The second-to-last event in the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series has reached the midway point, with qualifying fields set and the cars in the KB Titan Racing camp revved up and ready for Sunday eliminations. Dallas Glenn, driving the RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, earned a career 16th start from the No. 1 position and scooped up six bonus points in his quest to defend the championship. Things are looking bright for Glenn, but two race days remain to decide the title, and nothing is certain. Fellow KB Titan engine campaigners Greg Anderson and Matt Hartford are still well in the hunt.
Anderson, driving the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro, also earned six bonus points and is not far behind in the championship chase (79 points). Hartford and his Total Seal Chevrolet earned three bonus marks for his Friday night provisional pole, and he’s 47 points back in the No. 3 position. Sandwiched between them is Elite Motorsports driver Greg Stanfield, who is No. 2 in the standings and one round behind Glenn. The In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona will count for points and a half, so much ground can be made up at the season-closer – but what happens on Sunday in Las Vegas could be critical to the final result.
KB Titan Las Vegas Qualifying Roundup
Qualifying in Las Vegas was an unusual affair. Whereas the weather at this event is typically dry, the air was weighted with water. Elevated vapor pressure necessitated changes to the rear-end and transmission gearing, clutch set-up, and engine tuning, and data from years past that matched the conditions proved minimal. Hartford’s team hit the nail on the head and scored the provisional pole, but Saturday saw a different outcome as Glenn raced to a qualifying-best 6.620, 205.91 for the pole. He will race Alan Prusiensky in the first round on Sunday.
“Today, I really had to make sure I focused,” said Glenn, who admitted he wasn’t in top form on Friday to take full advantage of the conditions. “We knew the air was going to be a little bit better today, and last night we just wanted to make a run that didn’t blow the tires off. We put down a decent run, and then came out today to try to get No. 1. Thankfully, we were able to put down a really nice run in Q3, and I drove well. I did my job, the crew chiefs did their job, and everything worked. Going into tomorrow, hopefully we have a car like we did in Dallas [where he was low qualifier and won the event], and I can go out there and do my job and have a similar result.”
With a strong pair of runs on Saturday that netted important points, Anderson’s best time of 6.622, 205.16 in the HendrickCars.com Camaro has him in the No. 2 position. The eight-time Las Vegas winner will go head-to-head with Chris Vang in the opening round. Matt Latino, who favors the Las Vegas dragstrip more than any other and has reached multiple final rounds in the Four-Wide race here, earned three bonus points with one of the quickest cars in two of the four sessions. The PowerEdge/FASS Diesel Systems Chevrolet was a powerful 6.628, 205.47 for the No. 3 position, and that will line the second-generation driver up with Shane Tucker in the first round.
Hartford’s 6.632, 206.57 landed the Total Seal Camaro in the No. 4 position, and he will race Kenny Delco in round one. Pro Stock veteran Michael Hiner tuned Deric Kramer’s KB Titan Racing-powered Get BioFuels Chevrolet to a 6.633 for the No. 5 spot – his best start since the Winternationals. The performance was accompanied by a bonus point and instigated a first-round meeting with Jeg Coughlin Jr. Kramer also holds top speed of the event so far at 206.92 mph.
Rookie of the Year contender Cody Anderson and his J&A Service/Humphrey Heating & Air/HendrickCars.com Camaro clocked a best time of 6.639, 204.70 to start from the No. 7 position, locking in his 13th start from the top half of the field in the first 19 races of his career. He will race Aaron Stanfield in round one. Eric Latino’s 6.646, 205.82 in the GESi Chevrolet was good for the No. 8 spot and a meeting with Erica Enders. Latino, who plans to transition back to racing Pro Mod in 2027 to campaign for the up-and-coming KB Titan Pro Mod division, has started from the top half of the field at all but six events in 2026.
Hartford Earns Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award
On Friday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, KB Titan Racing-powered Matt Hartford was quickest of the lot to vault to the provisional pole and earn the low qualifier bonus award. The Ted Wiens Trick or Traction Award went to the quickest driver in the later session that evening, and along with the accolades came a $1,500 bonus. Hartford and his Total Seal Piston Rings Chevrolet Camaro raced to a strong 6.632-second pass to claim top honors and the cash. He also locked down three valuable bonus points.
“I have a really badass crew, and they give me a hotrod that can go out there and run to the pole. They’ve done it multiple times this year, and it’s a pleasure to get in the car knowing it’s going to be as good as it can get,” said Hartford on Friday evening. “There were definitely tricky conditions out there tonight; we thought we could go to the front, and were trying to, but we also knew there was a chance we might not get down tonight. Thankfully, it took it …. The points are adding up quick, and this is coming to a close really quick.”
When questioned about the pressure of challenging for what would be his first Pro Stock world in the final days of the 2026 NHRA Countdown to the Championship, Hartford was even-keeled.
“At this point, I don’t feel any pressure at all because it’s going to be what it is,” he said. “If we can come out here and win this race, or if we were to lose first round or anything in between, that’s what happens, that’s what we did as a team, and we have to deal with it. If you go into it with all the pressure, I promise you, I’m not going to do well. It’s better to keep my mind clear of it, and math is a great thing — the points will add up on their own, and at the end someone will tell us where we finished. That’s how I’m looking at it.”
Eliminations at the 26th annual Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals are set to take place on Sunday at 11 a.m. PST at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The post Reigning World Champ Dallas Glenn Earns Fourth No. 1 Qualifier of the Season in Las Vegas first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
