Photos by Alex Owens, Auto Imagery
SUNDAY FINAL – PROCK, KALITTA AND ANDERSON SCORE WINS AT LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS IN BRAINERD
Austin Prock powered to his second consecutive Funny Car victory Sunday at Brainerd (MN) International Raceway, defeating J.R. Todd in the final round of the 43rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also claimed victories at the 13th of 20 events in the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Prock clocked a 3.907-second, 321.50-mph pass in his Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet SS to win the final, as Todd smoked the tires early. It marked Prock’s first win at Brainerd and his sixth of the season in 13 races.
The reigning Funny Car champion now holds a 242-point lead over teammate Jack Beckman, and will secure the NHRA regular-season championship—and its $150,000 bonus—during qualifying at the upcoming U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in two weeks.
“That was huge. Last year, I got beat on a holeshot and that’s something you never want to do. But we got it done today,” Prock said. “This morning, all the stars aligned, and I attacked the Christmas Tree and had my best driving performance in either Top Fuel or Funny Car.”
Prock averaged a .047-second reaction time in eliminations and turned in a .043 in the final. He advanced to the final with wins over Jim Campbell, Matt Hagan, and Chad Green. Todd reached his second final of 2025 after defeating Paul Lee, Ron Capps, and Beckman, and heads to Indy ranked sixth in points.
In Top Fuel, Kalitta went 3.670, 338.77 in his Mac Tools dragster to defeat Clay Millican. The victory marked Kalitta Motorsports’ 100th Top Fuel win and its third straight in the category.
Kalitta, who qualified No. 1, posted three straight 3.60-second runs Sunday, including a 3.665 in the semifinals against Billy Torrence. He also defeated Terry Totten in round one of eliminations, and led wire-to-wire in the final against Millican to earn his second win of the year and 57th overall.
“This car has been a pleasure to drive. AJ [Alan Johnson] had it dialed in,” Kalitta said. “We’re getting close to the Countdown, and it’s also been a while since I’ve won here in Brainerd. Consistency is definitely the name of the game.”
Millican reached his first final since March, scoring wins over Justin Ashley, Jordan Vandergriff and Brittany Force. Force reset the track speed record at 341.25 mph during eliminations.
Anderson capped a dominant weekend in Pro Stock by defeating KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn with a 6.551, 206.86 run in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.
Anderson was quickest in all four qualifying sessions and every round of eliminations, setting a track record 6.521 in the opening round against Chris Vang. He followed with wins over Eric Latino and Aaron Stanfield.
In the final, Anderson left with a .025 reaction time to Glenn’s .026 and never trailed. It was his fifth win of the season, 111th of his career, and his first at Brainerd since 2011.
“It was not only awesome to win, but awesome to pretty much dominate the weekend,” Anderson said. “Everyone was on point. The car was perfect. The crew chiefs were perfect and I somehow didn’t screw it up.”
Glenn, who maintains a nine-point lead in the standings entering Indy, reached his ninth final in 11 Pro Stock races this year with round wins over Fernando Cuadra Jr., Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Erica Enders.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series resumes Aug. 27–Sept. 1 with the 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
SATURDAY QUALIFYING – BECKMAN, KALITTA AND ANDERSON SECURE NO. 1 QUALIFIER SPOTS AT LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS
Jack Beckman, Doug Kalitta and Greg Anderson claimed No. 1 qualifier positions Saturday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, the 13th of 20 races in the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Beckman led Funny Car qualifying with a 3.879-second run at 330.63 mph in his PEAK Chevrolet SS during the opening session Saturday. It marked his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and came one year after being named the full-time replacement for John Force.
“I’m over the moon with my car,” Beckman said. “Even with us struggling, we were still second in points and still won a race. It’s just that we were even better last year. When we went back to last year’s car after the Epping wreck, it seemed like it wanted something different. But now I think we’re back.”
Beckman defeated Matt Hagan in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and will open eliminations against Dave Richards on Sunday.
