The atmosphere at TX2K26 was absolutely electric during the final day of eliminations. Thanks to the team at That Racing Channel, fans got a front-row seat to one of the greatest drag racing events in recent memory. From shattered world records to massive bounty payouts, TX2K26 proved exactly why it is the ultimate battleground for the baddest street cars on the planet.
Here is a breakdown of the wildest moments, biggest upsets, and historic passes from TRC’s latest coverage of the TX2K26 eliminations.
The 5-Second Import Upset
Coming into eliminations, the 2JZ vs. The World class was the center of attention. One team, campaigning a 1997 Nissan 240SX with a stock-cast cylinder head 2JZ and a massive Precision turbo, achieved their ultimate goal early on. Pushing over 100 pounds of boost, they threw down a blistering 5.90-second pass at 242 mph, firmly cementing the car as the quickest and fastest radial-tire import on the planet.
However, drag racing is brutally unpredictable. In Round 1 of eliminations, the 5-second Nissan lined up against a massive underdog: a 2,300-horsepower Twin-Turbo Coyote built by Aldo Welds. In a David vs. Goliath moment, the Nissan struck the tires right off the launch, completely losing traction and handing the win to the Aldo Welds.
The UK Invasion and Stick-Shift Mayhem
The X58 class brought out the fastest S58-powered BMWs in the world, but it was a UK-based driver, Tom Wrigley who took the win. He shipped his hardcore BMW build across the pond just to battle it out. Sporting a 5.1-liter stroker motor, Precision turbo, and CSF cooling, Wrigley reset the platform record with a 7.67-second pass earlier in the weekend and ultimately took the overall class win.
Meanwhile, the manual transmission classes were a bloodbath of missed shifts. Driver Sean Madden managed to iron out his power-shutoff issues from earlier in the week, successfully rowing the gears to a screaming 6.82 at 216 mph. Internet racing sensation Cleetus McFarland also battled through a highly stacked field, initially getting knocked out but later returning to take a separate win after a wild pedal-fest down the strip.
The Massive $38,000 Payday
The undisputed highlight of the event belonged to Brett LaSala and his legendary Coyote-powered Mustang, affectionately known as Snot Rocket.
LaSala had been hunting a massive cash bounty all weekend. On Saturday night, despite suffering from a cracked header and a huge exhaust leak that bled boost, he ran a heart-breaking 6.00 flat, missing a $10,000 bounty by just 4/100,000ths of a second.
But LaSala and his tuner, Job Spetter, weren’t done. Going into the final rounds, they knew they had to throw the kitchen sink at the track. Sitting right in the burnout box, Gina kept adjusting the tune, leaning it out to chase a massive $35,000 bounty that event organizers had put on the line for a deep 5-second domestic pass.
The result came and the Mustang launched perfectly, carrying the front wheels and absolutely freight-training down the track to post a mind-bending 5.80 at 242 mph on a 275-width radial tire.
The historic pass secured the class win and the bounty, netting LaSala an incredible $38,000 payout for the weekend. Even crazier was that LaSala revealed after the run that the engine had actually shut down a cylinder around the 1,000-foot mark, meaning that legendary 5.80 pass still had plenty of performance left on the table.
