By Jerry Jordan, Editor
ENNIS, Texas – Dallas Glenn made the quickest run in Pro Stock history on Saturday at Texas Motorplex, resetting the world record with a 6.434-second pass at 213.50 mph to take the No. 1 qualifying spot at the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals.
Shawn Langdon in Top Fuel, Jack Beckman in Funny Car and Gaige Herrera in Pro Stock Motorcycle also qualified No. 1 at the 18th of 20 races in the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the fourth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Glenn Resets the Pro Stock Record
Pro Stock ran three qualifying sessions on Saturday and Glenn made the most of them in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro. His record run led the quickest field in Pro Stock history, with all 16 qualified drivers running in the 6.40s.
It is the reigning world champion’s third No. 1 qualifier of the year and the 15th of his career. Glenn opens eliminations against Stephen Bell, looking for his fifth win of 2026 as he works to close the gap on points leader Greg Stanfield, who he entered the weekend trailing by 71 points.
Dallas Glenn, the reigning Pro Stock world champion, described the record run from the seat of his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.
“When it left, it felt really good and I was telling myself, don’t mess this up because you’re on a run,” Glenn said. “I went through the finish line, made the corner; the cameras are looking at you, which is always a good sign. But then, nobody came over to say anything. I get out of the car, and I’m like, well, did I get it? Then Rick Dodge was like, ‘Yep, you got it.’
“It’s definitely very satisfying. This was my 15th No. 1 qualifier, and I think I have 25 wins right now. In my opinion, it’s harder to qualify No. 1 in Pro Stock than it is to win the race, because it’s so easy to make a mistake. I think that really says something because it’s not easy to win one of these races.”
Aaron Stanfield qualified second at 6.443 at 213.42 and Matt Latino was third at 6.447 at 213.63. Greg Stanfield qualified ninth at 6.460 at 212.80, which could set up a second-round meeting with Glenn if both advance.
Glenn also spoke with Kickin’ the Tires about Sunday, when the ladder gives him a rare direct shot at the points leader if the first round breaks his way.
“I’m ready to have an all-out brawl tomorrow,” Glenn said. “Stephen Bell, I’m sure, is going to be coming after me at the 16 spot. I know that, obviously, his car can run in the 40s. I know the power they have over there, and I know he’s a very good driver. We had a fantastic race against him in Rockingham where that could have gone either way. So it’s going to be tough. So if we can get past first round and Greg Stanfield can get past first round, we’re going to put the ball in our own hands here and see if we can stop Greg Stanfield and make a very large, considerable gain on points.”
“I’m thankful I get another one of these opportunities,” Glenn said. “I would much rather have the opportunity myself than, I mean, obviously I want any one of my teammates to be able to do well. And if they happen to take out Greg Stanfield, I’m very thrilled for them. But if any chance, any time I get the chance to do it, I definitely like that more.”
“You really don’t get that many opportunities to race the guy that’s ahead of you in points that often,” Glenn said.
Langdon’s Friday Blast Holds in Top Fuel
The quickest Top Fuel run of the year was not topped on Saturday. Langdon’s career-best 3.648 at 340.39 from Friday night in his Kalitta Air dragster held up for the No. 1 spot and the dominant points leader also made a strong pass in Saturday’s first session.
It is Langdon’s eighth No. 1 qualifier of the year and the 30th of his career. He opens eliminations against Jake Sanders, looking for his fourth straight Countdown win and his fifth consecutive victory overall.
Shawn Langdon, the Top Fuel points leader for Kalitta Motorsports, talked about taking the weekend’s best car into Sunday.
“We’ve had a good car all weekend, so now we know where we’re at. It’s going to be a little bit warmer tomorrow, but with similar conditions we feel very confident with what we have. There’ll be some good racing tomorrow, so that’s definitely going to be a big challenge,” Langdon said.
“Having eight No. 1 qualifiers is nice, but it’s good to have a good running car. It gives you a lot of confidence going into Sunday. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to keep it as simple as possible and just keep doing what we’re doing. Our goal is to win the race and if there are some good stats that follow, then great. But we’re not trying to look too far ahead.”
Tony Stewart qualified second at 3.668 at 343.70 and defending event winner Doug Kalitta was third at 3.668 at 338.80.
Beckman Stays on Top in Funny Car
Beckman’s Friday night run of 3.852 at 330.13 in his PEAK Chevrolet SS for John Force Racing held up as the No. 1 qualifying effort, the past world champion’s fourth top spot of the year. He closed Saturday with another stellar run, a 3.855 at 337.13, and opens eliminations against Terry Haddock, looking for his third win of the season and the second of his career at Texas Motorplex.
Jack Beckman, the past Funny Car world champion, put Saturday’s final qualifying run in the PEAK Chevrolet SS in perspective after final qualifying.
“Today’s run on 105-degree racetrack, pound for pound, was the run of the weekend,” Beckman said. “Today’s run is outstanding, and it probably gives us data for two of the four runs tomorrow. I thought somebody could run an .86 on that last qualifying session. I thought a perfect run would be that, and Dan [Hood] and Tim [Fabrisi, crew chiefs] exceeded that. I just think that was an amazing run relative to conditions.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we have to depend on [points leader Matt Hagan] going out early and that’s always a difficult situation. Now Austin [Prock] had a first-round loss in the Countdown. We’ve had a first-round loss in the Countdown. I’m going to talk to Matt and try to convince him he needs one or two first-round losses in the Countdown because if they don’t do that, we’re going to have a tough time getting around them.”
Points leader Matt Hagan qualified second at 3.855 at 334.80 and Cruz Pedregon was third on the strength of Friday’s 3.855 at 323.83. Defending event winner Austin Prock, who sat outside the field after Friday, qualified 14th at 3.930 at 300.20 and draws Pedregon in the first round.
Beckman also spoke with Kickin’ the Tires at Texas Motorplex on Saturday about the confidence a driver draws from a team that can turn a missed run into data.
“You have no idea how much confidence it instills in you when you drive a car that even if you miss it on one run they’ll figure it out, turn the knobs right, it goes straight down the track,” Beckman said.
“We missed it on Q1 and Q3, but I think Q3 is going to tell us exactly what too much is for tomorrow. I think that might have been one of those oops runs that helps us tune the car to a race run,” Beckman said.
The 337.13 mph speed that closed Beckman’s Saturday also compared favorably with Friday night’s 330.13 mph run, with one daylight difference.
“It didn’t feel a whole lot different than 330 last night, except I could see the shutdown area today,” Beckman said.
Herrera Completes a Flawless Day on the Bikes
Herrera made the quickest run in each of the final two Pro Stock Motorcycle sessions, capped by a 6.651 at 203.05 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
It is the two-time champion’s fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season. Coming off his victory in St. Louis, Herrera entered the weekend less than 35 points behind teammate and reigning world champion Richard Gadson and opens raceday against Hector Arana Jr.
Gaige Herrera, the two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, talked about a perfect Saturday on the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
“Today was very satisfying,” Herrera said. “We had awesome conditions all day, and we went and got the No. 1 qualifier back, the little extra points there, which is what really counts right now at this point. Plus, we’ve got the momentum going into Sunday. My bike’s been running very well. I feel good on the bike, and I’ve been making good runs between the left and right lanes, so I’m feeling good going into tomorrow.”
Joey Gladstone qualified second at 6.653 at 202.89 and Matt Smith was third at 6.659 at 204.18. Gadson qualified fifth at 6.692 at 202.07 and opens eliminations against Marc Ingwersen.
Eliminations for the Texas NHRA FallNationals begin at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday at Texas Motorplex.