{"id":102309,"date":"2025-09-28T23:44:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T23:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/hagan-kalitta-anderson-and-herrera-victorious-at-napa-auto-parts-nhra-midwest-nationals\/"},"modified":"2025-09-28T23:44:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T23:44:06","slug":"hagan-kalitta-anderson-and-herrera-victorious-at-napa-auto-parts-nhra-midwest-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/hagan-kalitta-anderson-and-herrera-victorious-at-napa-auto-parts-nhra-midwest-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Hagan, Kalitta, Anderson and Herrera Victorious at NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four-time Funny Car world champ Matt Hagan defeated Jack Beckman in the final round on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, picking up the victory for Tony Stewart Racing and staying alive in the championship mix in front of a huge crowd at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals.<\/p>\n

Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 17th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.<\/p>\n

In the final round, Hagan went 3.979-seconds at 329.34 mph in his 12,000-horsepower American Rebel Beer Dodge\/\/SRT Hellcat, holding off Beckman\u2019s 4.036 to win for the second time this season and the 54th time in his career. After qualifying second and running well all weekend, Hagan defeated Alex Laughlin, Cruz Pedregon and Daniel Wilkerson to advance to the final round.<\/p>\n

He left first with a standout .040 reaction time and pulled away at the finish line, staying second in the points race but pulling to within 20 points of leader and reigning world champion Austin Prock with three races remaining. Hagan also won for the third time in St. Louis, hoping to replicate his 2023 finish that included a St. Louis victory and a world championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told my guys when we came into this race, you know, we\u2019re all chasing Austin. He won eight races this year, but no one is infallible,\u201d Hagan said. \u201cYou just have to be ready when they mess up, and they messed up today. Damn, the kid is beatable. We just have to be able to take advantage of that, and Mike Knudsen, Phil Shuler, Alex Conaway, they really worked hard all day and put a good racecar\u00a0beneath me.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have American Rebel Beer here, that was cool. We won our first race here in St. Louis a couple years ago and won the championship after that, and Andy Ross has been ecstatic ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckman, who was the defending event winner, reached the finals for the fifth time in 2025 and 77th time in his career after knocking off rookie Spencer Hyde, teammate Prock, who qualified No. 1, and Chad Green. He\u2019s third in points, 65 back of Prock.<\/p>\n

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In Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta rolled forward, capping off a massive weekend in St. Louis with a victory, including a run of 3.796 at 327.98 in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster to defeat first-time finalist Ida Zetterstr\u00f6m in the final round. Kalitta made the most of every opportunity in St. Louis, qualifying No. 1, defeating championship contender Justin Ashley in the semifinals and watching other championship contenders fall early on Sunday.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t the case with Kalitta, who was consistent throughout eliminations, defeating Will Smith, Steve Torrence and then Ashley, going 3.805 at 332.59 in the semifinals to keep him at bay in the title chase. That set up a matchup with Zetterstr\u00f6m, and Kalitta quickly tracked her down to pick up his third victory of the season and the 58th of his career.<\/p>\n

The 2023 world champion has done well at St. Louis over the years and this season was no different, as Kalitta won for the fifth time at World Wide Technology Raceway. He now leads Ashley by 86 points and Kalitta Motorsports teammate Shawn Langdon by 127 points.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of the rounds today, my car was just on a rail. That\u2019s really what it took,\u201d Kalitta said. \u201cConditions were pretty slick out there, just going A to B, and and this whole Mac Tools group, I\u2019m just real proud of them. For me, it\u2019s just a huge relief. You\u2019re in the Countdown races trying to do your best and they\u2019re giving you a car that\u2019s going down the track like that, it\u2019s real special for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a big points day for the guys that we were racing. Getting by Justin, that was a huge round. My car went down the track, so that was huge. We\u2019re definitely trying to get as many points as we can to try to stay ahead of these guys and keep doing what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zetterstr\u00f6m reached the finals for the first time in her NHRA career, knocking off Tony Stewart, Kyle Wurtzel and reigning world champion Antron Brown earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

