For the second consecutive season, Mike Stavrinos came agonizingly close to capturing his first NHRA Pro Mod world championship. This time, the championship battle went all the way to the final round of the season, where Stavrinos lined up against Justin Bond in a winner-take-all showdown under the lights at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Stavrinos appeared to be on his way to the title, leaving first and leading Bond through the first half of the track before parts failure ended his championship hopes. Bond charged past to win with a 5.660-second pass at 253.47 mph, while Stavrinos slowed to a 5.791 at 230.69.
Despite the heartbreaking finish, Stavrinos took to Facebook following Sunday’s MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge to reflect on a season that brought him within one round of achieving his ultimate goal.
“As I sit here and reflect on the season we just had, I can’t help but think this was a dream come true,” Stavrinos wrote. “We came so close, not once, but two years in a row. This year coming down to the final round, with everything on the line. I was out front half track before we had parts failure but man what an amazing feeling it was.”
Stavrinos entered the season-ending event second in points behind Bond, with both drivers advancing through eliminations to set up the decisive championship matchup. Stavrinos defeated Alex Laughlin and Nick Januik before facing a particularly significant semifinal opponent in reigning world champion and Al-Anabi Performance teammate J.R. Gray.
After defeating Gray, Stavrinos and his team faced a thrash to get the car ready for the final round, where both the event victory and world championship were at stake.
For Stavrinos, the opportunity to race for a world championship on one of drag racing’s biggest stages was a moment he won’t soon forget.
“Rolling to the line, behind the final of Top Fuel getting ready to race for a world championship under the lights in Las Vegas, I couldn’t help but to think, I’ve already won in life,” Stavrinos wrote.
The Las Vegas final marked Stavrinos’ fourth championship-round appearance of the 2026 season, capping another strong campaign for the Al-Anabi Performance organization. Bond, meanwhile, secured his second event victory of the year and eighth of his NHRA Pro Mod career, becoming a first-time world champion after reaching three finals in the final four races.
Stavrinos was gracious in defeat, congratulating his championship rival while acknowledging the people behind his own success.
“I want to thank Sheikh Khalid for everything he does for me and his motivation to keep me going,” Stavrinos wrote. “The Tutterow family for an amazing year and talent they showed all season. The AAP team as a whole is an amazing talented group of bad asses. Each and every one of them.
“Congratulations to JBS/Justin Bond, you have been at this for a long time, and it was a honor to share that race track in the final round with you champ!”
While Stavrinos has established himself as a consistent championship contender, he also acknowledged the increasing demands of competing at the highest level of Pro Mod racing. His comments left some uncertainty surrounding his plans for the 2027 season.
“Not sure what the future holds at the moment,” Stavrinos wrote. “Every year this stuff gets harder and harder to be out there competing at this level.”
Still, after coming within a few hundred feet of a world championship, Stavrinos made it clear that his passion for racing remains.
“With that being said, only the man above will know the next move and what the future holds,” Stavrinos concluded. “All I know is, I was born for this.”
