{"id":104996,"date":"2026-10-11T05:44:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T05:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/nhra-countdown-hits-halfway-point\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T05:44:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T05:44:04","slug":"nhra-countdown-hits-halfway-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/nhra-countdown-hits-halfway-point\/","title":{"rendered":"NHRA COUNTDOWN HITS HALFWAY POINT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\n

NHRA COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP HITS HALFWAY POINT IN DRAMATIC FASHION<\/strong><\/p>\n

INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 9, 2026) \u2013 The first three races of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs have certainly lived up to the billing. There\u2019s been record runs, sellout crowds, dominant performances, surprise winners and massive moves made \u2013 and we\u2019re only at the halfway point of the six-race playoffs.<\/p>\n

After a thrilling three-week sprint in Martin, Rockingham and St. Louis to get us started, only three races remain during an incredible season. Up next is Texas Motorplex to cap off the Stampede for Speed, followed by Las Vegas and then the can\u2019t-miss finale, the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals on Nov. 12-15 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.<\/p>\n

With three races left in NHRA\u2019s 75th anniversary season, here\u2019s a breakdown of what\u2019s happened and what we could expect the rest of the way:<\/p>\n

TOP FUEL<\/strong><\/p>\n

HALFWAY STATUS: <\/strong>The two-horse race between Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta that\u2019s dominated the entire season (and much of last year, too) has continued in the Countdown. That\u2019s not surprising for most, but Langdon and his team have appeared to reach another level. He\u2019s won four straight races counting Indy and has started to pull away. A first-round loss in St. Louis hurt Kalitta, and he\u2019s now 116 points back of his teammate. Langdon is a perfect 12-0 in the playoffs thus far \u2013 setting another speed record in Martin \u2013 and seems remarkably determined to put a massive exclamation point on his season.<\/p>\n

BIGGEST MOVER: <\/strong>Will Smith entered the Countdown 12th in points and just two round wins. After three races in the playoffs, it seems like a totally different car. Smith is now fifth in points \u2013 jumping a whopping four spots in St. Louis \u2013 and has six round wins in the Countdown, including his first final round appearance. Third through ninth is packed tight, so there could be some significant changes by the end of Pomona, but there\u2019s no doubt the rookie has made a strong impression in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S NEXT:<\/strong> At this rate, it\u2019s certainly not too early to talk about the possibility of Langdon sweeping the Countdown \u2013 something only Top Fuel standout Steve Torrence has done. Langdon has been equally dominant thus far in the postseason and it\u2019s difficult to see anyone \u2013 minus Kalitta \u2013 who can match him performance-wise. Langdon been close to a title the last two seasons, which has driven the entire team, and it doesn\u2019t seem like a slip-up is in their near future.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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FUNNY CAR<\/strong><\/p>\n

HALFWAY STATUS: <\/strong>After a raucous regular season, this has lived up to the billing already. Jordan Vandergriff won from the No. 16 spot to kick the playoffs off with a bang, followed by wins from points leader Matt Hagan and Austin Prock. There\u2019s been mega-matchups as early as the first round, which has paved the way for major shifts in just three races. Hagan has been steady, while Vandergriff is in second, 72 points back. Prock is 106 points out of first in his journey for a three-peat, but it feels like there\u2019s plenty of dramatics still in store the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

BIGGEST MOVER<\/strong>: Things looked dire for Prock after a first-round loss in Martin after qualifying No. 1. But in true workmanlike fashion, the reigning back-to-back world champ isn\u2019t going down without a fight. He went through an incredible field in St. Louis and is now third in points, up three spots from where he started the playoffs. The championship dream is still very much alive for the standout.<\/p>\n

In the other direction, it\u2019s unfortunately been three-time world champ Ron Capps, who has dropped four spots (second to sixth) while hitting a slump at the worst possible time.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S NEXT: <\/strong>Another Hagan-Prock duel would be a heck of a lot of fun, but Vandergriff seems up for the challenge as well. Even if it becomes a three-horse race down the stretch, the class is so loaded, the likes of Jack Beckman, J.R. Todd and Capps will certainly have some say in what goes down the rest of the way. Without question, early-round showdowns will be unavoidable. Hagan and Prock have won the last three races in Dallas, with Prock winning last year, while they\u2019ve also both been great in Las Vegas and Pomona.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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PRO STOCK<\/strong><\/p>\n

