Kalitta, Todd, Anderson & M. Smith Roll to No. 1 Positions in front of Sellout Crowd at NHRA Southern Nationals

ADEL, GA – May 3, 2026 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta made the quickest run of 2026 in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday at South Georgia Motorsports Park, powering to his first No. 1 qualifier of the season at the NHRA Southern Nationals.

J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the fifth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Kalitta, the current points leader, went 3.657-seconds at 342.37 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster in front of a capacity crowd, picking up his 67th career top spot in NHRA’s debut at the facility. The veteran is after back-to-back wins after getting the victory last weekend in Charlotte as he continues to roll early in the season.

After Saturday’s spectacular run, he’ll get a bye run to open eliminations on Sunday and Kalitta was thrilled with how the team performed in front of a crowd that waited out a lengthy rain delay.

“This is for the fans, they definitely held in there,” Kalitta said of the sellout crowd. “It’s been a long day, but it was just one of those deals, with a big storm coming through. I’m just glad that we ran and will have good weather for tomorrow.

“That thing left and it started to square the tire, and then it just kind of cleared up and just ran. I could tell it was running strong and running hard. Alan (Johnson, crew chief), he’s the master, I can tell you that.”

A day after his record-breaking run of 345.00 mph on Friday, Shawn Langdon followed it up with the second-fastest run in NHRA history on Saturday, going 344.91 and is qualified second with a 3.683. Billy Torrence took the third spot after going 3.710 at 338.00.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd stayed atop the field and earned his second No. 1 qualifier in the past three races thanks to Friday’s stellar run of 3.887 at 339.28 in his 12,000-horsepower DHL Toyota GR Supra.

Todd earned the 16th top spot of his career and said the team made an aggressive attempt during Saturday’s lone qualifying session. He didn’t make it down the track on that run, but the past champion still takes plenty of confidence into raceday, where he’ll open eliminations against Daniel Wilkerson.

Todd has done just about everything but win a race during what has been a strong 2026 season, something he hopes to change on Sunday in NHRA’s debut at SGMP.

“On that last run, Dickie [Venables, crew chief] and Todd Smith said, ‘We’re going to throw down’. We had nothing to lose because we were on the pole. I was a little unsure that 3.88 from yesterday would hold up, but once we saw Matt Hagen run in front of us and saw what they did, we felt good,” Todd said. “It was trying to run, but it just got loose. We were definitely trying to put a 340 [mph] on the board. That would be cool, but either way, I’ll take a win over 340 any day. We put ourselves in a good position.

“These fans are dedicated. The fans were so appreciative and thanked us for being there. I was like, ‘No, thank you for having us here’. That’s how the fans are here.”

Chad Green jumped to second in the final session with a 3.894 at 323.89 and Jordan Vandergriff took third with Friday’s 3.924 at 325.14.

Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson picked up his fourth straight No. 1 qualifier, as nobody came close to topping his run of 6.498 at 210.60 from Friday in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.

Anderson made the best run in Saturday’s qualifying session, giving the six-time champ his 144th career No. 1 qualifier. He’ll open eliminations against Troy Coughlin Jr., looking to win for the second time this season and possibly jump into the points lead with a big day.

“It’s been a marathon day, but to get that extra run, we’re very appreciative. The air was good yesterday and better again today, and it should be even better tomorrow,” Anderson said. “We’re just struggling to match our cars up with the starting line and there’s no excuse for that. We’ll figure it out by tomorrow.

“We’ll make the right adjustments. They’ll be fine tomorrow. The crew chiefs are going to have to make a lot of decisions that they may not want to make. Drivers have to be ready for anything, not just cut a good light, but it just could be a pedal-fest out there. You never know. So you’ve got to find a way to get the finish line first.”

Eric Latino took second thanks to Friday’s 6.508 at 209.75 and Aaron Stanfield qualified third with a run of 6.525 at 210.60.

