Mon, 24 Aug 2026, 22:17 PM Chad Green Takes Bp/Bond-Coat Ford Mustang to the Quarterfinals

Courtesy of Tom Blattler, TB Communications At the NHRA Brainerd Nationals, Prepares now for the Coveted Us Nationals

Currently seventh in the NHRA Mission Funny Car points, Green ready for "Big Go" now

Chad Green

• Texas' Chad Green drove his nitro-burning CGM Bond-Coat Ford Mustang to the quarterfinals Sunday at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals and sits seventh in the current points

• Green, the businessman/racer from Midland, Tex., qualified 11th in the 16-car lineup and won the first round of eliminations over former world champion Jack Beckman

• Green, winner of this year's NHRA Gatornationals and Route 66 Nationals, faced eventual race winner Matt Hagan in the quarterfinals but his car's tires lost traction during the run

• Green and his CGM Bond-Coat crew had a successful testing program recently at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park as they prepared for the biggest race of the year, U.S. Nationals

Chad Green

BRAINERD. Minn. (August 24, 2026) - Texas Funny Car race Chad Green advanced to the quarterfinals Sunday with his12,000-horsepower CGM BP/Bond-Coat Ford Mustang at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals drag races.

Green, a two-time NHRA national event winner at the Gatornationals and Route 66 Nationals, came out strong in the Friday qualifying with a 3.972-second pass and ended up starting 11th in the 16-car field at the packed Minnesota racing facility.

In the opening round of eliminations, Green advanced past former NHRA Funny Car world champion Jack Beckman of John Force Racing and took on four-time world champion Matt Hagan in the quarterfinals at Brainerd International Raceway.

Hagan, who went on to score the race victory Sunday, recorded a 3.944 run at 320.05 miles per hour over Green's 4.191 at 275.00 m.p.h. With the quarterfinals loss, the Midland, Tex., driver now ranks seventh in the NHRA Mission Funny Car point standings entering the biggest drag race of the year, the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Brownsburg, Ind., on Sept. 4-7.

Green and his CGM Bond-Coat Funny Car crew recently had a successful test at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park as the team prepares two entries for the "Big Go" classic with Green and his son, Hunter, who'll pilot the CGM Bond-Coat Dodge//SRT Hellcat.

"We didn't have consistent runs at the Brainerd race and that track was a little tricky," said Green. "Several drivers had trouble crossing over the centerline in eliminations and that costed them in the point standings. Now, we are concentrating on the U.S, Nationals, and that race is big for our crew as they are based in Indy. We had a good test two weeks ago at Indy and we are ready with Hunter's car too. That is a big one, and we would love to get that Diamond 'Wally' trophy there."

The Greens and their CGM squads move to the 14th round of the 20-race NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series with the 72nd annual NHRA U.S. Nationals set for Sept. 4-7 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Nitro qualifying begins on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7:30 p.m. EDT, followed by Saturday's action scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. EDT. Sunday's qualifying is set for 12 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. EDT. Final eliminations get underway at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 7. The final eliminations will be featured in two TV telecasts on Sept. 7 with the Fox Sports 1 broadcast set for 12 p.m. EDT and the FOX national network starting at 2 p.m. EDT.