Following a standout season in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Series, Derek
Menholt rolled into the 2025/2026 Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by
J&A Service at Bradenton Motorsports Park with quiet momentum and a brand-new centrifugally supercharged Corvette. He’s since qualified in the two quickest 32-car Pro Mod fields in history and went to the $75,000 final round at the U.S. Street Nationals, building further momentum going into the Winter Series finale, the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by Red Line Oil, Feb. 26-28.
Menholt partnered with Scott Tidwell Racing to run the full 2025 NHRA Pro Mod
season, where he finished fifth in the championship points standings thanks to
performances that included a runner-up finish at the prestigious U.S. Nationals
and his first career win at the Midwest Nationals in St. Louis.
“I know there were people wondering how we ended up in the [U.S. Street
Nationals] final, or whether we really belonged there. But we’ve been in four Pro
Mod final rounds in the last six months,” Menholt pointed out. “I think we had a
better year than maybe people give us credit for, especially late in the NHRA
season and at the Flying H race. I’m just more comfortable now because of how
many runs we’ve made over the last year. Seat time makes a big difference,
whether it’s testing or racing, and we’ve had a lot of it.”
Menholt debuted his new Pro Line Racing 4.9 Hemi-powered ’19 Corvette at the
Winter Series opener, the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion
Raceworks, and qualified No. 30 with a 3.614-second pass before losing to John
Doc in the opening round.
The Billings, Montana-based driver came back stronger at the U.S. Street
Nationals presented by M&M Transmission earlier this month. That started in
qualifying, where Menholt jumped to the No. 8 spot with a 3.568, putting him
solidly in the first-ever all-3.50-second, 32-car Pro Mod field. Another five drivers
ran in the 3.50s and didn’t qualify.
“It’s amazing, really, when you think about how many good cars are out there,”
Menholt said. “We spent two weeks testing before that race, knowing it was going
to be tough. To have 70 cars of that caliber all in one place racing, it’s huge.”
Menholt drew PDRA Pro Boost star Melanie Salemi in the opening round and
defeated her with a 3.555 to her 3.585. He then drew the driver with the biggest
target on his back, Jason Harris. The Snowbirds winner needed to win the U.S.
Street Nationals and the WSOPM to collect a $1 million bonus through the Elite
Motorsports Million, but Harris shook the tires while Menholt powered to a 3.565.
“I wanted to beat [Harris] just as badly as I would’ve wanted to beat anyone else
we drew,” Menholt said. “I always kind of see myself as an underdog, so every
round I’m just going up there trying to win. My focus is always on having a good
light and running a clean race. I don’t take any round lightly.”
In the tricky third round, Menholt pedaled his way to a 3.774 to finish ahead of
John Doc, avenging his first-round loss to Doc at the Snowbirds. He then recorded
low E.T. of the semifinals, a 3.588, to stop rookie Peter Norton and his 3.604.
Menholt met up with fellow NHRA Pro Mod driver Stevie “Fast” Jackson in the
final round with $75,000 on the line. Jackson’s screw-blown Motion Raceworks
“Shadow 3.0” ’68 Camaro lost reverse after the burnout, so the Killin’ Time Racing
crew had to push the car back to the starting line. When the tree dropped,
Menholt left .006 seconds too soon, turning on the red light and awarding the win
to Jackson. Both drivers ran their cars to the finish line, though, with Jackson
posting a 3.566 to Menholt’s 3.570.
“I saw the red light come on before I left the starting line,” Menholt said. “When
Stevie didn’t back up, I didn’t think he was playing games, but there’s always that
split second where you wonder – is he going to leave or not? I didn’t want to
assume I didn’t need to be good on the tree just because he might have had an
issue. My mindset was still to go for it. I knew he’d be good on the tree and his car
would be fast.
“When I saw the time slip, I was actually relieved that he was .011 on the tree and
ran as well as he did,” Menholt added. “If he’d been slow or late, I probably
would’ve beaten myself up.”
The World Series of Pro Mod is now squarely in Menholt’s crosshairs. He’s no stranger to the event, as he competed in all three editions at Bandimere Speedway in Denver. Driving his turbocharged Top Sportsman Camaro, he won the race-your-way-in Wild Card Shootout at the original $100,000-to-win race in 2017, suffered a crash in 2018, and drove his daughter’s Top Dragster in 2019 just to be a part of the race.
“Before 2017, we were running the car in Top Sportsman, and I always joke that I
should probably give [Wes Buck] credit for a lot of bad life choices since that day,”
Menholt said. “But Pro Mod had always been something we wanted to do, and at
the time we were aiming toward NHRA Pro Mod. Everything we’ve done since
2017 has really been based around getting into Pro Mod racing.”
He’s going into this year’s WSOPM with the best shot he’s had at winning the
winner-take-all prize, which is now up to $150,000. He’s also in the running for
the Winter Series championship, as his runner-up at the U.S. Street Nationals
moved him up to sixth in the standings.
“Just getting those rounds of eliminations in gives us a lot of confidence,” Menholt
said. “We’re going into the World Series to win – it’s not like we’re just hoping to
qualify. Qualifying alone is an accomplishment, but we believe we’re a car that
can compete and contend.”
The post U.S. Street Nationals Runner-Up Derek Menholt Carrying Quiet Momentum Into World Series of Pro Mod first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
