NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads toward the end of the regular season with the annual stop at Brainerd Int’l Raceway, which has hosted an NHRA event since 1982.

The event is No. 13 of 20 races this year in the NHRA Mission Foods Pro series, and it will include Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock, as well as the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock category, Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle, and 10 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes.

Friday’s two pro qualifying sessions produced a solid baseline for teams in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock as they tackle Saturday’s two runs and the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.

Antron Brown took the top spot in top Fuel with a 3.742 in his Matco Tools dragster but his advantage over the rest of the field is slim. A total of nine drivers are in the threes with six entries in the 3.7s including Clay Millican, Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, Brittany Force, and Tony Stewart.

One of the most impressive performances of the day came from rookie Kyle Satenstein, who is making his NHRA debut. Satenstein drove to a 3.888 to put himself solidly in the field.

Championship contender Justin Ashley will be a driver to watch today as he did not make it to the finish line on either run on Friday and it currently ranked No. 13.

Reigning world champ and current championship leader Austin Prock leads the way in Funny Car with a 3.893 run behind the wheel of the Cornwell Tools Camaro and he’s just slightly ahead of teammate Jack Beckman, who ran 3.907.

The top 12 cars are in the threes and it takes a 3.944 to make the top half of the field. Ron Capps, Bob Tasca III, Daniel Wilkerson, Alexis DeJoria, Spencer Hyde, and J.R. Todd make up the top eight after two runs.

Minnesota native Greg Anderson leads the way in Pro Stock with a 6.614, just two thousandths of a second ahead of teammate and points leader Dallas Glenn.

The KB Titan team does not have a monopoly on qualifying as Erica Enders leads the way for team Elite with a 6.623 for the third spot.

As usual, the Pro Stock field is close as Derick Kramer is eighth at 6.642 and Fernando Cuadra Jr. holds down the bump at 6.694.

In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Shawn Langdon, Justin Ashley, Doug Kalitta, and Antron Brown will battle in Top Fuel, while Austin Prock, Jack Beckman, Spencer Hyde, and Matt Hagan will square off in Funny Car. The Pro Stock field will include Greg Anderson, Dallas Glenn, Aaron Stanfield, and Sonoma winner Greg Stanfield.

2024 EVENT WINNERS
Justin Ashley, Top Fuel; Blake Alexander, Funny Car; Dallas Glenn, Pro Stock.
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MOST EVENT VICTORIES
Joe Amato, 6 TF; John Force, 11, FC; Bruce Allen, Bob Glidden, Kurt Johnson, Warren Johnson, 4, PS

TRACK RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.640 sec. by Leah Pruett, Aug. ’17; 338.26 mph by Mike Salinas, Aug. ‘23.
Funny Car – 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight Aug. ’17; 338.00 mph by R. Hight, Aug. ’17.
Pro Stock - 6.541 seconds by Erica Enders, Aug. '15; 211.39 mph by Shane Gray, Aug. '15

NATIONAL RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. ‘19, Reading; 343.16 mph by Brittany Force, July ‘25, Sonoma.
Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 341.68 mph by Austin Prock, Nov. ’24, Pomona
Pro Stock – 6.443 sec. by Greg Anderson, March ’25, Gainesville; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May ’14 Englishtown

EVENT SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, Aug. 16
LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations at 9:00 a.m.
NHRA MISSION FOODS SERIES qualifying at 12:00 and 2:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, Aug. 17
Pre-race ceremonies, 9:30 a.m.
NHRA MISSION FOODS SERIES eliminations begin at 10:30 a.m.

TELEVISION

Saturday, Aug.16, FS1 will televise one and-a-half hours of qualifying coverage at 7 p.m. (ET).

Sunday, Aug. 17, FOX will televise three hours of live finals coverage at 3:00 p.m. (ET)