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.”
