
He defeated Matt Hartford, teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. and then his father, Greg, to reach the final round and took advantage of Anderson leaving well early in the championship round. Stanfield now sits sixth in points as he hopes this keys a strong turnaround for his team and all of Elite Motorsports.
Aaron Stanfield’s 15th career win – snapped KB Titan’s Pro Stock racing event winning class stranglehold.
“Our team’s definitely been waiting on this moment for a pretty good while. It’s the best feeling you can get out here when you see that win light come on in the final round,” Stanfield said. “We had a great weekend and a great day today, and kind of had some luck roll my way in that final round. We felt like we had something in South Georgia, but the racetrack was a little tricky, so we really didn’t get to see it there.
“I think we saw it this weekend with a combination of KB being a little off,” Stanfield said. ” I think these guys have been working really, really, really hard. I think we’re going in the right direction and I felt very focused today.”
Anderson reached the final round for the third time this year and the 195th time in his career after taking down his son, Cody, Matt Latino and Enders on Sunday. Dallas Glenn stayed in the points lead, 29 ahead of Anderson.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith continued his hot streak on Sunday, but not in the way he wanted, defeating his wife, Angie, when her bike broke on the starting line. Matt cruised to the win with a run of 6.835 at 185.41 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell, as the six-time world champion won his second straight race.
To win for the 44th time in his career, Smith defeated Jianna Evaristo, Gaige Herrera, who was previously undefeated at Route 66 Raceway, and Brayden Davis to reach the final round. An exciting side-by-side race was he planned against his wife in the championship round, but her bike went silent when the light turned green, giving Matt the win and sending him to second in points.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith – collected career victory #44
Angie, who qualified No. 1, was denied her first win in nearly four years. She advanced to her 12th career final round after knocking off Chase Van Sant and reigning world champion Richard Gadson, who remained the points leader.
Saturday’s overflowing event schedule was highlighted by the latest episodes for the popular Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Top Fuel points leader (and Sunday’s winner) Shawn Langdon picked up his first victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge this season by knocking off Justin Ashley in the final round of that bonus event.
Alexis DeJoria (Funny Car) collected her first win as a driver for John Force Racing when she defeated her teammate Jordan Vandergriff in the final. Erica Enders in (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera in (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge titles.
Erica Enders won the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge race for Pro Stock on Saturday.
The Route 66 Nationals weekend also included the latest season rounds for Factory Stock Showdown and Pro Mod class racers.
For the FlexJet-Presented Factory Stock Showdown, it was points leader Jonathan Allegrucci racing to his second consecutive national event win. Allegrucci, the No. 2 qualifier, outran No. 1 qualifier Jason Dietsch in an all-Ford Mustang Cobra Jet final round. Dietsch was the defending 2025 Route 66 Nationals winner and is also a teammate to Allegrucci.
Jonathan Allegrucci collected in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown event with his Ford Mustang.
NHRA’s JBS Equipment Pro Mod category was another ferocious affair which concluded with the 3rd career win for Montana’s Derek Menholt, driving his new Chevy Corvette – above. (Details for that class racing can be found posted to our Pro Mod Portal : HERE)
NHRA Sportsman Racing (Final Round Summary)
Jamie Noonan was the TAD winner for the Route 66 Nationals.
Top Alcohol Dragster — Jamie Noonan, 5.353, 269.03 def. Angelle Sampey, 5.404, 267.80.
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Sean Bellemeur, Chevy Camaro, 5.496, 264.86 def. Annie Whiteley, Camaro, 5.560, 264.49.
Competition Eliminator — Bruno Massel, Chevy Cobalt, 6.979, 197.08 def. Jeremy Bailey, Agan, 7.107, 178.00.
Super Stock — Dave Dupps Jr., Chevy Cobalt, 8.700, 149.96 def. Gene Mosbek, Plymouth Savoy, 10.167, 127.97.
Super Stock went to Dave Dupps’ Chevy Cobalt.
Stock Eliminator — Jamey Picht, Buick Grand Sport, 10.995, 117.58 def. Brent Voges, ford Mustang, 12.534, 104.48.
Jamey Picht won in Stock with his F/SA Buick Grand Sport
Super Comp — Nathen Prose, Camaro, 8.915, 169.04 def. Chad Lamont, Dragster, 8.897, 172.83.
Super Gas — Rock Haas, Chevy Camaro, 9.937, 159.66 def. Chris Sullivan, FordMustang, 9.881, 160.86.
Super Gas winner – Rock Haas
Top Sportsman — Larry Demers, Chevy Cobalt, 7.130, 192.77 def. Brian Brown, Chevy Camaro, Broke.
Top Dragster — Daniel Wood, Dragster, 6.670, 204.60 def. Mark Grame, Dragster, 6.821, 198.06.
In Top Sportsman — Larry Demers won for the 6th time in his career.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action May 29-31 with the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Md.
Posted with files by NHRA Communications – Elon Werner – Bruce Biegler
Photos by David Ostaszewski & Courtesy of NHRA & Auto Imagery
Link to the LMLC Media event photo gallery from NHRA Chicago : HERE (Coming soon)
