Langdon, Vandergriff, Glenn and Matt Smith collect titles at NHRA Southern Nationals

Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon, who set a record with a 345.00-mph run on Friday, concluded an outstanding weekend by securing his second victory of the season in front of a sellout crowd on Sunday at South Georgia Motorsports Park, defeating teammate Doug Kalitta in the final round to win the NHRA Southern Nationals.

Jordan Vandergriff (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also claimed victories in the fifth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Langdon clocked 3.808 seconds at 333.16 mph in his Kalitta Air dragster, outpacing Kalitta’s 3.954 at 314.61 to earn his 24th career win during a historic weekend for the standout driver.

Two days after achieving the fastest pass in NHRA history with his 345.00-mph run, Langdon sealed the deal emphatically, defeating Cam Ferre, Antron Brown, and Clay Millican to reach the final round. There were no significant speed records on Sunday, but Langdon and his team displayed remarkable consistency on their way to victory.

Following the record-breaking speed pass that made national headlines, Langdon expressed the importance of finishing the weekend with a victory and advancing to the points lead.

“This is very satisfying. I mean, it's always a good weekend when you can wake up in the morning and feel like you can win,” Langdon said. “A lot of hard work went into the offseason to improve many aspects of the car, and it's paying off. All three Kalitta cars are fantastic right now.

“You get a taste of 345 [mph] and then today, it was different. You had to check your ego a bit and understand that you have to make changes and take what the racetrack gives you. I didn't particularly like the scenario [of racing Doug in the final] because I wasn't hitting the tree well today, but we got it done.”

Kalitta, trailing Langdon by just four points, reached the finals for the third time in 2026, as the reigning world champion and No. 1 qualifier defeated Leah Pruett and Justin Ashley earlier on Sunday.

A long-held dream came true for Funny Car star Jordan Vandergriff, as he secured his first career NHRA win, defeating No. 1 qualifier J.R. Todd in the final round with a run of 4.007 at 314.17 in his Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy. Immediately after his first victory – not far from his Atlanta-area home – Vandergriff exited his Funny Car and sprinted back up his lane, reminiscent of his uncle Bob Vandergriff’s celebrations after Top Fuel victories.

Vandergriff had been building towards this, winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in Charlotte, and then delivering a strong raceday, defeating Jeff Arend, Spencer Hyde, and Hunter Green to reach the final round. Vandergriff was the only driver to make four consistent runs on Sunday, staying in the 3.90s for the first three rounds before delivering another strong performance in the final.

Competing in just his fifth event as a Funny Car driver for John Force Racing, Vandergriff has risen rapidly and was thrilled to celebrate this moment on Sunday.

“I'm still kind of taking in just how special this is. This moment is something I thought of for a very long time, since my last final in 2019, when I lost to Billy Torrence in Dallas,” Vandergriff said. “Running up the track was something I always thought about doing because my uncle did it out of pure joy when he won his first, and I just had to do it. I was contemplating it in the car before the run, and I was like, I'm doing it, no matter what. Hopefully, this is just the first of many, and it's a good one to start.”

Todd continues to excel in 2026, reaching the finals for the first time this season and the 50th time in his career, with round wins against Daniel Wilkerson and Alexis DeJoria. He also moved into the points lead, three points ahead of Ron Capps.

In Pro Stock, reigning world champion Dallas Glenn triumphed on a challenging day in the class, delivering a solid run in the championship round when it mattered, going 6.642 at 211.39 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro to halt Troy Coughlin Jr.'s underdog run on Sunday.

Glenn secured his second win of the season and the 23rd of his career, but this one was unconventional as the champ only made two clean runs on Sunday. He won a pedalfest in the opening round against Jeg Coughlin Jr. and again in the semifinals against Greg Stanfield, sandwiching a 6.587 at 210.34 in a second-round win against Matt Latino, who upset No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson in the opening round.

Glenn, the current points leader, and his KB Titan Racing team recovered to deliver a quality run in the finals, leaving first on Coughlin and leading wire-to-wire to claim victory in front of a capacity crowd.

“Today was definitely pretty weird. This is probably the weirdest elimination day of Pro Stock car that I can remember,” Glenn said. “I've seen bad rounds before, but never continuously all through the day. It’s a combination of the track not quite being what we're used to and the air being really good. The air is good enough where we should be able to go 6.45 out here. It was not a good day to be a crew chief.

“I was shocked to win the way that I did, but as long as the planets aligned a little bit, with a little luck, that definitely played a role today. If anybody makes a clean run against me on either one of those two runs, first round, and semis, I'm dust.”

Coughlin, who qualified 15th, reached the final round for the first time this season with round wins against Eric Latino, Deric Kramer, and Erica Enders.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith wrapped up a picture-perfect weekend on Sunday with his first victory of the 2026 season, defeating Richard Gadson in the final round with a run of 6.724 at 202.06 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell.

Smith and his team had qualified No. 1 at each of the first three races this season, but Sunday had been different until today, as Smith enjoyed a stellar day, including a run of 6.685 at 203.06 in a second-round victory against Chase Van Sant. He surpassed his wife, Angie, in the next round to set up the matchup with the reigning world champion.

Gadson left first, but Smith, who was named to NHRA’s Top 75 Driver list before the season, caught up to him, showcasing a motorcycle that has been a step ahead of everyone in NHRA’s debut at South Georgia Motorsports Park. It led to Smith’s 43rd career win as he aims for a class-record seventh world championship this season.

“This is not only rewarding for me, but it's just rewarding for our team, because we worked so hard this winter to find a little bit of power,” Smith said. “We found some power and we're showing it. We’ve been No. 1 qualifier for three races in a row now. We just hadn’t shown up on Sunday and I’m glad we showed up today.

“We got our lucky break in the first round. I had a bye and as soon as I brought the engine up, the toggle switch on the fuel pump went out so we lost lane choice. As soon as I saw this [75th anniversary NHRA Wally trophy] I knew I wanted one. I’m glad we didn’t have to wait long to get it.”

Gadson, who remained in the points lead, advanced to his second final round this season after defeating Geno Scali, Clayton Howey, and two-time world champion Gaige Herrera.