PRUETT & BECKMAN WIN NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS ON FRIDAY IN BRISTOL; PRUETT, HAGAN, ANDERSON & HERRERA TAKE PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT SUPER GRIP NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
New England Nationals Top Fuel Winner: Leah Pruett
By: NHRA (Photos Courtesy NHRA)
BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 12, 2026) – Leah Pruett picked up her first victory since 2023, defeating points leader Shawn Langdon in the final round of the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto, which were completed Friday at Bristol Dragway.
Jack Beckman also won on Friday in the Epping Funny Car final round, while Pruett, Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the provisional No. 1 qualifiers in Bristol for the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at the ninth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Pruett went 3.794-seconds at 332.43 mph in her 12,000-horsepower Dodge//SRT dragster, slipping past Langdon’s 3.852 at 328.54. It is Pruett’s 13th career victory and first since returning to the sport this season. Pruett stepped out of the seat after the 2023 season to start a family with her husband, Tony Stewart, coming back to the Top Fuel ranks in 2026.
She had performed well through the first seven races, advancing to the final round in Phoenix, but the only thing missing was a victory. That changed on Friday, as Pruett delivered a thrilling run in what could be a massive weekend for the star driver.
The run also puts Pruett as the provisional No. 1 qualifier for this weekend’s Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol.
“I’m happier than I thought I would be,” Pruett said. “Now I finally get to take a breath and enjoy it. This race didn’t come by accident. It didn’t come by somebody falling short or smoking the tires. We earned this.
“To see the smiles on my crew and my crew chiefs’ faces — that’s all-time. The Diamond Wally is super cool, but seeing what this means to my team means even more. We’re chipping away at it and that’s what gave us confidence coming into this final round. I think I’m in a better spot than I’ve ever been as a driver.”
Funny Car’s Jack Beckman had to wait an extra week, too, but it was worth it as he cashed in with his first victory of the 2026 season, beating John Force Racing teammate Jordan Vandergriff in the final round of the NHRA New England Nationals presented by brpoauto with a run of 4.017 at 318.55 in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS.
Beckman had been working up to this moment over the past handful of races, advancing to his second straight final round. He fell in the Maryland finals to Austin Prock, but has continued to run well, making a clean run on Friday in the Bristol heat. It gives the past world champion his 38th career victory and he becomes the sixth different winner this year in the loaded Funny Car category.
“Before you can be quick, you have to be consistent and to be consistent, you have to be predictable. I think we’re back in that window right now,” Beckman said. “To get a win like this, it was very gratifying.
“I wouldn’t have cared if we ran this final round Friday night or next Tuesday. Our PEAK team left with the trophy and that’s all that matters. We hadn’t won in over a year. We had some struggles, but now we’ve made it down the track on 14 of our last 17 runs. That’s the kind of consistency that wins races. I’ve never raced a final round at a completely different venue a week later. I’ve raced late Sundays and Mondays, but never this. It was definitely unique.”
Hagan took the top spot on Friday with a run of 4.009 at 319.60 in his 12,000-horsepower Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge Funny Car. The four-time champion is after his first top qualifier of the season and the 55th in his career. Beckman is currently second, while Spencer Hyde is third after going 4.030 at 319.07.
“The racing surface itself is a massive improvement from what we’ve had in the past. I couldn’t even feel the bumps for the tunnel or anything like that,” Hagan said. “Hats off to the whole group that put a really good racetrack under us. I think it will only get better as we go. As the rubber comes around and we’re able to apply more power to it, you can really see those lanes starting to fill in. This track is a really good track now and as these crew chiefs get more runs under their belt with it, you’ll see faster numbers.”
Even with the new track surface, it was the same result in Pro Stock for Greg Anderson, as the six-time champ rolled to the provisional No. 1 spot with a run of 6.673 at 204.11 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.