Austin Prock qualified second with a 3.893 at 331.45 and Hunter Green moved to third in the final session with a 3.906, 332.67.
In Top Fuel, Kalitta earned his seventh No. 1 qualifier of the season with a 3.655 at 339.36. The 65th No. 1 qualifier of Kalitta’s career came hours before a final-round loss in the Mission Challenge. The former champion will begin eliminations Sunday against Terry Totten. With only 14 Top Fuel cars in attendance, the winner of the Kalitta-Totten match will have a bye run into the semifinals.
“That [3.655] run was very smooth, the car stayed right in the middle,” Kalitta said. “It seems like it drives nice every time it runs big numbers like that. My guys have put together some really consistent runs. They have the car put together the same way each time and that makes a big difference. That’s quite a ride.
“As far as driving it, I try to do the same thing every time and not mess things up too badly,” he added. “I want to lick my wounds from [the Mission Challenge final] and regroup and put it behind me for tomorrow.”
Brittany Force qualified second with a 3.697 at a track-record speed of 340.82. Jordan Vandergriff, substituting for Shawn Reed following Reed’s crash in Seattle, qualified third with a career-best 3.705, 334.32.
In Pro Stock, Anderson took the top spot for the fifth time this season with a 6.555 at 207.59. The six-time champion will face Chris Vang in the first round and will try to collect his first Brainerd win since 2011.
“I’ve had a great year so far, but we need to keep progressing here in Brainerd and again in Indy, and into the Countdown,” Anderson said. “In this class, you’d better keep on working and keep on improving because the competition is going to keep coming after you.”
Points leader Dallas Glenn qualified second with a 6.569, 208.20 and Matt Hartford secured third with a 6.575, 206.42.
Eliminations for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals begin Sunday at 10 a.m. CDT at Brainerd International Raceway.
#2FAST2TASTY – BECKMAN, LANGDON AND ANDERSON CLAIM MISSION #2FAST2TASTY VICTORIES IN BRAINERD
Jack Beckman, Shawn Langdon and Greg Anderson claimed victories in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday during the 43rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
Beckman defeated Matt Hagan in a final-round duel of former NHRA Funny Car champions, with a 3.942-second run at 324.59 mph, earning his third specialty win of the season.
“At first, I didn’t make a big deal out of this [Mission Challenge], but sometimes Saturday can be a bit anticlimactic,” Beckman said. “Typically, we’d get data for Sunday but now, I think it’s one of the smarter moves NHRA has made. It makes [Saturday] matter. Those points that go into the Countdown are huge. That’s a big carrot. I thought it was cool before I won the first one. Now that I’ve won a couple, I really love it.”
In Top Fuel, Langdon earned his fourth #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the year with a holeshot victory over Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta. Langdon left the line first with a .059 reaction time and held on with a 3.742, 334.32.
The win tied Langdon for the most #2Fast2Tasty victories in 2025 and increased his bonus points total to 18 for the Countdown to the Championship.
“We were trying to move up in qualifying, so we’re trying to run a little bit better than a 3.74,” Langdon said. “I think my [stage light] was blinking pretty good, so maybe that distracted him. We wanted to have a good race. It wasn’t intentional by any means. I was just trying to stage shallow.”
Langdon added, “Now, we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. We really appreciate everything that Mission Foods does. This is a great program, but we also have to focus on tomorrow, especially with the U.S. Nationals and the Countdown coming up.”
In Pro Stock, Anderson picked up his first Saturday victory of the year, defeating KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn in the final with a 6.561, 208.23 run.
The reigning NHRA champion also secured the No. 1 qualifying position earlier in the day with a 6.555 at 207.59, narrowly missing the track record. On Friday night, Anderson won the American Rebel Light “Battle for the Rebel Axe” bonus event.
“It’s been two perfect days and that’s all you could hope for,” Anderson said. “I’m excited for tomorrow. My race car is great and I feel like we’ve got a great chance. Competition brings out the best in everyone out here. Matt Hartford has worn me out in these [Mission] deals. I want to win anytime we go down the race track.”
