Antron Brown claimed his second straight playoff victory at the NHRA Carolina Nationals on Sunday, moving into the Top Fuel points lead for the first time since 2017. Brown defeated Doug Foley in the final round at zMAX Dragway with a run of 3.848 seconds at 319.90 mph, earning his fifth win of the season and 79th career victory.

Austin Prock (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also secured victories at the 16th of 20 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series races this season.

Driving his Matco Tools/Toyota dragster, Brown surpassed Larry Dixon for the second-most Top Fuel wins in NHRA history with his 63rd career win. The three-time world champion, who qualified 10th, defeated Steve Torrence, Billy Torrence, and reigning champion Doug Kalitta before besting Foley in the final.

Matt Smith isn’t going down without a fight.

Smith has been a thorn in the side of Vance & Hines rider Gaige Herrera all season, and he continues to twist that thorn some more this weekend at Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, N.C.

Smith clocked a 6.799-second elapsed time at 199.67 mph in Q3 on Saturday to take the No. 1 qualifying spot on his Denso Buell.

Erica Enders delivered a monster run in the second round of qualifying Friday night at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, stopping the clocks with a run of 6.557 seconds, 209.10 mph.

That run was good enough to survive Saturday’s two sessions and gave her the No. 1 position for Sunday’s eliminations at zMAX Dragway north of Charlotte, N.C.

This is the 40th No. 1 qualifier of her career and her sixth this season. She was most recently No. 1 in Seattle in the Elite Motorsports Camaro.

Matt Hagan, the reigning Mission Foods NHRA Funny Car world champion, secured his first No. 1 qualifier position of the season on Saturday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals. Hagan’s top run came at zMAX Dragway during Friday’s qualifying.

Brittany Force in Top Fuel, Erica Enders in Pro Stock, and Matt Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle also qualified No. 1 in their respective categories. This event is the 16th of 20 races in the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Hagan’s 3.832 seconds at 333.25 mph remained atop the leaderboard through Saturday’s two qualifying sessions. This performance marks Hagan’s 52nd career No. 1 position and his second this year as he aims to improve his standings.

Brittany Force turned heads Friday night at the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, stopping the clocks at 3.690 seconds, 334.24 mph to grab the provisional No. 1 qualifying position.

Force, driving the HendrickCars.com dragster, recorded her top time in Q2 at zMAX Dragway.

If Force’s time holds it would be her second of the season to go with the two she captured in Pomona, Calif., and Indianapolis. If she can hang on to No. 1 through Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, it would be her 49th time leading the field into eliminations.

Matt Hagan knows time is of the essence if he wants to win his fifth NHRA nitro Funny Car world championship.

Hagan, driving for Tony Stewart Racing, clocked a 3.832-second elapsed time at 333.25 mph in Q2 Friday to take the provisional No. 1 spot at the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway north of Charlotte.

Two-time Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force secured the provisional No. 1 position during qualifying Friday at the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals. Force recorded a time of 3.690 seconds at 334.24 mph in her HendrickCars.com Chevrolet dragster.

Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also earned provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their categories. This event marks the 16th of 20 races in the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and the second of six in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Force’s performance puts her on track for her third No. 1 qualifier of the year and the 49th of her career. She is now ninth in points and aims for a strong weekend after her previous season’s success.

NHRA World Champion team owner Randy Meyer announced a multi-faceted marketing partnership with the INA Towing Network. The partnership will introduce a significant presence at the Tennessee Tow Show in Chattanooga on September 27-28 and debut the TRAA and INA Towing Network branded dragster at the 2025 NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, from March 6-9.

Meyer and his daughter, Megan Meyer, will promote a ‘Slow Down Move Over’ national awareness campaign to honor towing industry workers who assist motorists.