NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Antron Brown has done a little bit of everything during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, winning the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, a Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge event, and, in Chicago, his first event race win of the year.

It’s a diverse array of success this year for Brown, and he’ll look to keep rolling at this weekend’s 11th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, where the three-time Top Fuel world champ looks for his second straight victory this season.

His triumph in Chicago gave the veteran his 75th career victory, a tremendous milestone for Brown and his team. The group performed well in warm conditions in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools Toyota dragster, and with ideal conditions expected for Epping this weekend, Brown and his team are prepared to throw down against a talented and full Top Fuel field at the historic track.

“That’s always been a great track for us,” Brown said. “We’ve got to go out with the same game plan we had in Chicago. I like where we’re at with this team. We’ve got a lot of data and know what to do and what not to do. We know where we need to be, and we’ve got a lot of momentum coming off our victory. I like our chances, but you’ve got to qualify well. We’ll look at doing well there, take it one round at a time and see what we can do.”

A year ago, Justin Ashley (Top Fuel) and Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) won the New England Nationals, though the race finished in Bristol the following week due to weather. This year’s race will be broadcast on FS1, including eliminations at 1 and 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, and also includes the return of Pro Stock to the event. It is the seventh of 20 races during the 2024 season, and Brown continues to make strong progress.

Brown’s Chicago win bumped him to fifth in points in the loaded category, and the victory also means he’ll take part in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday with Steve Torrence, Shawn Langdon, and Dan Mercier. That presents a chance for a double-up victory in Epping, which is what Brown is after. On Sunday, he’ll also have to get past reigning world champ Doug Kalitta, Top Fuel rookie and racing legend Tony Stewart, Clay Millican, Tony Schumacher, and Ashley, the defending event winner and current points leader.

Brown continues to be impressed with how his team has performed all year, and the one-time Epping winner (2016) remains the ultimate competitor, rising to the occasion against the best in the category, including Ashley.

“To see how our team goes through adversity and come through, it’s great to see,” Brown said. “Justin and I, we’ve had some monumental matchups, but I love racing him. The [starting-line] Tree is my game, and I love being there, but I stay humble, and I stay hungry, and with Justin, he just raises the game. I race the way I qualify, and I guess that’s the veteran in me. You can’t get scared of what you can’t control.”

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying features two rounds at 5 and 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, May 31 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, June 1 at noon and 2:30 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 2. Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, 7 p.m. on Saturday, along with a special Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge episode at 8 p.m. on Saturday, and then eliminations action from 1-2 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. ET on Sunday.

To purchase tickets to the NHRA New England Nationals, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. Children 12 and under are free in general admission with the purchase of an adult ticket.