LAS VEGAS — Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon powered to the top on Friday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, taking the provisional No. 1 position to open this weekend’s MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge.
Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 19th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the fifth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Langdon went 3.672 seconds at 332.59 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster, putting the past champion on track for his ninth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 31st in his career. He’s also been dominant when bonus money is on the line this year, as Langdon won Friday’s “Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award,” which comes with a $3,500 bonus.
There’s also the opportunity for Langdon to clinch his second world championship this weekend, as he’ll head into Saturday 144 points up on Kalitta Motorsports teammate, reigning world champion Doug Kalitta.
“Typically here it’s really dry, so this is a little different conditions with the [water] grains up a little bit, a little bit of moisture in the air,” Langdon said. “So it’s just a matter of finding the power and then it’s just applying it to the track. The track’s good, so you just have to get the power level right and then get the clutch right for the track. Having two good runs today definitely gives you a little bit of confidence going into tomorrow.
“Tomorrow and for the rest of the year, we just have to do what we did today. At the end of the day, we can’t falter because we know the history of Alan Johnson and Doug Kalitta, and we know what they’re capable of. We still have to go out there and do our jobs at the end of the day because if we falter, they will capitalize.”
Tony Stewart is currently second after going 3.676 at 339.28 and Josh Hart is third with a run of 3.688 at 325.61.
In Funny Car, Jack Beckman put on a stellar show under the lights in Vegas, delivering an impressive blast of 3.836 at 335.32 in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS and earning the “Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award.”
That means a $3,500 bonus for Beckman, who moved a step closer to his fifth top qualifier of the year while also making the second quickest run of the 2026 season. He went a touch quicker in Martin, Mich. earlier in the Countdown and turned in another impressive pass on Saturday as he looks to end the year on a strong note.
Beckman is currently fifth in points with two wins this year, but the veteran and past champion can still have a big finish to another standout season.
“When you get conditions like this, it’s always an educated guess on what you think you can get away with,” Beckman said. “We were still in the window here, but we had a couple of delays. You don’t want this to go too long and the track to get out of that area. Clearly, we had some pretty good data for that. When these things are on a run like that, it’s hard to put words to how cool nitro Funny Car is, and the fact that I had my hands full, it stayed stuck and it put up that number, fantastic and good for our team.
“Barring a miracle, we’re not going to catch [points leader Matt] Hagan. Our goal is to win two races, and if that means we finish second, that’s good. Whoever wins this year clearly is going to earn it. Nobody backed into getting into the Countdown and everybody in the top six are killer cars right now.”
His John Force Racing teammate, Alexis DeJoria, is currently second with a 3.874 at 333.33, while J.R. Todd, who entered the weekend third in points, is third after going 3.889 at 336.82. Points leader Hagan is currently ninth with a 3.945.
Pro Stock’s Matt Hartford won the $1,500 bonus for the “Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award,” going 6.632 at 206.57 during the second session in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro.
It was an impressive run in tricky conditions for the championship contender and Hartford came through impressively, giving him the chance to earn his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season. He entered the weekend third in points and 41 back of leader Dallas Glenn. Hartford, though, isn’t looking that far ahead, and is instead focused on running well again on Saturday.
“There were definitely tricky conditions out there tonight,” Hartford said. “We thought we could go to the front. We were trying to go to the front, but we also knew that there was a chance that it might not get down tonight.
“When you’re in conditions like this, with more headwind, and you got a lot of water in the air by comparison for what we see in Vegas, it’s a lot of different gearing in the car. There’s a lot of changes that we have to make and there’s a lot of differences we have to make for the weather conditions. Tomorrow is just another day. We have to go out there, execute, try to try to hold on to No. 1. The conditions will be good enough that this isn’t a guaranteed hold the pole.”
Matt Latino is qualified second after a 6.635 at 205.79 and Stanfield is third after going 6.639 at 204.63.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera made the quickest run of both sessions, doing that right off the trailer when the two-time world champion went 6.835 at 195.42 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
Herrera is on track to earn his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and, remarkably, the 36th in his young career, but he’s more concerned with trying to track down his teammate, points leader and reigning world champion Richard Gadson. Herrera is second in points and trails Gadson by 58 points entering the weekend, looking to make up ground in Las Vegas before heading to the finale in Pomona.
“I feel like the last couple races have been fighting the weather, the wind,” Herrera said. “I feel like every time we come to Vegas, usually the wind is blowing the opposite direction than it is right now. So, I had to change up our bike setup for here compared to normal.
“It’s Richard [Gadson, teammate] and Matt [Smith] basically, still in the championship battle, and you know it puts me in a different mindset. It just makes me hungrier when there’s a mix of riders to go out there and do the best I can, cut good lights, and try to ride as best as I can.”
Gadson is second with a 6.841 at 194.41 and Joey Gladstone took third after a 6.856 at 195.65. Gladstone also earned the “Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award” and the $1,000 prize.
