Day one of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Norwalk Nationals brought sunshine with just a little bit of rain. Day two's conditions could be summed up in a simple phrase: cloud cover, and lots of it. If you're a fan of high speeds and low ETs, that's exactly what you wanted to see.
The cooler conditions led to some impressive performances across all four professional categories as teams made their final qualifying runs and settled the Mission Challenge winners before Sunday's eliminations.
No matter the conditions, Shawn Langdon has looked nearly unbeatable all season, and that trend continued Saturday. Langdon secured the No. 1 qualifying position heading into race day thanks to a stellar pass of 3.695 at 333.08 mph.
Perhaps even sweeter, he accomplished the feat while defeating teammate Doug Kalitta in the Mission Challenge. The victory marked Langdon's third win of the season in the specialty event and his fifth No. 1 qualifier during an incredible start to the 2026 campaign.
Langdon credited the consistency of Kalitta Motorsports as the driving force behind the team's success.
“The magic is really just the consistency that these cars have shown over the last couple of seasons, being able to make the semifinals of the races, being able to get into the show of the Mission, and then making good quality runs during the Challenge. Both cars have been really good the last few seasons, so that's just the end result of that.
“I absolutely love being the No. 1 qualifier when there are 15 cars. I feel our cars have made a pretty good statement over the last year or two. Our Kalitta cars have made some really incredible runs throughout the season, and so I think anybody that pulls up to us on Sundays, they've got to bring a pretty fast race car.”
In Funny Car, Austin Prock and Tasca Racing made a statement of their own.
The back-to-back reigning world champion earned his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and defeated Ron Capps in the Mission Challenge with a pass of 3.875 at 333.49 mph.
Earlier in the day during the third qualifying session, Prock also reset the Funny Car speed record at Summit Motorsports Park with a run of 337.41 mph.
Prock said the result is a reflection of the steady progress the team has made throughout the season.
“I can't say enough about this Ford Racing team. It's an honor to work with them. We've really made incredible progress each weekend in these 10 races. Our progression has been very linear. It's just kind of been a steady pace. The entire show has been better this weekend, and that's great for these packed Norwalk grandstands.”
In Pro Stock, the beat continued for six-time world champion Greg Anderson, who secured his seventh No. 1 qualifier of the season with a pass of 6.564 at 209.04 mph.
When it came to the GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout, however, it was his KB Titan Racing teammate, Dallas Glenn, who walked away with the championship belt and the winner's check.
Glenn admitted that when the entire team is performing at such a high level, the pressure shifts squarely onto the driver.
“When your car is working good, and everything is going your way, it definitely puts a lot more pressure on your shoulders to not mess up. Basically, I have no excuses because if the car is good enough to win, then I need to be able to go out there and win and do my job. When the car is running bad, you need to do your job just to try to get a round, but you know you got something to work for. But if you’re running good, and you’re qualifying up at the top, you really have no reason not to go out there and do your job, so it definitely puts a little more pressure on the driver.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, the Vance & Hines teammates split the day's honors.
Gaige Herrera earned the No. 1 qualifying position with a run of 6.768 at 199.64 mph. Richard Gadson, meanwhile, capitalized on Herrera's red-light start to claim the Mission Challenge victory.
Afterward, Gadson explained how the friendly competition within the Vance & Hines camp continues to elevate everyone's performance. Even after winning a world championship, he said he still races with something to prove.
“I think one thing people don’t understand about me is, I constantly have a chip on my shoulder. Constantly, when I ride, I always feel like I have something to prove and a lot of the time it’s to my own team and people close to me. That’s pretty much my motivator.
“Gaige is obviously—he’s Gaige. Like, that speaks for itself. So, I don’t want to be the guy who can’t, I don’t want to be the one who’s the weak link on the team. 2024 was a hard year for me, so it just makes me rise to the occasion.
“Gaige brings out the best in me. Everybody knows how good of a rider he is, and the same thing goes for Andrew [Hines]. Everybody knows how amazing he is as a tuner. So then you got me and Eddie [Krawiec] over there. Eddie wants to say, ‘Well, hey, I can put a guy off at the top of the field too,’ and I want to ride at the top of the field, so we all are really feeding off each other.“
We do help each other still, too. I asked him before that round, he told me what to do with my back wheel. I asked Gaige what he does. So, we do help each other. We do talk and we do communicate, but when we want to.
“When we’re out there against each other, it’s the same thing as if Matt [Smith] was over there. It’s not worse, you know what I mean? There’s just definitely an internal camp rivalry, but it’s fun.”
Sunday is race day at Summit Motorsports Park, with eliminations set to begin at 11:00 a.m.
(Photo Credit: NHRA)
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