Race fans were in for a treat at this year’s Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways from July 18-20 in Kent. Not only was there qualifying on Friday night, but on Saturday, there were three qualifying sessions — putting drivers, pit crews and everyone in between to the full test before crowning a champion on Sunday.

Pre-race presser

Four drivers from the NHRA circuit arrived at Muckleshoot Casino Resort in Auburn for a brief media opportunity where the drivers could show a bit of their personality to people in and around the casino.

Three-time Funny Car champion Ron Capps, the reigning Top Fuel winner, and Antron Brown were the headliners at the event. A couple of local drivers — Shawn Reed of Puyallup and Dallas Glenn of Covington — repped the Pacific Northwest on stage.

Glenn and Capps are the two highest placed racers in their respective classifications, with Glenn in second behind Greg Anderson in the Pro Stock class, and Capps in fourth place in the Funny Car.

Capps returned to Pacific Raceways where he won his first ever professional race back in 1995. Last season he had the second fastest qualifying time, but couldn’t quite make it through the eliminator. This year, the car was running well for Capps and he was coming off a semifinal appearance last race weekend in Ohio.

“This is always a special race for me. I love coming here,” Capps said.

Chevy Camaro does a burn out at Pacific Raceways. Ben Ray / The Reporter

Since he was a young kid, Capps has been around race cars. His dad was a mechanic and driver got him into the sport at a young age. Now a team owner and driver, he has seen every aspect of drag racing and what it takes to be successful at the highest level. Now it is all about applying that knowledge.

“It really helped me in my first driving job. I knew how the engine worked, I knew the smells if something wasn’t right. Anybody can step on the gas if you’ve got enough bravery, but when something is wrong, you gotta know when to lift. So then you don’t cause damage to the team owner’s car and save money,” Capps said.

“As a team owner, I know how much hard work goes on with the crew guys and how special they are and how to treat them because I have been there,” Capps said.

Antron Brown showed his personality on the stage at Muckleshoot. Full of moxie and class, it’s easy to see how Brown is such a fearless competitor. After winning the Top Fuel championship last season, Brown entered 2025 with a full head of steam. He even won the Mission Foods Drag Series opening race in Florida.

But in the previous three races, Brown hasn’t made it past the quarterfinals of an eliminator leading up to the Northwest Nationals.

Despite the performances not being where Brown wanted to be, a second fastest time in qualifying last time out had him ready to get things going in the right direction this time out.

“We qualified well at Norwalk. Now we made another change and hopefully we can showcase that this weekend,” Brown said.

Brown doesn’t lack confidence, especially when things aren’t going his way — that is where Brown finds his rhythm.

“It’s not different from last year. Sometimes you gotta crack a few eggs to get the omelet right. What we are doing right now is preparing ourselves for the countdown. Now we are looking at what does it take to be consistent, what does it take to be quick all the time,” Brown said.

There was a big personality missing once again during race weekend: the legendary John Force, who was still recovering from a crash over a year ago did not race. His team, led by his daughter Brittany and Auston Prock, were in action. John Force is a drag racing icon — a legend — and his presence was still felt on and around Pacific Raceways.

“He took me under his wing. He’s probably my best friend on tour all these years. I’m just glad he is out here. I will forever be second to John Force in everything in racing and that’s okay,” Capps said.

Brown has been in drag racing since 2008 in Top Fuel, and while not directly competing against Force, Brown talked about the impact Force has made on him.

“He’s very special to me. He’s always been one of my heroes. But now it’s about who is going to take that torch. That’s the way I look at our sport right now. He’s the one we all aspire to be. There will never be another John Force,” Brown said.

Joe Sorensen pops the front up on takeoff at Pacific Raceways. Ben Ray / The Reporter

Race Day(s)

Despite her dad not being at Pacific for the second straight year, Brittany Force was racing with the spirit of her dad as she always does.

On Friday night, she broke the Pacific Raceways top speed record going 340.47 mph, breaking Doug Kalitta’s record from 2024 (337.41 mph). But when Kalitta had his turn, he would set a track record of 3.671 seconds, taking down Antron Brown’s record of 3.685 set back in 2016 taking the top spot out of the first round of qualifying.

Top Fuel turned heads all weekend, literally. After Friday night under the lights, it appeared that more records would be broken over the weekend, creating a lot of anticipation heading into Saturday

The main story Saturday was Puyallup native Shawn Reed and his health. During Top Fuel Q3, Reed popped his right rear tire and crossed over to the left lane and collided with the jersey barrier, sending debris and parts across the track. Reed turned out to be OK, and according to his team, he had a laceration on his hand, was responsive and communicating with NHRA Medical Staff and was moved to a local area hospital.

Reed was running well and sat in fifth place after Q2, but had his race weekend cut short.

Kentwood High School alum Dallas Glenn showed up and showed out in his Pro Stock RAD Torque Systems machine. Glenn began his weekend breaking a 10-year record with a run of 6.484 in his first run of the race weekend set by Chris McGaha in 2015.

Although in Q2, Glenn was behind his teammate Greg Anderson, who broke his track record with a 6.472. Glenn also improved his time on Friday on his second run, but still was behind Anderson by .005 seconds.

On Saturday, he beat out Anderson once more with a 6.462 to once again set the track record for the third time.

In the final, Glenn faced Jeg Coughlin Jr., who jumped the tree and gifted Glenn his first win at his home track. The kid who had raced at Pacific his whole life had finally accomplished something he had been seeking for a long time.

Top Fuel continued to take the cake on Sunday as the most impressive performers. Brittany Force again made headlines as she clocked the fastest a Top Fuel car has ever run in her semifinal matchup with Doug Kalitta.

Force ran a 341.85, which is the fastest a Top Fuel car has ever run, and it happened at Pacific Raceways on July 20.

Shawn Langdon was her opponent in the finals, and after she smoked the tires in that final, Langdon cruised to victory for his first ever win at Pacific in his career.

In the Funny Car, Matt Hagan won his first event of the season, downing Ron Capps in the finals. It was also the first career win for first-year crew chief Mike Knudsen.

Racing for Tony Stewart Racing, Hagan recorded his second win at Pacific in his career.

Capps reached the championship for the fourth time this year and 156th in his career.

Tony Stewart preps during qualifying in the Top Fuel division. Ben Ray / The Reporter