Shawn Langdon “jaw drops” drag racing’s all time terminal speed mark while winning Inaugural NHRA event…..
On a day when Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon again made the fastest run in Top Fuel history, the standout powered to the win on Monday at the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR, defeating Spencer Massey in the final round at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park to finish off one of the most dominant days in NHRA history.
Jordan Vandergriff (Funny Car), Troy Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and John Hall (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 15th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the first of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
In the final round, Langdon went 3.664-seconds at 346.15 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster, powering past Massey’s 3.764 at 327.75 to pick up his sixth victory of the season and second in a row.
He also moved back into the points lead, delivering one unbelievable statement run after another. That included an incredible blast of 3.663 at 346.95 in the semifinals against teammate Doug Kalitta, making the fastest pass in NHRA history.
That shattered the run of 345.00 from Valdosta and Langdon again topped 346 mph in the finals against Massey. All four of his runs on Sunday were 342 mph or faster, while he also made the quickest run of the year, going 3.652 to open the day against Maddi Gordon.
It also kept Langdon perfect at new venues on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour after earlier wins this year in Valdosta and Maryland. The performance in front of a big Monday crowd was a major statement to open the Countdown to the Championship, as Langdon’s 28th career win gave him an 11-point lead over Kalitta.
Astoundingly — points leader Shawn Langdon recorded drag racing’s all time fastest terminal speeds while winning the Inaugural Great Lakes Nationals event in Michigan!
“It just goes to show it takes everything,” Langdon said. “You have a facility like U.S. 131 that takes a lot of pride in their facility. It’s a great track and then you get some good conditions and really anything’s possible. It all starts there and my guys have been doing such a great job.
“Brian (Husen, crew chief) made perfect calls and he races smart. It was just getting everything in sync and the car showed what it was capable of. We knew that it was going to be good, but to be able to do that for four runs today, I’m just proud of my guys to get this win. There was just a lot of good things going on this weekend.”
Massey went to his first final round in more than a decade, defeating Tony Schumacher, Josh Hart and Tony Stewart on Monday.
In Funny Car, Jordan Vandergriff enjoyed a remarkable turnaround, going from the 16th qualifier to the winner’s circle at the playoff opener, defeating points leader Matt Hagan in the final round with a strong 3.858 at 329.43 in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS for John Force Racing.
Vandergriff didn’t make it down the track during any of the four qualifying sessions and smoked the tires off the starting line in the opening round of eliminations. But No. 1 qualifier Austin Prock went red to hand Vandergriff the round win and the Funny Car newcomer rolled the rest of the way, making three runs in the 3.80s to pick up his third career victory.
Jordan Vandergriff’s 3rd career event win came from the #16 qualified spot.
It’s also the first win for a No. 16 qualifier in Funny Car since Del Worsham won from the final spot in 2003 and it came at a perfect time to open the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
The victory continues Vandergriff’s standout debut season in the loaded category, as he also moved to second in points behind Hagan with the win in the championship round. He now trails the four-time champion by just 23 points and this one certainly meant a great deal for Vandergriff.
“We capitalized on some good luck in that first round and I’m just very fortunate to be part of this team and for this opportunity. We came out of round one, diagnosed the problem and fixed it. Today’s win is a total credit to my entire team. Funny Car is a battle and I recognize how hard these next five races are going to be. It wasn’t easy today and it’s not going to get any easier. It’s a gauntlet out there, but thankfully today was our day.”
Hagan reached his 113th career final round and the sixth this year after defeating Joey Haas, Alexis DeJoria and Jack Beckman.
Pro Stock’s Troy Coughlin Jr. won for the first time in 41 races, snapping a winless streak that dated back to 2024 in a major way, defeating points leader Matt Hartford in the final round with an impressive run of 6.515 at 209.69 in his JEGS car.
It’s the sixth career victory for the young standout and this one meant a great deal for Coughlin, earning his first win during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season.
