Antron Brown wins the Thunder Valley Nationals – Photo courtesy of AB Motorsports
BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 14, 2026) – Four-time Top Fuel world champion Antron
Brown raced to his first career victory at Bristol Dragway Sunday, earning his
first win of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season to
collect a 75th anniversary diamond Wally at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder
Valley Nationals.
Qualifying opened with a challenging run when Brown’s dragster
overpowered the racetrack and went into tire smoke, resulting in a 4.732
second pass at 166.79 mph.
The team quickly rebounded in the second qualifying session, posting a
strong 3.801-second run at 329.50 mph to move into the No. 2 position.
A dropped cylinder slowed Brown to a 4.047-second pass at 264.55 mph in
the third qualifying session, but the AB Motorsports team closed qualifying
on a high note. In the heat of the day, Brown recorded one of the quickest
runs of the final session, a 3.949-second pass at 311.92 mph, securing the No.
2 qualifying position heading into eliminations.
On race day, Brown and the Eagle Experience Matco Tools Top Fuel team
battled changing track conditions. The NHRA Top 75 driver opened race day
against Will Smith and advanced with a 3.805-second pass at 328.78 mph,
defeating Smith’s 3.871-second effort at 324.67 mph.
In the quarterfinals, Brown squared off against Shawn Reed and delivered an
even quicker run, clocking a 3.799 at 336.67 mph while Reed slowed to a
4.549 at 206.26 mph.
The semifinal matchup featured a showdown with reigning world champion
Doug Kalitta. Brown used a strong reaction time to seize the advantage early
and never looked back.
Kalitta encountered tire smoke near half-track and coasted to a 5.164-second
pass at 139.37 mph, while Brown continued to improve, posting a 3.798 at
330.88 mph to advance to the final round.
Facing Shawn Langdon in an all-star final round matchup, Brown delivered
his quickest run of eliminations for a winning performance. The two Top Fuel
contenders raced side-by-side down the Bristol Dragway surface before
Brown edged ahead at the finish line with a winning 3.788-second pass at
331.61 mph. Langdon crossed the stripe in 3.801 seconds at 334.07 mph.
“It was pretty awesome how the whole weekend started off. We’ve been
struggling at the beginning of the year, but we just kept our heads down,
kept on grinding,” Brown said. “We started off great with qualifying in the
top five like we wanted to, and then our runs kept getting better and better. I
got more laps in, and I got better on the tree as the day went on, too. That
said, it feels good to be in that ballpark and go out there competing on this
high level at this stage right now.”
Brown checked several items off his list Sunday, capturing his first career
Bristol victory, earning the coveted Diamond Wally, and collecting the 82nd
win of his NHRA career.
“I’ve been wanting one of these diamond Wallys ever since they brought
them out, so winning one was huge,” he added. “The thing about it is, that
when you see these special things that come out and then to be mentioned
as an NHRA Top 75 driver, is a dream come true, and to get this for 75 years
and be a part of it and say you got one, they can never take it away.”
Next up for Brown and the AB Motorsports team is the Summit Racing
Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
in Norwalk, Ohio, June 25-28. The event carries special significance for the
team, as crew chief Brian Corradi hails from Ohio. Brown will also spend
time visiting longtime partners Matco Tools and Summit Racing Equipment
at their respective headquarters during the race week.
CAREER STATS:
553 races
82 wins
51 No. 1 qualifier
Qualified: No. 2 (3.801 E.T. at 329.50 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.805 E.T. at 328.78 MPH defeated Will Smith 3.871 at 324.67
MPH
E2: 3.799 E.T. at 336.67 MPH defeated Shawn Reed 4.549 E.T. at
206.26 MPH
E3: 3.798 E.T. at 330.88 MPH defeated Doug Kalitta 5.164 E.T. at
139.37
E4: 3.788 E.T. at 331.61 MPH defeated Shawn Langdon 3.801 E.T.
at 334.07 MPH
Photo courtesy: AB Motorsports
ABOUT AB MOTORSPORTS:
Established in 2019, AB Motorsports is a single-car NHRA Top
Fuel team owned and operated by four-time world champion
Antron Brown. The team competes on the 20-race NHRA Mission
Foods Drag Racing Series circuit thanks to the support of Matco
Tools, Hangsterfer’s Metal Working Lubricants, Factory Motor
Parts and its FVP brand, Scouting America, World Wide
Technology, Red Line Oil, Summit Racing Equipment,
Streamlight, Western Technical College, Genesis Attachments,
Centroid Performance Racing, and Autoland Outlets.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, AB Motorsports made its
on-track debut in 2022 and has collected 12 wins throughout its
first three seasons.
Brown, who serves as both the driver and owner of the AB
Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, is the only competitor in NHRA
history to have won races in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock
Motorcycle categories. In addition to his 50 No. 1 qualifier
awards, Brown is an 82-time NHRA national event winner and
became the first Black driver to win a major U.S. auto racing
championship when he captured his first NHRA Top Fuel series
title in 2012. He made history again in 2024 when he captured his
first Top Fuel crown as a team owner, becoming the first Black
championship-winning owner/driver.
In 2023, Brown launched the AB Motorsports Accelerate Program,
an all-encompassing driver development initiative aimed at
helping racers advance in their careers. Three-time Pro Stock
Motorcycle world champion and Motorsports Hall of Fame of
America Class of 2027 inductee Angelle Sampey was the first
athlete to join the Accelerate Program. She made her Top Alcohol
Dragster debut in October 2023 and continues to compete in the
category as she progresses toward the premier Top Fuel class.
For more information, visit www.antronbrown.com or
@antronbrown on X (formerly Twitter), and @antronbrowntf on
Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Follow AB Motorsports on
Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) at @ABMotorsports1 and
@abmotorsports.1 on Instagram.
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