Road to the Championship - 2026 NHRA Pro Mod Championship Battle Heats Up Heading Into St. Louis
By Rachael Everett
With only two races left on the Road to the Championship, it is still anybody’s game as to who will be crowned the 2026 Pro Mod World Champion.
The championship battle heads to St. Louis this weekend for an event powered by M&M Transmission and Jerry Bickel Race Cars, with Mike Stavrinos sitting at the top of the standings following his victory at the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock. Stavrinos holds a narrow advantage over Justin Bond, who trails the championship leader by just nine points.
With so little separating the frontrunners and two events remaining, every qualifying position and elimination-round win could prove crucial in the fight for the championship.
Derek Menholt has also made headway in the standings, moving from fourth to third and overtaking Billy Banaka following the weekend at Rockingham. Banaka’s campaign came to an early end when he was eliminated by Stevie “Fast” Jackson in Round 1, opening the door for Menholt to move ahead in the championship.
Although he didn’t take the win at The Rock, Bond showed he has plenty of pace heading into St. Louis. He recorded both the quickest ET and fastest speed of the event, running a 5.6551 at 257.29 mph. That speed was just 3.71 mph shy of the 261 mph Pro Mod record set by Erica Enders in 2019.
That performance keeps Bond firmly in the championship fight and puts even more pressure on Stavrinos as the pair prepare to battle for valuable points in St. Louis.
For the championship contenders, however, attention now turns entirely to St. Louis.
With Stavrinos and Bond separated by only nine points and Menholt continuing to make ground, there is little room for error. A strong qualifying performance could set the tone for
race day, while an early exit for any of the championship contenders could dramatically reshape the standings before the season finale.
Every point counts as the Road to the Championship reaches its final stages, with points-and-a-half on offer in Las Vegas as the battle to decide the 2026 Pro Mod World Champion comes down to the wire.
