The Big Go: Ashley, Prock, Enders & Herrera Raise Wallys

CLERMONT, Ind. — Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley won the prestigious Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals for the first time in his career, defeating racing legend Tony Stewart on a holeshot in the final round on Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 14th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Ashley went 3.839-seconds at 326.16 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Scag Power Equipment dragster to hold off Stewart, who went 3.815 at 321.88, as his .027 reaction time made the difference in a thrilling side-by-side finale on drag racing’s grandest stage.

It is the third victory of the year for Ashley, who now has 18 career wins. He defeated Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Tripp Tatum to reach the final round and the young phenom was incredible on the starting line during eliminations, posting reaction times of .036, .035, .034 leading into the championship round.

Ashley dialed it up even more against Stewart and he needed every bit of it to hold off the points leader and win The Big Go for the first time.

“I think I’m still processing everything. I’ve dreamed about this moment over and over and over again, and then to actually live it right now, right here, is truly special,” Ashley said. “When you win Indy, it’s just something that nobody can take away from you and the fact that my father won here 18 years ago, to have him here now and to win this event in Top Fuel, it really is special. It’s just different than any other race.

“I tried to do my best all day to just treat it as another race, because that probably is really the only thing you can do and not get caught up in the moment, but now to step back and to actually get that victory, you realize how truly incredible it is.

“The hardest thing is not to cut a good light. The hardest thing is to cut a good light over and over and over again. For me, what I try and do, and what works for me, is not focus on the outcome, but focus on the process. That process for me is what I do during the week, physically and mentally, to prepare for a race weekend like this. It’s definitely satisfying, but no matter how you get a win, it’s still a team win.”

Stewart advanced to the final round for the fifth time in 2025 after defeating Steve Torrence, Kyle Wurtzel and Jasmine Salinas. Coupled with the victory over Wurtzel and Kalitta’s loss against Ashley, Stewart won the regular-season championship, netting a stout $150,000 payday.

He will start the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs in the Top Fuel points lead, carrying plenty of momentum into the postseason as he seeks his first Top Fuel world championship.

“Winning the Top Fuel regular season championship is massive for us in my eyes. It took 14 weeks to win a regular-season championship,” Stewart said. “I’m extremely proud of what we did for 14 weeks to win the regular-season championship. I think there are things this weekend that we hit on for the Countdown. We realized what we were missing in the last few races. I feel that we are in as good a spot as we can be for the next six races. We just need to execute in these next six races.”

In Funny Car, Prock finished off a flawless weekend that netted the points leader $330,000, defeating John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the final round after a run of 3.903 at 332.92 in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet SS.

A day after winning the PlayNHRA All-Star Callout, Prock finished off the regular-season championship, with those two wins handing Prock $230,000. He added the $100,000 U.S. Nationals victory for a second straight year, continuing a remarkable season that may be even more dominant than last year’s championship season.

Prock, who defeated Julie Nataas, Bob Tasca III and Blake Alexander earlier in the day, now has seven victories this season and an unbelievable 15 wins in his last 32 Funny Car races. He also has 19 victories, with the majority coming during this impressive run over the past two seasons. Prock powered past Beckman in the final round, capturing another special Indy moment and taking the points lead into the Countdown to the Championship.

Prock’s big points lead will reset in the playoffs, but he enters the postseason as a dominant champ, winning back-to-back races and taking plenty of momentum into the postseason as he seeks a second straight world title.

“To win Indy in my rookie season (in Funny Car) was obviously really special. We came out guns blazing, and it just put a little bit of an extra pep in our step, and to go out there and execute and do the job and have a dominant performance like we did last year, and then to come back again this year and do it is just surreal,” Prock said.

“It was a dream of mine to win a championship, but you never know if that’s going to happen. So many stars have to align. You have to get the right opportunity. You have to be surrounded by the right people. You have to have the right sponsors backing you. So, to get a U.S. Nationals win last year and then win the championship, and then come back and win the U.S Nationals again, I don’t even know what to say. You know, they say when you win the U.S. Nationals once, it puts you in an elite group. When you do it back-to-back, it’s an even more elite group.”

