There is no energy that matches the first race of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Aptly, the first of six playoff events in the 2025 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series took place at the racetrack christened the “House of Chaos,” and historic Maple Grove Raceway absolutely lived up to that moniker on Sunday at the 40th annual NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish. From the dust of one of the most compellingly unusual events so far this season, KB Titan Racing emerged victorious as Dallas Glenn extended his points lead with a final-round win over teammate and top Rookie of the Year contender Cody Coughlin.
“What a crazy day,” said Glenn, grinning widely from beneath a blue HendrickCars.com hat as he balanced the 18th Pro Stock trophy of his career on his knee. “Having my KB Titan teammate Cody Coughlin in the final after he took out Erica [Enders], and Eric Latino taking out Aaron Stanfield in the second round was just wild. They call it ‘The House of Chaos’ for a reason.”
Tamara Langner/KB Titan Racing photo
Glenn entered the first race of the Countdown to the Championship as the points leader after officially winning the regular season. Throughout qualifying, he worked to collect as many valuable points as he could. Qualifying in the top spot certainly aided his cause, as did accumulating six bonus points as one of the quickest cars throughout the four sessions. But the gloves come off on Sunday, and the driver of the RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro knew the road ahead would not be easy.
Glenn made the second-quickest pass of the opening round to defeat Aussie Shane Tucker, 6.531, 209.20 to 6.691, 206.86. Lane choice over KBT-powered Deric Kramer in the next stanza came to be unnecessary as Kramer turned it red by -.111, but an efficient 6.542, 209.72 gave the points leader an advantage over the most winning driver in the history of the sport, six-time and reigning world champion Greg Anderson.
As the two came forward for the round, each rolled through the waterbox and laid into a burnout. Anderson, though, felt the tires beneath his car stumble as he leaned in to warm them. Backing up, he went through the motions and laid down another burnout. Shockingly, Anderson was immediately disqualified as soon as his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro crossed the starting line beams. Both of his burnouts had crossed the starting line – a rule infraction that mandates disqualification.
“I was shocked,” said Anderson. “That particular rule wasn’t in my memory bank, and that’s no excuse, but it’s true. I just honest to God didn’t know. It was a big mistake, and one I wish I could get back – but there’s no looking back now. We just have to focus on the next race and not let this keep us down. I’m just very glad that we’ll be back in Charlotte next weekend and we can try again, because my HendrickCars.com Chevrolet is just absolutely great.”
For Glenn, the stumble was truly shocking. He and Anderson have been in combat for two seasons for the points lead and championships, and to have his closest competitor bow out in such a manner in the lane next to him was jarring.
“I feel like I’m very comfortable in the car right now; I tend to see everything,” said Glenn. “Greg started his burnout before me, and I didn’t see a lot of smoke. He stopped early, and I look up at the big screen and see he’s backing up. So I’m like, okay, he’s doing another one. I back up and get lined up, and I see him do his burnout [but] the starter did not look happy. He told him to shut it off. I was sitting there thinking, ‘Did he really just tell him to shut off?’ Then the starter came over and told me it was a single, and I snapped back to reality. I still had to pull forward and let them set the wheelie bars and flip switches. I had all kinds of stuff I needed to do, but I got so discombobulated during that routine that when I staged I was like, oh yeah, I need to hit the gas now.”
Glenn’s .115-second reaction time was inconsequential, though, and he made a clean run for lane choice and valuable data.
“Going into that round, I was ready for Greg,” said Glenn. “He was going to be a tough matchup, and I’m bummed the fans didn’t get to see whatever race we were going to throw down there.”
On the other side of the ladder, third generation racer Cody Coughlin was having a field day with the competition. In the first round, he had the quicker run to defeat cousin Troy Coughlin Jr., 6.545 to 6.581. In the second round, Coughlin and his KB Titan-powered Cody Development Group Chevrolet got the jump on Erica Enders, and it ultimately came to count as a holeshot win. Coughlin’s .025-second reaction time and 6.564, 207.91 defeated a .048 and 6.549, 210.11.
That same round, KB Titan’s Eric Latino and his GESi Camaro took down Aaron Stanfield, 6.625, 210.14 to 6.756, 208.49. Both Enders and Stanfield have held a threatening stance in recent races, with Enders winning the U.S. Nationals and Stanfield reaching the final in Sonoma.
But coming up against Coughlin – a first time finalist – for the event trophy was not something Glenn took for granted.
“I know that Cody can hit the tree; he’s got a great car and great horsepower,” shared Glenn. “The KB Titan Racing crew chiefs are going to try to make both cars make the best runs they possibly can, and I know Cody is going to try to cut my throat open up there. He was definitely going to be tough to deal with. He’s become a really great driver, and he’s not scared to hit the tree.”
This time around, though, Glenn was first to launch, and he got to the finish line first with a 6.557, 209.23 to top a 6.562, 208.68. The victory was Glenn’s first at Maple Grove Raceway and fifth of the season. He now leads Greg Anderson by 62 points (four rounds).
The battle will wage on in just a few days as the next event on the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour will be the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., Sept. 18-21.
This story was originally published on September 15, 2025. 
