Dallas Glenn came to Texas Motorplex on a mission. The reigning Pro Stock world champion led the points for the bulk of the year, won the regular season championship, and looked to be in great shape to fight for a second consecutive Mission Foods Drag Racing Series title. But when the Countdown to the Championship started, he lost a little of his footing. The lead was in the hands of the opposing team, and Glenn was determined to get it back. The only way he could get it done at the 41st annual NHRA Texas FallNationals was by winning the event, and he did just that.
Throughout qualifying, it became abundantly clear that the driver of the RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro was up to the task. Glenn not only powered to his third No. 1 one of the season and 15th of his career, but he also reset the national record for elapsed time along the way, clocking a 6.464-second past that rocked Texas Motorplex. The entire Pro Stock class was quicker than ever before, locking down a historic all 6.4-second 16-car field for the first time ever and sending 14 drivers to new personal-best numbers. Notably, Glenn’s national record held even as the field rose to chase it.
“This weekend is definitely up there,” said Glenn to the media, decked out in the signature Texas Motorplex winner’s cowboy hat and holding his fifth NHRA 75th Anniversary Diamond Wally. “Anytime you win a Countdown race, it sticks with you, but to go up there and know that you’re going to have the opportunity and weather conditions to set a national record, then to do it with the way the entire class is running right now, it’s pretty amazing. To know you have the best car going into raceday and be able to do your job and execute four times, it’s incredibly hard to do, so this ranks right up there.”
Starting from the No. 1 position with that fierce KB Titan power, Glenn drew Stephen Bell in the first round. His opponent launched first with an impressive .011-second reaction time to his own respectable .027, but Glenn’s 6.464, 212.87 proved untouchable, and Bell exited on a 6.527. That same round, incoming points leader Greg Stanfield’s car stumbled, and he was stunningly sidelined. The door was open for Glenn, and he seized the moment, charging to victory over Jeg Coughlin Jr. in round two — (.021) 6.482, 212.33 to (.059) 6.503, 211.21 — before meeting with a familiar friendly foe.
Six-time world champion Greg Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, has battled back and forth with Glenn in each of the past few seasons. This year has been no different, as the most winning driver in the history of the class has remained well in the conversation and in contention for a seventh world title. The two have met four previous times on raceday this season — twice in the final — and in the semis of the FallNationals, they met again. Coming into the day, the teammates were tied with two wins each, and on Sunday in Dallas, Glenn tipped the stats in his favor as he put up a (.028) 6.498, 212.22 to (.051) 6.520, 211.42.
The victory sent the Sportsman racer-turned-Pro Stock champion to his 47th final round in the class, where he met with KB Titan-powered Matt Hartford. Although Hartford had struggled to find the formula in qualifying, he’d not had the same troubles on raceday. A 6.495 against red-lighting Aaron Stanfield in the opening act was followed by a 6.501 accompanied by top speed of the round, 212.98, to defeat Chris Vang in round two. After surviving a pedalfest in the semifinals with Martin winner Troy Coughlin Jr., Hartford cashed in his ticket to his seventh final round of the season and 28th of his Pro Stock career. It was the fifth time this year the two have met during eliminations.
“Matt Hartford is an extremely tough competitor, but I knew my car was fantastic, and I knew we had a little bit left in it from the semis,” said Glenn, who won the final, (.010) 6.478, 212.30 to (.038) 6.496, 212.37. “Even if I lost, it was still going to be a fantastic day with points, which was what I planned on coming into the day. My crew chiefs did a fantastic job, and I don’t feel like I messed anything up. I did my job, cut a good light, and just tried to make sure Matt Hartford didn’t sneak around me.”
Glenn now has a 14 point lead over Greg Stanfield, with Hartford back 41 marks in the No. 3 spot, and Greg Anderson No. 4 and 78 points back. Two races remain to determine the season title, with the final event – the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona — counting for points and a half.
The next stop on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour will be the MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, Oct. 29-Nov. 1.
The post Reigning Pro Stock Champ Dallas Glenn Regains Points Lead, Leaves Dallas With National Record and Win first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