Antron Brown, Austin Prock, and Greg Anderson claimed provisional No. 1 qualifying positions and bonus awards in Friday night’s American Rebel Light “Battle for the Rebel Axe” – the opening day of the 43rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd (MN) International Raceway.
Brown, the defending Top Fuel champion here, posted a 3.742-second pass at 334.90 mph in his Matco Tools dragster to earn the top spot, a $4,000 bonus, and the custom Rebel Axe trophy — a cigar box guitar designed in the shape of a 12-pack of American Rebel Light beer. He also took his seat atop the “Throne of the North,” made entirely of American Rebel Light cases.
“It felt good. The track was a bit tricky. We didn’t get the clutch right on the first run, but that run definitely made up for it,” Brown said. “We got to do what we wanted to do, which was run the race track. The car was straight, stayed nimble and felt good. It sets us up good for tomorrow.”
Brown, who has six career wins at Brainerd in Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle, is seeking his first No. 1 qualifier since winning the season-opener in Gainesville, Florida.
“We’ve got a little hole to dig out of in the points to get where we want, so I’m super pumped and happy for that run,” he said. “I don’t often drink beer, but when I do it will be American Rebel Light.”
Brown topped Clay Millican for the top spot by a microscopic .004 seconds. Millican ran 3.746 seconds at 330.72 mph, followed by points leader Shawn Langdon at 3.753, 334.82.
Prock continued his dominant Funny Car season by taking the top spot with a 3.893 at 331.45 in his Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet SS. He also collected the $4,000 bonus and Rebel Axe trophy.
“You know, when American Rebel Light is part of a race, we seem to do well in this Cornwell Tools Camaro,” Prock said. “We seem to run pretty well, so it was cool to collect the cash, and the guitar. It’s a good way to start the weekend here in Brainerd.”
Prock said his car was a handful on both runs. “My steering wheel was pretty far to the left, so it had my hands full a little bit there,” he said. “I wanted to be prepared for that, and definitely felt a little loose down there, but it still ran 331 mph.”
Prock is aiming for his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and a chance to clinch the regular-season championship this weekend. Jack Beckman was second with a 3.907, followed by Ron Capps with a 3.920 at 330.39.
Duluth native and defending NHRA Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson took top honors with a 6.614 at 204.76 in his HendrickCars.com Camaro. He earned a $2,000 bonus and a place atop the “Throne of the North.”
“It felt really nice and like before the run, I told all my guys, ‘We made a nice run on the first run, and I think we can go quicker on the second.’ I told them, ‘I want that guitar. I want those cases of beer,’” Anderson said. “Any time that anybody puts up a special bounty like that, it means the world to a guy like me. I love that.”
Anderson credited his team for a well-executed run. “They made the right calls on the car and we made a beautiful run. It felt perfect in low gear. That’s all I could ask for. This has been a great night. Right now, I feel like I won the race.”
Dallas Glenn, who has won the last two Brainerd events, was second at 6.616, while Erica Enders was third with a 6.623 at 205.82 mph.
Qualifying at Brainerd resumes Saturday at noon CDT.
THURSDAY SPORTSMAN RESULTS – NEFF, DEFORREST, BARES AMONG SPORTSMAN QUICKEST AT BRAINERD NATIONALS
Strong performances across multiple NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes highlighted sportsman competition at Brainerd International Raceway, with standout performances from Cali Neff, Jason DeForrest, and David Bares leading the way.
In Comp Eliminator, Neff claimed the top qualifying spot in his A/ED Clack-Ford dragster with a 6.608-second run on a 7.28 index, good for a -.672 under performance. Doug Engels followed with a -.650 under in his D/DA dragster, while Pat Nahan secured third at -.637 under.
Royce Freeman placed fourth with a -.561 under in B/AA, and Scott Linder rounded out the top five in A/A at -.549 under. Defending class regulars Dean Carter, Matt Harris, Jim Greenheck, Michael Foster, and Bruno Massel also qualified in the top 10.
