Antron Brown made a determined push for his second consecutive Sonoma Nationals title on Sunday, delivering a clutch performance that carried him to the final round at Sonoma Raceway. Piloting the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster, Brown qualified fourth and took out a string of heavy hitters en route to his third final-round appearance of the 2025 NHRA season — a run that also vaulted him into the Top 5 in the championship standings.
“We’re going to keep our head down, keep fighting, keep digging,” Brown said. “But I like the progress, and I like where we’re at right now.”
After a shaky start to qualifying, where the Matco machine lost traction on Friday afternoon, crew chief Brian Corradi turned up the wick Friday night. Brown blasted to a 3.699-second pass at 332.18 mph, locking down the No. 4 spot. While Saturday’s qualifying runs didn’t produce improvements, the Friday-night flyer gave the AB Motorsports team the track position they needed to start Sunday on the right foot.
Brown’s race day opened with a marquee matchup against 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champ Ida Zetterström. Brown got out first and never trailed, lighting the boards with a 3.718 at 336.07 mph — one of the quickest passes of the round.
In the quarterfinals, Brown squared off with one of the class’s most feared leavers, Justin Ashley, and pulled off something few have done in recent memory: he beat Ashley off the line. Brown’s 3.740 at 336.15 mph was more than enough to hold off Ashley’s 3.817-second charge, advancing him to a semifinal duel with teammate and current points leader Shawn Langdon.
Both drivers lost traction in the semis and were forced to pedal, but Brown recovered faster. His 4.195-second pass beat Langdon’s troubled 5.322 and moved Brown into a final-round matchup with Doug Kalitta — a showdown between the two most recent Top Fuel world champions.
Once again, Brown was first off the line, but the Matco dragster hazed the tires and suffered a supercharger backfire downtrack, ending his shot at the win. He slowed to a 4.067 at 229.74 mph as Kalitta streaked to a 3.752 at 334.57 mph to take the trophy.
“In the final, we thought we had something for him,” Brown said. “The track got hot and tricky, and our car is still aggressive in the middle. We were four thou slower to the 330, which tells you we were on a 3.75 or 3.76 pass. That would’ve been enough. We’re going to keep working.”
Even with the final-round loss, Brown’s Sonoma performance paid major dividends in the standings. He jumped over Brittany Force to move into the No. 5 spot with just two races left in the regular season. With the Countdown to the Championship looming, Brown has his sights set on a top-three position before the reset.
“Our main focus is to finish these last two races — Brainerd and Indy — very, very strong and try to come out with a win, if not win both of them,” Brown said. “We want to be in the mix and give ourselves the best shot at a fourth Top Fuel title.”
Brown will be back in action August 14–17 at Brainerd International Raceway for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. But before that, fans can catch him in Norwalk, Ohio, for the annual Night Under Fire match race on August 1 — one of the sport’s most legendary summer throwdowns.
This story was originally published on July 27, 2025. 
