MECHANICSVILLE, Md. (May 31, 2026) – 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.
Prock’s family, including tuners Jimmy and Thomas Prock, came with him, but there were early-season struggles as they didn’t qualify at Gainesville to open the year and failed to win a round at the first five races. But the team showed signs in Chicago, advancing to the semifinals, and then had a massive weekend at MIR, starting with Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory.
On Sunday, he got past four-time world champ Matt Hagan, Spencer Hyde and points leader Ron Capps to reach the final round. Prock left first on Beckman and led wire-to-wire with his best run of the weekend, putting a stamp on the race and perhaps signaling the start of what could be another big year.
“It means a lot,” Prock said. “It’s like winning your first race all over again, because all of the work that we put in and everything that we learned. So, to be seven races in and win the Mission Challenge this weekend and win the diamond Wally, I think it says a lot about this race team and what we’re capable of. I’m just very proud of this whole Ford Racing team. It was a great weekend, but this is just the beginning of the new era of the Prock Rocket.
“As a competitor, you’re just kind of beat down, and then the race car started coming alive again, and I felt like I was behind the race car at times, where the race car was performing better than I was. After (Chicago), I was really, really hard on myself after the semifinals. I didn’t leave good enough to even put us in contention. I wanted to come in here this weekend and prove to myself that I’ve still got it, and I feel like I did that.”
Beckman reached his second final of 2026 and the 79th in his career, taking down Joe Morrison, J.R. Todd and teammate Jordan Vandergriff. Capps leads Todd by 16 points, with Chad Green in third.
In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon continued his spectacular run, winning a third straight race for the first time in his Top Fuel career, taking down teammate Doug Kalitta in one of the closest Top Fuel races in NHRA history with a run of 3.762 at 334.90 in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster.
It is Langdon’s fourth win in the past six races, but the final round against Kalitta was a thriller for the ages. Kalitta left first with a .052 reaction time to Langdon’s .056, but the points leader slipped past the reigning world champion at the finish line, winning by a mere .0002 seconds (or one inch).
It was as close as it gets in the Top Fuel category, but there appears to be no stopping Langdon at the moment as he was simply tremendous all weekend. He qualified No. 1 at the new facility on the NHRA tour, won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, and then got past Justin Ashley and Billy Torrence to reach the finals.
He set the track record earlier in the day with a blistering 3.718 at 338.00 and was consistent throughout Sunday, stretching his lead over Kalitta to 76 points as Langdon’s dream season pushes on.
“I knew I had to hit the Tree better in the final because Doug had a little bit on me all weekend long, and I mean, Alan Johnson’s Alan Johnson for a reason, because in the final rounds he performs, and Doug’s been there, and had had one of the best cars over the last couple years. Brian [Husen, crew chief] was trying to run a little bit better than that in the final, and fortunately, I pulled just enough out of somewhere,” Langdon said.
“Three wins in a row means a lot because of all the hard work that’s gone into this team over the last couple of years. When Brian came over and revamped everything within the team, the guys just all got together and they’ve done such a fantastic job. It just makes my job a lot easier. I just have to go out there and hit the gas on time and hold the thing straight. When you have confidence in your team and confidence in your car, it makes it a lot of fun.”
Kalitta knocked off Lex Joon, Clay Millican and Leah Pruett to reach the finals for the fourth time this season and 130th time in his career.
Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson still had the upper hand in final rounds against points leader Dallas Glenn – at least on Sunday – racing past the reigning world champion with a run of 6.472 at 212.46 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. It improved Anderson to 10-1 in final rounds against Glenn, also handing Pro Stock’s winningest driver his 114th career win and second this year.
Anderson lived in the 6.40s on Sunday, showing championship form at a track where he’s raced and tested at over the years. But this was a first in the NHRA and Anderson made the most of it, defeating Brandon Miller with a 6.476, Deric Kramer with a track-record 6.464 and then Greg Stanfield to reach the final round.
Glenn had a huge starting-line advantage, but his car ran into trouble early and Anderson took advantage, racing to the victory. He remains second in points and was thrilled with how the entire weekend transpired at the standout facility.
“You can’t try to be Superman, no matter what the competition’s doing and that’s a hard thing,” Anderson said. “It’s easy to say, but it’s hard to do when you’re going up there and you got Aaron Stanfield and Dallas Glenn, and you know the reaction time is going to start with a zero or one. It’s just the way it is and I’m not that guy anymore.
“I told myself before that final round, do not make a mistake like you did last weekend, and obviously went too far the other way, and I had a horrible light. But thank God Dallas’ car didn’t make it, so just my day, my lucky day. My car was fantastic all day long, and it’s just a good, a good feeling racetrack for me.”
Glenn, who now holds an 11-point lead over Anderson, made it to the finals for the fourth time this season and 44th time overall thanks to round wins against Shane Tucker, Aaron Stanfield and Troy Coughlin Jr.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Angie Smith capped off an emotional – yet highly successful – weekend in the best way possible, winning for the first time in nearly four years and capturing the 200th victory by a female in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series with a weekend-best run of 6.683 at 201.52 on her Denso Auto Parts Buell to defeat Ryan Oehler in the final round.
It reversed the heartbreak of the most recent event in Chicago, when Smith’s bike broke on the starting line in the finals, as she continued to have the best bike in the category for the second straight race. This weekend, Smith made sure to finish the job en route to her fourth career victory in the class.
Her husband, six-time world champ Matt Smith, was also hospitalized on Friday, but he continued to tune the bikes as Angie powered to the No. 1 spot. He was back at the track on Sunday to see his wife dominate, as she cruised to round wins against Brayden Davis and Clayton Howey, going 6.696 in the semifinals.
There were no issues this time in the finals, and Smith led the entire way, securing a monumental and historic victory. She’s now second in points, 26 behind Richard Gadson.
“I was just ecstatic because at 7 a.m. Friday, we were running zero bikes, we were taking the Tree and getting our 30 points, packing up and going home,” Smith said. “At 10 a.m. Matt said, ‘We’re running all four bikes, I believe in you, and you can do it.’ So that’s what we did. It was tough and it was not easy, and it’s one of those things when your team believes in you and your husband believes in you.
“Matt is a remarkable person for him to just navigate running four motorcycles, lining four people up. It was just a challenge, and as a team, we had to step up to the plate. I was very thankful that Matt made it back before first round. He didn’t want to be at the hospital; he wanted to be there with us.”
“It means everything (to get the 200th). From Erica to Shirley to Angelle, to all of those ladies who have paved the way for me to come out here, and I get to call some of them my really good friends, and that’s what means so much to me. We have such a close relationship, and I will always be the 200th. I’m glad I can represent the women of NHRA.”
Oehler advanced to his first final round in five years and fifth in his career, continuing to show strong progress with round wins against Chase Van Sant, reigning world champion Gadson and Jianna Evaristo.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action June 5-7 with the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.