NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Monday at the U.S. Nationals is the most important day, thus far, of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, and victory at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals is one of the most prestigious titles a racer can claim. Emotions are high as winners will be crowned at the sport's landmark event, and the Countdown to the Championship fields will be locked into place.

Top Fuel

In a most shocking display of events, defending world champion and incoming points leader Doug Kalitta did not qualify for the event, and his Kalitta Motorsports teammate Shawn Langdon, No. 2 in the Top Fuel points, only got in on the final session. Langdon is on the bump, and he will bring his Kalitta Air Careers Toyota to the starting line for a first-round meeting with Brittany Force and the Chevrolet Accessories rail. While No. 1 qualifier Force is seeking her first Indy win, Langdon is looking for U.S. Nationals trophy No. 4 – he has two wins here in Top Fuel and one in Super Gas. The points implications are massive for Force; because she did not attend every event during the regular season, she must break into the top 10 in order to have the opportunity to run for a third series title.

TSR Nitro pilot Tony Stewart qualified his 50th anniversary Direct Connection Dodge in the No. 2 position for the second-consecutive race, and after clinching a spot in the countdown in qualifying, he's looking to cap that off with his first Indianapolis win as an NHRA Top Fuel drag racer. He'll race Doug Foley in round one. Other intriguing match-ups include Rookie of the Year contender and the reigning European FIA Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström vs. No. 3 qualifier T.J. Zizzo, who is having a banner year; five-time and defending Indy champ Matco Tools driver Antron Brown earned two of those titles aboard a Pro Stock Motorcycle, and he'll be aiming at a fourth in Top Fuel as he squares off with Clay Millican, who has not yet reached an Indy final.

Josh Hart won back-to-back at Indy in 2017 and 2018 driving a Top Alcohol Dragster; he'll be looking for a nitro victory as he starts the day with a meeting with No. 5 qualifier Tripp Tatum. It will be a family fight as four-time Indy winner Steve (No. 4 in the points) and Billy Torrence go toe-to-toe, while Justin Ashley (No. 3 in the standings) and Dan Mercier meet up. With 10 U.S. Nationals wins, Tony Schumacher stands above the rest. He's qualified No. 8 here and will have to get past Shawn Reed if he wants another.

Funny Car

Runaway points leader and No. 1 qualifier Austin Prock and his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Funny Car want nothing more than to cap his stellar season with an Indy win, and there's not been a Prock hoisting a trophy at the top end in the history of the esteemed event – at least not as a driver. Prock and Chris King will race, while No. 2 qualifier Bob Tasca III and his Motorcraft Ford Mustang will be looking for a win light over Buddy Hull. Tasca has three U.S. Nationals finals – two in alcohol Funny Car and one in the nitro class (2011).

Filling in for John Force in the Peak Chevrolet, two-time Indy winner Jack Beckman will start from the No. 3 position, which equates to a rendezvous with Dale Creasy Jr. In the midst of a resurgence in one of his best seasons to date, Blake Alexander, himself, may not be counting points in order to stay focused on the task at hand – but his team surely is as their U.S. Nationals performance is vital to the outcome of the season. Alexander and Chad Green will go head-to-head in round one. Green knows what it's like to win at this venerable racetrack; he scored the Pro Mod victory at the Summernationals here in 2020.

After a spectacular recovery from a blow up in qualifying, Daniel Wilkerson and his Scag Power Equipment Ford are aiming at Indy glory in his first full season behind the wheel. His crew chief and father, Tim Wilkerson, won Funny Car at the U.S. Nationals in 2003 and 2021. Wilkerson and young Bobby Bode are matched for round one. In 1992, 1994, and 1995, Cruz Pedregon wheeled his way to a win at the U.S. Nationals, and his challenge for a fourth title here will begin with an early match with Paul Lee, who is working for a spot in the Countdown after missing the New England Nationals. In spectacular fashion after a busted engine replacement between elimination rounds, Lee claimed the upset in the Pep Boys Allstar Callout on Saturday for the $80,000 purse and big bragging rights, so he's armed with momentum and a team that knows how hustle.

J.R. Todd is entering raceday No. 4 in the standings and starting from the No. 10 spot, and he showed that he has the power to get this done when he and the DHL Funny Car team won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday. But he's going to have to race defending event champion and three-time Indy winner Ron Capps and the Napa Toyota in the first round. After Capps loaned Todd a Funny Car body in Brainerd – Todd's DHL shell was destroyed in an explosion during eliminations – they've shown that they can be friendly Toyota teammates, but there will be nothing friendly when the visors come down on Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Reigning Funny Car champion Matt Hagan and his 50th anniversary Direct Connection Dodge are sitting third in the points at present and No. 8 on the ladder. His first-round challenger will be Alexis DeJoria, who won this race a decade ago over Funny Car icon John Force. Hagan, though, is a three-time winner, and he's eager to set up for a strong start to the Countdown to the Championship with another Indy win.