HALFWAY STATUS:<\/strong> This hasn\u2019t gone the way anybody likely thought, as Elite Motorsports has swept the first three races, with Troy Coughlin Jr., points leader Greg Stanfield and Aaron Stanfield getting wins. Greg Anderson hasn\u2019t been to the semifinals yet in the playoffs, while last year\u2019s world champ, Dallas Glenn, is after his first playoff win after winning four of the five races in 2025. Matt Hartford has stayed steady in third, but Greg Stanfield has suddenly become the man to beat in what\u2019s been a wild three races.<\/p>\n

BIGGEST MOVER<\/strong>: Coughlin kicked off Elite Motorsports\u2019 impressive start to the Countdown with the victory in Martin and he followed it up by qualifying No. 1 in St. Louis \u2013 with a track record, no less. His car\u2019s turnaround has been eye-opening and he\u2019s moved from 10th to fifth in three races. Plenty more is in reach, too, if he stays hot like this. Rookie Cody Anderson has also jumped up three spots \u2013 helped by his first career final in Rockingham \u2013 as he continues his rapid ascent in the class.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S NEXT: <\/strong>Honestly, it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess. This class gets seemingly more unpredictable by the race, so the final three races could go in wildly different directions. Does Anderson or Glenn get hot, as they\u2019ve been prone to do? Is there a first-time champion? How about the consistent efforts of Greg Stanfield \u2013 maybe he continues that and rolls to the world title. All \u2013 plus many more \u2013 are all in play in what should be a fascinating finish.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

HALFWAY STATUS:<\/strong> Vance & Hines riders Richard Gadson and Gaige Herrera, who have combined to win the last three world titles, have made a pretty strong statement the last two races, with Gadson winning in Rockingham and Herrera dominating in St. Louis. At the same time, title contenders Matt and Angie Smith haven\u2019t had quite the same success, quickly falling behind with three races remaining. Matt had momentum after winning Indy, but that has quickly shifted to Gadson and Herrera. Ryan Oehler has turned heads, too, moving to fifth in points.<\/p>\n

BIGGEST MOVER: <\/strong>Let\u2019s go with John Hall, who is the only rider in the class to jump more than one spot in the postseason. That was helped immensely by Hall\u2019s Martin victory and he\u2019s currently third in points. That\u2019s the best showing for Matt Smith Racing thus far in the postseason, as both Matt and Angie have dropped two spots. There\u2019s time to reverse that, but MSR will need a big weekend in Dallas to get back on track.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S NEXT:<\/strong> Gadson has been remarkably consistent going on two years now, so it\u2019s hard to see him getting flustered and tripping up down the stretch. If that\u2019s the case, it might be difficult for even the likes of Herrera to track him down, even currently at 32 points back. Gadson won in Dallas a year ago and a repeat would obviously put him on a great track. Still, plenty can happen if MSR or Oehler can break through at Texas Motorplex.<\/p>\n

To purchase tickets to any of the final three races in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, please visit www.NHRA.com\/tickets<\/a>. For more information about NHRA, including the full television schedule for the 2026 playoffs, please visit www.NHRA.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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THE FINAL THREE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oct. 14-18:<\/strong> 41st annual Texas NHRA FallNationals, Texas Motorplex, Dallas<\/p>\n

Oct. 29-Nov. 1:<\/strong> 26th annual MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by MOPAR, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas<\/p>\n

Nov. 12-15:<\/strong> 61st annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, Calif.<\/p>\n

To purchase tickets, please visit www.nhra.com\/tickets<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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The post NHRA COUNTDOWN HITS HALFWAY POINT<\/a> appeared first on Drag Racing List<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 NHRA COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP HITS HALFWAY POINT IN DRAMATIC FASHION INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 9, 2026) \u2013 The first three races of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs have certainly lived up to the billing. There\u2019s been record runs, sellout crowds, dominant performances, surprise winners and massive moves made \u2013 and we\u2019re only at […]<\/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-104996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104996","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=104996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104996\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}