MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 28, 2025) – As a five-time winner at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, four-time and reigning Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown knows how to turn on win lights at World Wide Technology Raceway. Though Brown in his Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster came up a couple win lights short Sunday afternoon at the St. Louis area facility, he did jump up two spots in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series points standings with his semifinal appearance at the third of six Countdown to the Championship events. Now seventh, Brown is heading in the right direction as he looks to keep the No. 1 on the wing of his race car.
When qualifying began on Friday, Brown unveiled a special pink ‘Tools for the Cause’ livery on his AB Motorsports dragster. A longstanding tradition for Brown and the Matco Tools team, it’s a part of Matco’s initiative to raise funds and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation each year throughout the month of October. Brown opened qualifying with a 3.830 E.T. at 317.49 mph run to sit 10th, then powered to a 3.688-second pass at 337.41 mph in the second session to move all the way up to No. 2. The performance also came with two bonus points as the second-quickest pass of the session. Though he didn’t improve in the following two sessions on Saturday, Brown held on to the No. 2 position.
Brown kept the positive momentum rolling into Sunday eliminations, where he met Cameron Ferré in the opening round. Ferré didn’t leave the starting line, while Brown drove the Matco Tools dragster to a 3.752 E.T. at 333.16 mph – the second-quickest performance of the round – to earn lane choice in the quarterfinals. His second-round opponent, eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, went up in smoke early, and Brown fought his way to a 3.807-second pass at 331.61 mph to advance to the semifinals. Brown and crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Brad Mason stayed aggressive in the semis against Ida Zetterström, but they overpowered the track and coasted to a 5.663 E.T. at 132.41 mph.
“This was a bounce back in the direction we want to head in,” said Brown, the winningest driver in the nitro ranks at St. Louis. “We definitely wanted to make that final and get to that money round, but we still have some more work cut out for us. We’re just going to keep plugging and keep our heads down. We’ll go back and do some homework. The track got a little tricky on us. We made adjustments thinking we were making the right call, and the track was just slicker than we thought it was. The car had a lot of wheel speed. I know Brian’s looking at the data right now and we’re going to get after it when we get to Dallas. The conditions will get a little cooler and we can throw down.”
With just three races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, Brown and the Matco Tools/Lucas Oil/Hangsterfer’s team will shift their focus to the Texas NHRA FallNationals, Oct. 10-12, at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.
Qualified: No. 2 (3.688 E.T. at 337.41 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.752 E.T. at 333.16 MPH defeated Cameron Ferre 24.267 E.T. at 52.78 MPH
E2: 3.807 E.T. at 331.61 MPH defeated Tony Schumacher 4.852 E.T. at 151.75 MPH
E3: 5.663 E.T. at 132.41 MPH defeated by Ida Zetterström 3.925 E.T. at 292.08 MPH
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
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When qualifying began on Friday, Brown unveiled a special pink ‘Tools for the Cause’ livery on his AB Motorsports dragster. A longstanding tradition for Brown and the Matco Tools team, it’s a part of Matco’s initiative to raise funds and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation each year throughout the month of October. Brown opened qualifying with a 3.830 E.T. at 317.49 mph run to sit 10th, then powered to a 3.688-second pass at 337.41 mph in the second session to move all the way up to No. 2. The performance also came with two bonus points as the second-quickest pass of the session. Though he didn’t improve in the following two sessions on Saturday, Brown held on to the No. 2 position.
Brown kept the positive momentum rolling into Sunday eliminations, where he met Cameron Ferré in the opening round. Ferré didn’t leave the starting line, while Brown drove the Matco Tools dragster to a 3.752 E.T. at 333.16 mph – the second-quickest performance of the round – to earn lane choice in the quarterfinals. His second-round opponent, eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, went up in smoke early, and Brown fought his way to a 3.807-second pass at 331.61 mph to advance to the semifinals. Brown and crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Brad Mason stayed aggressive in the semis against Ida Zetterström, but they overpowered the track and coasted to a 5.663 E.T. at 132.41 mph.
“This was a bounce back in the direction we want to head in,” said Brown, the winningest driver in the nitro ranks at St. Louis. “We definitely wanted to make that final and get to that money round, but we still have some more work cut out for us. We’re just going to keep plugging and keep our heads down. We’ll go back and do some homework. The track got a little tricky on us. We made adjustments thinking we were making the right call, and the track was just slicker than we thought it was. The car had a lot of wheel speed. I know Brian’s looking at the data right now and we’re going to get after it when we get to Dallas. The conditions will get a little cooler and we can throw down.”
With just three races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, Brown and the Matco Tools/Lucas Oil/Hangsterfer’s team will shift their focus to the Texas NHRA FallNationals, Oct. 10-12, at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.
Qualified: No. 2 (3.688 E.T. at 337.41 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.752 E.T. at 333.16 MPH defeated Cameron Ferre 24.267 E.T. at 52.78 MPH
E2: 3.807 E.T. at 331.61 MPH defeated Tony Schumacher 4.852 E.T. at 151.75 MPH
E3: 5.663 E.T. at 132.41 MPH defeated by Ida Zetterström 3.925 E.T. at 292.08 MPH
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 | Doug Kalitta | 2409 | |
| 2 | Justin Ashley | 2323 | |
| 3 | Shawn Langdon | 2282 | |
| 4 | Tony Stewart | 2256 | |
| 5 | Clay Millican | 2227 | |
| 6 | Brittany Force | 2216 | |
| 7 | Antron Brown | 2207 | |
| 8 | Steve Torrence | 2203 | |
| 9 | Shawn Reed | 2194 | |
| 10 | Josh Hart | 2117 |
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