Antron Brown Looks Ahead to 2026 as Rainout Forces Early End to Championship Defense Season

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 16, 2025) – Antron Brown’s fourth title defense season wrapped up in an unceremonious fashion Sunday as NHRA officials were forced to cancel the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip due to persistent rain and unsafe track conditions. Brown ended the year eighth in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series standings, highlighted by one victory and two runner-up finishes in the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster. After winning the Pomona finale and securing his fourth world championship just one year ago, Brown had hoped for another strong showing at the historic Southern California dragstrip, but he now shifts his focus to regrouping and building toward another championship run in 2026.

Brown and his team led by Brian Corradi and Brad Mason kicked off the 2025 season with a clean sweep of the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, qualifying No. 1 and winning the season opener. Later in the spring, he raced to the final quad at the back-to-back Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas and Charlotte. Brown added another runner-up finish at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway over the summer.

Brown rolled into In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip as the four-time and defending event champion and world champion. Persistent rain showers prevented the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series professional classes from hitting the track at all over the course of the three-day event, which included Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions and Sunday eliminations. Sunday’s cancellation crowned champions and locked in the final points standings based on the rankings going into the event. Brown finished No. 8, confirming his 28th consecutive Top 10 finish dating back to his Pro Stock Motorcycle days.

“Tough decision, but with the circumstances at hand, I completely understand,” Brown said. “It’s not the way we wanted to wrap up our last race of the season, but we can’t control the weather. After sitting through the rainstorms for the last three days, it just feels good to call it a wrap in 2025 so we can get prepared for 2026. Congratulations to all of the champions.

“It was a hard-fought year,” Brown added. “We won a lot of things and we’re going to come back stronger than ever in 2026 for all of our partners including Matco Tools, Lucas Oil, Hangsterfer’s, FVP, and Summit Racing. I also want to thank our great Toyota partners. Wishing them farewell after our 18-year stint with them.”

Brown’s former Pro Stock Motorcycle teammate, Angelle Sampey, finished her second full season in Top Alcohol Dragster competition just outside the Top 10 in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series national points standings. Driving the Hangsterfer’s Metalworking Lubricants A/Fuel dragster fielded by Michalek Brothers Racing through the AB Motorsports Accelerate driver development program, Sampey earned three runner-up finishes in regional event competition this season. She also recently started her Top Fuel licensing process behind the wheel of Brown’s dragster.

Brown will take the stage with the other Top 10 finishers at Monday night’s NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Awards Ceremony at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif.

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Final Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):


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