Antron Brown scored a milestone victory Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, winning his 60th career Top Fuel race. The triumph marked the 76th time the Matco Tools-sponsored driver has won an NHRA national event dating back to his days as a Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor. 

Joining Brown on the championship podium were Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Brown came into final eliminations as the No. 3 qualifier and, in the final, stopped Doug Kalitta on a run where he was quicker on both ends of the track. The win marked his second of 2024.

Brown grabbed .009 off the starting line and extended at the finish line to win, 3.736 to Kalitta’s 3.747.

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” Brown said. This is the hometown of my crew chief, Brian Corradi, and my sponsor, Matco Tools. We had a little trouble in the semis and hurt the engine. We put in a new one and found something wrong, too. My guys are resilient, put another engine in, and are truly a blessing. 

“This one is for John Force.”

Brown’s road to the final round included wins over Dan Mercier, Clay Millican, and Justin Ashley. 

Kalitta reached his fourth straight final of the year and the 117th in his career with round wins against Kyle Wurtzel, Billy Torrence, and Steve Torrence. His points lead now stands at 134 over Justin Ashley.

Tasca also picked up his second win of the season, stopping a resurgent Ron Capps in the final round. They left virtually together, and it was over early as Capps lifted. Tasca never looked back en route to a 3.908, 330.47. The victory was career title No. 17 for Tasca. 

The win was an 18th birthday present for his son Cam. But the trophy will go to injured Funny Car driver John Force. 

“He asked me to go win him a Wally,” Tasca said. “But when I read this morning John Force is making [healing] progress, it felt like a weight lifted from all of our shoulders. I’m gonna tell you what John Force told me every race of my career.”

“He said, ‘Tasca, be safe out there and get home to your kids. John, if you are listening. Get better and get home to your kids. They need you, and we need you. Love you, champ.”

Tasca’s road to the final round included wins over Dave Richards, Paul Lee, and points leader Austin Prock. 

Capps broke a season-long slump, advancing to his first final of the year and the 148th in his career after taking down Daniel Wilkerson, J.R. Todd, and reigning world champion Matt Hagan. Prock’s points lead is now 178 points over Tasca.
 
Stanfield picked up his second consecutive Pro Stock win, stopping Dallas Glenn in the final round. He was off the line first and ran away with the victory when Glenn’s Camaro drifted out of the groove, and he lifted. 

Stanfield reeled in the win with a 6.539 elapsed time at 208.91 miles per hour. It was his tenth career Pro Stock win. 

The win was a double-up with Elite Motorsports teammate Royce Freeman, who had earlier won the Competition Eliminator title.

“Back-to-back, this feels good,” Stanfield said. “This is Melling’s home race, and I am visiting their headquarters for the first time on Monday. The trophy will be really good to show all the guys. This hot rod was flying today. It feels good to get the ice cream scoop.”

Stanfield’s road to the final round included victories over Chris McGaha, Deric Kramer, and Cristian Cuadra. 

Glenn reached the finals for the fifth time this season and the 22nd time in his career, picking up round wins against Jeg Coughlin Jr., Fernando Cuadra Jr., and Mason McGaha. He also extended his points lead to 89 over Greg Anderson, who fell in the first round. Reigning world champ Erica Enders also lost in the opening round.

The win moved Stanfield up to fourth in the Pro Stock points.

Herrera continued his historic successful run with his 11th consecutive national event victory, stopping No. 1 qualifier and rival Matt Smith in the final round. He grabbed almost .02 on Smith out of the gate and never looked back en route to a 6.704 elapsed time at 200.77 miles per hour. Smith drifted towards the centerline during the run and lifted. 

Herrera now has 44 consecutive round wins and admits Smith has a combination capable of winning. 

“Matt has a fast motorcycle, and he just missed it a little bit today,” Herrera said. “This is fun, and we were going back and forth in the staging lanes. I’m having a good time. We will see how long we can keep this going.”

Herrera’s road to the final round included wins over Ron Tornow, Chase Van Sant, and John Hall. 

Smith earned his second trip to the finals this year and the 77th in his career, thanks to round wins against Wesley Wells and Richard Gadson.
 
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action July 19-21 with the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Seattle.