After battling through a challenging qualifying effort, four-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown and the AB Motorsports team found their stride when it mattered most, racing to a runner-up finish Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.
The event carried extra significance for Brown and the Matco Tools team. Norwalk serves as a homecoming race with longtime partners Matco Tools and Summit Racing Equipment, headquartered nearby. Earlier in race week, Brown visited both company headquarters to spend time with employees before returning to the racetrack. The weekend also held special meaning for crew chief Brian Corradi, an Ohio native and owner of Master Pizza and Corradi’s Scoops Ice Cream Shop in the Cleveland area.
Qualifying proved difficult as Friday and Saturday’s cooler conditions gave way to significantly warmer temperatures on race day.
Brown opened qualifying with a solid 3.843-second pass at 329.02 mph before improving to a 3.828 at 329.50 mph during the second session. Despite the quicker elapsed time, Brown slipped to the No. 8 provisional position heading into Saturday.
The first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge brought a semifinal rematch with Doug Kalitta from Bristol, but Brown encountered problems immediately after the hit and coasted to an 8.045-second run at 75.79 mph.
The NHRA Top 75 driver rebounded in the final qualifying session with his quickest run of the weekend, a 3.825 at 310.48 mph. Although the run wasn’t enough to improve his position, he entered eliminations from the No. 14 qualifying spot.
Facing one of the toughest opening-round matchups of the day against Leah Pruett, Brown delivered exactly what his team needed. He left first off the starting line and never trailed, posting a 3.763-second run to Pruett’s 3.781 to advance and earn lane choice.
Brown continued his charge in the second round against Tony Schumacher. Once again, he was first off the line, and when Schumacher encountered trouble down track, Brown powered to a 3.806-second pass at 329.34 mph to move into the semifinals.
The semifinal round tested both drivers as Brown and Clay Millican each battled traction issues shortly after launch. Brown expertly pedaled his Matco Tools Eagle Experience Top Fuel dragster and regained momentum first, advancing to his third final round appearance of the season.
In the championship round, Brown squared off against Maddi Gordon. Brown once again won the starting-line battle, but Gordon drove around him before the 300-foot mark to claim the victory with a 3.786-second pass. Brown crossed the finish line in 3.840 seconds to secure the runner-up finish.
“To rebound after qualifying, where we had some struggles, and then to come out on race day and throw up a 3.76 on the first lap, and with that really tough first-round matchup against Leah, that was an unbelievable job by our team,” Brown said.
“You’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. Maddi came up in that final, and they swung, and they hit a grand slam out of the park right there. We came up there, and we were a little cautious. We wanted to make sure we went down the racetrack. But all in all, it was a great day for our Matco Tools team. We just really wanted to put it in the winner’s circle for Summit and Matco. This was their hometown track. We fell a little short, but at the end of the day, it was a great, great points day.”
Brown and the Matco Tools team head west for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge, July 17-19, at Sonoma Raceway.
This story was originally published on June 29, 2026.
The post Antron Brown Charges to Final Round at Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
