Reigning world champ Dallas Glenn made the quickest run in Pro Stock history in front of a massive crowd on Saturday at Texas Motorplex, taking the No. 1 qualifying position with a world-record run at the Texas NHRA FallNationals.
Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 18th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the fourth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Pro Stock had three qualifying sessions on Saturday and Glenn made the most of it, delivering a historic run of 6.434-seconds at 213.50 mph in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, setting a new benchmark on a day where all 16 qualified drivers ran in the 6.40s.
It made for the quickest field in Pro Stock history by a massive margin, but nobody could match Glenn, who earned his third No. 1 qualifier of the year and 15th in his career. He starts eliminations against Stephen Bell, looking to win for the fifth time in 2026 and close the gap on points leader Greg Stanfield.
“When it left, it felt really good and I was telling myself, don’t mess this up because you’re on a run,” Glenn said. “I went through the finish line, made the corner; the cameras are looking at you, which is always a good sign. But then, nobody came over to say anything. I get out of the car, and I’m like, well, did I get it? Then Rick Dodge was like, ‘Yep, you got it.’
“It’s definitely very satisfying. This was my 15th No. 1 qualifier, and I think I have 25 wins right now. In my opinion, it’s harder to qualify No. 1 in Pro Stock than it is to win the race, because it’s so easy to make a mistake. I think that really says something because it’s not easy to win one of these races.”
Aaron Stanfield qualified second with a 6.443 at 213.42 and Matt Latino took third after going 6.447 at 213.63. G. Stanfield qualified ninth, which could set up a potential meeting with Glenn in the second round.
In Top Fuel, the quickest run of the year wasn’t topped on Saturday at Texas Motorplex, as Shawn Langdon’s career-best run of 3.648 at 340.39 from Friday in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster held up in front of a huge crowd.
It gives Langdon an impressive eighth No. 1 qualifier of the year and 30th in his career, as the dominant points leader also made a strong pass during Saturday’s first session. Next up is trying to stay perfect in the Countdown to the Championship with his fourth straight playoff win and his fifth consecutive win, as he opens eliminations against Jake Sanders.
“We’ve had a good car all weekend, so now we know where we’re at. It’s going to be a little bit warmer tomorrow, but with similar conditions we feel very confident with what we have. There’ll be some good racing tomorrow, so that’s definitely going to be a big challenge,” Langdon said.
“Having eight No. 1 qualifiers is nice, but it’s good to have a good running car. It gives you a lot of confidence going into Sunday. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to keep it as simple as possible and just keep doing what we’re doing. Our goal is to win the race and if there are some good stats that follow, then great. But we’re not trying to look too far ahead.”
Tony Stewart qualified second with a 3.668 at 343.70 and defending event winner Doug Kalitta is third after going 3.668 at 338.80.
Jack Beckman ended Funny Car qualifying impressively, but it was Friday’s run of 3.852 at 330.13 in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS for John Force Racing that handed the past world champion his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the year.
That was a massive run under the lights, but Beckman closed out Saturday with another stellar run, going 3.855 at 337.13 to take plenty of momentum into eliminations, where a big day could put the veteran back in the championship mix.
He’ll open raceday against Terry Haddock, looking for his third win of the season and second in his career at Texas Motorplex.
“Today’s run on 105-degree racetrack, pound for pound, was the run of the weekend,” Beckman said. “Today’s run is outstanding, and it probably gives us data for two of the four runs tomorrow. I thought somebody could run an .86 on that last qualifying session. I thought a perfect run would be that, and Dan [Hood] and Tim [Fabrisi, crew chiefs] exceeded that. I just think that was an amazing run relative to conditions.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we have to depend on [points leader Matt Hagan] going out early and that’s always a difficult situation. Now Austin [Prock] had a first-round loss in the Countdown. We’ve had a first-round loss in the Countdown. I’m going to talk to Matt and try to convince him he needs one or two first-round losses in the Countdown because if they don’t do that, we’re going to have a tough time getting around them.”
Points leader Hagan qualified second with 3.855 at 334.80 and Cruz Pedregon took the third spot after Friday’s run of 3.855 at 323.83.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera took advantage of a flawless day at Texas Motorplex, making the quickest run in each of the final two sessions, including an impressive 6.651 at 203.05 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
The two-time champion earned his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and, coming off his victory in St. Louis, is riding a wave of momentum as well. He entered the weekend less than 35 points behind teammate and reigning world champion Richard Gadson and has a chance to make up ground on raceday, which starts with a first-round matchup with Hector Arana Jr.
“Today was very satisfying,” Herrera said. “We had awesome conditions all day, and we went and got the No. 1 qualifier back, the little extra points there, which is what really counts right now at this point. Plus, we’ve got the momentum going into Sunday. My bike’s been running very well. I feel good on the bike, and I’ve been making good runs between the left and right lanes, so I’m feeling good going into tomorrow.”
Joey Gladstone qualified second with a 6.653 at 202.89 and Matt Smith’s 6.659 at 204.18 puts him third.
Eliminations for the Texas NHRA FallNationals begin at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday at Texas Motorplex.
This story was originally published on October 17, 2026.
The post Glenn Sets Pro Stock Record; Langdon, Beckman, and Herrera Qualify No. 1 at Texas NHRA FallNationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
