Competition Plus’ random water-cooler topics from the NHRA Brainerd Nationals at Brainerd (MN) International Raceway
1 – DEJA-VU … KIND OF – In similar fashion to last year’s NHRA visit to Brainerd, Minn., Doug Kalitta captured just about all the Top Fuel spoils this weekend. He led every qualifying session, won the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, and set low elapsed time of the meet at 3.673 seconds while qualifying No. 1. He even got to watch son Mitch make his NHRA debut in the Top Alcohol Dragster class with a first-round victory over Kirk Wolf and cut a perfect reaction time (0.000 seconds) in a second-round loss to Anthony Troyer.
Most importantly, Doug Kalitta won the final round against Maddi Gordon and along the way during eliminations regained the points lead he had yielded to teammate Shawn Langdon back in May at the Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
But unlike last year, this time the Mac Tools dragster driver scored a third straight victory rather than a back-to-back victory. And last year, when he left, he was chasing Langdon into the U.S. Nationals, eyeing that $150,000 that goes to the regular-season champion – or, as Kalitta referred to it, “that midseason championship thing.” Last year, when the NHRA introduced the prize money, neither Kalitta nor Langdon earned it. It went to Tony Stewart. So both Kalitta and Langdon want to make sure it stays at Kalitta Motorsports. The two will just have to play tug-o-war for it.
“We’re trying to get this championship and win with races and just kind of see what we can do with it. Indy is points and a half, so we still got to go rounds there to try to stay ahead of Shawn,” Doug Kalitta said.
Last year’s victory at Brainerd marked his 57th and the 100th in Top Fuel for Kalitta Motorsports. Today, he has 63, giving him sole possession of third place on the Top Fuel list of all-time victories. He broke a tie with Larry Dixon and said, “Larry Dixon has always been one of my major idols of racing out here. He was out here well before I was running. So that was cool.” Kalitta is just two behind Antron Brown, whom he eliminated in the quarterfinals Sunday.
Funny Car’s Ron Capps is a seven-time event champion and four-time runner-up, so Kalitta isn’t the winningest driver at Brainerd, although it might seem like it. Kalitta mentioned John Force, saying Force has 11 victories at BIR. “I heard that today. I thought that was pretty impressive. So I got a ways to go, and it’s a good feeling for sure to be able to get four in a row. And somebody had mentioned something about Joe Amato has won here quite a few times. So hopefully we’re getting close to whatever he’s got going on.”
Kalitta is going for his third championship in four years. But he said, “It’s going to be tough. Hopefully they [his rivals] will just go up there and do a lot of stupid stuff running against us. That’s all I can hope for. But, no, they definitely realize that we’re there.
Langdon, who was five points ahead of Kalitta, lost in the second round to Leah Pruett. Kalitta has a 67-point gap on him.
His conquest of Brainerd complete, Kalitta’s next goal is to win a second U.S. Nationals title to go with his 2019 Wally. “I was fortunate enough to win that thing years ago, and it’d be nice. One thing about Indy, too: Alan [crew chief Johnson], that’s been a place that he’s just been really good at over the years. Won a lot of races there. So it definitely would be good to win Indy with him,” Kalitta said.
Maddi Gordon, Kalitta’s final-round victim, was pleased with her performance despite the runner-up role.
“We were just a tick behind Doug over the weekend, but for a brand-new team to be just a tick behind Doug Kalitta all weekend, that’s a super-big accomplishment,” she said. (However, he said he thought she had the edge in popularity: “She was obviously the favorite, it sounded like, when I ended up getting back to the starting line. But it was good. She’s doing a great job, and they’re tough. Their car was running good. I’m sure they’re real proud of their effort.”)
So he’s just concentrating on the next seven races. He said, “The momentum’s really good. We’re just all real hungry. You get down to the last six races, and it’s just so important, every round. Today actually felt that way, too, because just getting by the first couple of rounds, I was like, ‘Oh, what a relief.’ Alan and those guys, they had my car running [3.]74 like three times, I think. So that was enough even with a little bit of a cushion. It was what we needed to do to get the job done today. Everybody ran with close races, and it was definitely a battle. You don’t want to go out early. That’s just kind of the same feeling you have when you’re in the last six races. You got to make it to the later rounds to have a shot at it. But it’s going to be fun. It’ll just be obviously a huge challenge.”
2 – HAGAN IN FUNNY CAR DRIVER’S SEAT – Just as Doug Kalitta did in the Top Fuel class Sunday, four-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan took over the points lead with his third victory of the season.