Super Stock qualifying saw Minnesota’s Jason DeForrest take the No. 1 spot in GT/CA with a 9.015 (-0.885) in his ’05 Cavalier. Randy Hopkins was second in FSS/B with an 8.330 (-0.870), and Aydan Patterson followed in FSS/F with a 9.368 (-0.832).
Rounding out the top five in Super Stock were Wyatt Wagner at -.774 in SS/GA and Michael Howard at -.765 in FSS/B. Ryan Montford, Rodney Thompson, Terry Elias, Scott Dugdale, and Brett Speer completed the top 10 qualifiers.
David Bares led Stock Eliminator with a standout 10.552 (-0.998) pass in his ’68 Cutlass out of D/SA. Brad Koivisto and Lance Line, both from Cromwell, Minn., followed closely at -.912 and -.908, respectively.
Matt Malerke placed fourth in E/SA with a 10.795 (-0.905), and Hannah Line rounded out the top five in D/SA with a 10.666 (-0.884). Other top qualifiers included Scott Dugdale, Brent Kopejtka, Bryan Heath, James Tolston, and Bob Tilton.
In Top Sportsman, Allen Firestone secured the No. 1 spot in his ’16 Camaro with a 6.389-second pass at 213.37 mph. Jim Thorp was second at 6.456 and 221.49 mph, followed by Richard Smith at 6.470.
Top five in the class included Rob Meservier at 6.513 and Tom Patterson at 6.515. Alan Hiebert, Charley Whittenburg, Michael Chitty, Curt Fredrich, and Brian Antony completed the 10 fastest.
While Thorp came up short in Top Sportsman, he sealed the deal in his other car by taking the top spot in Top Dragster with a 6.110 pass at 229.16 mph in his Spitzer-Chevy. Jim Prevo posted an identical 6.110 time but with a slightly slower 225.41 mph for second.
Roland Rang followed in third at 6.153 and 228.42 mph, with Ross Laris and Donna Patterson rounding out the top five. The rest of the top 10 included Dane Ward, Holden Laris, Les Feist, Al Kenny, and Daria Vang.
Eliminations in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series begin on Friday morning. The Mission Food Series makes its first run on Friday afternoon.
COMP (FINAL)
1 5900 A/ED Cali Neff, Westminster CO, Clack-Ford 6.608 7.28 -0.672
2 5212 D/DA Doug Engels, Watertown SD, Dragster 7.340 7.99 -0.650
3 56 E/DA Pat Nahan, Sartell MN, Parks 7.343 7.98 -0.637
4 4011 B/AA Royce Freeman, Lindsey OK, ’16 Camaro 6.989 7.55 -0.561
5 510U A/A Scott Linder, Hedrick IA, ’04 Gran Am 6.611 7.16 -0.549
6 7189 A/ND Dean Carter, Peoria AZ, Dragster-Chevy 6.883 7.42 -0.537
7 51 E/A Matt Harris, Bellevue NE, ’05 Grand Am 7.780 8.29 -0.510
8 54 E/AA Jim Greenheck, Schofield WI, ’12 Chevy Ca 7.762 8.22 -0.458
9 5292 B/DA Michael Foster, Brookings SD, Spitzer 6.944 7.40 -0.456
10 353 BB/AT Bruno Massel, Elmhurst IL, ’10 Cobalt 6.846 7.27 -0.424
SUPER STOCK (FINAL)
1 5150 GT/CA Jason DeForrest, Oak Grove MN, ’05 Cavali 9.015 9.90 -0.885
