NHRA Northwest Nationals 2026 Funny Car Results

The 37th annual Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals ran from July 24 through July 26 in Kent, Washington. It was the 12th event in the 20-race Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season.

Todd qualified first with a 3.885 at 335.73 mph. He was also the only Funny Car driver to reach the 3.80s during Q3.

Beckman produced the quickest pass of Sunday eliminations. His 3.858 in round one defeated Gibbons and reset the event’s Funny Car low elapsed time.

What a -.005 reaction time means

A negative reaction time means the car moved before the green light. Prock crossed that limit by five thousandths of a second.

In NHRA eliminations, a red light produces an automatic loss. Consequently, Todd did not need to outrun Prock at the finish line.

Todd still made a championship-quality pass

Todd completed the run in 3.941 seconds at 334.90 mph. That number matched the strong 3.90-second pace the DHL Toyota showed throughout Sunday.

The clean pass also mattered emotionally. Todd had reached several promising positions during the season but had not converted one into a Diamond Wally.

The win ended a 23-race drought

Todd’s previous national-event victory came in early 2025. The Seattle result ended a 23-race winless stretch.

It was his 23rd career victory and his first Pacific Raceways win in Funny Car. Todd had already won the event in Top Fuel during 2015.

Todd joined a small cross-class group

By winning Seattle in both nitro classes, Todd joined Tommy Johnson Jr., Ron Capps, Del Worsham and Prock. Each has won the Northwest Nationals in Top Fuel and Funny Car.

Beckman opened with the quickest pass of eliminations

Beckman ran 3.858 at 333.49 mph against Gibbons. His .078 reaction time also beat Gibbons’ .123.

Gibbons recorded a career-best 4.019 at 307.02 mph. It was his first 300-mph run, but Beckman’s pass was more than sixteen hundredths quicker.

Todd controlled his first pairing

Arend made his best run of the weekend at 4.019. However, Todd left first and ran 3.906 at 335.82 mph.

The No. 1 qualifier won by .1352 second. Moreover, his time secured lane choice against Vandergriff.

Pedregon removed the points leader

Capps reacted first against Pedregon. His car then shook the tires just after launch and never recovered.

Pedregon ran a weekend-best 3.914 at 330.63 mph. Capps slowed to 5.812 and suffered his second consecutive first-round loss.

The result immediately opened the standings. Beckman, Todd, Vandergriff and Hagan all had opportunities to reduce Capps’ lead.

Hagan won the best clean side-by-side race

Alexander ran a weekend-best 3.946 at 326.00 mph. Hagan answered with a 3.936 at the same speed.

Hagan also left first, .063 to .080. His total winning margin was .0278 second.

Vandergriff continued his Sonoma momentum

Vandergriff entered Seattle after winning the Sonoma Nationals. He ran 3.913 at 327.19 mph to defeat Hyde.

Hyde lost traction and slowed to 4.397. Although Vandergriff advanced, Todd’s quicker 3.906 gave the pole sitter quarterfinal lane choice.

Lee, Prock and Richards survived difficult races

Green smoked the tires immediately against Lee. Lee completed a 3.938 and advanced without pressure.

Wilkerson also lost traction at the hit. Prock later encountered his own tire spin, but he pedaled the car to a 4.899 win.

Richards and DeJoria both smoked the tires. Richards recovered sooner and won with a 4.540, securing lane choice over Prock.

Todd chased down Vandergriff

Vandergriff gained a .012-second starting advantage. He remained ahead through the early portion of the run.

Todd’s Toyota carried stronger second-half performance. He passed Vandergriff around 800 feet and won with a 3.939 at 334.40 mph.

Vandergriff’s 3.981 was competitive, but Todd’s finish-line speed was more than 15 mph higher. The final margin was .0302 second.

Prock advanced with the parachute deployed

Prock’s parachute came out near 400 feet. He continued pulling it down the track and finished in 4.065 seconds.