En route to the final-round victory over Jordan Vandergriff, Hagan, in the American Rebel Light Beer Dodge Hellcat, earned his 600th round-win when he defeated Jim Campbell to start the day. Then he beat Chad Green and Austin Prock before facing Vandergriff for the first time.
The victory pushed Hagan past Ron Capps, who lost to Prock in the second round, and put him in the lead for the first time this season, the first time since the May 2024 Chicago race. He leads the standings by 12 points over Capps with the regular-season finale next up at Indianapolis at the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals.
“This is very humbling,” Hagan said, “because you never know what you’re going to get in Funny Car. You think you’re going to go out and pound on your chest, and it kicks you in the ass. I’m just very grateful that we have a great group of guys at TSR. We could have dialed a 3.94 or better every round and that is awfully consistent by Mike Knudsen, Phil Shuler, Alex Conaway, and the whole crew. Hat’s off to them. At the end of the day, we definitely could have bracket-raced this car.
“Tony Stewart gave Mike the opportunity to head up our operation last year, and he learned from Dickie Venables over the years, giving him the chance to really grow into the crew chief role. People don’t understand the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff with all of the day-to-day of preparing the cars, driving the big trucks, setting up the tents and pits, wrenching on the parts, and everything involved with a team,” Hagan said. “The unsung heroes are the guys wrenching on the car. You think about a track like Bristol at 140-degree track temp or Phoenix, where it was blazing hot. And those guys are like working over a wood stove. And they work in black because of clutch dust and dirt. It just doesn’t happen without them.”
Hagan and team are planning to stay at Brainerd and test Monday.
3 – ANDERSON’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH BIR CONTINUES – Greg Anderson told the impressive Brainerd International Raceway crowd Sunday, “I love this racetrack. It means everything to me. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without this.” And now the Minnesota native, who has long lived in North Carolina, is the Pro Stock class’ most successful driver at his sentimental home track. He also is the NHRA’s most successful active racer across all categories with 116 victories.
Anderson extended his record by defeating Chris Vang in the final round Sunday after taking out Mason McGaha, Troy Coughlin Jr., and Greg Stanfield.
“Pretty damn cool. Pretty cool,” Anderson said. “I think I’ve struggled a lot of years here to win. I don’t know what it was – had to exorcize a few demons, I guess, but the world knows this is the place it all started for me. I wouldn’t be a Pro Stock racer today if it wasn’t for this place and all the people around here and the people that raced here. My father and the late John Hagen, they gave me my start in Pro Stock. It’s a pretty damn cool place to start, I think. I didn’t do the rest of the bracket stuff and then the Stock and the Super Stock. I skipped over it all and went right into Pro Stock, and it’s all because of them. So I can’t thank them enough. And here we are quite a few years later, but loving this place every bit as much as I did the first time I walked on the grounds.
“So to me, it’s a special place. It always puts on a great race. This racetrack always holds up very well. The crowd, absolutely out of control. They’re great. They’re so into it. The nightlife here, it’s just got everything. It’s got everything you can imagine. It’s a great, great event,” Anderson said. “And hopefully this one never, ever goes away, because it’s certainly at the top of my list, and I think it should be at the top of a lot of people’s list. The entertainment here for the fans, for the racers, for everybody is second at none. So pretty damn cool. Pretty cool to win here and apparently have the record for the most wins. So life is good for G.A. right now.”
And he said he’s blessed, especially lately.
“These last couple of weeks have been very good. I’ve had a lot of good fortune and just put myself in the right place at the right time and got the right match-up at the right time and got some luck and got the win. So that’s what it takes to win in this class,” he said. “There’s so many cars that can win, should win, will win. And to come out on top, it’s just an incredible feeling. It never gets old, and I hope it never does. I know it never will to me. I treat every one [every victory] like it’s the first. You never know when the last one’s going to be the last. We all know that. We’ve all learned that lately. So pretty special. Hope it’s not the last, but I’m going to enjoy the hell out of this one tonight. This is pretty cool.”
His closest challenger remains teammate Dallas Glenn, the No. 1 qualifier who Sunday was shocked in the first round by multi-time champion Jeg Coughlin – who was himself shocked to be starting from the No. 16 position. Anderson said watching Glenn drop out so early gave him “a bad feeling. … It’s not good for KB Titan. It’s not good for Dallas. It’s not good for the fans. It’s just a bummer, but that’s what happens in Pro Stock. Anybody can beat anybody. First round, second round, it doesn’t really matter. So anytime you go up against a guy like Jeg Coughlin, doesn’t matter if it’s final round or first round, you got your hands full, and he got the best of Dallas today. When you sit in your car and you’re the next pair behind Dallas Glenn and he goes out first round, it’s horrible. So, bummer there.”
