Funny Car’s J.R. Todd kept his 2026 championship hopes alive with a terrific showing at NHRA’s Texas Fall Nationals held at the fabled Texas Motorplex, finishing off a productive day by taking down points leader Matt Hagan in the final round thanks to a run of 3.931 at 331.76 in his DHL Toyota GR Supra for Kalitta Motorsports.

Todd jumped all the way to third in points, now trailing Hagan by 119 points with two races left in NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. It’s Todd’s first Funny Car win in Dallas, too, as he became just the fourth driver in NHRA history to win in both Top Fuel and Funny Car at Texas Motorplex (Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein and Mike Dunn).

This one came at the perfect time, too, as Todd defeated Canada’s Spencer Hyde, and then Alexis DeJoria and Ron Capps to reach the final round. Hagan left first in the championship round, but Todd was a solid .059 on the starting line, quickly tracking down Hagan to earn his 24th career victory.

This was a must-win weekend for Todd, who knows there’s still work to do if there’s any chance of getting past Hagan in the championship hunt. But he was thrilled with how his team performed on Sunday in Dallas.

“This is special in so many ways. It’s tough to get a win, period, especially in the Countdown, and Matt Hagan’s been making it really hard for everybody in the category,” Todd said.
 
“Those guys are hard to get by, and to do it here, in Dickie [Venables] home state, and running [against his previous team] means a lot to him to beat them in the final. I’m proud of my guys, and now we’ve got to execute in these last two races, but either way we’re going to enjoy this.”

Hagan advanced to the finals for the fifth time in the past six races and the seventh time this season after defeating Hunter Green, Daniel Wilkerson and Jordan Vandergriff, who remained second in points. Vandergriff trails Hagan by 98 points.

NHRA Texas Fall Nationals – Funny Car Class Summary

WIN: JR Todd – 3.931 secs 331.76 mph (Career win #24)
R/UP: Matt Hagan – 4.050 secs 316.57 mph
Low ET: Jack Beckman – 3.852 secs
Top MPH: Jordan Vandergriff – 338.37 mph
Bump: 4.033
Entries: 17

Posted with files by NHRA Communications & Bruce Biegler

Photos courtesy of NHRA & Innovation Creative Experts