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Pro Stock reigning world champion Greg Anderson is alive and thriving again in the championship hunt, picking up a crucial playoff victory on Sunday in St. Louis, driving past Matt Hartford in the finals with a run of 6.531 at 209.33 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.<\/p>\n

Anderson\u2019s KB Titan Racing teammate, Dallas Glenn, won the first two playoff races, extending his points lead, but Anderson answered back on Sunday, knocking off Glenn in the second round en route to his sixth victory this season and the 112th overall for the six-time world champion.<\/p>\n

This one was necessary, as Anderson pounced on the opportunity, also defeating Mason McGaha and rookie Matt Latino to reach the final round. Anderson posted a strong .021 reaction time, cruising to the victory and keeping Glenn within striking distance. He now trails Glenn by just 25 points heading into the final stretch run.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday was crazy. I\u2019m whipped,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cAfter yesterday,\u00a0I probably didn\u2019t come in with the most confidence but what a recovery my guys made with my racecar. It was just not happy in qualifying and that\u2019s not normal for us. They figured it out and I made four very high-quality runs today and got the light I needed to get each time.<\/p>\n

\u201cTiming is everything, and it just all comes down to what you do when in drag racing. A lot of big rounds \u2013 second round with Dallas Glenn should have never happened, but you have to play the cards you\u2019re dealt. It was either going to be a horrible day for me or a horrible day for Dallas, but still a great day for KB Titan. I\u2019m proud of this race team. It\u2019s an honor to work for them, drive for them, manage this team, and be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartford reached the championship round for the third time in 2025 and the 20th time in his career after defeating Cristian Cuadra, Erica Enders and Troy Coughlin Jr., moving to third in points.<\/p>\n

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After a shocking first two races in the Countdown to the Championship, back-to-back Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Gagie Herrera got back on track in a major way, knocking off teammate Brayden Davis in the final round when Davis went red by just .001. Herrera went 6.791 at 199.61 on his RevZilla\/Motul\/Vance & Hines Suzuki, picking up his sixth victory this season and the 27th in his career.<\/p>\n

Herrera fell in the second round at the playoff opener in Reading and lost in the opening round last weekend in Charlotte, a shocking turn of events for the rider who has dominated the class the past two-plus seasons. But on his birthday, Herrera finished off a standout weekend that saw him qualify No. 1 and then knock off Jianna Evaristo and Angie Smith to reach the final round.<\/p>\n

Davis had an unfortunate red light to hand the victory to Herrera, who jumped back to second in points. With three races left, Herrera trails teammate and points leader Richard Gadson by just 29 points, knowing this was a must-win weekend if he wanted to pick up a third straight championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means a lot. Moving from fourth\u00a0to second in points, that\u2019s awesome, but I\u2019m still the hunter or a chaser. I have to chase my teammate,\u201d Herrera said. \u201cBrayden did me a little favor there in the semis and then Matt [Smith] did me a big favor. That\u2019s like the best birthday present ever, him going out early. That makes it interesting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the best part for me and Richard and everyone in the top half of the points; it just makes it a lot more fun. Getting three (wins) in a row here, it means a lot to me. I wish all the Countdown races were here, honestly. But it was an awesome\u00a0day, and to get to win on your birthday, there\u2019s just nothing\u00a0like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis reached the final round for the second time in his standout rookie season, defeating Chris Bostick, Chase Van Sant and Gadson along the way.<\/p>\n

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Oct. 8-12 with the 40th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex in Dallas.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on September 28, 2025. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Hagan, Kalitta, Anderson and Herrera Victorious at NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four-time Funny Car world champ Matt Hagan defeated Jack Beckman in the final round on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, picking up the victory for Tony Stewart Racing and staying alive in the championship mix in front of a huge crowd at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Greg […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}