However, Anderson did confess that he took advantage of it nevertheless.
“I did capitalize on that, but that’s not what I was looking to do today. It’s not what I wanted. I would have loved to get to the final and race Dallas. So, can’t worry about it. It’s over. It’s done. Same thing could happen in reverse next week. You don’t know. So you just go and you fight every week as hard as you can and hope it goes large for you,” he said.
4 – WORSHAM, SLATER GO 291 IN TAFC – Del Worsham put both hands on top of his head. Jacob Slater had just stopped the Compulink timing system at 5.452 seconds and a booming 291 mph in the second round of Top Alcohol Funny Car eliminations at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals.
Slater beat Chris Foster with what was believed to be the fastest speed in Top Alcohol Funny Car history. The elapsed time wasn’t far outside what Worsham expected from his experimental blown-nitro combination, but 291 mph certainly was.
“Absolutely was not on my radar,” Worsham said. “I thought at best it’d run 285, I truly though that. But again, the more you work on them, the happier you make them, the more attention you spend on them, they just keep getting better and better, and you think you’re doing things to possibly slow it down or even just work on it, but then it just gets happier.”
Slater had the starting-line advantage against Foster but lost the lead almost immediately. He chased her down by approximately 800 feet and never trailed again.
The 291 mph became the number everybody noticed. Worsham would prefer the attention remain on the 5.452 because his goal isn’t to build a Top Alcohol Funny Car capable of overpowering the existing competition.
“I don’t want to discourage the alcohol funny car competition and that’s not my intention at all,” Worsham said. “And I’m kind of afraid, I’m kind of afraid that they’re not looking at the big picture, which is the E.T., and they’re just focusing on the speed right now. And I need to get the speed knocked off this thing so it doesn’t look so far in the wagon.”
Worsham’s combination uses nitro Funny Car-style architecture but operates under restrictions intended to keep it competitive with conventional Top Alcohol Funny Cars. The project is also designed as a possible gateway for racers who eventually want to move into professional nitro Funny Car competition. – Bobby Bennett
5 – TROYER HEADLINES SPORTSMAN WINNERS – Anthony Troyer took top honors in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisions at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals, stopping Melanie Johnson in an all-McPhillips Racing Top Alcohol Dragster final Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway.
Troyer overcame Johnson’s slight starting-line advantage and pulled ahead by half-track, winning with a 5.220-second pass at 276.63 mph. Johnson finished with a 5.250 at 274.00 mph.
The victory gave Troyer his third career Wally and second consecutive Brainerd victory. He reached the final by defeating Mike Quayle, Mitch Kalitta and Joey Severance, while Johnson advanced past Jody Lamb, Tony Bruce and Angelle Sampey.
Shane Westerfield collected his 19th Top Alcohol Funny Car victory when Christine Foster was unable to make the final-round call following a fire in her semifinal victory over Jacob Slater. Westerfield ran 5.523 at 264.49 mph on his single for his third Brainerd victory.
Westerfield advanced from the No. 9 qualifying position with victories over Sean Bellemeur, Steve Sipos and Jim Whiteley.
Cody Lane captured Competition Eliminator, using a .026 reaction time to defeat Bruce Schmiedl. Lane ran 7.348 at 171.01 mph to collect his 10th Wally.
Jack Beutler earned his first national event victory in his first final-round appearance, chasing down Mike Graham to win Super Stock. Beutler advanced through Dan Fenner, Mark Howard, Jason Storey, Rick Thompson and Brad Haugaard.
Jamey Picht won Stock Eliminator after Dirk Olson left .005-second too soon and triggered the red light. The victory was Picht’s second Wally, with both coming this season.
Jeff Chaney claimed his fifth Super Comp victory in a final decided by approximately six inches. Chaney’s 8.947 at 168.26 mph beat James Glenn’s 8.961 at 166.81 by .0022 seconds.
Greg Maaninga became a first-time national-event winner when Dale Evens fouled in the Super Gas final. Maaninga’s first Wally came in his first final-round appearance.
Kendra Larson delivered a perfect .000 reaction time to defeat Bob Fischer in Top Dragster, running 6.929 at 191.59 mph. Larson’s third career Wally continued a remarkable Brainerd record, with all three victories coming at the track.
Curt Fredrich earned his fourth career Wally when Chris Roe fouled by .001-second in the Top Sportsman final.
