CONCORD, N.C. (April 24, 2026) – Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon was the only driver to reach the 3.60s on Friday at zMAX Dragway, powering to the provisional No. 1 position to kick off the 16th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
Ron Capps (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the fourth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
In the final quad of the night, Langdon went 3.674-seconds at 339.19 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster under the lights, giving the past world champion the quickest run in both of Friday’s qualifying sessions as he looks for his second No. 1 qualifier of the season.
“It’s just a testament to the team,” Langdon said. “The guys have done a great job giving me a great race car. It’s all the hard work that they did in the off-season, a lot of things that they looked at to try to improve on from last year in the last two years, and just little by little, it’s been shown. So it’s a good feeling.
“We feel pretty confident right now that if the track conditions are hot, we feel like we can make the necessary changes. Then, when we get situations like this, where you try to throw down a little bit, we have a good handle on that as well.”
Leah Pruett is currently second with her run of 3.700 at 333.82, and reigning world champion and points leader Doug Kalitta is third after going 3.711 at 334.73.
Funny Car’s Ron Capps made the most of ideal conditions under the lights to close out qualifying in the category, ripping off a strong 3.883 at 333.91 in his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra. It continues a great streak for Capps, who shares the points lead with Matt Hagan, won in Phoenix and advanced to the final round in Pomona.
Though still early in the season, Capps loves the direction of the team and hopes for another big showing this weekend at zMAX Dragway, where he’s won four times in his career. That’s tied with Hagan for the most among active Funny Car drivers.
“This is classic zMAX. The first run there was a little humidity, and the track hadn’t been run on and everybody was tiptoeing,” Capps said. “But this place is always good and when the sun goes down, it’s great.
“We started hearing the good numbers being run ahead of us, and I could hear ‘Guido’ [crew chief Dean Antonelli] on the radio. I knew he was getting after it. If we get some cloud cover tomorrow that won’t hold, but it also depends on the humidity and the heat. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Jordan Vandergriff went to second with a run of 3.899 at 328.70 and Hagan, who won the 1,000th Funny Car race in Pomona, is third after going 3.901 at 326.16.
Six-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson put together a spectacular Friday, including a run of 6.498 at 211.23 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro that puts him in the top spot. Anderson was the only driver to dip into the 6.40s, putting him in position for third straight No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 143rd in his career.
Anderson, who is second in points to only KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn, said performing well in Charlotte in front of his sponsor is always a good feeling.
“I can’t lie. Sometimes when you make a run, you say to yourself that we felt pretty damn good, and that’s what I said going down the race track. The scoreboard matched what I thought. I had fun today,” Anderson said.
Reigning world champion Glenn is currently second with a run of 6.521 at 210.77 and Matt Latino continues his solid season, with his 6.527 at 210.64 putting him third.
Racing close to home has always been a good thing for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith and that continued on Friday at his home track, as the defending event winner went 6.739 at 203.09 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. Should that hold, it would give Smith 60 career No. 1 qualifiers, eclipsing Angelle Sampey for the most in Pro Stock Motorcycle history.
Smith has always performed well at zMAX Dragway, winning four times, and he nearly set the speed record on Friday with his booming run.
“I didn’t think it would stick. I drove to the center line, but all in all, it did stick, and we’re number one,” Smith said. “This is a great place to race and I love the four-wide. It’s a challenge and I’m getting old, and I like more challenges as I’m getting old.
Ryan Oehler showed strong improvement on Friday, going all the way to second, while Gaige Herrera is third with a run of 6.756 at 200.50.
Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.
TICKETS: Tickets are available online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or at the gate. Fans on site can review for next year’s event, scheduled for April 2-4, 2027. Just $50 down gets fans a commemorative ring in honor of John Force Racing’s 50th season of racing.
