Antron Brown is heading into this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway with momentum on his side and a long history of success at the Minnesota track. The driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster is a six-time event champion in Brainerd, with four of those wins coming in Pro Stock Motorcycle (2000, 2001, 2003, 2006) and two in Top Fuel (2011, 2023). He’s also a four-time runner-up and a four-time No. 1 qualifier at the event, and he remains one of the few NHRA drivers to score national event victories in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Brown’s most recent performance in Sonoma, Calif., has him feeling confident. There, he qualified fourth and advanced to the final round with wins over Ida Zetterström, Justin Ashley, and Shawn Langdon before falling to Doug Kalitta. The strong outing secured his spot in Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge in Brainerd, an event he’s dominated in recent years. Brown doubled up at Brainerd in 2023 with a Saturday Mission Challenge win followed by a Sunday event victory, and he claimed his second consecutive Mission Challenge win at the track in 2024.
Currently ranked fifth in the Top Fuel standings, the four-time and defending class champion knows that Brainerd offers an opportunity to gain critical points heading into the Countdown to the Championship.
“We’ve historically always done well up there in Brainerd and enjoy going to the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. The atmosphere is remarkable,” said Brown. “We’ve got a whole bunch of activities on the schedule before we head north from Minneapolis including going to Vikings training camp and throwing out the first pitch at the Twins game Thursday night, and we’ll see if we can strike these other race teams out this weekend.”
Brown’s connection to the area runs deep, with AB Motorsports partners FMP and its FVP brand headquartered in Eagan, Minn., and Genesis Attachments based in Superior, Wis. That makes this weekend a true homecoming for some of the team’s key backers.
“We have a lot of race wins and success up there,” Brown continued. “I’ll never forget, we ran a 3.680 and set the world record at the time. So, looking forward to having a strong start to the weekend and a good outing to launch our playoff campaign, especially with our partners FVP being a home base, and a home base for Genesis Attachments. We’re thrilled and excited to show out.”
Brown will also take part in Saturday morning’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty driver autograph session at the Mission Foods midway display, giving fans a chance to meet one of the sport’s most accomplished and approachable champions before he takes aim at another Brainerd win.
This story was originally published on August 13, 2025.
The post Antron Brown Eyes Another Brainerd Victory as Playoff Push Heats Up first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