Matt Smith’s 6.669 at 203.03 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell held up from Friday, as the six-time world champion continues to be the only rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle to reach the 6.60s this season. He earned his second straight No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 61st in his career.

Smith made a strong run to close out Saturday during the lone qualifying session, going 6.728 at 199.29 and takes plenty of momentum into Sunday, where he’ll attempt to pick up his first victory of the season.

“I am looking forward to raceday tomorrow,” Smith said. “I like my chances in the first round (with a bye). You know, this is the South, and I’ve run so many races down here in Georgia and there’s a lot of motorcycle racing fans down here, and they stuck around to watch us today. We put on a good show. This is a great facility, a fast facility and hopefully there’ll be a good fanbase turnout tomorrow.”

Charlotte winner Gaige Herrera qualified second with a run of 6.705 at 202.30 and reigning world champ Richard Gadson took third after going 6.730 at 201.37.

Eliminations for the NHRA Southern Nationals begin at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

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ADEL, GA — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 41st annual NHRA Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park, the fifth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel

1. Doug Kalitta, 3.657 seconds, 342.37 mph vs. Bye; 2. Shawn Langdon, 3.683, 345.00 vs. 15. Cameron Ferre, 11.927, 57.72; 3. Billy Torrence, 3.710, 338.00 vs. 14. Dan Mercier, 6.749, 100.28; 4. Maddi Gordon, 3.748, 340.05 vs. 13. Will Smith, 5.441, 124.48; 5. Tony Stewart, 3.758, 334.40 vs. 12. Justin Ashley, 4.250, 198.82; 6. Clay Millican, 3.767, 338.00 vs. 11. Tony Schumacher, 4.030, 236.84; 7. Shawn Reed, 3.783, 329.50 vs. 10. Antron Brown, 3.896, 316.97; 8. Leah Pruett, 3.804, 331.69 vs. 9. Josh Hart, 3.855, 275.22.

Funny Car

1. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.887, 339.28 vs. 14. Daniel Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 6.468, 134.58; 2. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.894, 323.89 vs. 13. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 4.399, 200.08; 3. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.924, 325.14 vs. 12. Jeff Arend, Dodge Charger, 4.035, 311.41; 4. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.933, 328.78 vs. 11. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.973, 326.24; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.948, 316.23 vs. 10. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.968, 326.63; 6. Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.956, 331.94 vs. 9. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.963, 322.42; 7. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.958, 322.65 vs. 8. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.959, 334.57.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.498, 210.73 vs. 16. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 11.959, 104.63; 2. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.508, 209.75 vs. 15. Erica Enders, Camaro, 11.141, 80.93; 3. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.525, 210.60 vs. 14. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.731, 209.26; 4. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.526, 210.50 vs. 13. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.604, 201.64; 5. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.527, 210.50 vs. 12. Brandon Miller, Dodge Dart, 6.600, 209.17; 6. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.536, 210.05 vs. 11. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.591, 208.84; 7. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.544, 219.86 vs. 10. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.585, 209.88; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.547, 210.57 vs. 9. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.569, 210.47.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.699, 203.03 vs. Bye; 2. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.705, 202.30 vs. 15. Charles Poskey, Suzuki, 7.005, 194.13; 3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.730, 201.61 vs. 14. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.842, 198.82; 4. John Hall, Beull, 6.734, 202.88 vs. 13. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.837, 193.90; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.757, 200.65 vs. 12. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.830, 198.93; 6. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.775, 200.53 vs. 11. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.828, 197.19; 7. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.778, 200.29 vs. 10. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.815, 199.32; 8. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.778, 199.70 vs. 9. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.806, 198.58.

To purchase tickets to the 2026 NHRA Southern Nationals, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. Children 12 and under are free in general admission areas with the purchase of an adult ticket. For more information about the NHRA, visit www.nhra.com.

About Mission Foods

MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/

About NHRA

NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports and NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™ at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With more than 100 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Source: National Hot Rod Association 

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