NHRA on FOX broadcasts begin with last weekend’s inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS

INDIANAPOLIS – NHRA announced today that the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway will air on FOX adjacent to a FOX football broadcast on Sunday, Oct. 4, highlighting an exciting NHRA on FOX schedule for NHRA’s 75th anniversary season.

The FOX broadcast in St. Louis will mark a sixth straight year a race in the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship playoffs will be broadcast adjacent to a football game on FOX, including last year’s broadcast that drew the highest viewership in NHRA history. It will be the first time the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals will appear on that broadcast, as the standout track serves as the third of six playoff races during the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ milestone campaign in 2026.

The annual stop at World Wide Technology Raceway has been a popular destination for years, consistently attracting sellout crowds to the fan-favorite facility. It is also home to some of the quickest and fastest passes in NHRA history, serving as a premier destination in the Countdown to the Championship and for the special FOX broadcast.
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MECHANICSVILLE, MD — The inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS crowned four champions Sunday at Maryland International Raceway, highlighted by a history-making Pro Stock Motorcycle victory and a breathtaking all-teammate Top Fuel final decided by one inch.

TOP FUEL: Langdon Hat Trick

Shawn Langdon and the Kalitta Air team completed a three-race win streak — and their fourth victory of the 2026 season — in one of the closest finishes of the year. Langdon’s 3.762-second run at 334.90 mph edged teammate Doug Kalitta’s 3.766 at 334.24 mph in an all-Kalitta Motorsports final by two ten-thousandths of a second, roughly one inch at the stripe. The win extends Langdon’s lead in the Top Fuel points standings to 76 points over Kalitta heading into the New England Nationals.
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MECHANICSVILLE, MD – The wait is over for back-to-back Funny Car world champion Austin Prock, as the standout won for the first time in 2026 on Sunday in front of a huge crowd at Maryland International Raceway, defeating John Force Racing’s Jack Beckman in the final round of the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS.

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Angie Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the seventh of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA season. Smith’s win was the 200th victory by a woman in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

Prock went 3.956-seconds at 324.20-mph in his 12,000-horsepower PPG Ford Mustang, holding off Beckman’s 3.971 at 323.50. It is Prock’s 22nd career win, but the first since leaving John Force Racing in the off-season after two straight world titles and joining Tasca Racing.
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MECHANICSVILLE, MD – The No. 1 qualifier positions are set heading into Sunday’s elimination rounds at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS, Race 7 of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series at Maryland International Raceway.

Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon held on to the top spot he claimed on Friday, powering his Kalitta Air dragster to a 3.744-second pass at 336.23 mph to remain the No. 1 qualifier. Langdon will enter Sunday’s eliminations looking for his fourth victory of the 2026 season.

In Funny Car, veteran Jack Beckman moved to the top of the order on Saturday, clocking a 3.935-second run at 326.79 mph in his PEAK Chevrolet SS to bump Cruz Pedregon from the No. 1 spot. It marks Beckman’s second consecutive No. 1 qualifier of the season as he seeks his first win of the year at the inaugural Potomac Nationals.
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Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon leads the way on Friday at Maryland International Raceway

MECHANICSVILLE, MD — Friday qualifying is in the books at the NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS, Race 7 of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series at Maryland International Raceway, and four drivers have staked their claim to provisional No. 1 qualifier honors heading into Saturday.

TOP FUEL

Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon grabbed the provisional top spot with a blistering 3.758-second pass at 336.23 mph in the Kalitta Air dragster. It marks the second No. 1 qualifier position of the 2026 season for Langdon, who arrives at MIR sitting atop the championship standings.
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MECHANICSVILLE, MD – Coming off back-to-back Top Fuel wins, points leader Shawn Langdon made the quickest run on Friday in NHRA’s debut at Maryland International Raceway, powering to the provisional No. 1 position at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS.

Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Angie Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the seventh of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Langdon, who already has three wins in 2026, went 3.758-seconds at 336.23 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster, putting on a remarkable show in his first appearance at the facility. The past world champion is after his third No. 1 qualifier of the year and 25th in his career as he continues to enjoy a spectacular start to NHRA’s 75th anniversary season.
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MECHANICSVILLE, MD – This weekend marks a special opportunity for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Kelly Clontz and she’s determined to make the most of it as the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series makes its debut at Maryland International Raceway for the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS.

Clontz, a Hughesville, Md. native, got her racing start at the facility, winning track championships and advancing her career. But this weekend is the first time she’ll compete at the track on her Steamfitters UA Local 602/ArchKey Solutions Suzuki in Pro Stock Motorcycle, meaning the excitement level is at an all-time high for the veteran rider.

With hundreds of family and friends expected to be on hand for this weekend’s NHRA debut at Maryland International Raceway, Clontz is eager to show off a facility that means a great deal to her.
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MECHANICSVILLE, MD – Like the rest of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Alexis DeJoria will be making her debut at Maryland International Raceway as part of this weekend’s inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS.

It makes for a new challenge, but with the way DeJoria and her John Force Racing team are performing, she heads to the first-time venue with plenty of confidence.

DeJoria has enjoyed a resurgent 2026 campaign thus far, advancing to the final round at the most recent race in Chicago. That gives her two runner-up finishes already in the loaded Funny Car category, putting the veteran sixth in points and firmly in the championship conversation.

She’s looking to grab more momentum this weekend in her 12,000-horsepower John Force Racing Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car as DeJoria looks to win for the first time in five years.
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