IN A YEAR OF FIRSTS FOR RACING LEGEND TONY STEWART, THE TOP FUEL POINTS LEADER PICKED UP HIS FIRST CAREER No. 1 QUALIFIER AND WON THE MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE RACE FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THE 24TH ANNUAL NHRA SUPER GRIP THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS! – MOTORSPORT AMERICA PHOTO
Nearly $400,000 on the line for new regular season championship across NHRA’s four professional categories
INDIANAPOLIS (July 9, 2025) – Just four races remain in the NHRA
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season and a strong finish in
the remaining events has never meant more with the new NHRA regular
season championship, which was introduced for the 2025 season.
NHRA will award nearly $400,000 to the regular season champions in Top
Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle, with $150,000
going to the driver in both Top Fuel and Funny Car who finishes atop the
points standings at the conclusion of the prestigious Cornwell Quality
Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Aug.
27-Sept. 1.
With regular season races remaining in Seattle (July 18-20), Sonoma
(July 25-27), Brainerd (Aug. 14-17) and Indy, let’s take a look at the
top challengers for the regular season championship before the start of
the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
TOP FUEL
This has turned into a three-car battle for the regular season crown,
one that features points leader Tony Stewart, Shawn Langdon and Justin
Ashley.
Stewart currently leads Langdon by 52 points and Ashley by 77 points,
which means this one could come down to the wire. Stewart has already
grabbed a pair of victories and remains remarkably consistent this
season, while Langdon’s impressive 2025 campaign has included a pair
of wins and four trips to the final round.
Nobody has been hotter than Ashley as of late, as he’s won
back-to-back races and has advanced to the final round at six of the
past seven races. In some form or fashion, the trio have met up late
during eliminations at nearly every event, which could make for some
must-see moments at the next four stops. Langdon is 6-4 against Stewart
and Ashley, while Ashley is 4-6 against the two drivers ahead of him.
Stewart, meanwhile, is 4-4 against Langdon and Ashley in 2025.
Expect to see plenty of fireworks here and this battle could make for a
thrilling U.S. Nationals.
FUNNY CAR
It’s been a spectacular John Force Racing run in Funny Car dating back
to the start of the 2024 campaign and that trend has certainly continued
this year.
The combo of Austin Prock, Jack Beckman and John Force have won 18 of
the past 30 Funny Car races, a streak that includes six of the first 10
races this year. Prock has four of those victories, giving him a
commanding 127-point lead over Beckman, who has won twice. Paul Lee is a
distant 192 points behind reigning champ Prock, who has shown no sign of
let up since joining the Funny Car ranks.
He seems headed to a regular season championship in 2025 after leading
for nearly the entire season in 2024 as well. It would be a fitting
triumph for the team, though a hot streak by Beckman could make things
interesting.
A JFR vs. JFR battle has taken place three times this year, with Prock
holding a 2-1 advantage, including most recently in the final round at
Richmond. Based on what we’ve seen thus far (and in 2024), Prock or
Beckman seem likely to add another impressive accomplishment to their
brilliant run.
PRO STOCK
Speaking of dominant teammates, and Dallas Glenn have left
the Pro Stock field far in the rear-view mirror, at least when it comes
to the regular season championship.
Anderson, the reigning world champion, leads Glenn by just 50 points,
but the next-closest competitor, Matt Hartford, is a whopping 313 points
behind Anderson, making this the absolute definition of a two-horse
race.
A big advantage tends to happen when you combine to win seven of the
first eight Pro Stock races, which is precisely what Anderson and Glenn
have done for the KB Titan Racing team. Anderson has won four times and
Glenn is right behind with three victories, as both drivers have also
been to the final round at every race except one.
It’s a forgone conclusion one of them wins the regular-season title,
but it should be an interesting battle between the veteran and young
standout. They’re tied 3-3 in head-to-head matchups this year, with
each of those duels taking place in the final round. A few more could
decide who wins the regular season title for the first time.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: It’s Vance & Hines vs. Matt
Smith Racing for the championship. This time, it happens to be the
regular season version, but Gaige Herrera and Matt Smith are again
dueling, with Richard Gadson close behind.
Herrera leads Smith by 96 points and his Vance & Hines teammate by 111
points, but it hasn’t been quite the same dominant season from Herrera
as the previous two. Of course, that would have been nearly impossible
considering what he accomplished in 2023 and 2024. Still, he’s won
three times this year, the most for anyone in the class, which makes him
the favorite here.
But it could be an interesting fight to Indy. Each of the top three has
won this year, setting up what could be an exciting finish, especially
when they also have the upcoming GETTRX All-Star Callout taking place in
Sonoma as well.
A regular season championship is also a definite precursor to success in
the Countdown to the Championship as well. Both Prock and Herrera won
world titles starting from the No. 1 position last year, while Doug
Kalitta and Glenn each finished second. In 2022 and 2021, seven of the
eight drivers who entered the playoffs with the points lead ended up as
champions.
For more information on NHRA, including the 2025 schedule, visit
www.NHRA.com [1].
REMAINING RACES IN THE 2025 REGULAR SEASON
July 18-20: 36th annual Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest
Nationals, Pacific Raceways, Seattle
July 25-27: 37th annual DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by
PowerEdge, Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.
Aug. 14-17: 43rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Brainerd International
Raceway, Brainerd, Minn.
Aug. 27-Sept. 1: 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals,
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis.
NHRA COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS
Sept. 11-14: 40th annual Reading NHRA Nationals, Maple Grove Raceway,
Reading, Pa.
Sept. 19-21: 17th annual NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals, zMAX Dragway,
Charlotte.
Sept. 26-28: 14th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, World
Wide Technology Raceway, St. Louis
Oct. 9-12: 40th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals, Texas Motorplex, Dallas
Oct. 30-Nov. 2: 25th annual NHRA Nevada Nationals, The Strip at Las
Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas
Nov. 13-16: 60th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, In-N-Out Burger
Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, Calif.
For more ticket information, please visit www.nhra.com