3rd generation family driver Troy Coughlin Jr., was a gratified winner for Pro Stock!
To reach the championship round, he defeated Matt Latino, Greg Anderson, who qualified second, and then his uncle, Jeg Coughlin Jr. His Elite Motorsports car showcased noticeable performance improvements during eliminations on Monday and Coughlin marveled about the work his team has done the past two years.
There were some tough times over this recent stretch, but that Monday even more special for Coughlin, who jumped to five spots to fifth in points with five races remaining in 2026.
“There’s a lot of emotions with this. It’s extremely exciting,” Coughlin said. “I love the history of this sport and to have a Diamond Wally celebrating 75 years of this great sport, it’s majestic. I’m very humbled and everyone at Elite Motorsports has worked extremely hard to give us the best.”
Hartford, who qualified No. 1 and moved into the points lead, reached the finals for the sixth time in 2026, defeated Shane Tucker and Greg Stanfield on Monday. His points lead now stands at five points over Stanfield on a wild day that featured a first-round loss from regular season champion reigning world champ Dallas Glenn. Anderson and Glenn are both 11 points behind Hartford.
On a completely wild day in Pro Stock Motorcycle that featured upsets galore, John Hall finished the day in style, winning the opening race of the Countdown to the Championship for the second straight year by defeating first-time finalist Marc Ingwersen in the championship round after Ingwersen went red.
John Hall won in Pro Stock Motorcycle – his 6th career victory.
Hall went 6.808 at 194.22 on his Outlaw Beer Buell for Matt Smith Racing in the finals as well, picking up his first win of the season and the fifth in his career.
Ingwersen played the upset card well on Monday, defeating two-time champ Gaige Herrera in the first round, reigning world champ and points leader Richard Gadson in the second round and then No. 1 qualifier Ryan Oehler in the semifinals.
Hall wouldn’t be denied, though, as he defeated Clayton Howey, teammate Matt Smith and Ronald Procopio Jr. to reach the final round. Monday was a major shakeup in the category to open the postseason, but Hall was steady throughout and again started the Countdown with a major statement.
Gadson leads Hall by a single point, with M. Smith 25 points back in third.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Friday through Sunday with the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, N.C.
Some persistent rain disruptions played havoc with the entire Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals schedule.
In addition to the Pro racing being moved to a Monday finish – some other eliminators contended were unable to be completed and have been deferred. Other than the four Pro categories – the only two other classes that were run to completion were for Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Sportsman.
TAD produced an enormous win for the highly dedicated Canadian team — Doucette Racing from Winnipeg Manitoba. With Alberta-native Greg Hunter at the controls for Doug Doucette’s homebuilt and creative injected nitro car this weekend — the team emerged as winners — with Hunter earning his first ever NHRA national level victory.
TAD racing produced a big moment for Canada – with Doug Doucette’s car (driven by Greg Hunter) taking home the title!
Hunter (who now resides in Colorado) qualified #3 (5.231 secs) after the one and only round of qualifying for the class. Following that his team pieced together an impressive series of runs (all in the 5.2 secs zone) while topping Mitch Kalitta, Jamie Noonan and Jared Dreher. In the championship round racing JP Guitierrez’s supercharged TAD — the decision came early when “JP” had a red light foul start. Greg Hunter cruised to very gratifying 5.221 secs 275.40 mph clocking.
Top Sportsman produced the 5th win of the season from Wisconsin’s Curt Fredrich who wheeled his nitrous-injected Camaro past Bob Mandell’s supercharged ’55 in the final.
TS winner – Curt Fredrich
Fredrich has moved into the overall NHRA World Championship points lead for TS, with that victory.
Deferred Sportsman racing will see the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown (4 cars left) now run off at NHRA St. Louis and the TAFC final (Phil Esz versus Sean Bellemeur) contested at NHRA Dallas.
Posted with files by NHRA Communications & Bruce Biegler
Photos by David Ostaszewski
