In a thrilling winner-take-all final round in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, J.R. Gray clinched his first career NHRA world championship by taking down Billy Banaka to close out the season as part of the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals powered by Direct Connection.
The event was the final of 10 races in NHRA Pro Mod and the last of the category’s four-race “Road to the Championship” playoffs was powered by JBS Equipment.
Gray, who won three races in the regular season, was stellar on Sunday as the stakes grew with each passing round. He defeated Alex Laughlin, Kevin Rivenbark and past world champion Mike Castella to reach the final round, setting up the high-stakes championship round against Banaka.
Gray left first with a sterling .028 reaction time and never looked back, pulling away from Banaka with a run of 5.749-seconds at 250.04 mph in his Al-Anabi Performance Camaro, clinching the event win and, more importantly, the world championship for the very first time in the NHRA ranks.
“The level of competition in this class is incredible. Every round, I kept going, ‘This is the most important round,’ and it was just all day long like that. To come out on top, this is my greatest victory ever,” Gray said.
“I was very mentally prepared. I was just taking it one round at a time. You’re walking a fine line between trying to be calm and not being calm at the same time. I felt like I controlled my emotions well all day, and I feel like that was one of the reasons I was able to get this victory.”
Gray, who qualified No. 3, had a dominant regular season with four final-round appearances, but stumbled out of the gates in the Pro Mod playoffs, falling in the first round at the first two races. He recovered with a semifinal showing in St. Louis, knowing he likely needed to win in Las Vegas to have a shot at a championship.
Gray went 5.710 at 252.28 in the opening round and went 5.75 in the next two rounds to set up the marquee matchup with Banaka.
“It’s just amazing for it to come down the last round,” Gray said. “I just didn’t let the pressure get to me and we worked together as a team. In that final round, I wasn’t going to lift no matter what. It just felt amazing to see that win light pop up.”
Banaka, who won his first career race in NHRA Pro Mod earlier this year, qualified No. 1 and advanced to the finals for the third time this season thanks to round wins over Stan Shelton, Derek Menholt and Chip King.
The NHRA Pro Mod Series will open the 2026 season as part of the NHRA Gatornationals at legendary Gainesville Raceway on March 5-8.
This story was originally published on November 3, 2025. 
