Funny Car points leader Austin Prock won the first four-wide playoff race in NHRA history on Sunday at zMAX Dragway, defeating Matt Hagan, Chad Green and Dan Wilkerson in the final round of the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals.
Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 16th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Prock went 3.912s at 332.43mph in his Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet SS in the championship quad, powering to his eighth victory of the season and 20th in his career. The victory, Prock’s 16th since moving to Funny Car last year, also gave the reigning world champ a season sweep at all three four-wide races in 2025.
After a rough start in Reading, falling in the second round and crossing the centerline, Prock rebounded in dominant fashion on Sunday, winning the first two quads and then quickly chasing down Wilkerson. He held off Hagan at the finish line to keep a stranglehold on the points lead, which now stands 79 points over Hagan.
“That was a big win, especially after everything that went on in the semifinals when a few of the front-runners went out and we capitalized on it,” Prock said. “We extended our lead a little bit going into St. Louis next weekend and there’s only four [races] left so it was good to keep up our performance this weekend and extend our points lead. To get it done here in Charlotte with for HendrickCars.com is really special. Mr. H [Rick Hendrick] is pretty, pretty pumped right now.
“The ‘Prock Rocket’ was on point all weekend. Our package just seemed suited for Bruton Smith race tracks. I wasn’t my typical self on the starting line this weekend. I was good, but not where I wanted to be, but the car ran good enough and our total package was good enough to win.”
Hagan, who qualified No. 1, finished as the runner-up in his third appearance in the finals this year.
In Top Fuel, Justin Ashley picked up his fourth victory in 2025 and had another brilliant Sunday on the starting line, defeating a quad that featured Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta and Clay Millican with a stellar run of 3.784s at 329.83mph in his Scag Power Equipment dragster.
Ashley and Doug Kalitta posted identical times in the final round, but Ashley was quicker on the starting line, thanks to a standout 0.043s reaction time. A round earlier, Ashley made history by posting the first triple holeshot in Top Fuel history, coming out on top in a quad that featured Langdon, Brittany Force and Tony Stewart.
Ashley was slowest in the quad but won with a 0.036s reaction time en route to his 19th career win. It’s also Ashley’s second win in the last three races, sending him to second in points with four races remaining this season. He also posted his second career win at zMAX Dragway, celebrating another special moment in what’s shaping up to be an incredible late-season run. He now trails Kalitta by just 38 points.
“A great feeling. Obviously, winning any four-wide race, or any race for that matter, is great, but to win it right here for the first four-wide race in the fall that NHRA has ever had in the Countdown, this was a critical day for us,” Ashley said. “When you look through some of those quads, even specifically when you get to those final two rounds, it’s just brutal. The margin for error now is so small. Obviously four races left, but these races are hard to win, so I’m a firm believer in the fact you have to enjoy them when they come before shifting your focus over the next one.
“If the car is not put together the same way each and every time, the reaction times are not going to be good, or they’re not going to be within a certain window. Holeshots can be misleading because it really is a team effort. You have to collectively look at the combination together, and then hopefully at the end of the day, it leads to results that you’re looking for.”
Kalitta stayed in the points lead with the runner-up finish, advancing to the final round for the fifth time this season. Kalitta leads Ashley by 38 points and teammate Shawn Langdon, who finished third in the quad, by 59 points.
Pro Stock’s Dallas Glenn couldn’t have asked for a better start to the Countdown to the Championship, winning his second straight race thanks to a run of 6.554s at 209.95mph in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro to get past a quad that also featured runner-up Greg Anderson, Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield.
Glenn has been red-hot in the postseason, qualifying No. 1 at both playoff races and winning in both Reading and Charlotte, and pushing his season win total to six. He impressed throughout eliminations on Sunday, posting a stellar 0.016s reaction time in a wire-to-wire victory.
This is his 19th career win and Glenn stayed unstoppable at zMAX Dragway as well, as the points leader has now won three straight races at the track, dating back to last year. He swept both four-wide races at the phenomenal facility, opening up a 79-point lead over Greg Anderson in the process.
“I knew I had a fantastic car coming in, so I really just wanted to try to keep the momentum,” Glenn said. “I really felt like I let everybody down in Indy when I let my foot up a little against Erica [Enders]. I made that mistake. So, I just wanted to come into this race, and step it up just a little bit more and be a little more aggressive.
“You look at the ladder and you’re like, this is going to be a tough day, so you just got to try to bring your A-game. I made a small pedal [adjustment] and went up there and just tried to do everything I could do kind of throw a Hail Mary and hope it stuck.”
“I think I have 79 points right now, so I still count that as basically three rounds, because that’s what it’s going to be in Pomona. I want to keep my foot on their throats and keep pressure on until they hand me a trophy.”
Anderson finished as the runner-up with a run of 6.562s in his eighth trip to the final round this year. Stanfield, who was fourth in the quad, moved to third in points, but he’s a distant 172 points behind Glenn.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Richard Gadson earned his first career victory in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, beating a quad that was Matt Smith Racing-dominant with a run of 6.803s at 199.55mph on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki to defeat Matt Smith, Angie Smith and Jianna Evaristo.
Gadson had a lightning-quick 0.015s reaction time and rode away from the trio, picking up his third victory of the season and moving into the points lead for the first time in his professional career.
Teammate Gaige Herrera suffered a shocking first-round loss, but that opened the door for Gadson, who won his first two quads and then rolled to the victory in the final round with another standout performance. After a long wait for his first career win, Gadson has now won three races in the past three months, setting up what could be a thrilling championship run. His points lead now stands at eight over Matt Smith.
“When you say points leader, I just I can’t believe you’re talking about me,” Gadson said. “Sometimes, when I’m at home and I look at the points and even see my name in second place, I have to read it twice because I just can’t believe it’s really me in this position.
“You know, you just want to avenge your team. You’re racing against three bikes from a rival team and you don’t want to go up there and do anything stupid. If they’re going to outrun you, then that’s going to be what it is. You just don’t want to beat yourself and when you’re the lone ranger up there racing for your team, you carry it with a little bit more pride. These bikes are really easy to do something stupid on.”
M. Smith finished as the runner-up with a pass of 6.821s at 199.37mph in what was his fourth appearance in the final round this year.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Sept. 26-28 with the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis.