Last Updated on June 4, 2026 2:32 pm
Sunday Recap
Eliminations day lived up to the hype during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL. Pro Mod raced down to a final round between Scott Tidwell Racing teammates Derek Menholt and Jason Collins. Menholt stopped his teammate from winning two in a row with Low ET of Eliminations 5.692 in the Final Round. Jamie Noonan and the Samsel Racing team got the job done in Top Alcohol Dragster defeating Angelle Sampey in a close final. Defending World Champ Sean Bellemeur kept up his momentum in Top Alcohol Funny Car with another win; this time getting past Annie Whiteley with a 5.496 at 269MPH. The Factory Stock Showdown class featured extremely close racing all weekend with Jonathan Allegrucci scoring the win in a 7.711 to 7.710 holeshot decision over Jason Dietsch (.025 to .088 RT’s). Hometown racer Bruno Massel showed them how it’s done in Comp Eliminator getting past Jeremy Bailey in the Final. Michigan racer Rock Haas scored the Super Gas title in his new Don Davis Roadster. Other winners from the Route 66 Nationals include Daniel Wood (Top Dragster), Larry Demers (Top Sportsman), Dave Dupps (Super Stock), Jamey Picht (Stock) and Nathan Prose (Super Comp). The next stop on the NHRA National event tour will be the Inaugural stop in Maryland for the Potomac Nationals in a couple weeks.
NHRA Route 66 Nationals
May 14-17, 2026
Route 66 Raceway – Joliet, IL
Pro Mod
Winner – Derek Menholt
RU – Jason Collins
Semis – Billy Banaka
Semis – Justin Bond
Final Round: Menholt .012, 5.692/250 def. Collins .004, 7.417/121
#1 Qualifier – Derek Menholt 5.667
Factory Stock Showdown
Winner – Jonathan Allegrucci
RU – Jason Dietsch
Semis – Raymond Nash
Semis – Lee Hartman
Final Round: Allegrucci .025, 7.711/178 def. Dietsch .088, 7.710/178
#1 Qualifier – Jason Dietsch 7.644
Top Alcohol Dragster
Winner – Jamie Noonan
RU – Angelle Sampey
Semis – Jon Bradford
Semis – Shawn Cowie
Final Round: Noonan .030, 5.353/269 def. Sampey .061, 5.404/267
#1 Qualifier – Shawn Cowie 5.172
Top Alcohol Funny Car
Winner – Sean Bellemeur
RU – Annie Whiteley
Semis – Phil Esz
Final Round: Bellemeur .029, 5.496/269 def. Whiteley .061, 5.560/264
#1 Qualifier – Sean Bellemeur 5.404
Top Dragster
Winner – Daniel Wood
RU – Mark Grame
Semis – John Biagi
Final Round: Wood .024, 6.670 (6.67) def. Grame .026, 6.821 (6.82)
#1 Qualifier – Steve Schneider 6.101
Top Sportsman
Winner – Larry Demers
RU – Brian Brown
Semis – Chris Osborn
Final Round: Demers .020, 7.130 (7.15) def. Brown NT (6.91)
#1 Qualifier – Glenn Butcher 6.129
Comp
Winner – Bruno Massel
RU – Jeremy Bailey
Semis – Troy Galbraith
Final Round: Massel .067, 6.979 (-.521) def. Bailey .000, 7.107 (-.443)
#1 Qualifier – Cali Neff (A/ED) 6.456 (-.804)
Super Stock
Winner – Dave Dupps
RU – Gene Mosbek
Semis – Mike Lund
Final Round: Dupps .034, 8.700 (8.70) def. Mosbek .036, 10.167 (10.17)
#1 Qualifier – Jim Whalen (SS/JA) 9.829 (-1.171)
Stock
Winner – Jamey Picht
RU – Brent Voges
Semis – Ron Richards
Final Round: Picht .011, 10.995 (11.00) def. Voges .008, 12.534 (12.56)
#1 Qualifier – Doug Duell (C/SA) 10.271 (-1.129)
Super Comp
Winner – Nathan Prose
RU – Chad Lamont
Semis – Kimbra Fuesting
Final Round: Prose .034, 8.915 (8.90) def. Lamont .021, 8.897 (8.90)
Super Gas
Winner – Rock Haas
RU – Chris Sullivan
Semis – Brian Cassin
Semis – Bob Locke
Final Round: Haas .015, 9.937 (9.90) def. Sullivan .011, 9.881 (9.90)
Saturday Recap
Drag Racing action continued on Saturday at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL for the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. Pro Mod continued to thrill the crowd with amazing performances in Qualifying. Derek Menholt jumped past his Scott Tidwell Racing teammate Jason Collins in Q4 to the top spot with a 5.667 ET. In the Top Alcohol categories, Provisional pole sitters Shawn Cowie (TAD) and Sean Bellemeur (TAFC) held their #1 Qualifying positions. Cowie did improve his ET to a 5.172 in Q2 Saturday morning for the Supercharged Dragster. Jason Dietsch held on to the top spot in Factory Stock Showdown with a 7.644 ET. The Lucas Oil Series Sportsman classes are down to the Semi-Finals heading into Sunday headlined by Hometown Favorite Bruno Massel hanging tough in Comp Eliminator. To view this event’s Live Stream, go to NHRA.tv at https://www.nhra.tv/ for the entire weekend or NHRA on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@nhra (Youtube only available for short segments).
Pro Mod Q4 Top Qualifiers
1. Derek Menholt 5.667
2. Jason Collins 5.691
3. Billy Banaka 5.694
4. Lyle Barnett 5.695
5. Justin Bond 5.696
Bump – Alex Laughlin 5.782
Q4 Best Run – Menholt 5.667
Top Alcohol E1 Recap
TAD
Matt Sackman driving for Randy Meyer Racing set Low ET of E1 5.196. Biggest Upset of E1 was #13 Qualifier Todd Bruce getting around #4 Alan Bradshaw.
— E2 Pairings
1. Cowie LC vs. 8. Severance
13. Bruce vs. 5. Noonan LC
2. Sampey LC vs. 7. Johnson
3. Sackman LC vs. 6. Bradford
TAFC
Sean Bellemeur continues to throw down incredible laps; Low ET of E1 at 5.444. Big matchup in E2 will be Phil Esz vs. Bob McCosh; Esz with LC.
— E2 Pairings
1. Bellemeur vs. Bye
3. Esz LC vs. 4. McCosh
2. A.Whiteley LC vs. 6. ChristineFoster
NHRA Route 66 Nationals | #LODRS Semi-Final Matchups
Top Dragster
John Biagi vs. Daniel Wood
Mark Grame – Bye
Top Sportsman
Chris Osborn vs. Larry Demers
Brian Brown – Bye
Comp
Bruno Massel vs. Troy Galbraith
Jeremy Bailey – Bye
Super Stock
Gene Mosbek vs. Mike Lund
Dave Dupps – Bye
Stock
Jamey Picht vs. Ron Richards
Brent Voges – Bye
Super Comp
Nathan Prose vs. Kimbra Fuesting
Chad Lamont – Bye
Super Gas
Bob Locke vs. Rock Haas
Chris Sullivan vs. Brian Cassin
Friday Recap
Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL came to life again on Friday for Qualifying at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. Pro Mod hit the track for the first time on the weekend, and Jason Collins stayed atop the class after the first two sessions of Qualifying. Collins, coming off his first NHRA Pro Mod win at South Georgia Motorsports Park, recorded a 5.691 ET in Q1 to earn the Provisional Pole position. Lyle Barnett, Justin Bond, Derek Menholt and Billy Banaka round out the Top 5. The Top Alcohol categories also hit the track for the first time this week with two rounds of Qualifying on Friday. Defending World Champ Shawn Cowie led Top Alcohol Dragster in both sessions, leading the Qualifying Sheet after Friday with a 5.172 in the Supercharged entry. The story is very similar in Top Alcohol Funny Car as Defending World Champ Sean Bellemeur leads Qualifying with a 5.404. The Champions are flexing their muscles in the title defense. Jason Dietsch leads the Factory Stock Showdown class with a 7.644 ET. Three Lucas Oil Series classes wrapped up Qualifying early on Friday with Steve Schneider (Top Dragster), Glenn Butcher (Top Sportsman) and Cali Neff (Comp) locking down #1 spots. To view this event’s Live Stream, go to NHRA.tv at https://www.nhra.tv/ for the entire weekend or NHRA on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@nhra (Youtube only available for short segments).
Pro Mod Q2 Top Qualifiers
1. Jason Collins 5.691
2. Lyle Barnett 5.695
3. Justin Bond 5.696
4. Derek Menholt 5.700
5. Billy Banaka 5.713
Bump – Nick Januik 5.809
Q2 Best Run – Barnett 5.695
Top Alcohol Q2 Top Qualifiers
TAD
1. Shawn Cowie 5.172
2. Angelle Sampey 5.203
3. Matt Sackman 5.221
Q2 Best Run – Cowie 5.172
TAFC
1. Sean Bellemeur 5.404
2. Annie Whiteley 5.452
3. Phil Esz 5.467
Thursday Recap
The NHRA Route 66 Nationals is underway at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL. Thursday featured Qualifying for all Lucas Oil Series Sportsman categories. The big story of the day was Cali Neff throwing down a Booming .804-Under lap (6.456) in her A/ED to lead the pack. It’s rare these days to see much past .70-Under in Comp, making the .80-Under lap such a feat. In Top Dragster, California racer Steve Schneider impressed running a 6.101, just .001 off of the class ET Cap of 6.10. Other Top Qualifiers include Glenn Butcher (Top Sportmsan), Jim Whalen (Super Stock) and Doug Duell (Stock). Friday will see early round eliminations in Lucas Oil Series categories along with Qualifying action in Top Alcohol & Pro Mod. To view this event’s Live Stream, go to NHRA.tv at https://www.nhra.tv/ for the entire weekend or NHRA on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@nhra (Youtube only available for short segments).
NHRA Lucas Oil Series #1 Qualifiers
Top Dragster – Steve Schneider 6.101 (After 2 of 3 Sessions)
Top Sportsman – Glenn Butcher 6.129 (After 2 of 3 Sessions)
Comp Eliminator – Cali Neff (A/ED) 6.456 (-.804) (After 2 of 3 Sessions)
Super Stock – Jim Whalen (SS/JA) 9.829 (-1.171)
Stock – Doug Duell (C/SA) 10.271 (-1.129)
Race Results from the NHRA National Event on tour -> NHRA Potomac Nationals.