Richards had already lost traction before the 330-foot marker. Therefore, Prock’s unusual run was still enough to advance.

Hagan remained consistent

Hagan produced his second straight 3.93-second run. His 3.930 defeated Lee’s clean 4.002.

The result sent Hagan to another semifinal and gave him lane choice over Todd. Hagan’s team had reached at least the semifinals in 171 of 387 career starts at that point.

Beckman earned lane choice against Prock

Beckman ran 3.899 at 330.72 mph against Pedregon. It was the quickest quarterfinal pass.

Pedregon slowed to 4.134 after losing traction. Beckman’s performance created a favorable semifinal position, but reaction time would later reverse the result.

Todd defeated Hagan by .002 second

Todd’s Toyota moved around the lane, while Hagan experienced tire spin. Neither driver had a perfectly controlled run.

However, Todd kept the yellow nose ahead at the finish. His 3.91 won by only .002 second.

At Funny Car speed, two thousandths represents a very small physical distance. It was the closest race in the class during the event.

The win was Todd’s first against Hagan in three 2026 meetings. It also moved him into the 51st final of his career.

Prock defeated Beckman on a holeshot

Beckman ran the quicker elapsed time, 3.918 to Prock’s 3.937. Normally, that advantage would decide the race.

Prock reacted in .046 second. Beckman reacted in .076, giving Prock three hundredths at the starting line.

Beckman’s car was .019 second quicker down the track. Yet Prock’s .030 starting advantage was larger, so the Mustang reached the finish first.

This is the definition of a holeshot victory. The driver with the slower elapsed time wins because of a superior reaction time.

The DHL team raced the conditions

Todd’s crew did not chase the quickest number in every round. Instead, the team adjusted to cloud cover, sunlight and a changing racing surface.

The strategy produced four win lights. Todd’s 3.906 opener was clean, while the 3.939 quarterfinal carried enough top-end power to catch Vandergriff.

The semifinal demanded driver control

Todd later said he believed the team might be in trouble against Hagan. The Toyota moved around, and Todd was not satisfied with his reaction.

Still, he kept the car in the groove and reached the finish first. That ability separated a difficult run from an elimination loss.

The final removed the season’s largest pressure point

Todd had enjoyed a competitive season without a victory. Several opportunities had slipped away, while clutch-disc issues affected the summer stretch.

Seattle removed that burden. The team left with the No. 1 qualifier, the trophy and third place in the standings.

The result was Todd’s first Seattle Funny Car win

Todd’s 2015 Northwest Nationals victory came in Top Fuel. Eleven years later, he added the Funny Car title.

That cross-class record fits Todd’s career. He remains one of the modern era’s most accomplished drivers in both nitro categories.

Todd took the lead during Q3 with a 3.885 at 335.73 mph. It was the session’s only 3.80-second pass.

Beckman answered with a 3.890 during Q4. However, he missed Todd’s number by five thousandths.

The pole was Todd’s 17th career No. 1 qualifier. More importantly, it placed him opposite Arend in the first round and on the preferred side of the ladder.

Thirteen Funny Cars qualified in the three-second range. The entire 16-car field ran 4.10 or quicker, making Seattle one of the season’s deeper fields.

The pole did not make Sunday easy

Vandergriff had won the previous event. Hagan was a four-time champion, and Prock was the defending Seattle winner.

Therefore, Todd’s route remained demanding despite the first position. He needed performance, top-end speed and race-day control to convert it.

Wilkerson defeated Beckman in a tire-smoking semifinal. Prock advanced past Vandergriff in the other pairing.

In the final, Wilkerson ran a weekend-best 3.924 at 327.98 mph. Prock lost traction, giving Wilkerson his first Mission Challenge title.

The bonus race also contributed to qualifying. Wilkerson’s 3.924 placed him sixth in the final order.

Prock received an immediate rematch during Sunday’s opening round. This time, both cars struggled, but Prock recovered and advanced.