It puts Anderson in line for his sixth No. 1 qualifier in nine races this season, as he continues to perform at a high level in Bristol. Anderson is the defending event winner and the track has been home to a number of special memories, including his first career win in 2001 and his 1,000th round win, which came last year during his victory.
“I don’t care how much we did it by, we squeaked by, but we did it,” Anderson said. “It was a perfect day and you can chalk it up to Bristol. You really don’t feel anything going down the racetrack anymore. We asked for a smooth racetrack, we begged for a smooth racetrack, and now we’ve got it. We’re going to run well all weekend here.”
Matt Latino is second with a 6.676 at 205.04 and points leader Dallas Glenn is third after going 6.687 at 203.83.
Following a rare first-round loss at the most recent Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gaige Herrera bounced back quickly on Friday, making the quickest run of both sessions at Bristol Dragway, including a 6.667 at 196.59 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
Remarkably, it would be just the first No. 1 qualifier of the season for the two-time world champion and the 32nd in his career. Herrera won in Charlotte but dropped to fourth in points following a first-round loss last month in Maryland. That was only the second time that’s happened since the start of 2023 and Herrera was eager to rectify that upon arriving in Bristol.
“This whole season, I would say luck has not been on my side for a lot of things,” Herrera said. “It’s been a rough go this season for us, as far as me, with parts-wise and just failures, little mishaps. I’m glad to be on the pole at the moment, but it could change at any minute.
“The first run for me was picture perfect, really. I had to make very little corrections. I kind of adjusted the bike too much in Q2 and had to ride it quite a bit. I didn’t think it was going to run an .88 or .80 anything, so I was happy with that.”
Ryan Oehler is currently second after going 6.898 at 198.52 and Angie Smith, who won in Maryland, is third with a 6.899 at 197.54.
Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.
Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 25th annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, ninth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Leah Pruett, 3.794 seconds, 332.43 mph; 2. Antron Brown, 3.801, 329.50; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.803, 326.16; 4. Tony Stewart, 3.807, 332.10; 5. Billy Torrence, 3.814, 338.17; 6. Josh Hart, 3.815, 327.03; 7. Shawn Reed, 3.821, 319.60; 8. Shawn Langdon, 3.852, 328.54; 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.927, 311.99; 10. Maddi Gordon, 3.965, 311.77; 11. Keith Murt, 3.968, 295.79; 12. Justin Ashley, 4.422, 197.33; 13. Jasmine Salinas, 4.573, 173.83; 14. Will Smith, 6.807, 94.83; 15. Clay Millican, 8.563, 79.90.
Funny Car — 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.009, 319.60; 2. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 4.017, 318.54; 3. Spencer Hyde, Ford Mustang, 4.030, 319.07; 4. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.189, 242.84; 5. Austin Prock, Mustang, 4.382, 238.34; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.484, 207.11; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.503, 201.04; 8. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.810, 171.29; 9. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 5.127, 153.13; 10. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 5.346, 137.82; 11. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 5.357, 136.07; 12. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 5.455, 133.67; 13. Dave Richards, Mustang, 5.512, 130.82; 14. Jon Capps, Charger, 6.371, 102.22.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.673, 204.45; 2. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.676, 205.04; 3. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.687, 204.66; 4. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.688, 205.26; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.689, 205.16; 6. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.691, 205.60; 7. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.691, 205.41; 8. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.700, 204.35; 9. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.709, 204.35; 10. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.714, 206.04; 11. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.718, 205.41; 12. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.722, 204.60; 13. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.785, 203.65; 14. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 13.424, 65.64.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.867, 196.59; 2. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.898, 198.52; 3. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.899, 197.54; 4. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.903, 197.08; 5. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.908, 194.58; 6. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.935, 195.79; 7. John Hall, Beull, 6.953, 196.73; 8. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.966, 194.38; 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.003, 191.92; 10. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 7.021, 194.63; 11. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.065, 191.08; 12. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.066, 191.38; 13. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.188, 183.15; 14. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 7.310, 151.51; 15. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 7.815, 129.92.
