Langdon, Pedregon, Anderson and Smith lead opening-day qualifiers in Maryland

Coming off back-to-back Top Fuel wins, points leader Shawn Langdon made the quickest run on Friday in NHRA’s debut at Maryland International Raceway, powering to the provisional No. 1 position at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Angie Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the seventh of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Langdon, who already has three wins in 2026, went 3.758 seconds at 336.23 mph in his Kalitta Air dragster, putting on a remarkable show in his first appearance at the facility. The past world champion is after his third No. 1 qualifier of the year and 25th in his career as he continues to enjoy a spectacular start to NHRA’s 75th anniversary season.

“We didn’t think we could make that kind of run here today,” Langdon said. “We actually underestimated the track on the first run, and so Brian [Husen, crew chief] realized he could get after it a little more and we were able to take the No. 1 from Doug. This is just such a great team effort from everyone at Kalitta Motorsports, starting with Connie, and I’m just proud to be able to drive the car.

“Tomorrow, we’ll just have the kind of mindset that we had today. Just try to make some good runs, but also win the Mission #2fast2Tasty Challenge, too.”

Langdon’s Kalitta Motorsports teammate, reigning world champion Doug Kalitta, is second going a 3.774 at 333.91 as part of the thrilling side-by-side run with Langdon. Tony Stewart is third thanks to his 3.790 at 333.33.

In Funny Car, Cruz Pedregon hopes Friday marks the turnaround of his season, as the two-time world champion vaulted to the top in his Snap-on America 250 Dodge Hellcat with a strong pass of 3.951 at 323.19.

The veteran has endured his share of struggles early this season, not qualifying in Pomona and failing to make it out of the first round at the first six races. But he’s qualified well the last two races and Friday marked another solid step forward as Pedregon looks to qualify No. 1 for the first time this season and 66th time in his stellar career.

“That probably won’t stay No. 1. I think there's a 0.92 or (0.93) out there, and we're going to give it a shot tomorrow,” Pedregon said. “It’d be nice to stay No. 1. It doesn't win the race, but it gives you some confidence. We're in the numbers game, so you know, being in that top three or four is important.

“The thing about this place, it's near the ocean. Anytime you get near the ocean at sea level, you're going to get good atmospheric conditions. The challenge for our cars is we have more power than we really need, so the challenge for us is to pull it back and not get too fancy and cute. We had a good balance, and it ripped, man. It was a good run.”

Spencer Hyde, the reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year, is second with a 3.953 at 323.58 and Valdosta winner Jordan Vandergriff is currently third thanks to a 3.970 at 321.88.

Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson wasted no time in sending a message at Maryland International Raceway, dipping into the 6.40s and taking the provisional top spot with a run of 6.494 at 211.79 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.

Anderson entered the weekend second in points following a runner-up showing in Chicago, but he’s hoping for a better result at this new track on the NHRA schedule than the first one of the year. The six-time champ qualified No. 1 in Valdosta but was upset on a massive holeshot in the opening round, something he’s eager not to replicate this weekend at Maryland International Raceway.

“I remember so many times coming here back 25 years ago when I worked with Warren Johnson as a crew chief, and we'd come up here and we would race the Wednesday night before Englishtown and the grandstands would be packed, so it’s just a great atmosphere,” Anderson said.

“We love going to sea-level type tracks, because we don't have a blower, we don't have any type of power. We're dependent on Mother Nature. So, we hope and pray we get races somewhere through the season that have conditions like this. These are fantastic conditions; they're basically Disneyland conditions and you'll see the cars all run faster tomorrow. You should see a lot of 6.40 runs tomorrow.”

Points leader Dallas Glenn pulled close to Anderson, going 6.497 at 211.26 and Matt Latino is third after a pass of 6.504 at 212.56.

On an emotional day for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Angie Smith, the talented veteran made the quickest run of the day as she continues to impress in qualifying, going a career-best 6.690 at 202.97 on her Denso Auto Parts Buell.

Her husband, six-time world champion Matt Smith, was hospitalized Friday morning and will be unable to race this weekend. Chip Ellis will be riding his bike, but with Smith urging on the team - and still making tuning calls - his wife put together a standout pass as she looks for her third No. 1 qualifier of the season.

She’s also coming off a heartbreaking final round in Chicago against her husband when her bike broke on the starting line. It’s made for a roller coaster of emotions in recent days, but Smith was proud of how the team handled everything on Friday.

“My run was awesome. I cried. I don't usually cry at the racetrack because I'm usually pretty tough, but I was just scared, you know? I have made probably 5,000 runs down a racetrack, and zero have been without Matt Smith,” Smith said. “I knew he was watching, I'm pretty sure he was proud. Matt tuning from the hospital is pretty remarkable to me, because he's not here to look at the weather conditions, look at the track and do a lot of the things that he takes into account when he makes a tune-up call. So all I can say is, ‘Honey, you did a remarkable job.’

“I'm relieved, to say the least. It's just been a lot the last 24 hours and this whole day has been a blur. I'm just glad that we ran well. I'm glad that all the bikes went down and everybody was safe. That was my main goal. I've never had this much responsibility, and the whole team rose to the occasion.”

Points leader Richard Gadson is in the second spot after a run of 6.729 at 201.31 and filling in for M. Smith, Ellis is third on his bike with a 6.743 at 201.16.

Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at the NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS at Maryland International Raceway.