Pro Stock

No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson's seven Indy wins are unrivaled in modern-day Pro Stock, and after the dominant performance he put forth through five rounds of qualifying, the driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro is primed to add another to the stack. It's not that easy, though, considering that his dominance right now really amounts to the 20 bonus points he picked up in qualifying as the quickest in each session. No. 2 qualifier Erica Enders, the reigning Pro Stock world champion, is right there behind him just a tick off, and her Elite Motorsports gang are filling spots two through eight. While Anderson, the most winning driver in the history of Pro Stock and one of the most veteran Pro Stock campaigners, brings experience and history to the table, he will have to contend with a slew of young guns in a ridiculously tight field.

That includes Anderson's first-round opponent and KB Titan Racing teammate, Camrie Caruso, who has returned for the first time following a crash in Phoenix earlier this season. Anderson is No. 2 in the championship standings heading into raceday.

Three-time Indy winner Enders and Elite Motorsports protégé Sienna Wildgust, the youngest driver in the category, will have to race one another in the first round, and that could spell bad news for the newcomer as Enders and her JHG Melling Performance Chevrolet have been steadily improving.

Dallas Glenn, the 2022 runner-up at the U.S. Nationals, comes into Monday at the final race of the regular season as the points leader, a position he's held once again for nearly the full pull and consistently since Chicago. Glenn won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday, and he won the most recent event on the tour (Brainerd), but he's also starting from the bottom half of the field in the No. 9 position. That means it is very likely that he and opponent Cristian Cuadra will be the first pair of Pro Stockers to take to the track, and that has historically meant a bit of a crapshoot as the track is unread. The conditions for raceday are decidedly different than they have been all weekend, which increases the presence of a question mark over the heads of crew chiefs in all classes. They'll likely be pulling from notes from the past to make their final tuning decisions.

Cristian Cuadra, meanwhile, is working to keep his spot in the Countdown to the Championship. As he did not race at each event this season, his opportunity to race for the title is not secure. He has to make the top 10 in order to play for the big trophy.

Other pairings include No. 3 qualifier and five-time (one in Super Gas, four in Pro Stock) Indy winner Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Eric Latino; Brainerd low qualifier Jerry Tucker and Pro Stock rookie Cory Reed; Troy Coughlin Jr. and Elite Motorsports teammate Fernando Cuadra Jr.; David Cuadra and first-win-hungry Mason McGaha.

The 2020 Factory Stock Showdown Indy winner, Aaron Stanfield, is looking for his first Pro Stock title at the Big Go, and he's also racing for the trophy in Factory X. Stanfield, driving a JHG Melling Performance Pro Stocker with the support of the Janac brothers, has come on strong in recent event with three Pro Stock wins since Richmond. He'll race Matt Hartford, the defending event champion, who is looking to shake off the string of misfortune he's experienced all season long.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

This is one of the few events that incoming Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion and points leader Gaige Herrera did not win last season, and he is fully intending to take home a U.S. Nationals trophy for the Vance & Hines Mission RevZilla Suzuki team. His day will begin with a first-round meeting with Wesley Wells. Herrera's teammate, Richard Gadson, is No. 4 in the points and the No. 4 qualifier. He will face Ryan Oehler, who won a race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2020 over Matt Smith.

Smith is racing with something to prove as the defending event champion aboard his MSR Denso Buell. He's a three-time U.S. Nationals winner and comes into the event No. 2 in the standings. He's set for an opening round meeting with Ron Tornow. Smith's MSR teammate, John Hall, actually defeated him for the title at this race in 2013. Hall, who will race Countdown to the Championship hopeful Marc Ingwersen in the first round, is on the same side of the ladder as crew chief Smith – which sets up a potential semifinals meeting. Angie Smith, Matt's wife and teammate, is also on the same side of the ladder. If she defeats two-time Indy winner  Steve Johnson, she will race either Hall or Ingwersen in the second round.

Jianna Evaristo, in the midst of a career season aboard her MSR Scrappers Buell, landed in the No. 5 position and will race Pro Stock Motorcycle returner Geno Scali. She is No. 7 in the championship standings at present.

Hector Arana Jr., the 2011 winner here and the gentleman who was runner-up to Smith at the U.S. Nationals last season, is residing in the No. 8 position in the standings. He'll want to protect his stance and will start the day with a quarrel with Kelly Clontz. The first round will also include 2024 Rookie of the Year Chase Van Sant and his Tim Kulungian-prepared WAR/TK Motorsports Suzuki vs. Chris Bostick, who needs to do well in order to make the countdown. He's No. 10 in the standings.

MONDAY, Sept. 2
Pre-race ceremonies, 9 a.m.
NHRA MISSION FOODS SERIES eliminations begin at 10 a.m.

TELEVISION
Monday, Sept. 2, FS1 will television two hours of eliminations at noon
Monday, Sept. 2, FOX will televise two hours of finals coverage at 2 p.m.