May 15, 2026 | By NHRA PR

KALITTA, BECKMAN, ENDERS & A. SMITH lead Friday NHRA qualifying at Joliet

JOLIET, Ill.—Reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta made the quickest run on Friday at Route 66 Raceway, taking the provisional No. 1 spot at the 26th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK.

Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Angie Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the sixth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Kalitta, who is currently second in points behind Kalitta Motorsports teammate Shawn Langdon, went 3.720-seconds at 338.17-mph in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster, putting the veteran in line for his second straight No. 1 qualifier this season and the 68th in his career.

He is also after his second victory of the season and first at Route 66 Raceway in 20 years. Kalitta, who has two world titles in the past three years, has three career victories at the standout Chicago facility.

“I was happy to hear that Alan [Johnson, crew chief] was happy on the starting line. That was cool. I was super happy,” Kalitta said. “It was kind of interesting before that run. They put weight on the clutch, and the next thing you know, they're doing this, doing that so you can kind of tell that they're hopping it up. It looked like we needed every bit of it because everybody's running super close.

“This place is a cool place to run. It’s close to home, and we've just got a lot of our friends from Michigan here, so, you know, we're just happy that we have a good run in.”

Rookie sensation Maddi Gordon, who made a pair of 340-mph runs in Valdosta, is second with a strong 3.738 at 334.90 and Billy Torrence’s run of 3.746 at 336.32 has him third. Points leader Shawn Langdon is currently 13th.

Funny Car’s Jack Beckman is on a good path to repeating last year’s win at Route 66 Raceway, making an impressive run of 3.913 at 329.99 in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS for John Force Racing.

Beckman performed well at his sponsor’s race a year ago and is off to a good start again in 2026, which bodes well after an early exit two weeks ago in Valdosta. Should that number hold, the past world champion would pick up his first top qualifier of the year and the 34th in his career. He also knows just how important it is to perform well on a weekend like this.

“That last run was entertaining and scary. It was just a handful and it was entertaining. I hope everybody in the stands was half as entertained as I was,” Beckman said.

“I'm just incredibly satisfied that we've got some bonus points so far. We've made two absolutely solid runs, one in each lane. We have great data. We can now afford to push on Saturday and if we push too hard, that'll teach us something as well. So, it really just sets us up for a lot more race day success.”

Ron Capps, who has a pair of wins in 2026, is second with a 3.916 at 330.31 and Cruz Pedregon sits third thanks to a 3.920 at 324.59. Points leader J.R. Todd is right behind in fourth with a 3.942 at 332.26. Valdosta winner Jordan Vandergriff sits 16th after his run in the second qualifying session was disqualified due to a pinned parachute.

In Pro Stock, it appears Erica Enders’ early-season struggles are behind her, as motorsports’ winningest female driver put on a show at the site of her first Pro Stock victory, taking the top spot with a standout run of 6.542 at 209.92 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/R+L Carriers entry for Elite Motorsports. Should that stay atop the field, the six-time world champion would pick up her first top qualifier since the 2024 season.

It hasn’t been an ideal start for the 50-time national event winner, either, as Enders sits an uncharacteristic seventh in points. Qualifying had been a struggle, but Enders advanced to the semifinals in Valdosta and took another big step on Friday with a pair of strong runs. She has a chance for her 50th Pro Stock win this weekend, which would be meaningful for it to come at the site of her historic first victory in 2012.

“It's definitely a good feeling and I’m excited,” Enders said. “It’s fun to have the provisional number one after the first session. I'm obviously surprised that we stayed number one, but I honestly don't think that we're fast. The (2025) season was extremely rough for our entire organization and '26 hasn't started off on the right foot, either, but we've been working really hard, and it's about tenacity and not giving up, and just keep plugging away at it, and that's what my guys are really good at.

“I love coming here. I've been coming here my entire life and embracing it in all different categories, but I remember vividly winning here in 2012 and being in this very press room, and I was talking to the media, and Bob Glidden called my phone and I'll never forget it. That was so cool because he was my hero and a legend, and that was my first win. It’s been a long, crazy, crazy road, but I think it is serendipitous, and I love racing here. So, I think it would be great if this were the turning point.”

