Antron Brown, the reigning Top Fuel world champion, secured the provisional No. 1 qualifier position at the NHRA Gatornationals on Friday with a time of 3.685 seconds at 334.24 mph in his Matco Tools dragster.
Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also claimed provisional No. 1 spots on the opening day of the 2025 NHRA season at Gainesville Raceway.
The NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout bonus race opens Saturday with top seed Steve Torrence having chosen Tony Stewart as his opponent. Doug Kalitta will face Clay Millican, Shawn Langdon will battle Brown, and Justin Ashley will take on Brittany Force.
Brown, who is pursuing his 51st career No. 1 qualifier, expressed confidence in his performance.
“We weren’t trying to go out there and kill it, but we knew the track could hold anywhere in the mid-60 range, and we just wanted to be in the top half of the field,” Brown said. “Lo and behold, it ran really strong out the back door. It was smooth all the way down, it just went straight as an arrow, and I got to the finish line.”
Tripp Tatum secured second place with a run of 3.685 seconds at a slower 326.58 mph, while Langdon posted a time of 3.690 seconds at 335.23 mph for third. The gap between the first and seventh positions was a miniscule .012.
In Funny Car, Beckman topped the charts with a run of 3.832 seconds at 334.65 mph in his PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Beckman, now the full-time driver for John Force, was pleased with his Friday performances.
“When the season ended last year, I wasn’t sure if I’d be back. I thought I’d get the nod, but I wasn’t sure,” Beckman said. “There is a part of me that expected to see someone run 3.81, but I’m happy with a 3.83. We were low (in) both sessions in completely different conditions.“
I can’t put into words how awesome it is to be strapped into John Force’s Funny Car and have John walk by and give you a thumbs up before they fire up. I am unbelievably lucky.”
Bob Tasca III is currently in second with a run of 3.833 seconds, while Ron Capps follows in third with a time of 3.857, 335.73 mph.
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson made history with a record-setting pass of 6.443 seconds in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro – the quickest run in Pro Stock history. Anderson, the reigning NHRA champion, expressed his surprise at the performance.
“This is beyond cool, and that’s because I didn’t expect it,” Anderson said. “I watched my team cars with Deric Kramer and Eric Latino run 6.46 ahead of me, and I started to think maybe we could run 6.45, but I surpassed them both.
“It feels good to be back. I live for runs like this, and I love Gainesville. I came here with my dad when I was 10, 12 years old, and I’ve loved this place ever since. Coming to Gainesville, this the first race of the year and you always wonder how you stack up. So far it’s been successful.”
Deric Kramer took second with a personal best of 6.463 seconds, followed closely by Dallas Glenn at 6.466 seconds.
Gaige Herrera continued his success at Gainesville, taking the top spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a time of 6.670 seconds at 202.97 mph. Herrera, a back-to-back world champion in his two years in the class, reflected on his victories at the venue.
“I have a lot of fun racing in Gainesville. I got my first win here two years ago in my debut with the Vance & Hines team, and I’ve got a lot of great memories here,” Herrera said. “Before that run, Andrew [Hines, crew chief] said ‘This is all we’ve got. I hope it sticks.’ It did and we made a nice run.
“I think you’ll see me and Matt [Smith] go back and forth all season, and it won’t just be us. You can see that Angie [Smith] was close and Richard [Gadson] was close. We’ve got a lot of good bikes out here, and that includes some new guys.”
Matt Smith is currently second in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.679, 203.49 mph, and his wife, Angie Smith, is third at 6.709 seconds.
