THREE TRACK RECORDS FALL AS LANGDON, BECKMAN, COUGHLIN JR. AND HERRERA CLAIM NO. 1 QUALIFIER SPOTS AT NAPA AUTO PARTS NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS

Last Updated on October 3, 2026 by WWTR

MADISON, Ill. (Oct. 3, 2026) – Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Troy Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) took the No. 1 qualifying positions in front of a sellout crowd Saturday at the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Three track records were broken throughout four qualifying rounds at the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway as Maddi Gordon, Coughlin Jr. and Herrera all put new marks in the record books during their qualifying runs.

The Top Fuel rookie Gordon stormed down the track at the venue known as the “Palace of Power” in her NAPA Auto Parts machine for a track-record run of 340.65 mph during Q3. Gordon’s pass surpassed Brittany Force’s previous mark of 340.47 mph set at last year’s NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals.

Coughlin Jr. posted a 6.474-second pass during Friday night’s second session to overthrow Greg Anderson’s past record of 6.492 seconds in 2015.

Herrera lowered the Pro Stock Motorcycle track record he set in 2023, racing to a 6.644-second pass to eclipse the previous mark of 6.701 seconds.

Pro Mod produced a historic run as Chip King raced to a 5.596-second pass at 257.24 mph, becoming the first driver in category history to record a 5.50-second run. King’s pass also established a new national elapsed-time record.

Langdon held on to the No. 1 qualifier position he earned provisionally on Friday night. Langdon has won the last three races and enters Sunday’s eliminations as the points leader, looking to continue his momentum.

“It’s going to warm up a little bit tomorrow, so being able to make good runs and more consistent runs and be able to use some of the notes from yesterday and today and just kind of keep doing what we’ve been doing,” said Langdon. “Keep attacking it, keep the game plan and just continue to make good, consistent runs.”

Langdon will face eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher in the opening round of eliminations. Langdon currently leads the championship standings and is building on consecutive victories in the first two races of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Nitro action continued in Funny Car as Beckman knocked teammate Alexis DeJoria from the provisional No. 1 position with a run of 3.866 seconds at 332.59 mph in Q3. Beckman is no stranger to success at World Wide Technology Raceway, having earned three wins in the Funny Car category.

“Relative to conditions, that pass is probably one of the best runs of the year,” said Beckman. “We weren’t pushing to run an 86. We got everything there was out there, maybe a little bit more. The racing gods gave us a hundredth in Q3. We weren’t pushing to run an .86, but we got everything there was out there.”

John Force Racing secured the top two qualifying positions heading into Sunday’s eliminations, with Beckman sitting fifth and DeJoria seventh in the championship standings. Beckman maintained the No. 1 spot through Q4 and will face Dale Creasy Jr., who qualified No. 16.

The record-setting performances weren’t limited to the nitro categories during two days of qualifying. Coughlin Jr. held onto the No. 1 qualifying position with his record-breaking run from Friday’s second qualifying session as he has found success in the playoffs already and starts in a prime position for Sunday.

“It feels awesome,” said Coughlin Jr. “To be at this facility, this place is so much fun to race at so it will definitely go down as a good one in our hearts and we can’t wait for race day.”

Coughlin Jr. currently sits 105 points behind leader Greg Stanfield and will face Chris Vang for the first round of eliminations.

Pro Stock Motorcycle saw Herrera make the quickest run of the final qualifying session, using his record-breaking pass to take the No. 1 position away from Matt Smith.

Herrera has now qualified No. 1 three times this season and has won the last three NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, putting himself in position to earn a fourth consecutive NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals victory.

“It felt really good. It stuck, and I was kind of waiting for it to spin the tire a little bit, but it didn’t. I could feel like it was really moving,” Herrera said. “To go .64 and only be two-hundredths off the national record I set in Dallas a couple years ago is pretty crazy. I thought maybe a .65 if everything aligned, but not a .64.

“That’s a testament to Andrew (Hines, crew chief) and his tuning ability and all the guys at the shop. Those numbers on the board are bragging rights for them. I’m just happy I get to ride the motorcycle.”

Renewals for the 2027 event are available on-site at the WWT Raceway midway kiosk. Guests who renew will receive a limited-edition commemorative ring honoring 16-time champion John Force.

Eliminations begin at 10 a.m. CT on Sunday at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Stay tuned to WWT Raceway social media channels for event updates and visit wwtraceway.com for more information.