Jeg Coughlin Jr. is second with a 6.543 at 210.21 and Greg Stanfield helped make it a clean sweep for Elite Motorsports in the top three after going 6.549 at 210.11.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Angie Smith continues to perform well in qualifying, making the quickest run in both sessions on Friday at Route 66 Raceway, including a 6.738 at 200.17 in the opening session on her Denso Auto Parts Buell.

That puts Smith in a great position to collect her second top qualifier in the first four races of the year, also continuing the dominant start – especially in qualifying – for Matt Smith Racing. Smith and her husband, Matt, who won in Valdosta, have been atop the field at the first three races and it could be a fourth this weekend.

The only thing missing for Angie is a victory, something she would love to change this weekend in Chicago.

“It felt really good,” Smith said. “We went home, and after Valdosta, since we had some time, we took my motor out and freshened it up.

“I knew it was a good run. I did not think that it would hold, just because of Gaige [Herrera], Richard [Gadson] and Matt’s [Smith] success with tracks like this that are fast tracks, but it did, and I'm pretty happy with it. We've been working really, really hard. We've been working hard on our 60-foot program, because there have been a couple of other people in the class talking a little bit of smack, telling us that we needed to go to work on our 60-foot program.”

Gadson is currently second with a 6.778 at 200.38 and Herrera, who is undefeated at Route 66 Raceway, took third on the first day after a run of 6.784 at 197.94.

Qualifying continues at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK at Route 66 Raceway.



FRIDAY QUALIFYING RESULTS

JOLIET, Ill. -- Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 26th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway, sixth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.


Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.720 seconds, 338.17 mph; 2. Maddi Gordon, 3.738, 335.32; 3. Billy Torrence, 3.746, 336.32; 4. Tony Stewart, 3.754, 334.40; 5. Leah Pruett, 3.756, 335.15; 6. Shawn Reed, 3.763, 331.36; 7. T.J. Zizzo, 3.774, 331.61; 8. Clay Millican, 3.784, 334.57; 9. Justin Ashley, 3.797, 332.02; 10. Tony Schumacher, 3.817, 330.88; 11. Antron Brown, 3.822, 319.22; 12. Josh Hart, 3.846, 318.47; 13. Shawn Langdon,
4.105, 214.28; 14. Will Smith, 5.109, 136.30; 15. Krista Baldwin, 5.999, 106.18.


Funny Car -- 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.913, 329.99; 2. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.916, 330.31; 3. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.920, 324.59; 4. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.942, 332.26; 5. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.951, 329.50; 6. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.960, 324.05; 7. Blake Alexander, Charger, 3.961, 323.35; 8. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.962, 320.36; 9. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.964, 330.55; 10. Alexis DeJoria Camaro, 3.994, 329.42; 11. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.998, 319.90; 12. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.010, 313.07; 13. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.045, 313.88; 14. Chris King, Charger, 4.142, 266.79; 15. Justin Schriefer, Charger, 4.574, 195.53; 16. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, broke.


Pro Stock -- 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.542, 209.92; 2. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.543, 210.21; 3. Greg Stanfi ld, Camaro, 6.549, 210.11; 4. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.553, 209.88; 5. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.558, 210.28; 6. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.558, 209.36; 7. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.563, 209.82; 8. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.570, 209.33; 9. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.575, 208.81; 10. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.578, 209.17; 11. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.585, 208.30; 12. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.591, 209.01; 13. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.593, 209.65; 14. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.837, 207.75; 15. Joe Wilczek, Ford Mustang, 6.985, 198.03; 16. Derrick Reese, Mustang, 11.055, 80.54.


Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.738, 200.17; 2. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.778, 200.38; 3. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.784, 197.94; 4. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.787, 196.59; 5. John Hall, Beull, 6.806, 200.47; 6. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.813, 200.38; 7. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.832, 198.41; 8. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.847, 200.86; 9. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.852, 197.77; 10. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.863, 195.14; 11. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.872, 195.76; 12. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.919, 194.86; 13. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.946, 194.66; 14. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.956, 167.22; 15. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 6.999, 190.16.