Four-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown continued to show consistent improvement throughout the weekend, highlighted by a Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory on Saturday before racing to the semifinals on Sunday at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
A former Northwest Nationals champion, Brown entered the weekend looking to add to an already impressive Pacific Raceways résumé. He earned his 50th career Top Fuel victory at the facility in 2018 and remains the last Top Fuel driver to sweep the prestigious NHRA Western Swing, accomplishing the feat in 2009.
The weekend began with a solid 3.871-second pass at 323.66 mph during the opening qualifying session before the team turned up the performance Friday evening under cooler conditions. Brown powered to a 3.798 at 329.67 mph to move into the No. 2 provisional position.
On Saturday, Brown competed in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge after qualifying through his semifinal finish at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals. He defeated Doug Kalitta in the opening round despite both drivers encountering tire smoke, pedaling his Matco Tools Eagle Experience Top Fuel dragster to a 4.088 at 279.27 mph victory.
Following the third qualifying session, Brown briefly slipped to the No. 10 position before rebounding in the final round of qualifying. He capped off the day by defeating Jasmine Salinas in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge final with a stellar .046 reaction time and a 3.730-second pass at 332.59 mph to earn his first bonus race victory of the season and secure the No. 7 starting position for eliminations.
In the opening round, he posted his quickest run of the weekend – a 3.714 at 333.08 mph – to defeat Tony Schumacher after Schumacher’s dragster lost power shortly after the starting line.
Brown followed with another strong performance in the quarterfinals against Billy Torrence. Using a starting-line advantage, Brown never gave up the lead, driving to a 3.725 at 329.99 mph to edge Torrence’s losing 3.745 at 332.84 mph pass.
The victory sent Brown to his fourth consecutive semifinal appearance, where he faced Doug Kalitta in a rematch from Saturday’s bonus race. Brown left first on the starting line but lost a cylinder near half-track and lifted, coasting to a 5.897 at 109.57 mph as Kalitta advanced with a 3.726 at 334.57 mph.
“We made some more strides on our car,” Brown said. “The car is definitely getting to the point where we’re starting to run and compete at a good level, but I’ll tell you what, the cars are really tough. Doug and the Mac Tools car were extremely good today. We’ve just got to keep our heads down and get ready for Brainerd, Minnesota.
“We’re going to do Night Under Fire coming up here in another week and make some more runs. It’s been a work in progress, and we’re right there. We just got one little tick off. We’re going to find that tick, hopefully, for the U.S. Nationals, and we’re going to hit that Countdown with everything we’ve got. That’s the game plan.”
Before returning to Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series competition, Brown and the Matco Tools AB Motorsports team will compete in Night Under Fire at Summit Motorsports Park on July 31-Aug. 1. The team will then resume the regular season at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, Aug. 20-23.
This story was originally published on July 27, 2026.
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