2 5333 FSS/B Randy Hopkins, Scandia MN, ’12 Mustang 8.330 9.20 -0.870
3 525P FSS/F Aydan Patterson, Augusta KS, ’14 Camaro 9.368 10.20 -0.832
4 5000 SS/GA Wyatt Wagner, Kansas City KS, ’68 Camaro 9.776 10.55 -0.774
5 2019 FSS/B Michael Howard, Ellabell GA, ’19 Camaro 8.435 9.20 -0.765
6 T508 GT/DA Rodney Thompson, Nowthen MN, ’05 Sunfire 9.246 10.00 -0.754
7 48 FSS/D Ryan Montford, Wichita KS, ’19 Camaro 9.152 9.90 -0.748
8 5411 FSS/B Terry Elias, Winkler MB, ’22 Camaro 8.456 9.20 -0.744
9 531X SS/KA Scott Dugdale, Stacy MN, ’84 Monte Carlo 10.512 11.25 -0.738
10 10 SS/JA Brett Speer, Fort Ripley MN, ’90 Camaro 10.280 11.00 -0.720
STOCK (FINAL)
1 5037 D/SA David Bares, Nunnelly TN, ’68 Cutlass 10.552 11.55 -0.998
2 5169 H/SA Brad Koivisto, Cromwell MN, ’74 GTO 11.238 12.15 -0.912
3 5390 B/S Lance Line, Cromwell MN, ’69 Mustang 10.292 11.20 -0.908
4 5797 E/SA Matt Malerke, Mahtowa MN, ’70 Duster 10.795 11.70 -0.905
5 56 D/SA Hannah Line, Augusta KS, ’69 Camaro 10.666 11.55 -0.884
6 5317 I/S Scott Dugdale, Stacy MN, ’67 Chevelle 11.321 12.20 -0.879
7 53 DF/S Brent Kopejtka, Stanton NE, ’86 Charger 15.644 16.50 -0.856
8 5676 B/SA Bryan Heath, Blue Grass IA, ’70 Chevelle 10.395 11.25 -0.855
9 5147 E/S James Tolston, Lincoln NE, ’04 GTO 10.800 11.65 -0.850
10 568 FS/G Bob Tilton, Mitchell SD, ’12 Mustang 10.502 11.35 -0.848
TOP SPORTSMAN (FINAL)
1 1 Allen Firestone, Velma OK, ’16 Camaro 6.389 210.83 213.37
2 4059 Jim Thorp, Mertzon TX, ’20 Camaro 6.456 221.49 221.49
3 34 Richard Smith, Wentzville MO, ’68 Camaro 6.470 213.91 213.91
4 5189 Rob Meservier, Thunder Bay ON, ’68 Chevelle 6.513 217.39 217.39
5 53 Tom Patterson, Lorette West MB, ’94 Camaro 6.515 216.93 216.93
6 55 Alan Hiebert, Selkirk MB, ’68 Camaro 6.549 215.68 215.68
7 5509 Charley Whittenburg, Milford IA, ’55 Bel Air 6.604 209.69 209.69
8 5049 Michael Chitty, Ames IA, ’08 Cobalt 6.645 209.17 209.43
9 5 Curt Fredrich, Burlington WI, ’68 Camaro 6.663 209.14 209.14
10 5764 Brian Antony, Lonsdale MN, ’20 Camaro 6.688 206.32 206.32
TOP DRAGSTER (FINAL)
1 4059 Jim Thorp, Mertzon TX, Spitzer-Chevy 6.110 229.16 229.16
2 3505 Jim Prevo, Mundelein IL, VRN-REHE 6.110 225.37 225.41
3 58 Roland Rang, Sioux Falls SD, Miller-Chevy 6.153 228.07 228.42
4 4360 Ross Laris, Raceland LA, Danny Nelson-Chevy 6.158 228.81 228.81
5 529 Donna Patterson, Lorette West MB, American-Che 6.160 224.28 224.28
6 4358 Dane Ward, Mena AR, Nelson-Chevy 6.160 223.54 223.54
7 7 Holden Laris, Raceland LA, Danny Nelson-Chevy 6.165 225.48 225.48
8 55 Les Feist, Duluth MN, Miller-Chevy 6.167 224.32 224.32
9 17 Al Kenny, Jupiter FL, Dan Page-STIN 6.175 223.62 223.62
10 47 Daria Vang, Andover KS, Race Tech-Chevy 6.190 217.32 221.42
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