It’s not often that the two most recent NHRA Top Fuel world champions square off in the first round of eliminations, but a hot day of qualifying led to such a matchup at the American Rebel Light Beer Virginia NHRA Nationals Sunday morning at Virginia Motorsports Park. Antron Brown, the four-time and reigning world champion, left on 2023 world champion Doug Kalitta in their opening-round match, but Brown came up short by the time the two reached the finish line. Brown’s Matco Tools Toyota dragster made a clean run in tricky conditions, though, providing a bright side as more hot races are in the near future on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour.
Qualifying, which saw a departure from the typical NHRA event schedule by running three sessions in one day, presented its challenges for Brown and crew chief Brian Corradi. After shutting off early on the first qualifying attempt, Brown posted a 3.948-second pass at 312.50 mph in the second session to sit seventh. A consistent 3.944 E.T. at 302.55 mph followed in the final session. Brown ended up No. 8 going into eliminations.
The Brown vs. Kalitta matchup is a familiar one, as the two have now faced off 77 times, the fourth-most meetings between any two drivers in the class. Brown charged out of the gate first and raced to his quickest pass of the weekend, a 3.933 E.T. at 302.41 mph, but Kalitta got around him with a 3.877-second effort.
“We didn’t get the results that we wanted, of course – we’re always shooting for wins – but we learned a lot this weekend,” Brown said. “We’re learning what it takes to navigate down a really hot, tricky track. The track was getting over 140 degrees and in the first round, we were in the mid-120s. It was a tough first-round matchup against Doug Kalitta. We got down through there. We could’ve beat a lot of other people except for the ones we raced. Doug ran second-low E.T. of the round – kudos to them. But the one thing I can tell is that we’re getting better and we’re learning more and more right now.”
Brown is eager to make moves at the next stop on tour in Norwalk, Ohio, where he is a two-time and defending event champion.
“We’ve gotta make a run here sooner than later so we can make a run at the regular season championship,” said Brown, who slipped two spots to fifth in the Top Fuel points standings. “We’re still in a good spot in points, but Tony Stewart is getting his rounds in front of everybody. We’ve just gotta show up and do what we do.”
Leading up to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 26-29, at Summit Motorsports Park, Brown will take part in a number of pre-race events. The Master Pizza Medina location, owned by crew chief Brian Corradi, will host a meet-and-greet and car show including the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster on Tuesday, June 24, from 4-8 p.m. Brown will also join Summit Racing Equipment’s driver meet-and-greet and cruise-in at Summit’s Ohio Super Store in Tallmadge on Wednesday, June 25, from 4-7 p.m.
This story was originally published on June 23, 2025. 
