Justin Ashley moved into the Top Fuel points lead on Sunday at Texas Motorplex, holding off Clay Millican in the final round and winning in Dallas for the third time in four years at the 39th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals.
Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 18th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the fourth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Ashley went 3.773s at 327.99mph in his Scag Power Equipment/Toyota dragster in the final round, defeating Millican on a holeshot thanks to a brilliant 0.026s reaction time on the starting line. Millican went a quicker 3.762s at 328.40mph but couldn’t track down Ashley at the finish line. It is the fourth win this season and the 15th overall for Ashley, who defeated Antron Brown, Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher to reach the final round.
He qualified 12th, only make Friday’s first qualifying pass while observing Yom Kippur. But the team was prepared on Sunday with several standout runs and Ashley now has a 44-point lead over Antron Brown with two races remaining.
“This just speaks volumes of the kind of team we have,” Ashley said. “When I went up to them and told them my plan, the team rallied around me and we rallied together as a group. We’re one team and one family, and for them to understand my principles and having only one lap down the racetrack – I don’t think we had lane choice once today, our backs were against the wall, but Mike (Green, crew chief) and Tommy (DeLago) did an awesome job.
“It’s not over until it’s over, that much is for sure. You just have to keep swinging, and it’s best for us to not even look at the points. If we don’t take care of our business, it’s not going to matter anyway. It’s important to enjoy it, but once we leave here our focus has to immediately shift to Vegas. No matter what, this is far, far from over. We took a major step today, but it’s going to become more and more difficult. Just like it always does, it’s going to come down to Pomona.”
Millican advanced to the finals for the third time this season and the 25th time in his career by taking down defending world champ Doug Kalitta, Shawn Reed and Texan Steve Torrence.
Texas Motorplex continued to bring out the best in defending Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan, who won for the second consecutive year in Dallas for Tony Stewart Racing, defeating Ron Capps with a run of 3.943s at 327.65mph in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat. It is the third victory this season for Hagan and the 52nd in his career as he also moved to third in points, 168 back of leader Austin Prock.
After qualifying second, Hagan took down Bobby Bode, Cruz Pedregon and Daniel Wilkerson to reach the final round, utilizing a better 0.064s reaction time to hold off Capps’ run of 3.934s at 328.28mph. The team had struggled since Hagan last won in May in Chicago, but he was thrilled with how everyone performed in the warm conditions on Sunday, giving the team a much-needed late-season jolt.
“I was really on the chip, and I love Capps to death, but I was ready to cut his head off,” Hagan said. “You’re going in like a gladiator. You get to get on this crazy machine, and you never know what it’s going to do, but this is one of the cool things we get to do, drive something so unpredictable.
“But that’s why we love doing it. To get this win for Jason Johnson and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, to pull down the win was huge. Life is about the people and the relationships we build along the way, that’s what really matters. We’ve surrounded ourselves with really smart people and I believe in my guys and my crew. Those core group of guys really mattered and I’ve been lucky to keep my core group together for so long.”
Capps advanced to the finals for the fifth time this season and the 152nd in his career by defeating Dave Richards, Blake Alexander and Prock. Prock will still take a commanding lead into Las Vegas, as he will lead Jack Beckman by 147 points heading into the final two races. Beckman, who has racing for drag racing legend John Force, did not compete on Sunday after waking up with vertigo-like symptoms.
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In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin Jr. got the better of longtime rival Greg Anderson in the championship round, picking up his first win at Texas Motorplex in more than 20 years after slipping past Anderson with a run of 6.592s at 208.10mph in his Scag Power Equipment car. Coughlin’s last win in Dallas came in 2002, but that all changed with a classic performance on Sunday. It gives Coughlin his fifth victory this season and the 69th in his career.
To get there, he knocked off Cory Reed, David Cuadra and Matt Hartford, but the performance was turned up in the final round against Anderson. It was a pair of five-time world champions, but Coughlin slipped past the veteran at the finish line. He’s fifth in points and was also thrilled to enjoy the first double-up victory for Scag Power Equipment.
“This feels fantastic,” Coughlin said. “For us, the cherry on top was for Justin Ashley and me to get our first double together as Scag teammates. I’m really eager to go celebrate with our team. It should be a big one. This Wally is going back to Mark Ingersoll. It’s quite remarkable what he’s gone through He’s on a good path to recovery, and he’s as strong as an ox for sure. We miss having him out here and look forward to him coming back more.
“Greg has always been the pinnacle since he got behind the wheel of a Pro Stock program. Today he had us outpaced, performance-wise, so we jokingly said we needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat before this final round – and fortunately we did. I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded with some amazing teams, amazing people. I think this weekend is another testament to that. I saw that win light come on, and I couldn’t have been more excited.”
Anderson, who was the No. 1 qualifier, reached the finals for the fourth time this year and the 180th in his career by taking down Fernando Cuadra Jr. and points leader Dallas Glenn. But Glenn did strengthen his points lead by knocking off Stanfield in the second round, taking a 54-point advantage over Stanfield into Las Vegas. Anderson jumped to third with his final-round appearance.
It was another dominant Dallas weekend for Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Gaige Herrera, who won for the second year at Texas Motorplex after defeating rival Matt Smith in the final round with a run of 6.816s at 200.56mph on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. With the win, Herrera picked up his 20th career victory, reaching that milestone quicker than any driver in NHRA history.
Herrera, who was also the No. 1 qualifier as part of a spectacular weekend, now has nine victories in 2024, taking a 62-point lead over Smith into the final two races of the season as he seeks a second straight championship. To reach the final round on Sunday, Herrera got past Chase Van Sant and Jianna Evaristo. Smith left the starting line first but ran into trouble as Herrera cruised to his second straight victory in the Countdown to the Championship.
“Today means a lot,” Herrera said. “I had more luck on my side today than performance, for sure. I was sleeping on one of the lights and Chase went red, and in the final there, Matt would have had me. Luck was definitely on my side, and I’d rather be lucky than good any day. My bike ran well all day with the heat, considering. I made a few little mistakes, but all in all, I’m glad to go home with the win and another cowboy hat.
“This Countdown has been pretty tight. We all know there was some trash talk, so for us to not have the performance advantage and get the win, it means a lot to me. This season, it just means a lot more each round win we get. This year has been a lot more pressure for me as a rider. Each round and win means so much more this time. I’m kind of just showing my real side and not holding it in anymore.”
Smith reached his fifth final round in 2024 and the 80th in his career thanks to round wins against Malcolm Phillips Jr., Marc Ingwersen and Hector Arana Jr.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Oct. 31-Nov. 3 with the 24th annual Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.