The Emmons Motorsports Racing team is set and ready to race at what is turning out to be their biggest event of the season. The Stampede of Speed at Texas Motorplex will include not one, but two divisional events, as well as the prestigious JEGS Allstars race and the NHRA Texas Fallnationals. The Lucas Oil brand will be boldly represented at the historic Dallas-area facility in Super Stock and Stock by six surging Emmons Motorsports drivers.
The week-long Stampede of Speed comes on the heels of a strong Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series division race in Tulsa in which Gary Emmons reached the final round in Stock, and Speedy (Harvey Emmons III) reached the final in Super Stock. With the final round performance, Gary took over the lead in Division 4’s Stock Eliminator championship battle.
The move into the top spot for the seasoned racer became a possibility at the South Central Division Lucas Oil doubleheader at Texas Motorplex in May, when the multi-time championship winning team found themselves writing an incredible story. Gary was one of four of the team’s drivers to reach a final round over the course of the two events that weekend, and Landon Emmons earned the Stock Eliminator trophy that gave the young competitor a lock on representing the division at the JEGS Allstars.
“That weekend was surreal,” said third-generation racer Landon, son of NHRA world champion and two-time Allstars winner Speedy. “The fact that we get to race as a family is pretty awesome. Weekends together are why we do this.”
In the first race of the Texas double-header in May, Gary reached the final in Super Stock driving his Lucas Oil-branded SS/DA ’69 Camaro, while Will Emmons, Landon’s older brother, finished in the Stock final driving his A/SA ’69 Camaro flying the team’s familiar red, white, and blue Lucas Oil banner.
As rounds in the second race ticked by for the team on Sunday, an all-Emmons final round began to take shape. Landon was knocking off his competitors on one side of the ladder, while uncle Jerry Emmons was getting the job done on the other side in his Lucas Oil B/SA ’69 Camaro.
The most pivotal round for Landon was a fierce heads-up battle in the semifinals in which he came up against Ross Ponville, a U.S. Nationals finalist and the winner at last season’s NHRA Midwest Nationals.
“That was my first-ever heads-up race,” said Landon. “Going into it, because I’d never run my car heads-up, we didn’t know 100% what it was capable of — but we knew we had a chance. We took our time and got everything prepared, and [the team] told me to be ready for anything and just keep my cool. The only thing I was thinking about was hitting the tree and winning it.”
Although his opponent was off the starting line first with a .014-second advantage, the power of Lucas Oil prevailed, and Landon raced across the finish line stripe first on a 10.007 to a 10.032. When the win light came on, it guaranteed the final with Jerry, who had already secured his own semifinals victory in a close race with Division 4 standout Will Carrell.
“We were all excited after that, and we talked as a group about what was on the line,” Landon recalled. “I had to win the final to be in the Allstars, so we planned out how we would both do our burnouts, take the tree, and roll down the track. Both of us winning the semifinals meant more than anything because that was the deciding factor. We had already won the race.
Racing in the JEGS Allstars will give Landon the opportunity to join his father, as well as uncles Jerry (1997, 2012, 2021) and Terry Emmons (2002) as winners in the elite battle that highlights the best-of-the-best in the Sportsman series.
“Gary beat Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. in the second round, and I passed Hidalgo in the JEGS Allstars points by winning the final,” said Landon. “If Gary would have lost second round, I would have been locked out of the Allstars. It was a complete team effort for this all to work out. Will made the JEGS Allstars last year, so for me to come back and qualify for it with a Lucas Oil car again is awesome.”
Landon’s first division win came at Texas Motorplex last fall, toward the end of his first season racing Stock Eliminator. That first title was a make-up of the weather-delayed Tulsa divisional, and counting that, Emmons Motorsports has scored a divisional victory at Texas Motorplex 12 times (Speedy, Gary, and Landon each have two wins there, while Terry has five and Jerry has one). The team’s overall tally for division wins is now an impressive 82 earned at 17 different facilities.
“Going into last year as a rookie, not having too much experience in Stock, I would say the start of this year has been better for me,” he said. “The first two races of this season were second-round finishes, so I was a little beat down, but I didn’t let it bother me and kept going. I get ahead of myself thinking I’m going to win every race and then feel let down when I don’t, but when sitting back and thinking about it, I’m just very thankful to have the opportunity to do this, and thankful I have a very good car. To have races like we’ve had this year, it really is just unbelievable.”
Texas Motorplex has been a great racetrack for the multi-time championship winning team at both the divisional and national levels. National event trophies have been claimed at least once by each of the four Emmons brothers, Texas natives who reside in the Houston area. Eldest brother Speedy won the national event in 1997; Gary won it in 2011; Terry won it in 1995 and 2012, as well as the spring race in 1999; and Jerry won it in 1994, at the spring race in 1997, and in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2023.
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition will kick off at the Stampede of Speed on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, with time trials and eliminations through Tuesday. Qualifying for the NHRA Texas Fallnationals will begin on Wednesday, with eliminations starting on Thursday. The JEGS Allstars race is set to run on Friday and Saturday, and the Fallnationals will conclude on Sunday.
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