Rich Hill completed the Sportsman winners list by capturing Super Street after Donnie Durenberger went red. Like Beutler and Maaninga, Hill earned his first Wally in his first national event final. – Bobby Bennett
6 – JOIN THE CLUB – Doug Kalitta made most of the performance highlights this weekend, but he left one crumb for eventual semifinalist Leah Pruett. Well, she grabbed it for herself.
In eliminating Will Smith in the opening round, Pruett clocked a 341.08-mph speed that was the top speed of the meet. She became only the fourth driver in the Top Fuel class to record a speed of 340 or better, joining Brittany Force, Maddi Gordon, and Doug Kalitta. Austin Prock has done so twice officially, and Bob Tasca III has done it unofficially as the only Funny Car drivers to make the claim.
Pruett’s crew chief, Neal Strausbaugh, reacted as though it was about time. “Gave me, what, four, five, six hundred runs to do it? That’s really cool. That win light blinking on top [of the scoreboard] means way more than that mile per hour. But that’s cool. Glad we did it,” he said.
7 – THAT OL’ BRAINERD MAGIC – Brainerd International Raceway forever will be special to the Bode family. It’s where Bob Bode earned his first and only Funny Car victory in 2010. And Sunday, his son, Bobby Bode, 24, wrote a new chapter in the family drag-racing journal. When the younger Bobby Bode (Deer Park) defeated fellow Illini Dan Wilkerson (Springfield) in the first round, he spoke about that “Brainerd Magic.”
He said, “I don’t know what it is about this place, but it feels like we can’t do anything wrong here. I feel like I have all of Minnesota behind me.” He carried the banner for several local companies this weekend, and he said, “It was good to put them on my car and do something good for once. If this Brainerd Magic continues, who knows what will happen?”
The magic carpet ride didn’t last too long, for he lost to J.R. Todd in the next round. However, Bode gave Todd quite a scare, making the verdict super-close.
“You’re hungry when you’re his age,” Todd said. “I feel like they don’t have anything to lose out here. They can go out and throw down every time.” He said the fight Bode put him against him was “unbelievable.”
8 – BECKMAN’S BLUNDER – Jack Beckman fell from second place to fifth in the standings – and the stunner came in the first round against Chad Green.
Beckman beat Green off the starting line, but both got in trouble, Green first. He struck the tires just off the launch. Beckman didn’t know that, so when he smoked the tires about 200 feet down the track, he pedaled his Camaro twice unnecessarily. And it lurched toward the center line and crossed, taking out timing blocks, which disqualified his run. And because that was his second such violation this season, he was dinged 20 points. So he missed not only the chance to advance and gain 20 points, but he also lost 20. And that cost him three places in the standings with just one more race left before the regular-season champion is decided and the Countdown seeds are set.
A crushed Beckman said, “It went out there and puffed the tires. But, as a driver, you have three things to do: leave on time, keep it in the groove, and, if something happens, react appropriately. I just got way behind the car. Chad had problems, too, but I couldn’t see him. So I didn’t know if he was getting ready to pass me. But you have to get the car squared up before you get back on the throttle. When I pedaled it the second time, I had the wheel all the way left, which is one of the worst things you can do as a driver. This is a gut-check, because I let the Peak Squad down. We had a car good enough to win, but we didn’t have a driver good enough to win. So we’ll stay and test tomorrow to work on some things in the clutch for the Countdown. We’ll lick our wounds, go to Indy in a couple weeks. and, hopefully, win that one.”
9 – HE HAS A PLAN … AND AN AXE – Austin Prock said he wanted to “show out in these last two race” of the regular season. “If we win these next two,” he said, “we have a real good opportunity to roll into the playoffs in fifth place, which would be a tremendous help. We’re racking up those Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty points. We’re close to hopefully winning another one of those championships.”
Prock earned the custom-carved wooden axe trophy that went to the Battle for the Axe competition winner – the driver with the quickest elapsed time in the Friday night qualifying session. Asked what he did with the axe, Prock said, “The axe is sitting in my condo. If somebody tries to break in, you’re getting hit.”
10 – THEY SAID WHAT?! –
“A lot of people ask me what it’s like to drive a Top Fuel dragster. It’s like driving a fork lift, right? – 340 miles an hour. And this thing’s steering … from … behind. [My car is] a bad-to-the-bone hot rod.” – Maddi Gordon
“Mike Green’s not scared, that’s for sure. I’ve got a bad-ass crew chief that has big balls. So he doesn’t mind being the first one out on Sunday. Makes me nervous. I’ve had the trust and faith in him, and so far we’ve had a pretty good record on first-round wins.” – Tony Stewart
