Only two races remain in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and championship battles continue in all four categories.
This weekend, NHRA begins its final West Coast swing of the season with a trip to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before the finale at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif., on Nov. 17.
Here’s what to watch for this weekend:
Prock’s First Championship?
Out of all drivers across NHRA’s top four categories, only Austin Prock can clinch a championship by the end of the weekend in Sin City.
Prock, who’s stellar season has consisted of seven wins and a Funny Car record-tying 13 No. 1 qualifiers, holds a whopping 147-point advantage over teammate Jack Beckman, who’s filling in for an injured John Force.
Notably, Force is scheduled to attend this weekend’s events at Las Vegas, his first time back at the race track since his June crash at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Behind the John Force Racing brigade, Matt Hagan, fresh off a win at the Texas Fall Nationals, is in third (-168 points).
Ron Capps finished runner-up to Hagan in Texas and sits fourth in the standings, 180 points back while Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals winner Bob Tasca III is a distant 211 markers out of the lead.
Top Fuel’s Intense Battle
Perhaps NHRA’s tightest points battle throughout the Countdown to the Championship has been in Top Fuel, where Justin Ashley has a slim 47-point advantage over three-time champion Antron Brown.
Lurking behind the top two are former champions Shawn Langdon (-76), Steve Torrence (-88) and Tony Schumacher (-105), as the chase for a title remains wide open.
Last year, Ashley reached the final round before Mike Salinas derailed his hopes of victory. Ashley is also coming off a victory in the series’ latest event at Texas Motorplex.
Can Glenn Or Stanfield Find An Edge?
The Pro Stock points battle has swayed slightly since the six-race Countdown began, however, regular season points leader Dallas Glenn has built a cushion over Aaron Stanfield.
After Stanfield snagged a victory at Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway, Glenn has won two of the last three Countdown events, allowing him to extend his advantage to 53 markers.
Greg Anderson is 90 points out of the lead while defending champion Erica Enders is in fourth, 111 points out of the lead.
Herrera Looks To Stay Hot
Defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Gaige Herrera heads to Las Vegas with plenty of momentum after outgunning title rival Matt Smith in the finals at the Stampede of Speed in Texas.
With two victories in the first four Countdown races, Herrera has gapped the six-time champion by 62 points. Herrera’s Vance & Hines Motorsports teammate Richard Gadson is a distant 161 markers behind.
As it appears to be a two-rider race for the title, Smith will need Herrera to falter as the 31-year-old rider has reached the semifinals in every round of the Countdown thus far.