Beckman, who was the No. 1 qualifier, drove to his fourth final round of 2025 after defeating Justin Scheiefer, Paul Lee and Alexis DeJoria. He’ll open the playoffs second in points, with Matt Hagan in third.

After a tumultuous regular season, Pro Stock’s Erica Enders persevered at The Big Go, snapping a 30-race winless streak and winning her 50th national event after going 6.564 at 209.95 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance car to hold off Matt Hartford.

It’s the fourth Indy win for the six-time world champion, but this one will certainly rank as one of the most memorable. Her last victory came at the opener in 2024 and this season has been particularly tough, as Enders entered the weekend 12th in points. But Enders and the Elite Motorsports team has shown promise as of late, and she made it happen in a major way on Monday in Indy, moving all the way to eighth in points as well.

She qualified third and then knocked off Greg Stanfield, defending event winner Aaron Stanfield – using a .014 reaction time – and then points leader Dallas Glenn before the matchup with one of her main rivals. Hartford left first, but Enders chased him down, again tasting Indy glory and picking up a milestone victory in the process.

“That monkey’s been on my back since Gainesville, the season opener 2024, and it’s been grueling,” Enders said. “We left last year doing well collectively as a team, and we came out this year and the scoreboard did not tell us what the dyno is telling us. So, it’s super challenging. You know, it kind of reminds me of the beginning of my career when I was just gunning for that first one, and it took seven years and seven final rounds. Granted, this wasn’t that long, but it sure felt like it and it’s mentally tough. You lose confidence in yourself and your equipment, but my guys didn’t lose confidence in their abilities or in me.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be here and I kind of wondered if I still had it, you know what I mean? It took a lot of overcoming and a lot of help from my inner circle, my dad, my sister, my family and the boys that stand behind me. We finally got number 50. As a little girl in 1994, rolling under that arch right there for my first final round at the inaugural Junior Dragster Nationals. The feelings are very similar, and here we are, 30-something years later. So, to get my 50th here at Indy, at the US. Nationals, I don’t know a better book that can be written.”

Hartford advanced to the final round for the second time this season and the 19th time overall thanks to round wins against David Cuadra, Cristian Cuadra and Fernando Cuadra Jr. He’ll open the playoffs third in points.

Dallas Glenn clinched the regular-season title in Pro Stock during the second round when he defeated Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Greg Anderson fell to Fernando Cuadra Jr. Along with the championship and payday, Glenn will take the points lead into the Countdown to the Championship on the strength of four victories and nine visits to the final round thus far in 2025. Glenn will now try to pick up his first overall world title, with Anderson opening the playoffs in second.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera was again clutch when it counted, using an incredible .003 reaction time to defeat teammate Brayden Davis in the final round on a holeshot. Herrera’s 6.834 at 199.32 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines held up thanks to the stellar reaction time, holding off Davis’ 6.799 at 198.93 at the finish line.

It was another picture-perfect weekend for the back-to-back world champion, who qualified No. 1 and set the track E.T. record twice in qualifying. Herrera had seemed vulnerable earlier this summer, but put an emphatic stamp on the regular season, defeating Chris Bostick, Angie Smith and Matt Smith to reach the final round. On drag racing’s grandest stage, Herrera then hung on for a second straight year at Indy.

“It’s very exciting, you know, especially to get a holeshot win like that,” Herrera said. “To get back-to-back wins here in the U.S. Nationals is very special to me and it was crazy. I mean, I almost was in the sand because I was more excited and cheering than being on the brakes.

“I have a strong level head on my shoulders, and I must thank my parents for that. It has not been easy. You know, it’s always nerve-wracking, especially when I know what kind of bikes are in the other lane, caliber-wise.”

Herrera also added another first in his spectacular run, winning the regular-season title and taking the points lead into the playoffs. He’ll open the Countdown to the Championship in first for a third straight year as he seeks a third consecutive world title.

Davis reached the final round for the first time in his career after defeating Dystany Spurlock, Hector Arana Jr. and Richard Gadson, who enters the Countdown to the Championship second in points.