BRAINERD, Minn. (August 15, 2025) – Four-time and defending Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown powered to the provisional pole on Friday evening during the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. During the day’s second qualifying session, Brown took the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster down the Brainerd, Minn. dragstrip in 3.742 seconds at 334.90 mph to launch from ninth after the weekend’s first qualifying session up to the No. 1 spot.
In addition to the three bonus points he was awarded for clocking the quickest run of the round, Brown also scored a $4,000 bonus payout and fully functional electric cigar box guitar, custom-built in the shape of a 12-pack American Rebel Light beer. The additional bounty was secured courtesy of the American Rebel Light “Battle for the Rebel Axe” Friday night low-qualifier promotion.
“We knew the track was a little bit tricky,” said Brown, who most recently visited the Brainerd winner’s circle in 2023. “The sun was out, and you have to make up for that. The first run, we missed it, but that second run definitely made up for it and the good part about it was, we ran early in the session, so it was wide open and we got to do what we wanted to do and ran the race track as opposed to chasing someone else’s low E.T. The car took off good, got through the trouble zone, and it stayed straight and nimble and went 291 mph to halftrack, which is really good with the type of conditions we had. With all that being said, it sets us up really good for tomorrow.”
Before he makes a run for the Sunday trophy, Brown, a multi-time BIR champion on both two wheels and four, will attempt to score another victory on Saturday as he and his Brian Corradi-led Matco Tools team will compete in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge during qualifying. Brown earned his way into the race-within-a-race thanks to his performance at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, where he recorded a runner-up finish.
“We know the sun’s going to come out, conditions will be similar, and we’ve just got to stay on our game and get two good laps in tomorrow,” added Brown, who currently occupies the No. 5 position in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings. “We have a little hole we need to dig out of to get us back to where we want to be in points. We want to get back into the top three, which is right there in front of us; we’ve just got to keep pushing. I’m super pumped and happy with that run.
“This is a race where you have to show up; it sets the tone. So, if you come here and do well, it sets you up for the U.S. Nationals. These last two races before the Countdown, this is where everyone starts jockeying for position and you get that momentum to go for that championship run. All the years we’ve won championships, we’ve always ran well here and then gone onto Indy and came out the box swinging. It’s a big motivational booster for the team to do well here, and starts getting us ready to go do battle in the Countdown.”
Qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals resumes Saturday at noon CT. Brown is a six-time winner at BIR and has one win in three final round appearances in 2025.
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In addition to the three bonus points he was awarded for clocking the quickest run of the round, Brown also scored a $4,000 bonus payout and fully functional electric cigar box guitar, custom-built in the shape of a 12-pack American Rebel Light beer. The additional bounty was secured courtesy of the American Rebel Light “Battle for the Rebel Axe” Friday night low-qualifier promotion.
“We knew the track was a little bit tricky,” said Brown, who most recently visited the Brainerd winner’s circle in 2023. “The sun was out, and you have to make up for that. The first run, we missed it, but that second run definitely made up for it and the good part about it was, we ran early in the session, so it was wide open and we got to do what we wanted to do and ran the race track as opposed to chasing someone else’s low E.T. The car took off good, got through the trouble zone, and it stayed straight and nimble and went 291 mph to halftrack, which is really good with the type of conditions we had. With all that being said, it sets us up really good for tomorrow.”
Before he makes a run for the Sunday trophy, Brown, a multi-time BIR champion on both two wheels and four, will attempt to score another victory on Saturday as he and his Brian Corradi-led Matco Tools team will compete in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge during qualifying. Brown earned his way into the race-within-a-race thanks to his performance at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, where he recorded a runner-up finish.
“We know the sun’s going to come out, conditions will be similar, and we’ve just got to stay on our game and get two good laps in tomorrow,” added Brown, who currently occupies the No. 5 position in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings. “We have a little hole we need to dig out of to get us back to where we want to be in points. We want to get back into the top three, which is right there in front of us; we’ve just got to keep pushing. I’m super pumped and happy with that run.
“This is a race where you have to show up; it sets the tone. So, if you come here and do well, it sets you up for the U.S. Nationals. These last two races before the Countdown, this is where everyone starts jockeying for position and you get that momentum to go for that championship run. All the years we’ve won championships, we’ve always ran well here and then gone onto Indy and came out the box swinging. It’s a big motivational booster for the team to do well here, and starts getting us ready to go do battle in the Countdown.”
Qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals resumes Saturday at noon CT. Brown is a six-time winner at BIR and has one win in three final round appearances in 2025.
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