Capps retained the lead despite another early exit

Capps left Seattle with 884 points. His first-round loss prevented him from adding elimination-round points beyond Sunday’s opener.

Even so, Beckman’s semifinal loss and the remaining results kept Capps first. His advantage over Beckman was 37 points.

Todd moved into third

Todd’s qualifying points and four round wins lifted him to 842. He ended the weekend 42 points behind Capps.

That is slightly more than two normal elimination rounds. Consequently, Todd entered the next event as a direct regular-season title contender.

Vandergriff and Hagan remained close

Vandergriff held fourth with 830, while Hagan had 820. The first five drivers were separated by only 64 points.

Seattle therefore tightened the group even though Capps retained a measurable lead. One poor race or one event win could reorder several positions.

Prock gained points but remained seventh

Prock reached the final for the second time in 2026 and the 34th time in his career. The result raised his total to 687.

He remained seventh, two points ahead of DeJoria. However, the Seattle performance confirmed the Tasca operation had recovered from its difficult start.

Kalitta defeated Leah Pruett in the Top Fuel final with a 3.677 at 338.43 mph. Todd then secured the Funny Car trophy.

The two victories created only the second nitro sweep in Kalitta Motorsports history. Team founder Connie Kalitta saw both primary nitro entries win at the same event.

The sweep also carried championship value. Kalitta moved within five points of the Top Fuel lead, while Todd moved within 42 points in Funny Car.

Both results came through different race patterns. Kalitta won a fully contested final, while Todd benefited from Prock’s red light.

However, each driver needed three earlier round wins to reach that opportunity. The final outcome did not reduce the work required through the ladder.

Reaction time decided Prock’s last two races

Prock’s .046 reaction won the semifinal despite a slower elapsed time. His -.005 reaction then lost the final before the green light.

The contrast was striking. Three hundredths of starting-line advantage created one win, while five thousandths beyond the legal limit created the loss.

Todd’s top-end speed won the quarterfinal

Vandergriff gained the starting advantage and remained competitive through the early incrementals. Todd’s car became stronger in the second half.

The 334.40-mph finish allowed Todd to pass Vandergriff near 800 feet. It was one of the clearest examples of finish-line power during the event.

The weather created an aggressive track

Round one began with 65-degree air and an 83-degree track. Cloud cover gave the teams more grip than they had during warmer Friday sessions.

Beckman used those conditions to run 3.858. Yet several teams still smoked the tires because the engines produced more power in the cooler air.

Clean runs were valuable, not automatic

Lee, Hagan, Beckman, Todd, Pedregon and Vandergriff produced clean opening passes. Others needed to pedal or shut off.

That split shaped the quarterfinal ladder. Drivers who avoided major damage also gave their crews a cleaner turnaround before the next round.

Todd’s crew resisted unnecessary risk

The DHL team raced each opponent and track condition rather than pursuing a headline ET. Todd’s round times remained competitive without requiring a record-setting run.

That approach became especially important in the semifinal. A controlled recovery was worth more than a perfect-looking pass that failed to reach the finish.

1. Todd became a central championship contender

Third place and a 42-point gap put Todd within immediate reach of Capps. The victory also removed the pressure of a winless season.

2. Capps’ lead can no longer absorb repeated early losses

Capps remained first, but two consecutive first-round defeats allowed four rivals to close within 64 points.

3. Beckman had the quickest car but not the trophy

Beckman ran 3.858 in round one and 3.918 in the semifinal. Prock’s reaction time prevented the quicker semifinal pass from advancing.

4. Prock’s recovery is real

The Tasca Ford reached a fourth consecutive semifinal and a second 2026 final. Seattle continued the team’s rebound from a difficult opening stretch.

5. The Kalitta Motorsports sweep changed two title races

Kalitta and Todd both moved close to their respective leaders. The organization left Seattle with trophies and increased championship leverage.